It’s competently made and sporadically compelling but not likely to pique the interest of anyone unfamiliar with the main character.

As horror movies go, Boarding School is worth seeing simply because it’s different. Not weird, off-the-wall different like mother! or Hereditary, but different in a good way.

In a curious way, Snatched is a little like an Amy Schumer stand-up routine: sometimes edgy, occasionally hilarious, and lessened by the bits that fall flat.

Hawke has made this movie his way and the result is a story that is by turns romantic and disquieting. It's well worth the price of admission.

Quality-wise, however, there's a big drop off from sex, lies and videotape to Full Frontal.

It boggles the mind to consider that the fertile writing team of Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer, all of whom spent time scripting episodes of "Seinfeld," could turn out something as abysmally unfunny as Eurotrip.

There’s nothing in Paint to excite fans of the late painter and even less for those who don’t know anything about him.

Although director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan, who made the first two) has done a solid job of satisfying multiple needs while turning out a passably amusing and affecting story, the limitations of the Ghostbusters formula are apparent. Ultimately, however, nostalgia remains the main selling point and viewers attending for that reason won’t be disappointed.

Smokin' Aces is Tarantino lite - a vague and unsuccessful attempt to bring together a bunch of offbeat, unrelated characters in a situation where a bloody resolution is inescapable.

Once the setup is over, however, Indecent Proposal starts to fall apart, with the implausibilities and contrivances getting worse with every passing minute.

Somewhere buried in the structurally unsound and unevenly paced Red Joan, there exists the material for not only one but two intriguing motion pictures. Unfortunately, neither manages to struggle to the surface and we’re left with a mediocre mash-up of an old-fashioned spy movie and the story of a son coping with the sins of his mother.

Angel Has Fallen feels like it was cobbled together with cliched action scenes and circumstances overused by the once-popular TV series "24." Angel Has Fallen tries hard (and often succeeds) to topple the Kiefer Sutherland program on the “preposterousness” scale.

The problem with Rampage is that it’s not content to be mindless fun. There’s too much exposition and too many needless human villains. Plus, the tone is more lugubrious than the flippancy suggested by the trailers.

In the final analysis, The Expendables is little more than an ordinary, uninspired action feature.

Likely won't please fans of the original TV series, but the movie hasn't been made for them.

What's missing? Simple: the romance. This movie is so intent upon getting cheap laughs and putting the protagonists in uncomfortable situations that it forgets they're supposed to be falling in love.

The reason to see Chasing Mavericks is the same reason why people flock to shore locations when a hurricane approaches: the waves. This is less effective as a bio-pic of Jay Moriarty than it is as a big screen National Geographic Special.

A thoughtful, almost poetic, piece that puts forth the argument that redemption is not easily achieved.

It is possible to make an engaging action/adventure picture of this sort, but The Scorpion King isn't it. The movie isn't godawful, but it's far from inspired, and, as I sat through its 90 minute running length, I found my mind wandering.

The latest offering from Edward Zwick, the director of "Glory," is the kind of movie that doesn't require much effort to surrender to and enjoy.

The material isn't sufficiently funny to allow me to forgive the film's feeble storyline and two-dimensional inhabitants.

There are times when the Russos almost get us there but they can’t quite make it. As a result, Cherry comes across as ambitious but not entirely successful. The directors deserve credit for weaving together so many contemporary issues into a single, digestible story but there’s too much material here to do consistently well in a 2 ½-hour movie.

A grim experience, with too little wit and humor to compensate for its faults, and the upbeat ending feels like a cheat. Thornton is good, but not worth the price of a ticket.

It's familiar enough to be comfortable but not so familiar that it feels worn and repetitive.

Dull, uninspired, and redundant.

As far as the actors are concerned, Liam Neeson seems to be having fun hamming it up as the villain - a role he rarely gets to play.

Unfortunately, because of a variety of missteps, Bushwick never achieves what it sets out to do. It’s undone by a litany of bad decisions and the underlying weakness of the core material.

As a shallow tale of conscienceless bloodshed and revenge, Last Man Standing is reasonably effective. But as an updated version of the far better-realized Yojimbo, it's an unqualified failure. Last Man Standing is a surface picture -- it looks good, sounds good, and moves quickly -- but there's no depth whatsoever.

We're stuck with contrived plot contortions, dull interpersonal interaction, and unconvincing dialogue.

Chaos Theory stumbles from one contrived circumstance to the next, and there's not a moment in this entire mess that conveys any sort of genuine human emotion or reaction.

