Peter Hartlaub

Too many moments elicit a polite half chuckle, when the screenwriters are trying for uproarious laughter. But it benefits from an excellent cast, who seem to be all in. And whenever there’s a stretch of extended mediocrity, it’s almost always saved by an unexpected moment of politically incorrect inspiration.

Many of the individual scenes are compelling, with a gritty tension that recalls "The Wire" and other good television. But too many of the attempts at "The Sopranos"-style comic drama fail.

An enjoyable movie not because of any special gifts by the filmmakers or emotional resonance in the script. It was more like destiny. Once someone jotted down the concept on a cocktail napkin and hired B-Boys who could actually dance, the movie pretty much had to turn out OK.

By the time the sex actually starts, any sense of tension or anticipation is gone. It's the rare orgy that feels like an anticlimax.

Starts out OK, but then almost seems to be intentionally going for humor.

Disappointingly mediocre.

It's Valentine's Day! Unrealistic romantic expectations are in the air! And Safe Haven does the unrealistic romance thing pretty well.

Despite some solid acting, the film is lacking in surprises. For all the suffering that these characters endure, there's very little payoff.

Zellweger takes an otherwise passable mainstream comedy and all but ruins it with her lack of effort.

The documentary isn't particularly thrilling, or even very informative, but it's almost certain to lower your blood pressure for 83 minutes.

A decent-looking and harmless computer animated film that is notable mostly because it doesn't appear to contain a single original idea.

By the time we reach the unsatisfying cliffhanger ending, there’s little to look forward to.

Too lackluster to be praised highly, yet too benign to be excoriated, “Rock Dog” is the perfect family film for a rainy day with no other options. It does not deserve mention in any animation history book; and yet it’s completely satisfactory in the moment.

It Chapter Two is a messier production that barely seems coherent even with the first film as a primer.

Writer-director Michael Tully simultaneously pays tribute to his own 1980s childhood and the cliched movies he grew up watching, and the result is one of the most honestly dishonest movies you'll ever watch.

A ridiculous teen horror movie that piles on more than enough dry humor and freshly moistened gore to satisfy its lowbrow audience.

Grudge Match at its core is an affront to the cinema gods, an attempt to capitalize off two iconic films for a few cheap laughs.

This film is the equivalent of your third or fourth favorite present on any given holiday. It will entertain a few children in the moment, satisfy a few adults who are barely paying attention, then quickly be forgotten.

The film is so harmless, and the young actors try so hard, that it's difficult not to have some fun.

By the end, the 105-minute movie feels another third as long. You’ll probably respect the effort. But you’ll be more than happy to leave The House With a Clock in Its Walls.

It's a strain to poke fun at Dolphin Tale 2. Even more than the very solid first film, this is cynicism-free cinema; a place where snark goes to die. But while the wholesomeness, PG-rating positivity and conservation goals remain a strong selling point, the story simply isn't as good as the first one.

Chasing Trane celebrates its subject with great passion, but it often feels like walking in late into a good party.

It lacks a moral center, and at times seems oblivious to the laughable things that are happening on screen. It’s also about 20 minutes too long. And yet SuperFly is entertaining, period. The dialogue is fast and fun, and the sense of fashion is so pervasive that it occasionally distracts from the movie.

The Shallows is a very earnest woman-versus-shark film. It delivers the requisite thrills, including a surprisingly satisfying resolution. The heroine is capable; and the writers, who trap her on a rock for half the film, find ways to make her situation seem interesting. But the most important parts, the ones involving the shark, don’t feel genuine.

The makers of Man Push Cart seem so dedicated to making a film that defies Hollywood conventions that the finished product lacks enough entertainment value to justify price of admission.

Although most of the actors beyond Bell aren't big film stars, Jamie Lee Curtis gets a few minutes of screen time, and James Franco makes a spectacularly self-deprecating cameo. Whatever they contributed to the Kickstarter campaign, it was worth every cent.

Shyamalan doesn’t reach “The Sixth Sense” or “Unbreakable” heights, but his scriptwriting is livelier than we’ve seen in years, and there’s a sense of humor that was missing in even his best work. At times, he seems to be poking good-natured fun at his own reputation.

It's difficult to ignore the fact that they've created a romantic comedy that has almost no romance and even less comedy.

