The special effects are suitably impressive and mostly understated (or at least as understated as is possible for a high-tech spy thriller) and the stunts are expertly executed. But it’s all in the service of a generic package.

Despite some of the seemingly obtuse screenwriting decisions made by Almodovar, Parallel Mothers is a strong, affecting drama that asks tough questions for which there are no neat, clean answers.

Macbeth may be among the Bard’s weakest popular plays (opinion is, of course, divided) but this is one of the better cinematic conversions.

The Lost Daughter uses tone, location, and a string of expert performances to leave an impression, even if the story itself is unremarkable.

The Matrix Resurrections is a waste of time and money. For fans of the series, it’s a betrayal that deserves to be ignored and forgotten as soon as possible.

With a generic cast, Don’t Look Up would have been a disappointment. With this star-studded cast, the classification of a “missed opportunity” doesn’t do it justice; it feels closer to a tragedy.

A warm and loving Valentine to the San Fernando Valley of the 1970s, it never allows nostalgia to overwhelm narrative, although there’s plenty of the former to go around.

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

Kids will have fun, parents probably won’t be bored, but will anyone really care? Sing 2 is a product and, like many products, it exists mostly to distract and make money.

The escapism on offer here isn’t of a light and airy nature but instead provides insight into the darker, obsessive aspects of the human experience.

The supercharged CGI effects are fine and the battles are eye-popping, but the character interactions make No Way Home work.

Cyrano is a disappointment. The set design and camera work are first rate, as are the performances of Dinklage and Bennett. It causes one to wonder whether, had the songs been excised in favor a straightforward telling, Cyrano might have played better. As it is, however, it’s merely a handsome looking period piece with too many mediocre songs and a major downer of an ending. Not exactly a great way to ring in a new year.

The darkness isn’t skin-deep; it permeates the material. Nightmare Alley may not be the feel-good film of 2021 but it leaves a lasting impression.

The meandering nature of the screenplay causes the movie to seem overlong as it noticeably loses momentum following a key coming-of-age moment. The episodes that follow don’t seem as fully realized as the ones that come before and, by the time The Hand of God ends, it’s floundering. On the whole, however, this is a charming and at times moving reminder of what it meant to be young in the 1980s.

Spielberg’s West Side Story is a resplendent entertainment and a reminder that at least some of cinema’s great classics can in fact find new life in the hands of a master director who is more concerned about crafting a movie than making a blockbuster.

National Champions remains effective as an ode to cynical realism but it’s uneven at best as a slice of drama.

It’s a perfectly enjoyable piece of movie-making and a treasure for those who want a better understanding of how old TV shows were made.

Fascinating, garish, and compelling even with an overlong 130-odd minute running time, Benedetta dabbles in some of Verhoeven’s career-long weaknesses while highlighting a great many of his strengths.

Overall, The Power of the Dog probably isn’t as powerful or wrenching as Campion intended for it to be but it remains an unsettling piece of cinema. It’s also a reminder that the Western is a broad enough genre to encompass much more than just “Cowboys and Indians.”

Viewed from the straightforward perspective of a narrative-based motion picture, writer/director Nathalie Biancheri’s sophomore feature never gains traction. There are some interesting ideas but it becomes increasingly difficult to relate to the characters or the situation the more obviously divorced from reality things become.

Scott is by no-means a “can’t miss” filmmaker. Although this is far from the worst films he has made, House of Gucci is among his most disappointing. With such a strong cast and the pedigree of a high-profile true crime story, viewers are likely to expect something with more octane. But the movie is too long and starts to spin its wheels long before it reaches its destination.

The film is notable for continuing to expand the corporation’s reach into different cultures while displaying a welcome maturation of animation beyond the conventional American standard into something that, although no less family-friendly, is thought-provoking and stimulating.

The movie as a whole isn’t about moments but a synthesis of all the factors that enriched the girls’ tennis DNA. Regardless of how much is true, how much has been softened and reshaped to suit the movie’s perspective, and how much is fabricated, the end result is compelling drama with top-notch performances and a feel-good denouement.

The surprisingly intimate result is enjoyable in the moment but the mental footprint fades rather quickly.

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.

Although there are certainly elements of tragedy in the storyline, this is first and foremost a crowd-pleaser. It touches the heart and, in addition to being Branagh’s most personal film, it’s also his most intimate. Unquestionably one of 2021’s most affecting motion pictures.

Considering the hype, it’s a disappointment. It might have been better to populate the movie with three unknowns and spend a little more on the screenplay. You can have The Rock, Wonder Woman, and Deadpool, but it doesn’t mean much if they don’t have clever things to say and meaningful things to do.

While The Beta Test does a solid job of presenting Jordan as the kind of person ripe for a comeuppance and giving us a high-octane performance to go with it, the movie falls down when it comes to basic storytelling.