The film stays true to its unpretentious origins -- it's like a comic book come to life, with an undeniable visual flair, a lot of kinetic action sequences, minimal character development, and a plot that could charitably be called "uneven".

Another Stakeout offers unfettered (and largely mindless) fun. The humor ranges from mildly amusing to downright hilarious, and the action scenes are handled with an eye for pacing and tension. Perhaps because of the absence of romantic chemistry, the second Stakeout isn't as good as the first, but it's still a worthy successor. Since virtually everyone involved in the 1987 picture is back, the sense of continuity is seamless, both in big and little things. For those looking for uncomplicated summer entertainment, Another Stakeout fills the bill adequately.

Chasing Liberty is not daring or adventurous, but, considering its release date (early January), it's more palatable than one might anticipate.

The Clearing is being positioned as "adult counter-programming" for the summer season, but the benefits of seeing this movie may not be worth the patience necessary to get through it.

Empire of Light offers an appetizer of nostalgia for those who remember theaters during the early 1980s but the main course isn’t the easiest to digest, despite several strong performances.

The end result is something that feels like it was put together from a jumble of Disney clichés tacked onto the skeleton of "Beauty and the Beast."

The movie is pretty to look at in a "Transformers" sort of way and moves briskly enough that it never threatens to bore, but it's hard to feel much of anything about the characters and, when it's all over, there's a sense that everything that happens is obligatory.

The film delivers with enough consistency to warrant a qualified recommendation for those seeking a few extra scares at this time of the year.

Unfortunately, while Fanboys has moments of success, it is mostly a middling road picture that doesn't do a lot more than any average, forgettable entry into the tired genre.

A family film (albeit a mediocre one).

It's refreshing to find a horror movie interested in more than slashing and gashing.

Boiling off the divisive political subtext and its associated sociological aspects, what we’re left with is an old-fashioned exploitation thriller. Seen in that context, The First Purge isn’t half-bad. It’s competently made, delivers its share of thrills and edge-of-the-seat moments, and gives the audience an opportunity to stand up and cheer.

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

It’s a reasonable way to get out of the heat for a few hours and give your kid a treat but don’t expect to get as much out of it as you would if you were part of the under-10 crowd.

Imagine Me & You isn't unpleasant, but it is unremarkable. If nothing else, it proves that gay romances can be just as uninspired as their heterosexual counterparts.

With a running length of 30 or 40 minutes, Isle of Dogs might have been brilliant. Unfortunately, this concept, although suitable for a short, is too thin for a full animated feature.

As a comedy, The Mask is genial, but its recycled plot is far too thin for the film to succeed as either an adventure or a spoof.

The Overnight plays like the pilot of a sitcom developed for Netflix or premium cable. A hit-and-miss affair that deals in a sporadically amusing fashion with many of the mundane (and a few not-so-mundane) tribulations of long-term monogamy in marriage.

If ever there was a movie more destined to become a cult phenomenon, I don't know if I can name it.

Interview has its moments but they can't prevent it from feeling a little long winded and unsatisfying.

Towards the end, Murder By Numbers reverts to form with cheesy clichés, plot twists, and a fair amount of unnecessary action, but that's easily the film's low point.

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.

Feels a bit like a missed opportunity. It's too bad the motion picture as a whole isn't as quirky and clever as its double-edged title.

The Day After Tomorrow is filled with bad dialogue, stock peril situations, and sketchy character development, but it's a big enough spectacle that those things don't completely derail the film's capacity to be enjoyed.

Even though Moore sleepwalks his way through the part, making it apparent that he should have departed two films ago, and Tanya Roberts can't act to save her life (although she certainly can scream), we're back to a more conventional, straightforward Bond than the convoluted mess of the previous movie.

The most interesting personality in Ed Wood is not the title character, but Bela Lugosi. So covered up with makeup that he's barely recognizable, Martin Landau gives a deeply-felt performance -- a eerie and stunning recreation of a man haunted by lost fame.

The Front Runner is a less a film for general movie-goers than for political junkies.

The essential problem with the movie isn't that it's loud, violent, and gory, but that, before Carpenter ratchets up the tension in the final 35 minutes, it's not especially interesting.

There’s fun to be had but it’s not consistent and at times it’s disappointing how certain scenes play out.

About the only reason to see Fire of Love is to be treated to more material from the Kraffts’ archives, since Dosa and Herzog mostly selected different footage.

There's not a surprising moment in the movie yet it works in spite of the stale, insipid storyline. That has a lot to do with lead actress Katherine Heigl and a little to do with the glowing embers between her and her co-star, James Marsden.

More of a pretender than a contender in a field that includes superior entries like "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Usual Suspects."

Tone isn't the movie's sole problem. There's something off-putting about Christopher Mitz-Plasse as the chief bad guy.

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.”

Seven Pounds works better the more the viewer feels and the less he/she thinks. On an emotional level, one could decree that the movie is satisfying. On an intellectual level, it's disappointingly shallow.

The movie is never boring or uninteresting, but I viewed it from a detached perspective, unable to become involved because I didn't really care about any of the three main characters.

Granted, one wouldn’t expect a modern-day fairy tale to be socially conscious but there’s something so overt about this materialism that it stains the overall experience.

Despite being one of the shortest theatrical releases of the year, clocking in at about 75 minutes (not counting end credits), The Happytime Murders feels overlong. That’s probably because the plot is nonsensical and pointless.

The Host is a strange little movie: part creature feature, part social commentary, and part slapstick comedy. The problem with the film is that the sum isn't greater than the parts and the pieces don't fuse in a way that's consistently pleasing or cinematically satisfying.

The movie hits its stride when it deals directly with the concert. The more peripheral Elliot is to the story, the better things become.

As much heralded, "edgy" movies go, Transamerica fails to live up to expectations.

One of my problems with Black Narcissus is that I never found the characters credible. I didn’t believe any of them and their interpersonal conflicts contrived and artificial.

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

Although engaging at times, Fingernails is ultimately frustrating.

The limp climax doesn't undo the solid humor, wicked social commentary, and delicious satire that precedes it, but it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. In the end, Mean Girls isn't mean enough.

In fact, the title of this motion picture is quite apt -- Mimic does an excellent job of imitating not only Aliens, but several other science fiction and horror features, including such odd choices as Leviathan and The Thing. The derivative result is, as one might expect, moderately entertaining, but far from groundbreaking in its approach or execution.

Other films have told similar stories with greater power. Director William Olsson appears unwilling to fully commit to the darkness that a movie of this sort would need to embrace to be both ephemerally disturbing (which it is) and memorable (which it isn’t).

The result, while not entirely devoid of entertainment value, doesn't work as a whole.

Although I found the change of pace to be refreshing for a Neeson outing, the movie is too flawed for a full recommendation.

In large part because of a great beginning and a solid ending, this is one of the better entries into the series, at least on par with Final Destination 3 and 5 and far and away better than the others.

Affable, but, as something with more ambition, it disappoints. Herek has once again found the feel-good path to mediocrity.

Some of Poetic Justice is quite good, if unspectacular, and the dialogue has a consistent ring of truth.

The weaknesses of Beautiful Creatures ultimately outweigh the strengths but the conviction of the central relationship is good enough to keep things from becoming laughably bad, even if it all comes apart toward the end.

Made in Dagenham is a useful lesson in history and a reminder that we yet have a distance to travel to attain the goal, but the narrative is dry, safe, and predictable and, as a result, not fully satisfying.

It's an epic pretender, not an epic contender.

The only thing surprising about this lackluster animated production is that it attracted an A-list voice cast.

Levy and Jackson save the day, and the film. The Man isn't great entertainment, but it contains enough laughter-provoking material to make it worth a look.

There’s nothing in this version of Rebecca to cause it to stand out from its crowded field of predecessors but, due to the strength of the novel (to which it is reasonably faithful), it holds the viewer’s interest and will likely maintain an aura of suspense and mystery for those unfamiliar with the story.

This movie seems better suited as cable or video fare than for theatrical viewing.

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.

It comes across as painfully politically correct, offering trite sermons on various "hot-button" issues (gun control and the greenhouse effect). The narrative follows an unwavering by-the-numbers strategy with an ending that echoes the "cornball" of Al Pacino's climactic Scent of a Woman speech.

Missing works well enough as a popcorn flick that doesn’t demand much in the way of concentration. That makes it a solid throw-way that offers a couple hours of forgettable entertainment.