Obvious, but at least it's clean.

The Invisible is, at its core, a character study, albeit one with a Patrick Swayze-in-"Ghost" paranormal edge. But it's definitely not mindless trash. If anything, the movie is too introspective, to the point that it doesn't build enough conflict or tension.

Difficult to watch, and the film is sabotaged by an impossibly naive lead character and the repetitive auditions that become gratuitously depressing.

A film that defies lowered expectations — if not the tired adolescent mind-set and poor joke-writing — and emerges as the best in the series.

Has a made-for-television style.

If you can get past the impossibilities it is a fun time at the movies.

Once the believability drops, the seams start to show, whether it’s some extras who seem aware of the camera, bad edits, comic-timing misfires or songs written for Thorne that aren’t quite as good as everyone onscreen says they are.

This Hellboy has story problems, with too much exposition and not enough character development. “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour, seemingly a perfect choice for his ability to project melancholy and a luggish humor, isn’t given enough time to do either of those things.

Poorly written, contains too much hero worship and profiles too many events - including one that combines the high jump with motorcycles. But the documentary generates a remarkable amount of goodwill with its stunning visuals, which look breathtaking in 3-D.

Although the finished product isn't great, it's more akin to a bad Steve Martin movie from the 1980s than bad Pauly Shore from the 1990s. We mean that as a compliment (sort of).

Kung Fu Panda 3 has a moment or two for everyone, but no chance develop any character beyond a single dimension.

So this film feels less like an easy paycheck and more like semi-retirement. Whatever wisdom is coming out of Redford’s mouth as Bryson, it always seems 100 percent clear he pursued the role because the shoot would be beautiful and he could pal around with an old friend.

Difficult to recommend, without first knowing the sobriety of the viewer.

The result is 50 percent more realistic than the average sports film.

Through a stellar effort by Jennifer Garner and some well-executed revenge sequences, Peppermint just feels good to watch.

An often amusing but also an aimless and forgettable animated comedy that is noteworthy mostly for its random musical numbers and surprising amounts of violence.

Ultimately, that's all Highwater offers - barely explored concepts and short profiles.

The strength is in the performances and visual detail. The flaws are mostly in the script, which asks the youngest cast member to pull off a near-impossible transformation.

It's not fun to watch.

Enjoy the film for its witty dialogue and fun performances, but know that there isn't a single good scare. An episode of "Murder, She Wrote" has more thrills.

Well-polished and well-intentioned, this human-among-the-fairies adventure is filled with plenty of rousing action for short attention spans. But the beautiful visuals are paired with a mediocre script. The pacing is off and scenes become repetitive. While Epic has broad appeal, it's hard to imagine this will be anyone's favorite movie in 5 or 10 or 20 years.

A film that can’t decide whether it wants to be “Raging Bull” or “Remember the Titans.” In the end, it’s a little too much of both.

A humorous yet unfocused romp, so unwilling to settle on a single theme that hyperactivity medication should be handed out with the 3-D glasses.

The Romantics can be charming, and Holmes tackles her meatiest role since the superb "Pieces of April." But the script fails to establish the likability of any of the main characters, which dulls the sense of urgency during the dramatic moments.

To cover the Abramoff scandal is to follow tangent after tangent, until it seems as if prison was in the lobbyist's plans from the beginning.

Unfortunately, the inspired concept is coupled with weak screenwriting, and the movie turns out to be much more fun to think about than it is to watch.

This isn’t close to being a great movie. But if you don’t overthink it, there is some fun to be had in the grisly consequences.

There’s not a lot of nuance or sense in the third “Purge” movie. But it still manages to coast on a combination of self-awareness, crowd-pleasing carnage and a plot that ties perfectly into current events.

The Bye Bye Man is the kind of mess that happened by committee.

Children will enjoy the physical humor, but discerning adults are advised to pawn their sons and daughters off on some other unsuspecting chaperone -- preferably one who doesn't read movie reviews.

The mockumentary-style delivery of a serious subject proves to be an unworkable mash-up.

It's surprising how dated some of the humor is.

At the heart of The Return is a murder that even the most bumbling homicide investigator could have solved in about 12 seconds.

Not since "An American Werewolf in London" in 1981 reset the standard for man-to-wolf transformations has anyone tried to get away with special effects as pitiful as the ones in this movie.

There's no attempt at humor in Dead Silence, but the biggest sin in the film is the lack of scares.

Aquaman continues to revel in the outdated 1970s superhero ideal that mankind is unquestionably worth saving. Add to that some awkward dialogue, a poorly conceived visual effects palette, and a soul-crushing and bladder-crushing 139-minute run time, and you have another disappointing entry in the DC Comics cinematic universe.

In execution, the film is all sidekicks and sight gags, with little story cohesion or purpose.

If you want to see Li and Statham in an underwhelming martial arts film, rent "The One" instead. Li talks considerably more in that movie, but at least he punches a lot of people out.

An acquired taste.

The movie's onslaught of psychobabble is the annoyance most likely to ruin your evening. Imagine getting stuck on a ski lift with Dr. Phil for nearly two hours.

May be a good tactical move for the artist's career, but it's a bad movie.

While it's filled with quality actors, this James Bond tale for tweens feels like something you should be getting for free on television.

An ill-advised and severely wussified remake.

The result is an incredibly disorganized movie with a few funny scenes -- most of which are revealed in the commercials.

And then there’s the real problem with Pitch Perfect 3: The best thing about the first movie — the singing — feels like an afterthought.

Much of the action onscreen doesn't ring true. Seasoned independent film director Henry Jaglom doesn't just explore the subject - he smothers the audience with it.

The Shack is unshakable in its religious message, and that’s admirable in a cynical world. But viewed objectively as cinema, it’s just not a very good film.

A Dog’s Purpose is peril porn; the animal grows old or faces tragedy and expires over and over, reincarnating into a new dog with the same brain.

Watching The Goldfinch is like reading a novel where someone ripped out every third page from front to back. You can tell there’s a good story, with compelling characters, and maybe a strong mystery. But the connective tissue is missing to the point of constant distraction.

A mindless comedy where the blatant racial stereotypes are outnumbered only by the flatulence jokes. The best thing that can be said about this movie is it falls just short of being an international incident.

Contains so many insults to the audience's intelligence.

The action sequences are just as ridiculous as the romance parts, but at least James seems comfortable with the pratfalls and gross-out scenarios.

Ghost Rider has everything you don't want from your superhero movie, including lack of logic, boring action scenes, bad acting in the supporting performances, a brutally slow 114-minute running time and cringe-worthy dialogue.

It's an uninspired and instantly forgettable film. But it completely succeeds by its own standards: an 87-minute rainy-day distraction that will probably make a zillion dollars.

Less an original product than a shoddy tribute to other mediocre cop movies.

The Nut Job 2 isn’t maddening like “Smurfs 2,” where you continue to hate yourself years later for spending the money. It’s an adequate babysitter that completely fails to inspire.

While "Saw" and "Saw II" were pretty good splatter films hampered by spectacularly unbelievable endings, Saw III is annoying for almost the duration of the movie.

When You're Strange is a remedial Doors class, taught by a professor who sounds as if he's doing voiceovers for car commercials.

Plodding and unfunny.

The Cave is National Geographic mixed with Roger Corman, and by the end you'll probably be wishing you saw "Red Eye" instead.

First, and perhaps most important, it should be disclosed that my 4-year-old laughed pretty much nonstop throughout Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. This was his "Citizen Kane."

The movie is occasionally clever, but still inferior to last year's "Twilight" film, mostly because the story is so muddled.

Had a lot of promise, but ultimately isn't very funny.

It isn't smart or even very scary.

The Ice Age screenwriters seem to be making up the rules as they go along, distracted by tired side plots to give the other characters a reason to exist in the film.

Besson is a pro when it comes to action movies, but this part live, part animation effort is a mess, highlighted by creepy animation, derivative plot points and a child star who speaks way too fast.

Unfortunately, it’s not much of a movie. The best thing “Happytime” has going for it is shock value, and that wears away after about 10 minutes. It doesn’t have an interesting story, and the jokes fall flat.

If you're no longer old enough to carry a Hannah Montana lunch box, this movie will feel like punishment.

A few amusing moments mixed in with the painful ones.

Dragons may have seemed less out of place three decades ago, but it would have been a bad movie then as well. It's filled with clumsy transitions and erratic performances, and tied together by an awkward framing device.