Boasting an astounding cast — Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Leslie Bibb, and Clifton Collins Jr. — it’s even more disheartening that Running with the Devil is a garbled crime expedition that never follows through on its various subplots.

While director Alison Reid tries to be a bit more engaging than a simple talking-head documentary, with varying success, the movie has earnestness and heart. So, even with its issues, it is still a solid good time.

For a while, the film’s elegant art-horror vibe is quite compelling, leaving the ancient secret societies and demonic entities that it hints at tantalizingly off-screen and just out of Rose’s grasp. Unfortunately, though, the film begins to stumble late in its second act, its well set-up mystery devolving into a contrived sort of video-game logic.

Gracefully directed by Fried Green Tomatoes and Justified director Jon Avnet, Three Christs is a great dark comedy about a dark subject. I can’t say enough how great the performances are. It’s a relevant character study on those who suffer from mental illness and the ones who treat it and why they do.

When you get old and crotchety, you say things like, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” For the most part, “they” don’t. Then you see VFW and realize it’s not a nostalgia thing. It’s genuinely not done this way anymore. Thank you Joe Begos for reminding us how it should be.

Nothing here is left to the imagination, Pesce running down the list of clichés and ensuring he includes every single one. Once the realization that this is yet another cheap-o retread settles in (about 10 minutes in), the rest becomes agonizingly painful to sit through.

Hell On The Border tells a unique western-style story.

The directorial choices, from the minimal use of music for dramatic embellishment to the innovative split-screen technique used to blur the identities of individuals in courthouse footage, are spot-on throughout.

Stevenson’s story is engaging as the David versus the Goliath of the state’s district attorney. There are a lot of great actors on display and put together it feels like an A-List repertory company featuring Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, and Jamie Fox, to name a few. Then add some outstanding supporting veteran and up-and-coming actors, Just Mercy becomes a solid drama and film.

The movie, like the play, is a series of delightful songs strung together by a thin, loose thread of a plot, which lends a little credence to all the criticism and mockery online. But once you know this and have been warned by the trailer, what you’re in for is a remarkably fun time at the movies.

This is war as a First Person Shooter, and it’s incredibly effective at putting the viewer in the moment.

Scenes involving Anne Hathaway in particular land with a painful thud. In an attempt to flesh out the “adoring, supporting wife” role, Haynes shoots himself in the foot, bringing much attention to an underdeveloped character, who, despite all the pseudo-feminist speeches, amounts to, yes, the “adoring, supporting wife.”

I’ll take a bold if misshapen curiosity such as this over safe Hollywood fare any day.

Call this “Film meh” instead of Film Noir. The only way it could be more pretentious is if it was in black and white. These characters are so unlikeable, you may find yourself hoping Margaret and Henry both get the shit kicked out of them for their arrogance and stupidity.

Corbjin avoids delving into Gahan’s dark history (enough docs have done that). Instead, he has created an affecting, at times exhilarating tribute to the band, and to exorcising one’s demons through art… be it by making it or discovering it.

Jumanji: The Next Level is a fast-paced thrill ride, and fans of the original will not be dissatisfied. The writing is just as smart as the first, and the main cast revives its original magic.

It’s impressive that Bombshell is able to discuss all the issues at hand all at once.

Whatever bias you may have about Sandler’s comedies fade away here. Sandler gives a genuine and physically brutal performance of a man who’s trying to stay one step ahead of total collapse.

In a brave move, bound to startle viewers used to conventional structures, Shults shifts gears, subtly layering shades of complexity without ever weighing the film down.

Aside from Hank’s brilliant performance as Fred Rogers, I also liked the style of storytelling. The movie from start to finish feels like an actual Mr. Rogers episode with its simple three-man jazz piano score and its slow, deliberate pace. The overall story is good, sweet, but predictable.

Despite its supposedly uplifting concept, the film ends up being somewhat of a melancholic downer, hammering home the point that the whole notion of the American Dream is ludicrous.

Anya is a less than perfect film, but attempts to answer a few intriguing questions, making it worth watching.

If being dull is the cardinal sin of the movies, as Capra supposedly said, then Sorrentino is a saint. There’s not a dull moment in Loro, whether it’s the hypersexual, reality-bending party scenes or the quiet backroom conversations where the truth comes at the characters so unexpectedly, they don’t have time to prepare their usual defenses. All of it is visceral pleasure at an eye-bleeding volume.

Sequestrada is a beautiful film showing off the elegance of the Amazon river and the simplicity of the indigenous villages. The drama is shot with handheld cameras giving off a fly-on-the-wall documentary style of filmmaking. The acting isn’t that great but oddly feels authentic.

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open is a genuine social realist film and the fact that it is shot in real-time only heightens the sense of reality. Everything is authentic.

Light From Light does not totally stick the landing, as it stays small when it should have finally gone big. But the characters are well thought out and relatable, the cinematography is excellent, and the conversations between Shelia and Richard have resonance. This is all brought to life by an amazing cast, who absolutely deserve awards for their heartrendingly honest and raw performances.

What you get out of Frozen II over the original is Anna and Elsa’s stronger relationship. They are together throughout most of the film, and their sisterhood is strong, fun to watch, and remains the heart of the film. Frozen II is a worthy sequel, and you’ll be glad Disney got greedy and made it.

It has to be said that the best thing about The Report is Adam Driver and Annette Benning.