Kudos to Darren Aronofsky for having the courage to make this film. Kudos to Paramount Pictures for having the guts to open this wide rather than burying it or hiding it as a VOD release. It’s too bad it doesn’t work.

Poseidon is devoid of anything that might conjure up memories of the Winslet/DiCaprio coupling. Its straightforward action/adventure approach is both a strength and a weakness.

The Lovebirds stands out as a worthy opportunity for home entertainment.

Dark Web is a sequel only in that it mimics its predecessor’s style. The story and characters are new and, because the supernatural element has been eliminated, the movie adds a dash more suspense to go along with a heap of misanthropic nihilism.

The movie feels like Baumbach is working through some family issues.

Sometimes funny, sometimes clever, and occasionally involving, but it's never brilliant and its edge is compromised by the neutering that accompanies the teen-friendly PG-13 rating.

Extract is no masterpiece, but it's considerably better than many 2009 films that have received a more robust backing.

The film has its charms but the end result feels like warmed-over James Bond… and not even especially good 007, at that.

Let's get this straight from the start: Slither isn't great art, but that doesn't mean it isn't good entertainment.

There's some entertainment value, but the production as a whole is unfocused.

Still, for those who feel that too few movies these days offer the pure bliss of a testosterone overload, The Losers provides an antidote.

Despite its problems, The Swan Princess is actually one of the better non- Disney animated productions to come along in a while. While the creators of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas need not feel threatened, parents looking for something different to take their offspring to might find something worthwhile here.

As preposterous wannabe Hitchcockian thrillers go, this one is adequate.

Non-Stop plays like what might happen if Michael Bay directed a screenplay developed for Alfred Hitchcock.

This is sit-com level material and, as such, there’s not much new or interesting that De Niro can bring to the proceedings.

Visually, The Good Dinosaur boasts some of the most amazingly photo-realistic sets I have seen in any animated film.

Out of the Furnace features some nice performances and is deliciously atmospheric but it never achieves its goal of being a compelling meditation about how the economic erosion of a community influences the lives of those trapped within it.

On balance, Man on a Ledge is fun, but I left the theater feeling disappointed and cheated, as if the filmmakers set me up for something great they ultimately couldn't deliver.

The unfortunate ending, which wallows in artifice, is superficial and saccharine, and unworthy of the material that precedes it.

The title character never emerges from the iconic shell she inhabits to become a fully fleshed-out individual and the filmmakers are perhaps too reverential to make her seem real. Like Camelot, she’s a mythic figure and Jackie doesn’t do enough to humanize her.

Possesses both an edge and a sense of self-mocking that's unusual for any feature, live or animated.

It's juvenile from start to finish, which is fine if you're young, but not so great if your sole purpose in a theater is to accompany someone who's young.

Offers solid entertainment, it's too uneven to be considered memorable.

Melancholia represents von Trier at his best and worst. Visually and thematically, Melancholia is a rich motion picture, full of nuances. Unfortunately, in his pursuit of an artistic vision, von Trier has thrown logic, physics, and coherence out the window.

Rodriquez nails the pacing – it’s slow enough to allow for character development (at least where Alita is concerned) but ramps up during the well-choreographed battle and chase sequences. Everything moves along fine…at least until the final few minutes when it becomes apparent that we’re about to be victimized by a story that requires multiple installments to play out.

Arguably Sandler's most enjoyable motion picture to date, but it's still far from a masterpiece.

To the extent that The Trigger Effect is intended as a tense, somewhat nerve-wracking thriller, it's adequate, and certainly better than the formula-driven likes of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.

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.

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.

The movie's point, which is impossible to miss, is that it's hard being black & gay in America and, while there's undoubtedly truth in that sentiment, it doesn't necessarily make for a compelling motion picture circa 2011.

As action-thrillers go, this one provides what the previews tease. Maybe that’s enough for an evening’s mindless, throw-away entertainment, but I can’t help but be disappointed that the filmmakers couldn’t have brought something more inventive to a genre that too often relies on worn-out tropes.

Underwritten yet nevertheless enjoyable.

There's enough fun to be had that it's almost possible to ignore the stupidity of the story and the cavity that replaces character development.

After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest.

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

This is probably Murphy's best comedic performance since "Bowfinger." The adrenaline is pumping and the outrageousness is dialed all the way up. Murphy is often funny, and occasionally hilarious.