If not for Bornedal's stylish approach to the material and a couple of effectively chilling sequences, Nightwatch would have been a complete waste of time and effort.

It gets props for kinetic energy, bursts of suspense, and a couple of bravura performances (Will Smith & Margot Robbie). But pretty much everything else is either mediocre or substandard and that makes it hard to champion this bloated and cheerless monstrosity.

By keeping its goals limited, it’s able to deliver what it promises, and that stands for something. I’ll admit I was more entertained by this high-concept sci-fi adventure than half the films I have seen thus far in 2023.

The element of high camp that makes for enjoyable "good trash" isn't present.

Ultimately, however, appreciation of The Phantom of the Opera will hinge upon your opinion of Lloyd Webber's skills as a composer.

The best bits in this film fall short of being inspired, but they are outrageous.

Although Peter Straughan’s stripped-down regurgitation of the story is faithful to Tartt’s narrative in the broadest sense of the word, it lacks elegance and depth. A Dickensian coming-of-age tale, The Goldfinch is at times dull and pretentious and never earns its 2.5-hour running length as an example of either art or entertainment.

Meg 2 (it lost the “The” somewhere along the way) is pretty awful stuff even in comparison to its predecessor.

The Virginity Hit is fresh, unpretentious fun, but the comedy is so raw that it will appeal only to those who appreciate this sort of unfiltered peek into the mind of males in their late teens and early twenties.

It's not a great film, but it succeeds in being both tender and cathartic.

With its blend of existential science fiction and character-based romance, it would seem to be as close to a can’t-miss premise as one can imagine yet, despite that, it somehow does miss – and by a wide margin.

It’s artificial, annoying, and boring.

As the movie approached the end credits, I cared about what happened to these characters, and that made the coincidences and occasional missteps forgivable.

Viggo Mortensen looks the part but never brings it home with great conviction or passion. I never believed in the character and that greatly diminished the film's ability to argue its ethical case.

There's more contrived melodrama in these two hours than romance fans could reasonably hope for.

Much of what's contained in Phantom is at best speculative and at worst completely made-up. But, regardless of the accuracy, it makes for compelling viewing. Phantom is one of the best films of a lousy early 2013 release roster.

Frustrating because it doesn't seem far removed from a wholly enjoyable motion picture, but the tempo's off, beats are missed, and the production ends up sounding out-of-tune.

A feeling of hopelessness pervades Sleepwalking.

By de-mythologizing Alexander, Stone has turned him into an unbelievable individual. We accept great deeds from great people, not from sniveling whiners.

The story's entire foundation is based upon a plot hole so gargantuan that anyone not suffering a brain cramp will identify it at once.

To go with the good, there's plenty of bad, and it comes in the form of countless gags that misfire, far too much flatulence and urine, and (God help us) a buck naked Leslie Nielsen. Admittedly, that scene certainly puts the "scary" in Scary Movie 4.

Seagal fans will find that their hero is still in his usual form (his form, like his expression, hasn't wavered since he debuted in Above the Law). The action scenes are adequately directed (by Felix Enriquez Alcala, a TV director making the crossover to feature films), and there's a genuinely tense truck-and-car chase that is worth about 90 seconds of moderate excitement. The rest of the film is all by-the-book stuff, but that's what's expected whenever the name "Steven Seagal" tops the marquee.

National Treasure's storyline isn't compelling or coherent enough to warrant the term "plot."

Only for die-hard Cho fans. Everyone else will be offended, bored, or some combination of the two.

Domino is a lackluster, hard-to-swallow police procedural with soap opera-ish subplots and flat characters.

Aloha is Crowe's worst film-to-date, eclipsing "Elizabethtown" for that distinction and raising questions about whether the director has lost his touch (á là Rob Reiner).

It is now weighed down by a second half that's equal parts incoherent, tedious, and repetitive.

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.