The original cast brings plenty of spark, with Ryder ably carrying the film’s emotional arc and Keaton glorying in getting to be this goofy.

The real problem, sadly, comes down to script and execution, along with a failure to tackle that one big question all reboots really ought to answer: Why this story, and why now? Why did we need a new take on The Crow, after all these years? Just having the rights to the IP isn’t a good enough reason. And yet sometimes, it feels like that’s the only reason a movie like this gets made.

Romulus feel torn between Alvarez’s desire to tell a new story in the Alien universe and 20th Century Studios’ desire for a fan-servicey thrill ride.The frustrating thing about it is that, moment to moment, it very much works.

Trap does have one brilliant touch: At its best, Shyamalan has given us a perfect portrait of the power of straight white male privilege.

There’s a lot to be said for a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and hits that exact mark; it’s not that The Instigators lacks ambition, but like its characters, it doesn’t dream too big. It shows up to do its job — finding the fun.

Deadpool & Wolverine is serviceable in its worst moments and a lot of fun when it's really cooking. Yet if your expectations for Deadpool & Wolverine include a clean explanation of where the Marvel multiverse stands following the Disney/Fox merger (and other related deals), perhaps lower them.

Let the sheer power of cinema shake you to your core — movie stars and summer blockbusters are so back, baby.

During the film’s livelier moments, there are some real laughs that erupt, and watching Tatum and Johansson play off each other is a charming reminder of a simpler time. One when America dreamt of the moon, and stars were still the reason audiences went to the movies.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is another magic trick that shows it takes the right alchemy to make something flourish, even if it takes years of experiments to determine the right combination.

MaXXXine can’t decide whether to be a showbiz parody or a giallo sendup or a cute ’80s throwback, and it stumbles when it tries to be all of the above.

As these things go, two out of three ain’t bad, and it’s nice to see Lanthimos back in the saddle as one of our foremost mainstream explorers of abuse and malaise.

The new characters of Inside Out 2 are a success, and the voice actors definitely help bring them to life...The only problem is that the new characters in Inside Out 2 begin to outshine the old.

The real horrors presented by the film are all internal, about what can happen to a person if they repress too much of themselves over time. There are ghosts, but they’re the ghosts of potential happiness and fulfillment. And those ghosts haunt us like none other.

The strengths of Furiosa do not eclipse Fury Road, to be clear, nor does the latter film shine as far superior. Instead, they really are two pieces of the same puzzle, different in their scope but connected not just by characters, but by ethos and aesthetic. It’s the ultimate double-feature, and afterwards, you’re gonna want to drive fast.

It feels like a true labor of love, someone having a good time with funny people making something truly absurd.

A perfect summer movie, and a celebration of the hard work it takes to make a perfect summer movie happen.

Garland boldly asks us to take a step back, to forget about notions of who is right and who is wrong and simply focus on the horrors of what might happen if this happened at all. If you surrender to its abstractions, it proves a disquieting, terrifying watch.

Right to the final exhilarating moments, Challengers plays a bold game — sports action so visceral you can feel the sweat dripping off the screen, along with the emotional rallying that occurs off the court.

While the stakes are never less than serious and the tone never wavers, there’s still a playfulness to many of Monkey Man’s fight scenes that makes them thrilling to watch — and to generate excitement for whatever Patel might choose to do next.

There was a point, midway through the film’s major third-act climax, CGI beast raging against CGI beast, when a thought came to this humble critic: “This shouldn’t be boring.” And yet this is what happens, when there’s no emotional weight to the stakes, and the characters themselves feel as hollow as the earth they live on.

Like in fighting, there are some movies of a certain caliber, which excel because they know exactly what kind of movie they’re meant to be. Road House is definitely a fun watch — because it doesn’t punch above its weight class.

Though the ensemble is too large, Frozen Empire does successfully find a decent balance between the multiple generations featured here, letting the younger cast drive most of the action without leaving the older characters on the sidelines

Beneath the layers of magical realism and dot-com satire, American Society feels personal and raw, capturing the real depth and range of emotions that a person of color is made to feel, living in a country where racism remains ever-present, especially now.

Underdeveloped characters and a mishandling of their queerness make the film feel both exploitative and disappointingly flat – and while all the whimsy, color, and dance-punk needle drops are welcome, they’re only brief distractions from Drive-Away Dolls’ speedbumps.

The story may never break free of its more dated tropes, but the Dune movies represent a remarkable collection of talent coming together to, if nothing else, remind us of the power of epic storytelling on a big screen.

It’s the sort of odd curio made possible by the streaming age, and even if you’re not a huge fan of Lopez’s work, it’s fascinating to see just how much and how little she’s ready to say about herself; an experience more presentationally honest than truly honest about her life and her choices.

It’s a movie that deserves our attention, if only for the elegiac peace of its narrative, and its reminder to appreciate the small things in life. Because they sometimes matter most.

There’s still plenty of originality in the mix, if only because of the boundaries pushed: Easily the most exciting moment of watching Lisa Frankenstein is discovering just how far Cody and Williams are prepared to take this story (which is to say, to places you just might not expect). That daring attitude is the spark which brings the monster to life — and it’s a monster you can learn to love.