Rachel LaBonte

There are flashes of cleverness here, but they are concealed by the arms-length approach.

When You Finish Saving the World is filled with interesting ideas and scenes, yet is hindered by character development that feels incomplete.

It may not be breaking ground in any major way, but Family Switch knows how to play within the absurd rules of a body swap situation, and it does so in an entertaining way.

It's an entertaining movie that also serves as a great showcase for Gadot's action chops, but it might not linger long in the memories of viewers.

Those looking for a heartfelt tale of family and love might find this one misses the mark, but other viewers willing to go along for the ride could find themselves grinning by the credits. The People We Hate at the Wedding will likely be somewhat divisive, and that makes it a rather intriguing movie in the end.

Disney's Snow White is hardly a misfire, with Rachel Zegler shining as the titular princess, but it can't avoid familiar live-action remake problems.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken's story could've used a more well-rounded approach, but the strength of its cast and character dynamics make for a solidly entertaining watch.

Though suffering from repetitive plot beats and thin characters, Black Adam is powered by Johnson's performance and its promise of an exciting future.

Reptile gets an extra edge thanks to its rock-solid cast and sufficiently gripping mystery, but it never coalesces into anything incredible.

Rather than being a well-rounded look at Martin's life, Christy offers a shallow, unbalanced perspective. It's light on its feet in some parts and heavy-handed in others, and though Sweeney gives a strong performance, I can't help but feel like she deserved a better showcase for her talents.

Where the Crawdads Sing stumbles a bit in its transition from page to screen, though it is aided by a great lead performance.

Witherspoon and Ferrell play off each other fairly well, but I'm not convinced they have the chemistry necessary to pull off some later developments that I won't spoil here (but honestly, it's easy to guess what it is fairly early on). Throw in some big cameos that really don't go anywhere — the trailer already revealed Peyton Manning, who does nothing — and you get a fit-to-bursting comedy that's only intermittently successful.

All the Old Knives lacks innovation, but it still serves up an entertaining ride thanks to Pine and Newton's twisty dynamic.

The Critic was far less fun than I had hoped it would be.

Ultimately, Railway Children struggles a bit in balancing its tone and grand ambitions. However, for those looking for a sweet story about the power of friendship and childlike willfulness, this movie just might win them over.

At Midnight has a certain Old Hollywood flair that gives it a unique edge, but its surface-level approach makes the romance more frothy than impactful.

All told, Rescued by Ruby is perhaps not the most revolutionary dog movie audiences are likely to find, but it will certainly do the trick if one is looking for something sweet and inspiring. With little real drama and plenty of adorable puppy shots, Shea's film goes down easy.

The Secrets of Dumbledore holds positives and negatives alike, and that makes for an entertaining, but slightly unsatisfying viewing experience. There is magic to be found, though, and perhaps that is all that matters.

With Rebel Moon, Snyder is positively bursting with exciting ideas, but they lack compelling characters and a solid plot to hold them up.

The Good Neighbor struggles with convenient plot points and inconsistent characterization, yet is still a thrilling ride thanks to its menacing lead.

The issues from the first installment are still there — and, in some ways, they only get worse.

Unfortunately, Dating & New York can't find anything new to say about the world of casual dating, so its love story never fully gets off the ground.

Though leading lady Lili Reinhart does her best, Look Both Ways struggles to make a lasting impact with either of its dueling timelines.

At times, it feels as though The Garfield Movie is going through the motions, and it fails to offer anything particularly noteworthy about its main character.

Its leading ladies are in fine form, as always, and they're backed by some lively performers. It's the story that struggles to come through, along with a reluctance to just let loose in every way possible.

Overall, The Hill is lacking many of the hallmarks one would expect from a sports movie, pushing aside major events in favor of returning to its religious messaging. This leads to some baffling choices in its character development and storytelling, and those in turn erase much of the tension and emotion from the movie.

Ultimately, it is a gorgeous film that's empty inside despite all of its interesting ideas and good intentions.

At times fun and well-made, Amsterdam's meandering plot and thinly-drawn characters bog down what could've been a zippy story of crime and friendship.

Together finds moments of real emotion between its main prickly pair, but it still makes one wish there weren't movies about COVID already.

Christmas with the Campbells tries to take some big swings toward shaking up the conventional holiday movie mold, but it ultimately ends up being more of the same, just with some sticky moments. The earnestness of its cast, especially Snow, makes up for some of the other elements that are lacking.

There are some things that Into the Deep does well, but it is ultimately too slight to really commit to any of its interesting ideas. By the time the violence between the three characters ends, one just wishes their conflict had included a bit more flair.

Though Meester puts on a solid performance atop an intriguing plot, The Weekend Away doesn't supply enough thrills to make it an entertaining watch.

Sing 2 doesn’t offer enough originality to truly make it stand out, though those who got a kick out of the first movie will find plenty to love.

There are bound to be viewers less familiar with the source material who are enchanted by Persuasion. However, the modern touches are just too persistent to ignore, and they take away something that the movie urgently needed — genuine depth.

When it comes to horror, sometimes originality isn't necessary; what's key are the scares, and how everything unfolds. Unfortunately, Tarot falls flat in the former category, and the latter isn't particularly engaging.

It could've made for a sharp comedy, but there's an ickiness that overwhelms the whole movie.