If nothing else, Unfriended does an excellent job portraying the frenzy that is on-line teen interaction. This is the new equivalent of "hanging out."

Although This is 40 is too long and at times over-the-top, its essence is grounded in everyday moments and emotions that will have viewers nodding with understanding and recognition.

The dialogue is routine, frequently punctuated by cliches, and the character-building scenes do little more than waste time.

Devotees of either the classic animated Disney cartoon or the remake featuring real, live actors may find a few reasons to delight in Cruella. If one puts aside the film’s antecedents, however, what’s left is an unremarkable (although certainly not awful) family film (with a PG-13 rating) that lacks a compelling reason to exist.

An excellent movie… if you're a seven-year old girl. That's less a negative evaluation than it is a statement of fact. This isn't a "family film;" it's a "children's film."

A crowd-pleaser.

Like most rom-coms, it is comfort food although it lacks the fantasy element associated with characters who are less seasoned.

Why bother with wit, intelligence, and emotion when children will be equally entertained by pretty images, colorful action, and the obligatory poop joke?

It doesn’t feel fresh, but neither is it stale. Despite the very modern setting, the throwback elements are by far the most welcome aspects being offered, proving that sometimes, sticking to the basics is the smartest move a director can make.

It's not a stretch to say the movie works in large part because of the charm and sparkle of the three leads: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Roach and screenwriter Tony McNamara sought a different perspective for the material. The result is more dramatic, less over-the-top, and proves to be tonally uneven. The humor is muted and less overtly vicious, but the more serious approach doesn’t quite succeed.

Scrooge is basically a harmless, fitfully enjoyable version of the timeless classic, and worth a look for those who have had their fill of the more serious adaptations.

The film has the twin virtues of being bold and dizzying...The greatest disappointment with Night Watch is that, at a critical juncture, it fizzles.

There are far worse horror sequels clogging up the streaming services, and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come at least occasionally delivers on the promised gore and dark humor. Still, for those who just want to see Samara Weaving go scorched-earth on some devil-worshippers one more time, there are enough viscera and sharp objects to provide a passing entertainment.

As it is, this is a painless experience but lacks the qualities to make it a true pleasure.

It's the kind of thing that Shakespeare might have written if he had undergone a frontal lobotomy.

A tremendous improvement over the tepid 1995 original, this quasi-sequel brings humor, fun performances, and a canny understanding of late 1990s-style video games to a party that never takes itself seriously.

Wildling starts out strongly but the qualities that make the first 20 minutes engrossing and harrowing drain away and the movie morphs into a thoroughly unsatisfying excursion into fantasy-tinged horror.

The story is overly familiar and the characters are all types, but Cohen's cinematic techniques make The Fast and the Furious watchable.

There are moments of pure poetry in the movie but the production as a whole seems overlong and repetitive and takes a detour or two that distract from the aching beauty of the central story.

The movie works when focused on character interaction and buddy-movie tropes, but the action elements are perfunctory at best and boring at worst. Bill Dubuque’s script is never able to balance out the ledger.

Hitch is 2005's lone legitimate contender for a Valentine's Day movie date.

The movie, which is concerned primarily with the several weeks surrounding Eichmann’s capture, mixes factual elements with a few “Hollywood touches” to provide a compelling thriller.

To be fair, there are occasional moments that succeed dramatically. These are typically the quieter, less histrionic ones.

August: Osage County is all about the acting. That makes sense because the storyline doesn't offer much that could be considered new or remarkable.

At times, the film tends toward meandering and self-indulgence.

The film is unquestionably more accessible than Horse Girl, but for all of its parodic elements and unpredictability, it nevertheless feels unpolished and unfinished.

What a horror film SHOULD be - dark, tense, and punctuated by just enough gore to keep the viewer's flinch reflex intact.

Are you weary of the high-octane, CGI-heavy action offered by the Fast and Furious series? If so, then it would be hard to find any reason to recommend the film.

It delivers pretty much what's expected.

A feel-good movie that offers enough comedy and romance to warm the heart without risking a sentimental overdose.

Jarhead is about how the experience of being in the military fundamentally changes an individual. In this case, the focus isn't about the madness of slaughter in the jungle, but the madness of inaction in the desert.

Sometimes, even a little gratuitous nudity can't save a movie. This is one of those occasions. Cosmopolis easily trumps "To Rome with Love" as the biggest disappointment of 2012 from an established director.

When the characters in Footloose are dancing and the music is blaring, the film comes alive. It has energy and personality. Would that the same could be said about the dramatic scenes, which are hamstrung by a combination of mediocre acting and atrocious dialogue.

Despite regurgitating elements from the founding trilogy, Jason Bourne represents the best the series has yet offered.

First-time feature writer/director Zu Quirke does a good job setting things up and sticking the landing, but her approach to the horror elements is generic at best.

