Brian Truitt

Pretty much everybody is kung fu fighting in “Snake Eyes,” a satisfying martial-arts action-adventure with two magnetic leads, a heap of lightning-quick swordplay and the best argument yet for a G.I. Joe cinematic universe.

The new edition is comparatively an air ball: It’s less a family-friendly film with a hoops legend and more a crassly referential love letter to all things Warner Bros.

Oftentimes, the original book is better than its movie version. And while King’s tweetstorm is an infamous Homeric odyssey in the world of 280 characters, Zola is a solid spin, vividly capturing a stripper saga that would have been harrowing to live through, but is fun to sit back and witness.

Marvel’s Black Widow is a strong solo superhero effort that feels both timely and also way too late.

These movies are best when marrying James Bond high jinks with their longtime emphasis on the strength of family, plus a serving of macho philosophy on the side. F9 tries to goose that template exponentially with soap opera and a greatest-hits package to craft the ultimate "Fast and Furious" movie, instead succeeding at making one that's merely fine.

The movie’s both a reminder to always believe in ourselves, and believe in that old Pixar magic.

Conjuring films are best when tapping into the Warrens’ work and making it feel all too real to audiences, and in that regard, “The Devil” tries to shake things up but ventures too far from that freaky norm.

None of this works without Stone, though. She’s got the comic timing for the lighter scenes as well as the acting chops to pull off the character’s psychological transformation and personal reckoning.

With a musical that doesn’t shy away from tackling issues of racism and immigration, viewers will find themselves immersed in a song-filled, universally relatable story about chasing dreams and building community.

The sci-fi survival horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II doesn’t quite live up to the refreshing feel or innovative novelty of the original 2018 hit, where silence is truly golden in a post-apocalyptic existence full of blind creatures that attack noisy things and noisier humans. But the creatures are still freaky, the soundscapes are still interesting, Emily Blunt is still the second coming of Sigourney Weaver and this time the storyline expands the world, plus lets the kids shoulder some of the live-or-die derring-do. It also works as one heck of a chilling fix for audiences dipping their toes back into reopened cinemas.

An all-star slow-burn mystery for much of its 102-minute runtime until it suddenly decides to become a vomitous reveal-fest doling out all its twists as fast as possible. A storytelling choice, for sure, and one that wastes a talented crew of actors and fails to pay proper homage to the old-school films it references.

[Jolie] does what she can with the throwback role, though it’s the least of the film’s problems, with an unfocused plot, painfully dull villains and far-fetched sequences. That said, for those who dig really cool fire sequences, you’ll definitely feel the burn.

The movie throws in a little murder mystery and an alien-invasion angle with its coming-of-age themes, features a host of up-and-coming stars (including Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp), and rockets to some interesting places when it comes to science and what makes us us. What undermines all that, however, is when the film shifts into being an intergalactic Lord of the Flies as the kids turn on each other and go tribal.

Nobody fails to break a bunch of new ground transforming another normal guy into a murder machine although Odenkirk's presence does give the film a conflicted and darkly comic center. Let's hope more machine-gun antics are in his future.

The follow-up is a toothless, fleetingly funny revisit with some moments of greatness yet too much of the same old story to feel fresh.

The film wrestles with tonal inconsistencies but features fantastic action scenes to go with a touching underlying narrative about the power of trust.

Sneakily utilizing production design and uncanny good editing, The Father fascinatingly puts the viewer in the same state of distress as its main character. And in adapting his own play, the director’s carried over an intimate quality of a staged chamber drama to not just show a man dealing with dementia but also offer a way into his mind with a haunting, deeply affecting and quite memorable narrative.

On one hand, the core conceit – about elderly people suffering thanks to crooks and legal loopholes – is upsetting and infuriating on the surface. But Blakeson puts such a colorful, over-the-top sheen on it, plus lets Pike and Dinklage loose on each other, that you can’t help but be entertained by the criminal carnage and extreme shenanigans.

Even with its imperfections, “Billie Holiday” tells a needed story and along the way introduces a bright new Hollywood star to watch.

In creating the film, Chung pulled from his own childhood growing up in Arkansas, and Minari works because it feels so personal as you root for a fragmented family weathering resentment and heartbreak in an uplifting and very universal tale.

“Black Messiah” satisfies both as tense thriller and insightful period piece featuring two of the most captivating actors in Hollywood, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield.