It isn't as delirious a journey as we experienced a decade ago, but it's still filled with wonder, monsters, and thrills.

Four words say all that needs to be said about Shrek the Third: more of the same.

One would be hard-pressed to consider The Perfect Storm “triumphant” or “uplifting” but both terms could be used to describe The Finest Hours.

The Hummingbird Project is too slow and confused to work as a thriller, a drama, or something in between.

The high production values, excellent acting, and strong writing make this a cut above what is often accorded this sort of release pattern. For those intrigued by the material, it’s worth seeking out.

City of Ember has almost anything one could want from a science fiction-based family adventure film: likeable characters, an imaginative setting, and a fast pace.

The humor is often muted and at times almost apologetic and a subplot involving long-ago events fails in its goal of boosting the three-dimensionality of a character.

The film has two highlights -- a profanity-laced monologue by Peter Falk about boxing and the one-on-one confrontation between Monroe and Chambers in the ring.

A low-key holiday drama that's refreshing not only because it lacks the big discovery melodrama of most similar movies but because it's entirely believable.

Enjoyable, and will likely appeal to anyone who appreciated the 2001 film.

Blue Bayou channels plenty of anger and passion and the narrative lynchpin is sufficiently compelling (despite a tendency toward melodramatic manipulation) but Chon’s capabilities as a writer don’t match those as a director and an actor.

Cuteness is the watchword here. The dark, eerie atmosphere that oozed from every frame of "The Empire Strikes Back" is gone. Instead, for Return of the Jedi, we have good triumphing decisively over evil, a too-pat resolution to a love triangle, and walking teddy bears.

Taken as a whole, Freakonomics feels almost like an extended episode of 60 Minutes with a lot of childish animation and some awkward connecting sequences.

Away We Go is not as dramatically wrenching as "Revolutionary Road," but it's unquestionably more enjoyable.

A quirky romantic comedy that suffers from a rare cinematic malady: it's too short.

Glory Road's strength is the way in which it blends social awareness into the sports genre.

Gemma Bovery, which is based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, possesses a deliciously sense of wit and irony.

Heartfelt but safe. The missing element is the edgy irrelevance that elevated Crowe's best directorial efforts - "Say Anything," "Jerry Maguire," and "Almost Famous" - above their generic counterparts.

The movie teaches lessons without preaching, and focuses on the magic of relationships rather than that of special effects. This leads to a production as affecting for adults as for children.

While the sluggish beginning and ending mar this Star Trek outing somewhat, there's still enough here to please fans of the series, and, to a lesser extent, movie-goers in general.

This movie is sloppy and disjointed - an unsatisfying melodrama built upon a shaky foundation of contrivances, coincidences, and plot holes.

The craftsmanship is impeccable as is the acting, but the storytelling is where the movie falls down.

Although there’s nothing in The Dial of Destiny that damages the character’s legacy, this is as unnecessary as any franchise entry in recent years. Indy’s time has passed. It’s time to let him go gently into that good night.

Suffice it to say that those who love the play will sit enraptured through Wicked for Good and not think it’s a minute too long. Those without the same depth of connection may leave wishing Chu had hired a less generous editor and made better use of his pruning shears.

It's surprising to admit that the British comedian, known far and wide for his willingness to take risks, plays it safe in The Invention of Lying - a fault from which the movie never truly recovers.

Although the film provides material for adult viewers to chew on, it is not as deep or thoughtful as some of the Pixar classics.

Could it be argued that the movie is “so bad that it’s good”? I suppose, especially if you’re a connoisseur of cinematic guano. For me, Death Race is merely bad. I wouldn’t worry about finding a way to append the word “good” to anything associated with this film.

Unfortunately, following a key narrative inflection point, the suspense starts to leak out like the air from a slightly punctured balloon as the screenplay stumbles through minefield of hostage movie clichés on its way to a predictable and moderately unsatisfying conclusion.

The film's look is impressive; it's the most successful rotoscoping effort to date (far surpassing Richard Linklater's duo of "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly"), and causes every frame to drip atmosphere.

The film, although deeply flawed, is at times compelling, even if it seems as if a reel is missing.

One could argue that Crank works best as a comedy. It's occasionally funny, and some times VERY funny.

As heist films go, Radford has crafted an engaging, if not especially memorable one, with Flawless.

On balance, however, there are more things to like about Daybreakers than to dislike. The production is loaded with impressive touches, some more nuanced than others.

