Connie Ogle

The movie wanders off course in the final act, as if none of its three screenwriters could quite figure out how to end it.

In the end the film stacks up just this side of twee, as the sort of quirky fare that's passably entertaining without ever offering anything real or remarkable.

It's fun to watch the stocky, scowling Ice Cube and skinny, jittery Epps play off each other; they click on screen.

It still feels a little like a lesson you’re supposed to learn before you can enjoy anything truly satisfying.

Harmless, mildly enjoyable.

Unfinished Song is full of predictably poignant moments; you’d be lucky to survive the film dry-eyed.

A well-intentioned coming-of-age film anchored by two indelible performances but weakened by an overabundance of drama.

Plays out as little more than a diversion, one that does not truly break any new ground. But it's undeniably interesting and leaves plenty of room for a more thoughtful film about women and education.

In an ironic twist, Mira Nair's big-hearted yet by-the-numbers biopic of Amelia Earhart never -- unlike the famous aviatrix -- takes chances.

Letters to Juliet will never be mistaken for an epic romance -- too light, too silly, too mistake-prone -- but the ingredients of its tasty chick-flick stew are tried and true.

Despite its exciting moments, the film is too long.

Jackman's charisma breathes the fire into Wolverine, not the rather pedestrian script or the by-the-numbers action.

It's more amusing than not, but some scenes outlast the humor in them.

A better primer-for-the-uninitiated than an in-depth, fresh and insightful examination of a famous and remarkable life.

If nothing else, Yes is certainly a brave experiment.

Unknown is never boring, and Collet-Serra mostly keeps up a lively pace, but he doesn't do the movie any favors with the flat, dull way he films the scene in which we finally learn what's going on.

Zombie lore doesn't allow for redemption, only head shots, and Levine's film, amusing though it may be, is never gory enough to truly become a classic zombie movie. It also ignores the one basic necessity of monster films, even the funny ones: It really ought to be creepy or scary or gross, at least once or twice.

Blended isn’t Sandler’s funniest movie or his best, but it is a big step up from the dregs he’s been churning out, a messy, shaggy dog of a comedy that you can’t help but like even as it sheds all over your house.

The bigger problem is that neither Jolie nor the script bothers to flesh Louis out as a fully formed person with faults and fears and regrets, which keeps the film from ever capturing you emotionally.

The Family Stone should have been a glittering holiday bauble along the lines of the irresistible Love Actually. Instead, Bezucha stuffs into our stockings what he thinks is good for us. It's not coal, but it's not entirely what we were hoping for, either.

The most interesting aspect of Danny Deckchair, though, may be that the film is based on the true story.

The film makes coupling look less like bliss and more like an exhausting series of skirmishes that can send one party scurrying into infidelity or out the door in search of something better.

The undeniable star is the diminutive comedian. He’s the glue that holds the movie together when it wanders into the weeds and starts believing it’s a serious meditation on relationships.

Me and You and Everyone We Know brings to mind the work of happily downbeat, bad-boy provocateur Todd Solondz (Happiness, Palindromes), but July is more kind to her oddballs, although she displays a disturbing aptitude for perversity that Solondz would applaud.

The film, which comes way too close to preaching, lurches away from the control of director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) and ends on a stretched-out note so sappy it makes "Must Love Dogs" look like "8 Mile."

What the film truly reveals is something else entirely: how Jennifer Lawrence can elevate any material, any time, even middle-of-the-pack fare like this.

The most fortunate thing about The Lucky One is that despite a plot hole so big it could generate its own gravity field, it's still not a bad movie.

Vardalos may not have been the best possible Connie. But as Billy Wilder could have told you, nobody's perfect.