There are times when Austin Powers drags. It can be difficult to sustain even the best humor for ninety minutes, and this film, for all of the laughs it offers, is far from the best.

Narratively, The Song of Sway Lake doesn’t have much going for it but when it comes to capturing the tone of a specific locale, the approach of director Ari Gold is without peer.

Above all, however, Kevin Spacey is the reason to see Casino Jack. This movie will stand alongside "The Usual Suspects" and "American Beauty" as examples of what the actor is capable of accomplishing when he is properly motivated.

“Hollow cash grab” is one way to describe The Grinch. Equally appropriate would be “soulless abomination.”

This is film noir for the MTV generation: fast-paced, slick, flashy, gleefully mindless, and hollow to the core.

This is not Schrader's finest work. The script is not tight, the ending disappoints, and there's a little too much drawn from American Gigolo. But there are some great one-liners, compelling actors, and well-developed characters.

Although the movie has a conventional structure, the straightforward chronological approach works for this material, allowing the viewer to come to know Cabrini and become invested in her efforts to develop an orphanage, first in New York’s Five Points slum then in rural West Park.

It’s made with families in mind – the material will resonate with children and parents (thankfully) will be sufficiently engaged not to wish to be elsewhere. Unaccompanied adults, however, may not be quite as enchanted.

There’s enough variety here that everyone’s funny bone should be tickled from time-to-time.

If The Player set the bar high for this sub-genre, Levinson's attempt, which too often falls prey to self-indulgence and tedium, comes up significantly short.

For those looking for something positive, this is the only movie I can recall that features music from both ABBA ("Does Your Mother Know") and Handel ("Zadok the Priest"). Let's hear it for musical diversity!

Doomsday tries to cram so much into its limited 105 minutes that aspects end up feeling rushed and confused (especially the political situation in England) and the ending is perfunctory.

Although Where’d You Go, Bernadette suffers from an ungainly structure and uneven pacing, the production as a whole is engaging and uplifting.

Unfortunately, the lukewarm spy thriller offers a convoluted, meandering storyline that’s almost entirely devoid of tension and suspense. There’s less action than one might expect and the character development is so thin that even when a character is in danger, it’s hard to care.

Woman in Gold is arguably of more interest for its historical perspective than for its drama. Although there is some suspense in the courtroom proceedings, no one would mistake this for the next "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "The Verdict."

There are enough laughs to justify it being labeled as a comedy but a stronger storyline than one normally associates with this kind of film. It's an enjoyable diversion amidst the big guns of summer.

Although the level of manipulation is several notches higher than in the Swedish original, A Man Called Otto boasts fine performances from Tom Hanks and Mariana Trevino and offers the kind of crowd-pleasing arc that runs counter to the prevalent mood of worldwide cynicism.

I am by nature a cynic and am easily turned off by manufactured sentiment. I dislike "Terms of Endearment" intensely. That I was fully immersed in this world and invested in the characters’ lives is a testament to the movie’s strength.

The overall experience fails to satisfy on a basic level. This is one of those films it's easier to be impressed with than it is to like.

The overall production is bland and overcooked and the reliance on nostalgia and regurgitation often renders things dull and routine.

Despite a committed performance from lead actress Mackenzie Davis and a promising opening, the film quickly corkscrews into a death spiral of trite dialogue meant to obfuscate the lack of a coherent or meaningful narrative.

The thing that makes The Accountant unique, however, and elevates it above the garden variety action-thriller, is that the title character’s “superpowers” result from his autism.

Trolls World Tour is better suited to watching at home than in a theater. It’s a shadow of its predecessor, a regurgitation of some of the elements that made the first one popular but without the sense of spontaneous fun.

A kinetic, visually dazzling thriller that's actually a notch above many of its predecessors - albeit only a small notch.

Not a masterpiece, but it's an example of how imagination, craftsmanship, and technological bravura can fashion superior entertainment out of something that is far from flawless.

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

It's solidly entertaining for what it is and, while it does little to truly rejuvenate the franchise, at least it lessens the pain caused by two gimmicky cross-over pictures that sucked too much juice out of what was one of the 1980s' most surprisingly tense sci-fi action pictures.

The Program has its high points, but there are too few of them, and I suspect that many of the film's "insider's touches" are a combination of fact and fiction. Principally, this a formula football movie. Those hoping to see a hard-hitting drama about life off the field should instead prepare to be inundated by a load of feeble, unimaginative material that's almost impossible to take seriously.