The Venom sequel checks all the generic comic book movie boxes and, if all one expects from a film adaptation is a straightforward translation with motion and live actors, it’s hard to knock Let There Be Carnage. But, in an era when most superhero productions are becoming increasingly complex, challenging one another for greater depth and storyline intricacy, the shallowness of both Venom movies stands out in an unflattering fashion.

This is easily the worst filmed version of anything penned by the prolific author.

The scares (if you want to call them that) are still there - one "boo!" moment after another, strung together like a breadcrumb trail through a labyrinth. So if that's all you want from a Halloween release like Paranormal Activity 3, you are the perfect audience member.

This is schlock -– by-the-numbers action that ignores character development to the point where we find it hard to care whether L.T. catches Hallam.

Post Grad isn't funny, surprising, or insightful enough to provoke more than a ho-hum reaction. It's not bad in the way that many failed comedies are bad; it's simply uninspired.

It's amazing how a lifeless, pointless remake can provoke pangs of nostalgia about a mediocre movie.

Strange that a movie about comedy is so lacking in this quality.

This is a train wreck of an action film -– a stupefying attempt by the filmmakers to force-feed James Bond into the mindless "XXX" mold and throw 40 years of cinematic history down the toilet in favor of bright flashes and loud bangs.

This is essentially a Steven Seagal movie without the Ponytailed One, and may appeal to those who enjoyed Seagal's rather bland, cookie-cutter action films.

An insipid, stillborn drama that drags its viewers through a ghetto of despair before finally, unexpectedly plopping them down in the midst of a happy ending.

Although each episode might be marginally entertaining in its own right, the overall effect is that the movie isn't funny enough, exciting enough, or dramatic enough to warrant two hours of an audience member's time.

At least the werewolves in Red Riding Hood have teeth and, when in human form, they don't parade around shirtless.

The first half-hour (or so) of Clue is enjoyably witty but, after that, it’s a downhill mudslide.

With a theatrical trailer far better than the actual picture, Schroeder's film delivers little more than a healthy dose of disappointment. The picture is watchable, but nothing about it will linger, except perhaps the feeling that, with a more polished script, it might have been significantly better.

Simply put, Boiling Point functions as an apt definition of cinematic mediocrity, with little to laud or despise. It's the kind of motion picture you can yawn your way through without getting overly worked up about the money you lost paying the price of admission.

Disappointing, but barely watchable.

Robert Duvall does far from his best job here. His is basically a "mail it in" performance, but, considering the script he's working from, it's no wonder. Something to Talk About is weary -- every ounce of energy and originality has long since been wrung out of this formula, and the "twist" of having the leads already married doesn't do much to spice up things. Ultimately, this "something" turns out to be nothing much at all.

Director Todd Haynes' (Safe) much-anticipated look at the "glam rock" scene of two decades ago, is like a jigsaw puzzle with half of the pieces missing.

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.

Too much of what The Spy Who Shagged Me has to offer is tired and derivative, and, when the various jokes and gags are tallied, there are many more misses than hits.

A mostly failed attempt to merge sci-fi with satire, Mickey 17 suffers from a fragmented narrative and a scenery-chewing performance from Mark Ruffalo that belongs in a different movie (perhaps Poor Things).

Besson may have misfired with The Fifth Element, but at least he does it with flair and a sense of humor.

With a movie of this sort, the viewer expects to undergo something grueling and disturbing. Trade's inability to deliver that sort of visceral experience makes it unworthy of anyone's hard-earned dollars.

Pretty much a one-trick pony, and, after a while, that trick loses its ability to impress.

It takes something lackluster like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to remind viewers why movies like "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" are considered superior.

Takes the action/adventure story to new heights of preposterousness. In a way, that's not a bad thing, since it allows a certain level of guilty enjoyment.

Perhaps the thing that most surprised me is how fingernails-on-blackboard awful the music is.

Kaufman once again reminds us that, without a Jonze or a Gondry to shape and prune the writer’s constructs, we’re destined to become stuck in a frustrating morass of eccentricity and self-indulgence.