This movie probably falls within the purview of a "love it/hate it" subgenre of the psychological thriller.

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

The appeal of Drive Angry is much the same as that of "Piranha": a willingness to revel in absurdity to the degree where the exhilaration is infectious.

The storyline is all over the place, with numerous unresolved subplots sprouting out of thin air and being left hanging (presumably to be resolved in future movies).

Unlike so many of the bloated, disappointing entries into the 2016 big budget sweepstakes, this is good escapist entertainment.

It is possible to make a movie in which nearly the entire running length is a car chase. An example of how to do this is "Duel." An example of how not to do it is Kidnap.

Like most unintended second installments, this one is superfluous – a remix of moments, scenes, and images from its predecessor infused with the need to make everything bigger and louder.

This movie is so atrocious I kept waiting for Nick Cage to show up.

When the end credits roll, it’s hard to decide whether the most appropriate feeling should be disgust, despair, or despondency. This is one of 2019’s worst films.

Hostage has suspense and momentum.

Instead of generating a testosterone rush, the fight scenes release tryptophan. Not only are they boring, but they are choreographed in an amateurish fashion.

Any time Disney tries their hand at live action, though, the results are usually pretty poor. Just not this bad.

As either a 007-inspired spy film or a comic book adventure, The King’s Man feels stale.

Renaissance Man is a movie of moments, too many of which are mediocre or unfulfilling.

Calling Delivery Man a "comedy" is a bit of a stretch, because it's rarely funny. Dumb, yes, but not in a way that's worthy of more than a half-hearted chuckle.

Grim but holds the attention; it does not, however, offer the kind of mindless action excursion that many will be anticipating.

Last Action Hero is sporadically entertaining, but it could have been a whole lot more. Trimmed down and better edited, this film might have been a top-notch satire. As it is, however, it gets caught someplace in between action and comedy, and never really comes across as a solid example of either.

Funny Games is not entertainment but it is an experience.

In order to appreciate The Ruins, one has to be a die-hard fan of horror or bloody thrillers. Those in that category will discover that The Ruins delivers the goods.

Mortal Engines, the movie adaptation of Philip Reeve’s YA novel, represents one of the most impressive examples of “world building” in recent years, surpassing such contenders as Valerian, Cloud Atlas, and even the recent Star Wars episodes.

If the legend of Dracula has become tired through overuse, there is certainly nothing in this iteration to grant the old Count a new lease on life.

The first film was significantly better and, therefore, is the place to start for anyone with a modicum of interest. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is an also-ran that is likely to be appreciated only by completists.

The key term here is "fairy tale," because, although the movie occasionally tries for dramatic moments, they're overplayed, undercooked, and divorced from reality.

Into the Storm is as straightforward a disaster film as you're likely to find.

Your reaction to Double Team will probably depend largely on how you feel about concussive action films. While this one is better than most, it still falls considerably short of what I consider to be a "good" movie. One thing's for sure, though: like most flicks that boast more stuntmen than cast members, Double Team is unlikely to function as a Sominex. You may not enjoy it, but you won't fall asleep. And that's the best thing I can say about this loud, brash, ultimately pointless morsel of eye candy.

The Raven is period piece fun - at least until it realizes there has to be a conclusion. That's where a certain amount of inevitable disappointment sets in. The curse of the two-hour murder mystery is that the ending never seems to justify the build-up.

Parodies are hard to do well, as is shown by the mediocrity of so many recent attempts. No matter how ripe a genre is for satirizing, unless you know how to do it, there are no guarantees. Fortunately for Men in Tights, Mel Brooks has been doing this kind of thing for decades.

Unfortunately, while certain aspects of Girl 6 are handled with flair, the film's dramatic scope too often isn't compelling enough for subject matter of such rich and varied possibilities.

A "Jennifer Aniston movie" has become synonymous with "derivative, lackluster mediocrity," and it's a shame. We know she has both talent and charisma but nothing on her recent resume has allowed her to display those qualities. So we're stuck with films that are at best forgettable and at worst painful.

It delivers what it's expected to deliver, and that's likely to make it a success with anyone who laughed his ass off two summers ago.

Has plenty of funny moments, but there's no chemistry between stars Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. It's hard to accept that these two characters are, or even could be, in love. So, while the film is pleasant and sporadically entertaining, it can't be considered an unequivocal success.

An engrossing examination of the elemental forces that define human nature.

As far as I'm concerned, it's official: Hollywood has lost the art of how to make horror films.