Overall, I found the film to be somewhat disappointing – another instance of a streaming service pouring big screen dollars into a project of only middling quality.

The Cured suffers from a common marketing problem that afflicts many horror-cross-something hybrids: it’s at times too slow and existential for pure blood and gore lovers and too grotesque for those with a penchant for offbeat, idea-based allegories.

This is what serious horror is like and it’s not for everyone.

Indy's companions are weak; we don't identify with them the way we did with Marion and Sallah. There's less action and more overt comedy, and neither change works to the benefit of the story.

The special effects budget is on the high side but those effects serve the story rather than the other way around, and Paul is all the better for it.

Takes things too far by leaving about 75% of its questions unanswered. This isn't an artistic choice; it's screenwriting sloppiness, and it results in a profoundly dissatisfying experience.

The Laundromat uses a format not unlike that of "The Big Short" (without Margot Robbie in a bubble bath) to shine the light on the kinds of activities uncovered by The Panama Papers.

The problem isn’t the non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman around which the narrative has been constructed, but a series of “added” scenes and subplots that seem lifted from a bad B movie and have the unintended consequence of devaluing the story as a whole.

While the film does deliver a few solid laughs (though none that truly hit an 11), it ultimately falls flat, feeling less like a theatrical mockumentary and more like an overlong streaming special.

A paranoia-choked atmosphere is the primary reason why The Thing works as well as it does. The setup is standard stuff, establishing that the characters are isolated and can expect no help from the outside. The realization there could be an alien among them, and any one of them might not be human, is what launches The Thing into a spiral of escalating tension.

There's nothing special, shocking, or precedent-setting about the film, but it functions on a level that 007 fans will appreciate - as eye and ear candy for those who prefer action to exposition and character development.

The performances are uniformly strong and there are some powerful scenes but the overall story arc is less insightful or affecting than one might hope.

It's an awkward technique that outlived its usefulness more than four decades ago. I like the movie, but hate its presentation.

This is a workmanlike motion picture with solid performances. It's just that the superior production values are used in service of a mediocre storyline.

Enjoy this movie for what it is - the kind of motion picture that can cause Champaign-like giddiness - and don't obsess over how true-to-life this work of fiction is.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Thor is that it doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter superhero comic book origin story.

Body of Lies neither panders nor condescends. It involves current events and has a political viewpoint, but it overplays neither.

An intriguing blend of globetrotting neo-noir and road trip plot elements, The Wedding Guest often seems on the cusp of greatness without ever getting there. The film classifies more as a disappointment than a success because, despite its little triumphs, it fritters away too many opportunities and suffers through a turgid middle act.

Ball may not have the answers but he eloquently and forcefully explores some of the potential ramifications. The ending may be too pat, but the journey to get there - bitter, spicy, and poignant - more than compensates for any last-minute fumbles.

Teeth is not only odd but it's genre-defying. The film doesn't limit its field of choice: it's a black comedy, it's a drama about teen angst, it's a romance gone bad, it's a B-grade horror film, it's an allegory about female empowerment.

The basketball star's power might be the drawing card for Space Jam, but the Looney Tunes group steals the spotlight – at least as often as Pytka will let them.

If there's anything special about the film, it's that on this occasion, the emotional realism of the characters, especially Slade, is heartwrenchingly believable.

Some of the characters are interesting, but their situations are not.

Like a well-made romantic comedy that follows all the rules, Kodachrome engages because the dialogue pops and the actors are sufficiently invested that they give breadth and depth to characters who are, for the most part, underwritten.

The ensemble cast is diverse and accomplished, but, because of the time constraints, no one has enough time to register much of a positive or negative impression.

Solidly entertaining.

Understands baseball and the men who play it, and, for a film about the sport, that's half the battle.

Hicks has made a technically adept film, but one that, for all of its strong acting and vivid photography, left me less moved than I should have been.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot has surprisingly dull fangs.

Although it would be fair to say there are “feel good” moments in the movie, the film as a whole seeks to dig a little deeper. It’s not as effective as the effervescently witty "500 Days of Summer," but there are times when it strives for a similar sensibility.

The Broken Hearts Gallery meanders through its fantasy island version of New York City with meet-cutes and complications-with-exes until it reaches the inevitable climax.

For zombie movie-fans, Army of the Dead provides a good blend of the fast and the familiar, all blended together into a concoction that hits the sweet spot. Snyder takes some chances, doesn’t skimp on the gore, and offers a shock or two. Perhaps that’s the best a zombie movie can hope to accomplish in 2021.

