The Next Level feels a little too much like a money grab and, although moderately entertaining on a popcorn level, there’s a sense of missed opportunity.

The movie's point, which is impossible to miss, is that it's hard being black & gay in America and, while there's undoubtedly truth in that sentiment, it doesn't necessarily make for a compelling motion picture circa 2011.

As action-thrillers go, this one provides what the previews tease. Maybe that’s enough for an evening’s mindless, throw-away entertainment, but I can’t help but be disappointed that the filmmakers couldn’t have brought something more inventive to a genre that too often relies on worn-out tropes.

Underwritten yet nevertheless enjoyable.

There's enough fun to be had that it's almost possible to ignore the stupidity of the story and the cavity that replaces character development.

After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest.

Four words say all that needs to be said about Shrek the Third: more of the same.

This is probably Murphy's best comedic performance since "Bowfinger." The adrenaline is pumping and the outrageousness is dialed all the way up. Murphy is often funny, and occasionally hilarious.

As a big-budget B-grade monster movie, Kong: Skull Island is a home run. It offers all the tropes and clichés one expects from this sort of endeavor, sparing no expense when it comes to special effects. As a King Kong movie, however, Skull Island is less successful.

Has a fascinating premise; it's the execution that's sloppy.

Siberia is effectively well-paced, offers instances of tension, and doesn’t cheat at the end.

Despite being light in the story department, The Crimes of Grindelwald offers plenty of small pleasures and tightens up the linkage between this series and Harry Potter.

The acting is top-notch. Colin Farrell, who seems to be gravitating increasingly toward smaller films, effectively channels his manic energy. He and Brendan Gleeson display chemistry in the Odd Couple vein, occasionally giving rise to instances of humor. Ralph Fiennes plays one of the most twisted roles of his career.

This is a workmanlike motion picture with solid performances. It's just that the superior production values are used in service of a mediocre storyline.

If you take away Albert Nobbs' twist, all that's left is a project that would have been at home on Masterpiece Theater during its heyday.

The story is unfocused and the character development is virtually nonexistent.

Features minimal dialogue. It is mostly about mood and images, and it moves at a glacial pace.

I suppose High Art is as good a name as any for this pretentious melodrama, an often- diverting but ultimately pointless attempt to wed intellectual twaddle with a soap-opera-ish lesbian romance.

Although Like Crazy contains some emotionally on-target scenes, the movie as a whole feels glum and artificial. The characters, especially the male lead, are so low key that they're frustrating to watch.

Frankly, Snow Angels is a downer. This isn't inherently a negative - after all, some of the cinema's most powerful motion pictures are downbeat. However, in this case, there's no emotional force behind all the gloom - just a sense that something's missing.

Miracle at St. Anna is overlong and poorly focused. It tends to meander, the military context is not well established, and too much time is spent on interaction with underdeveloped secondary characters.

From the beginning, it's apparent that there's something "off" about Youth in Revolt. It's not that the film is fatally flawed, but the tone is uneven, the satire is blunt, the comedy rarely generates more than feeble laughs, and the lead character never comes fully to life.

Fuqua's portrait of Brooklyn is brutal and gritty; if only his characters were as vivid.

With an abrupt and unwelcome shift in tone and a surprisingly ordinary resolution, The Burnt Orange Heresy falls short of its Hitchcockian aspirations.

The problem with War Dogs isn’t the dark humor nor is it the cynically accurate deconstruction of military procurement and corruption. The lack of dynamism and depth in the characters is what hamstrings this production.

From a purely technical perspective, Charlotte Gray is expertly made -- the cinematography and music are evocative, and lead actress Cate Blanchett has no problem holding our attention. But, while Armstrong gets the notes right, she fails to play them with inspiration.

At its best, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown captures the flavor of the beloved comic strip gang but the stew is overcooked and things start to drag after a jaunty first half-hour or so. Overall, this is more for “Peanuts completists” than those looking to get a quick Charlie Brown fix.

It often tries too hard for laughs and gets cringes instead. Lawrence and Feldman play well off one another, but the movie needs more than that chemistry to be an unqualified success.