Mae Abdulbaki

The film’s cast is great and, though the actors typically have great comedic timing, the dialogue falls flat and renders the humor inert. About My Father has a heart at its center, but it never really gets there in terms of having a compelling story and humor to elevate its scenes.

Unfortunately, Cinderella lacks the specificity of Ever After and doesn’t commit to the full fantasy of Brandy’s Cinderella, either, nor does it have the charisma of Ella Enchanted.

If anything, She Loved Blossoms More isn’t weird enough, holding out on exploring what’s beyond the time machine, which is the most compelling aspect of the film.

For those who may not have seen X, Pearl may be intriguing enough for them to go watch the original film. As both a prequel and standalone horror film, however, Pearl comes up short.

If nothing else, Emmerich certainly knows how to create catastrophe while providing a sense of hope despite everything. Does that save Moonfall from being messy? No, but surely some will find it enjoyable regardless.

The script has its moments, and I chuckled a bit at a few points. But what the film lacks is genuine heart and warmth.

With a premise worth engaging with, the film can’t quite grasp what its full intentions are and the execution reflects that.

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Two is a disappointing entry, failing to truly and comprehensively build a bridge between the first film and the third film.

Unfortunately, the film doesn’t invest in its characters or in its world beyond the surface, so why should we?

Slow and frustrating, with a finale that is unearned, Red Rocket fluctuates between trying to say something and getting lost in its own premise.

Vacation Friends finds its humor in the disconcerting scenarios the characters find themselves in, but it never evolves past its empty premise.

From a bizarre villain to unexpected musical numbers, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is egregiously bad, but with splashes of occasional humor.

The story is just so rushed, there’s barely any time spent on establishing the world we’re introduced to before it’s full-speed ahead.

The World to Come has the ingredients to build a blossoming love story, but the script is thin and far too rigid for the romance to ever fully soar.

The first half is wildly fun, especially as it puts characters in the uncomfortable position of being at a party that goes awry shortly after the countdown. But what starts off as a quirky teen comedy with hints of sci-fi catastrophe turns into a messy romp that loses its intrigue.

While A Different Man attempts to be a thought-provoking work some of the time, it’s not as deep or as profound as it aims to be.

Written and directed by Mike Cahill, Bliss has strong ideas about economic inequality and it ambitiously works to pull off being a sci-fi thriller that is layered with social commentary. However, the film falls short of delivering something more compelling and complex, primarily because it's trying to do too much at once.

Dear Evan Hansen might be well-meaning, but it completely misses the mark. It’s not the worst movie out this year, but it’s not a musical one might be inclined to rush to the theater to see, either.

Earwig and the Witch has all the parts needed to be a fun and memorable film, but seems to lack the manual for how to bring it all together.

Flora & Ulysses has all of the right ingredients, but falls short of bringing them all together, leaving the film an uncharismatic and empty shell.

It’s fraught with frenetic energy and delightfully charming performances, but Blithe Spirit is not as funny or absurd as it sets out to be.

The concept is no doubt thought-provoking and, occasionally, even creative. But it’s hard to get behind the journey the AIs go on when it’s so detached, the film itself attempting to be a gripping narrative conveying heartfelt emotions that just don’t land.

Uncharted is joyless and has little to no personality.

The story has no heart, genuine romance, or humor, the spy subplot is mechanical, and the actors don’t mesh together as well as you might expect. All told, Ghosted doesn’t even meet the lowest standard for what would make a romantic comedy remotely decent and that is disappointing considering the talent involved.

When a film is trying to tell three stories at once, it’s bound to get tied up in its own narrative misgivings, and Hold Your Breath is certainly culpable of that.

Amanda Seyfried gives a nuanced performance, but A Mouthful of Air fails to go beyond the surface to engage with its themes in a meaningful way.

Crimes of the Future has an intriguing enough setup, but it doesn’t know how to tie everything together, leaving the disparate pieces of the plot adrift and turning the film into a tedious watch.

Reliant on specific political clichés and a twist the audience will see coming from a mile away, Without Remorse is utterly bland and devoid of moxie.