The main problem with Smart People is that it never breaks new ground. This is territory we have seen tilled to better effect by more perceptive motion pictures.

Despite being well made and supremely acted, Candy is a true feel-bad experience.

There's no debating that Bad Words contains some big, politically incorrect laughs. The movie isn't awash in them but there are enough to keep the chuckles coming. The film's problem is that, despite obvious aspirations to be more than just a profane joke factory, it never fulfills its dramatic ambitions.

Bernard and Huey is a small pleasure; it’s almost always welcome to watch a character-based film crafted without pretentions.

Flesh and Bone is all suspenseful buildup without shoot-outs, chases, and explosions, and its conclusion doesn't demand a neatly-packaged resolution. More importantly, it's one of the few successful '40s-type noir thrillers to grace the big screen in recent years.

A fast-paced, entertaining motion picture that replaces gritty tension with a lightly-dramatic character interaction that occasionally borders on straight comedy.

For martial arts action fans, The Forbidden Kingdom may be the best fantasy story since the genre was opened to a wider audience by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

If you take away Albert Nobbs' twist, all that's left is a project that would have been at home on Masterpiece Theater during its heyday.

The film's two big flaws are readily apparent: a clunky screenplay and the miscasting of the lead character.

In "Rocky," it was less about beating Apollo Creed than showing grit, earning respect, and getting the girl. Fundamentally, Southpaw isn't much different.

Happy Death Day 2U is a passable way to throw away 100 minutes if you’re willing to turn off your brain and pretend it’s making sense.

The other actress to stand out is, unsurprisingly, Queen Latifa, whose intense screen presence makes her a force to be reckoned with even when she's simply standing in the background, not saying anything.

A fresh and engaging storybook adventure that should appeal to viewers both inside and out of the core demographic.

With its lack of pretensions, Miss Potter is that rare breed of cinematic animal: a movie whose entire goal is to entertain and perhaps apply a gentle touch to the heart.

This isn't just a horror movie with gore - it's a gore movie, period. Blood is its raison d'etre. It's not scary. It's not shocking. It just wallows in viscera. Ho-hum. Pass the ketchup.

Thus far, the 2021-22 roster of Disney/Marvel post-pandemic titles has struggled to advance the series beyond Thanos in a meaningful fashion. Although it’s questionable whether Thor: Love and Thunder changes that, it has a helluva lot of fun trying.

Eventually, it had to happen: a computer-animated dud.

With an abrupt and unwelcome shift in tone and a surprisingly ordinary resolution, The Burnt Orange Heresy falls short of its Hitchcockian aspirations.

A maudlin hack-job.

Code 46 is like "Solaris" without the psychological depth and strong acting. The movie is flat, boring, pointless, and nonsensical.

The movie is unpolished, unabashedly un-PC, and takes on as many "sacred cows" as it can uncover in a slightly-too-long 105 minutes.

Despite a strong opening and riveting first 45 minutes, The Maze Runner devolves into one of the weakest post-apocalyptic Young Adult movies to reach theaters in recent years.

It's difficult to say whether the main problem with Iron Man 2 is that it suffers from too much plot or too little.

Barbarians starts out as a tense psychological thriller unfolding against the tableau of a not-so-friendly dinner before morphing into something decidedly physical and creepy.

Although it would be unfair to label Cars 2 as unwatchable, it is surprisingly tedious in parts and not as satisfying as one might expect.

With 3-D, a little goes a long way and, in the absence of a legitimate script with credible characters, the fun dries up long before the running time has expired.

While this is admittedly not lighthearted mainstream fare, the subject matter is interesting and is handled in a manner that offers a compelling and sometimes unsettling 95 minutes.

This film never believably captures the sport it portrays, and that leads to a picture that's closer to a strikeout than a home run.

Cold Pursuit has a strong current of dark humor winding through the proceedings. With a nod or two to Quentin Tarantino, he has fashioned a bizarrely entertaining ode to violence, gangsters, and heavy snowfall in the Rockies.

Unlike the Harry Potter movies, The House with a Clock in Its Walls fails to find the sweet spot for cross-generational appeal.

Sean Connery is perfect for the King Arthur role. Too bad he isn't given more to do than stand around looking regal.

The Santa Clause isn't an unmitigated disaster, but it's also a whole lot less impressive than it could be.

As a satire and an off-the-wall comedy, Bubba Ho-Tep hits the bullseye. As a horror movie, it's less successful. Maybe we're too busy laughing to be scared.