Mike Scott

It boasts strong acting and a nice dose of suspense.

Getting two biographies on the same person in such a short window is unusual. What's even more unusual is that both suffer from the same flaw.

What Kwapis does do, however, is nicely handle the film's whale of an emotional payoff.

It's easy to be interested in the characters' lives -- as tragic as they are -- but it's not nearly as easy to become emotionally invested in them.

Don't expect there to be a run on Secret of Kells action figures any time soon.

It goes down far more easily than the budget-friendly tripe so often passed off as a romantic comedy here in the streaming era.

If there's a prevailing problem with director Richard Loncraine's bit of period fluff, it's that many of the characters encountered along the way are a touch too cartoonish to resonate meaningfully with audiences.

One major reason it succeeds is because of 11-year-old actress Bailee Madison, who brings a wonderful believability to her role as the girl at the center of the film.

All along, though, I was struck by an even stronger feeling, that I was sitting in on somebody else's therapy session. That's not a comfortable feeling -- and that makes Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close considerably less rewarding than it should be.

How do you know when a romantic comedy just isn't working? Key indicators are that your audience doesn't get goose bumps in the inevitable third-act reunion. They don't get misty-eyed. In short, they don't really care.

What we're left with is a movie that is about as nourishing as the Junior Mints and nachos available at the theater snack bar. But, then, many a Friday night dinner has been made of far less.

There isn't a whole lot of nuance in writer-director Rachid Bouchareb's unapologetically political movie. As such, it doesn't take much brainpower for a viewer to stay a step or two ahead of his plot the entire way.

These women deserve to have their voices heard, and this film finally lets them have their say.

Leisurely paced and plot-challenged, it's too unique and kindhearted to be outright disliked, but it's not the kind of film you can get too close to, either.

Once the real story hits its stride, it's easy to get lost in Sanctum.

It is, in its best moments, an interesting exercise for Bullock — and a just-passable diversion for audiences in the mood for something a little more gritty and somber than a repeat airing of It’s a Wonderful Life or some other feel-good holiday standard.

Best of all, here there be fun.

It's a fun one to talk about -- if only for the opportunity to shake your head in amused disbelief at what you just saw.

A morality play, this is not. What it is, though, is a sturdy bit of the kind of well-formed, well-conceived regional cinema we don’t seem to get enough of anymore.

A film that is neither great nor horrible. Favreau does enough things right in Cowboys & Aliens to churn out a mostly enjoyable bit of mindless summertime action, just not enough to come close to rivaling his 2008 crowd-pleaser "Iron Man."

It's probably best not to think very hard about any of it -- just dummy up and laugh along.

For all of the faults one can find with Kiet’s film, she’s also exactly the kind of hero many American women probably need right now.

As fun as it is at times -- particularly early on -- the longer The Sorcerer's Apprentice goes on, the more the magic wears off.

The good news is that when the monkey and the lizard start fighting — which, let’s be honest, is really why we’re all here — brother, it is a sight to see. Between the chest-beating, fire-breathing and general mayhem, Godzilla vs. Kong is, if nothing else, a visual feast.

Still, built as it is around big, dazzling action sequences and a terrific cast — which in addition to the charismatic Mackie includes Harrison Ford and Tim Blake Nelson — “Brave New World” still manages to scratch the “Avengers” itch.

Potiche never becomes funny enough or interesting enough.

It is, in short, a fun, diverting ride — which, come to think of it, probably doesn’t really need context at all.

For a movie about the value of memories, it won’t go down as particularly memorable. Ten or 15 years ago, its visual effects might have been something approaching stunning. Today, they — like the dialogue, the pacing and pretty much every other element of the film — are only just good enough to allow audiences to suspend their disbelief.