What Dreams May Come has the sensibilities of an art film placed into a big-budget feature with an A-list cast.

Allen almost seems to be going through the motions – his jokes are flat, his stories are poorly focused, and the sense of zany energy that characterized his best films is absent.

Once Batman v Superman hits its stride, most viewers will feel equal parts pummeled and immersed. Snyder is a master of the dark spectacle and he pours it on starting around the movie’s midpoint.... Still, although viewers may be riveted at times, the net experience isn’t much fun.

Even considering some of its late-innings flaws, this is an engaging movie that doesn't mistake histrionics and bile for solid family reunion drama.

For those who like the director's body of work, appreciate "The Twilight Zone," and have a high suspension of disbelief threshold, The Village is likely to satisfy.

Die-hard fans are advised to wait for the video. Everyone else would be better off pretending that this movie doesn't exist. In the long run, you'll have a higher opinion of everyone involved.

For those with an adventurous and offbeat cinematic appetite, Chandni Chowk to China offers its shares of enjoyments, although there are plenty of "downs" to go along with the "ups."

The Answer Man is a passable way to kill two hours on a lazy summer afternoon, and perhaps an excuse to get out of the heat.

This is a bad movie with a good sense of humor.

40% fight scenes and 60% fan service, Simon McQuiod’s slash-and-gore fest will leave the uninitiated scratching their heads while the die-hards jump to their feet and applaud.

By playing it safe, One Last Thing offers tearful interludes but not a lot more.

Bloodshot suffers from a world-building failure. With too little time and emphasis placed on crafting the setting and exploring some of the rich possibilities of the milieu in which events transpire, the movie turns into little more than a ho-hum Vin Diesel action film.

"Compelling" is a word one could apply to Jobs - he was a magnetic figure - but it doesn't describe this movie. "Average" might even be a stretch, and that's something of an insult to the man whose story it tells.

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

Devil will do little to dispel the growing belief that Shyamalan is a one-trick pony whose horse has keeled over. The laughter during the trailer was sadly prescient; the film is a joke.

Under Lester’s aegis, Superman III loses its identity, never emerging as a true superhero adventure or a full-blown parody.

Despite having a perfect cast for a title like Killer Elite, Gary McKendry's feature debut comes across as little more than a generic Jason Statham movie with two high-profile guest stars.

For those whose only requirements for horror movies are that they avoid the excesses of blood/gore/violence prevalent in R-rated fare and incorporate a few good jump-scares, Night Swim checks the requisite boxes. For those looking for a more complete experience, however, the movie struggles even to achieve the level where it would be considered worthwhile as a streaming option.

There's not a moment of originality in the entire motion picture.

You may end up being pleasantly surprised, especially if you have a ten-year old girl in tow.

There is no truth to the rumor that free frontal lobotomies will be performed at the entrance to all theaters showing Eagle Eye.

The visuals of a blasted city are impressive but hardly reason to spend $10 to sit in a theater seat and watch a bunch of underdeveloped characters get chased by zombies for an inordinate amount of time.

There's little here that's new or interesting; the movie is for hard-core Romero devotees only.

Isn't loaded with promise, but at least the producers had the good sense to hire Bill Murray. Jack is the kind of irritable, self- absorbed guy that Murray can play perfectly, and the comedian's presence in Larger than Life lifts it to a considerably higher level than it might have otherwise attained.

Won’t win any awards for acting or writing but generates suspense when it needs to and tells an engrossing Tall Tale.

On the whole, Star Trek V is a highly forgettable motion picture, regardless of whether you're looking at it from the perspective of a Trek lover or a movie-goer.

It's an orgy for disaster porn devotees.

The Last American Virgin tries to inject some honesty and emotional depth into an otherwise silly and raunchy storyline. Its success is mixed but that element at least makes it more interesting to watch than at least 75% of its contemporaries.

Overwrought and disjointed, Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut is surprisingly faithful to aspects of the text but the overall presentation is conventional and disappointing.

Because so little of it works, the film is disposable.

Fans of the original will end up doing shot-by-shot comparisons. On every level, The Omen isn't just bad filmmaking, it's bad storytelling.

A lackluster melodrama with only a few inspired moments.

For those who aren't offended by extreme profanity and violence, Suicide Kings offers a kinetic and surprisingly funny two hours.

Travesty.

The only reason any male could have for seeing The Vow is the hope of getting laid afterwards. The only reason any female could have for seeing The Vow is if she views the plots of Harlequin romance novels as the height of modern storytelling.