Though Kansas City has its share of arresting moments, the production as a whole is too superficial to be considered amongst the director's best work.

Dramatically, Disclosure isn't especially potent, but it isn't drama that Crichton and Levinson are striving for. On its own terms -- the fear of lost security that many thrillers prey upon -- Disclosure works, and that's all that anyone can reasionably ask from this kind of motion picture.

Frears isn’t just telling a pleasant story about an unusual friendship; he’s asking us to take a look at whether we have advanced as far in 120 years as we believe we have. The question lingers after the movie is over.

The result, although uneven, is generally enjoyable, especially for those who attend with the right mindset. Character and narrative are secondary concerns for a movie primarily driven to provide a Valentine to '60s rock-and-roll.

The Reader is closer to a near miss than a rousing success but, on balance, this is still worth seeing for those who enjoy complexity and moral ambiguity within the context of a melodrama.

The Swan hits many of the right notes but as an attempt to be something more, it paradoxically becomes less.

It's the depiction of the love and sacrifice of a father for a son that makes Life is Beautiful worthwhile.

Very little of what made the written version so enjoyable has been successfully translated to the screen, and what we're left with instead is an overly-long (two hours and thirty-four minutes, to be exact), pedantic thriller.

Stoker is deliciously demented, and that's a good thing. This twisted coming-of-age tale takes us into "Carrie" territory without the supernatural element.

This is a character we have seen a million times before and Eastwood brings little that's new or original to the part. The movie as a whole can be labeled with the same criticism.

These are two fascinating characters, and watching them thrust and parry proves to be as impossible to turn away from as observing a grotesque roadside accident.

The battle scenes are well choreographed and contain enough uncertainty to make them genuinely exciting, but one would expect no less from a man who has overseen Civil War engagements (Glory) and Japanese strife (The Last Samurai).

Nerve does a better job with its style and pacing than it does with its characters but, ultimately, Vee is likable enough for us to stay on the ride with her. For a late-summer throwaway, the film is surprisingly entertaining.

It’s quirky, a little unpredictable, and never feels like warmed-over leftovers. There’s a bite to things – an edginess that doesn’t cut too deeply but keeps the sentimentality in check. One of the year’s most pleasant surprises.

Although nowhere near as lush, artistic, and downright entertaining as the Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway interpretation, The Highwaymen hews closer to the historical facts (with the climactic ambush being filmed on-location where it happened).

Most of the movie involves Rogen interacting with Rogen and this is problematic on a number of levels. First, neither version of Rogen has a good feel for the shifting tone of the movie. Secondly, without another human to play off, Rogen is frequently stiff. Or, to put it another way, he has zero chemistry with himself.

The follow-up proves not only to be creatively bankrupt but a disappointment on all levels and thereby tarnishes the perception of its predecessor.

What Brown Sugar lacks in originality, it makes up for in charm.

The Rocketeer may not be perfect, but it's an excellent example of how to adapt a comic book to the screen.

By compressing everything into an overheated 24-hour period, Duck Butter is able to explore the highs and lows in extreme circumstances, where the importance of every moment and action is heightened.

It’s an emotionally satisfying experience that brings to life a group of appealing characters and allows them to grow and expand in front of the lens.

Although Shrek Forever After is not as funny or as impudent is its great-grandparent, some of its comedic jabs land solid blows to the funny bone.

The story is simple, as befits a movie that's more about visual flash, technical bravura, and ideas than plot and character development. TRON turns into an action-oriented endeavor, with characters attempting to make their way through the video game inspired landscape of the mainframe to the goal that will achieve victory.

Beloved is for those who want substance from a movie, and don't mind facing uncomfortable truths in the process.

The film contains enough quiet, reflective moments for us to become aware how preposterous the central conceit is, and that keeps us at arm's length.

One of the cleverest moments in Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator comes during the first five seconds: a memorial dedication to Kim Jong Il. It's all downhill from there.

The film's biggest problem is its director. Marc Forster is an experienced art house filmmaker with impressive credits (most recently, "The Kite Runner)", but he is clueless when it comes to action sequences.

I usually give writer/director Tony Gilroy the benefit of the doubt because he has scripted some of my favorite films but Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a few steps too far in the wrong direction.

After teasing the viewer with the possibility that this movie might be interested in doing more than offering jump-scares, claustrophobic point-of-view shots, and child-in-peril scenes, Come Play proceeds to provide those all-too-familiar sequences and more. Worse, because the lead character is autistic, it doubles down on the issues that can arise from communication difficulties.

Rise of the Guardians is enjoyable as a stand-alone adventure - not groundbreaking animation but a solidly entertaining 90 minutes for older children and adults.

