A Man Called Otto is a benign comedy-drama that peppers a heart-wrenching story with plenty of eye-rolling jokes to distract you from its perfectly pedestrian plot.

More unsettling than outright terrifying, The Woman in the Yard is smaller-scale horror that works as a return to fundamentals for a talented filmmaker, and is further proof of Danielle Deadwyler’s immense skill as a lead performer who knows how to pull off the psychological ramp-up required for a movie like this.

Coming off the triumph of its extension into TV with Cobra Kai, The Karate Kid franchise returns to theaters with Legends, a movie which is far less impactful than that show, yet still reminds us why the underlying story and themes of this series can still connect.

If you think ballerinas using their dance skills to fight and kill bad guys sounds fun, Pretty Lethal does deliver on its premise. However, it takes too long to get going, and is ultimately a somewhat amusing trifle instead of the more fun spectacle it could have been.

Jim Brown: All American is visually impressive, but about halfway through the documentary it gets so defensive and excusive that it stalls. It's as if Lee is forming a defense case rather than exhibiting the man's life.

It's for kids and it's cute. It's also an absolute eyesore, crassly overstuffed with retina-scorching color combinations and explosions of glitter. Frankly, it's disappointing that an animated movie with so much talent attached didn’t strive to be more than just "cute for kids." But hey, at least you can dance to it.

Despite game performances by a slew of returning cast members, it doesn’t justify its existence as anything other than a mercenary attempt by Paramount+ to cash in on audience nostalgia for familiar faces.

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, directed and co-written by Chris Columbus, once again takes full advantage of Kurt Russell's exuberance as Santa -- and the full addition of Goldie Hawn's Mrs. Claus -- for a rewarding romp about young Kate Pierce's need to rediscover the holiday spirit.

The movie doesn’t end up going anywhere and serves as little more than an excuse to get the movie’s stars into dapper suits and flat caps.

The "live action" footage simply looks "blah" when interacting with the animated characters. It breaks apart the look of the movie, and really hurts it.

It’s intellectually intriguing and well-acted, but the inconsistent visual effects undermine the necessary suspension of disbelief when it comes to mixing live-action humans with talking CG animals in such a serious and somber adaptation of the Kipling classic. Still, it’s a thoughtful and dramatic interpretation, which sets it apart from most incarnations of The Jungle Book.

Though visually engaging, Malignant can’t overcome the genre identity crisis at its core.

Peninsula feels fairly derivative when compared to the tighter and more terrifying Train to Busan, but on its own, as an expansion of this universe, it's a rollicking ride through a hollowed-out hellscape. It's almost a complete genre shift, but not an unrewarding one.

While the destination is too easy to determine, this ride-along is solidly thrilling.

Chinatown had sex, greed and water, Body Heat had sex, greed and high humidity, while Mulholland Falls has alluded-to sex, hats and cigarettes bundled with radiation sickness and anachronistic pop psychology references. (Palminteri spouts endless Sensitive Guy pabulum that's supposed to be ironic. It's not.) It's a mess and a shame, considering all the talent involved.

Clerks III delivers all the inappropriate cuss-cluttered humor and pot smoke that is Kevin Smith's trademark but evolves his sentimentality beyond bong-rip wisdom. The third Clerks installment is a moving ode to working-class nobodies that amplifies Smith's touchstone sincerity above Randal's not-so-passive aggression or Jay's lit-for-days attitude.

The movie’s only real sin is some dull lyrics for rough songs. Amy Adams’ return as Giselle is a charming one, and families will have plenty of fun sitting down to watch this sequel together.

Studio 666 features fun performances by the Foo Fighters, but its “kitchen sink” approach leaves it open to unfavorable comparisons to the movies to which it pays homage.

Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man is impeccably made, with a unique take on werewolf lore. But the emphasis is on craft over storytelling.

Paw Patrol: The Movie is a precious and peppy offering for the pre-preteen set that utilizes gentle character drama and buzzy action to stand out as a big-screen adventure. It won't be any parent's first choice, from an animation standpoint, but the standards of storytelling hold firm, making for an overall calm and comforting watch.

It’s a shame that The Maze Runner movies are going out on their flattest note, but The Death Cure isn't completely off-key. Wes Ball has directed every entry in the franchise and he’s evolved into a very skilled action filmmaker. Complex set-pieces with an incredible number of moving parts are depicted clearly, excitingly, and with visual panache.

Emilia Clarke charms in this clichéd, kooky Christmas rom-com.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t serves as a reminder of how they manage to coast by just enough, providing a good time thanks to the notable talent and charm of their expanding cast and the inclusion of the magic trick element to provide a unique flair. It’s the epitome of “We’re just having fun here” entertainment, and while little of it resonates, it mostly gets the job done.

The Marvels is a triumph. Its depth can be seen not just through its characters, but through its story as it explores war's complicated fallout; the difficulty of being a human when you are perceived as a monolith; and the hilarious and complicated virtues of family. Both funny and heartfelt, Nia DaCosta’s MCU debut will have you asking when she and her leading ladies are coming back immediately after the credits roll. It’s a pity that the villain isn’t given much to do, though.

They Will Kill You is a modern action gem with a knockout leading performance by Zazie Beetz, who more than cements her status as a star of the genre we ought to see more of.

There’s a disappointing amount of “same old thing” to Jurassic World Rebirth. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and the rest of the cast are intriguing and sympathetic throughout, but Gareth Edwards doesn’t quite recapture his signature flair for grand-scale visuals nor does David Koepp find the magic of his original Jurassic Park screenplay, opting to follow that movie’s structure as more of a remix than a rebirth.

Director Zobel and writers Lindelof and Cuse, peering through the lens of social media hijinks and polarized politics, paint a ridiculous picture of how we’re all eating ourselves alive. That they do so in such a fun and absurdly bloody way makes The Hunt worth a retweet at the very least.

The Equalizer 2's conventional storytelling is certainly weak, and the violence is particularly brutal, but Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua have created a unique Punisher-with-heart vigilante character that is a pleasant thrill to watch and a modest delight to revisit.