Will Ashton

An unsavory, underdeveloped and uninspired bore, it takes too many blows and doesn’t give nearly enough counterpunches. It doesn’t cut. It doesn’t bleed. It doesn’t even hit. Hell, it barely puts up a fight. It comes out the gate frail and disoriented, already down for the count before the picture has started.

The real-life heroes who bravely risked their lives deserve something better than the forgettable mediocrity that is 12 Strong, and truth be told, audiences deserve more too.

It’s an unexpectedly winning film, and even when you’re ready to write it off, it offers surprises that keeps you engaged. “Quirky,” “cute,” and “weird” may be overused adjectives, but sometimes those words fit, and sometimes those tropes do work well.

Despite its strong performances, notably from Reid, Pine, and Witherspoon, its wide collection of marvels and it’s joyful sense of self, A Wrinkle in Time crumbles under expectations. But it’s not so much a failure as it’s a flawed do-gooder that could make our world better. It doesn’t dazzle like the stars and it doesn’t transport us away, but it still offers hope.

If nothing else, Once Upon a Deadpool is an experiment that’s interesting in theory, but it doesn’t prove fruitful in terms of execution.

It’s an inspiring story, but Eastwood can’t find the spark to bring it life.

Everything, Everything is appealing in its own way. It’s good-hearted, if poorly conceived, but perhaps most crucially, Everything, Everything leaves you with very little worth remembering.

Peter Rabbit isn’t without its odd delights, and while it won’t serve as the definitive version of Potter’s adoring, timeless creation, Gluck’s film may find a way to burrow into your heart.

For fans of the franchise, The Death Cure is a fairly serviceable finale.

Gudegast does provide a good amount of grimy atmosphere to his L.A. setting, and the action sequences keep you involved even as the running time starts to get gruelling. But, at 140 minutes, Den of Thieves gets too caught up in its own indulgences, and that’s a crime it can’t escape.

Despicable Me 3 is sadly a discouraging, hollow sequel that’s hard to love.

This whole endeavor never becomes as bewitching as it should be. It’s never more than adequate, and while P.T. Barnum will go down as one of the most interesting men in history, this film won’t pull off the same feat.

It’s not an easy movie to love and it’s not an easy movie to hate either. It’s annoyingly, persistently just okay.

It’s an admirably well-crafted misfire, created by two of the finest filmmaking duos working together today. But perhaps that demonstrates just how singular the original remains, even to this day.

It’s straightforward when it should be subversive and only owns up to its silliness when it’s too late.

In the right moments, Brad Peyton can stage a ceremoniously ludicrous set piece with grace and ease. It’s easy to follow the nonsense found in the last act thanks to his assured hand, and you can tell that he is having an absolute ball with its silliness. If only we could share in that enthusiasm for its tedious first two acts.

Never quite fun enough for kids or teens, but also unlikely to appeal to loyal fans, Power Rangers feels like a film that’s not quite finished morphing into its true form.

A Dog’s Purpose is an awkward, graceless, meandering and unnecessarily cruel dog movie, and therefore a fairly meaningless one.

Sure, there are some generally reliable players (T.J. Miller, Jason Bateman, Kate McKinnon), which keeps things from getting deathly dull, but the newest film from directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck (“Blades of Glory”) is mostly uninspired and bland.

Whatever inspired the compulsively addictive (I assume) fast-selling book series isn’t found in yet another dull, tiresome race-against-the-clock European mystery thriller with a historical twist.

One should applaud Diesel and Caruso for breathing unexpected energy into what could’ve been another lame, uninspired continuation. It’s wild, loud and totally out of control, and that’s periodically a pretty good thing.

Cardboard Boxer isn’t meant to be subtle or subversive. That’s fine. It doesn’t need to be. But it does need to feel sincere or at least genuine, and that’s only occasionally the case with Lee’s underwhelming debut.

In his first narrative feature in 10 years, Blitz doesn’t find the comfortable balance between self-conscious weirdness and overpowering emotional resonance seen throughout his other, better works. It’s not an outright disaster, but it’s not the shining success it should’ve been.

Despite its stunning backdrops and inspired new designs, Smurfs: The Lost Village is a smurfing waste of time.

This newest Sandler vehicle is inspired and warm-hearted where his other recent movies are lazy and soulless. Does that make it a winning success? Hell no, but it’s good to see Sandler put his heart into his work again.

Lacking real zest or fun, it’s a middling effort, if one with ample heart and good intentions, that happens to star two actors who can rise to the occasion when necessary. Working together, it’s a shame that they serve both as this frustratingly mediocre comedy’s most reliable pleasure and most consistent disappointment.

It’s sillier and more free-wheeling than you’d initially expect, but it never quite finds a sense of drive to give it purpose.

Predictable and overdone, it’s yet another unremarkable studio comedy that wobbles on its before getting knocked out.