The hiccups resulting from the back-and-forth switches between two disconnected stories are no more than a minor irritant when one considers the wider scope. In making this film, Clooney has accomplished something rare and unusual in today’s cinema – an epic science fiction motion picture that focuses on characters and ideas.

To an extent, Snakes on a Plane reminds me of "Eight Legged Freaks." It has the same kind of off-the-wall, don't-take-it-seriously comedic horror sensibility.

Gives life and meaning to an event that is little more than a footnote in history books (if that).

K-19 will not go down in the annals of cinema as one of the great submarine stories, but it is an engaging and exciting narrative of Man confronting the Demons of his own fear and paranoia.

Sure, there's a plot, but it's a secondary element to the lines the actors deliver. Only Oscar Wilde has the same bite. Fortunately, Elliott understands this, which makes Easy Virtue go down smoothly.

It’s a strange little movie - by turns fascinating and frustrating. Its strong thematic thrust is counterbalanced by an uneven and at times farcical narrative and the characters are more avatars than well-realized individuals.

The problem with Waititi’s approach, not unlike those faced by Roberto Benigni 22 years ago when he made the divisive "Life Is Beautiful," is perfecting the tonal shifts. His difficulties in this area can create a whiplash effect that results in the overall production feeling a little “off.”

While Ernie's on-field accomplishments were extraordinary, it was the environment in which he struggled to achieve them that makes him the worthy subject of a motion picture.

The movie is still incredibly silly but in a more boisterous way, like a comic book come to life.

All the explosions and fights are filmed with consummate skill, and are thrilling in their own right. But that's where it stops. The pacing is erratic and the level of tension ebbs and flows.

Unfortunately, the film stumbles, offering too few legitimate scares and displaying an overreliance on traditional horror movie clichés.

When the story moves into the 2000s, Christy finds its true identity—not as a tale of athletic triumph but as a portrait of endurance and survival. It’s messy, painful, and deeply human, which makes it far more compelling than the average true-life sports drama.

The performances of Buckley and Colman rescue much of what’s salvageable in the narrative and there’s some interest in how the truth will be revealed but the movie isn’t as funny as it needs to be for the satirical elements to work.

Not a complete waste of time, but it doesn't make us FEEL the way better dramas do, and, in the end, it lacks the qualities that would make it memorable or powerful.

Pretty mediocre entertainment, and probably better suited for home viewing than a trip to the multiplex.

Those who don't understand what it means for an actor to "sleepwalk" through a performance need only watch Men in Black III; there's no shortage of examples.

Big Fish is a clever, smart fantasy that targets the child inside every adult, without insulting the intelligence of either.

For a director whose reputation is built on aggressively in-your-face subjects and styles, Snowden stands as a strangely inert outlier, a project that lacks passion although not perspective.

The strength of the cast assembled by Australian-born director John Hillcoat is eye-opening.

Brothers is arguably the most successful remake of a foreign film since Martin Scorsese reworked "Infernal Affairs" into "The Departed" and won the Oscar.

By turns frustrating and tedious, this can sink even the most intriguing story.

Playing the love interest, Kelvin Harrison Jr. does as much as he can with an underwritten character. Ice Cube, as is increasingly the case for the veteran musician-turned-actor, steals every scene in which he appears.

This is the kind of tearjerker that will cause audience members to cry, but only because they paid hard-earned money to see it.

For the most part, its characterizations are so weak and ambivalent that the audience finds it difficult to develop much sympathy for anyone, regardless of whether they're white or Native American.

Howard stages several powerful sequences, including a harrowing childbirth scene, but the film falters in its final act, losing focus and stumbling toward an anticlimactic conclusion.

This may sound like Woody Allen - in fact, it often feels like Woody Allen (minus the expected helpings of angst) - but it's not. Prime is from writer/director Ben Younger and, while it's not up to the level of Allen's great romantic comedies ("Annie Hall," "Manhattan"), it's better than anything the acclaimed New York auteur has brought to the screen in recent years.

Although not as expertly-crafted as "Die Hard" or "Speed," The Rock is exhausting in its own right -- and that's just one of several convincing reasons to see this film.

The Next Level feels a little too much like a money grab and, although moderately entertaining on a popcorn level, there’s a sense of missed opportunity.

Rather than taking any sort of bold step forward, Moana 2 is more of the same. Although that can be seen as a positive, it feels a little disappointing that this is the best Disney was able to craft after an eight-year wait.

Remove the musical elements and the 2024 version, directed by newcomers Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., resembles an amateurish imitation of the 2004 original. Add in the mostly-awful songs and it becomes an in-your-face assault on the senses.

At a time when juvenile movies often dominate theaters, this is an adult movie through-and-through, and evidence that there are filmmakers who care about entertaining a more mature audience.

Not since Dr. No has 007 been so cool and ruthless, and never has a plot been this close to realistic plausibility.