It doesn’t offer a story of any surprising depth or emotional strength. It’s straightforward which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but the limitations of this telling of Colette’s life is defined by a familiar quality.

Crisply paced but undercut by hard-to-swallow plot contrivances, the movie doesn’t waste much time, taking only about an hour and a quarter to unspool.

To the extent that Venom works, it’s as a comedy not an action/adventure superhero film.

All movies have a perspective. The one presented in The Hate U Give is measured but unmistakable. The film is incisive; its manipulation is covert and strategic, engendering feeling without seeming intrusive.

Cooper directs with a sure hand, never overextending himself, and Lady Gaga proves to be a natural performer (she’s more believable in the role than Barbra Streisand was 42 years ago). She and Cooper exhibit a strong, primal chemistry. The movie works because we believe in them and have a rooting interest in their star-crossed, doomed love affair.

Made for the National Geographic Channel, Science Fair was devised as a television project. As such, it’s more than worthy of the time spent viewing it. The material is strong enough, however, that for those who appreciate documentaries of this sort, it’s a reasonable candidate for theatrical viewing.

There’s a sense that, in trying to add humor and cinema-friendly “touches” to her narrative, Gleason occasionally takes us too far from reality and, during those times, the movies loses its focus on the 16-year old protagonist, Jamie Winkle (Joey King).

In his latest diatribe, Moore throws everything at the viewer including the kitchen sink and hopes something – anything – will stick. Sadly, not much does.

Although there are times when the story loses its focus (mostly during the scattershot and occasionally confusing second half), the overall impression is one of satisfaction and the animation is better than anything to emerge from Japan since Miyazaki “retired.”

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.

Life Itself starts out with great promise – a dizzying first act that creates the tapestry of a character’s life by offering a kaleidoscope of moments from his past. It’s poignant, effective, and punctuated by actions that are breathtakingly sudden and unexpected. However, after the strong beginning, the movie takes a conventional turn.

Unlike the Harry Potter movies, The House with a Clock in Its Walls fails to find the sweet spot for cross-generational appeal.

Lack of focus is ultimately the undoing of sophomore feature director Yann Demange – despite crafting several compelling stand-alone sequences, he is unable to stitch everything together into a compelling whole.

A fully disengaged brain is probably the key to enjoying Final Score. Employing even basic logic engenders a recognition of how truly stupid this screenplay is, especially when it comes to the resolution.

Although there’s admittedly some perverse entertainment value to be found in this soap-opera derived mystery, the movie never rises to the level of something gripping like "Gone Girl." It’s occasionally fun in a trashy sort of way, but nothing more.

Black is a capable action director so the individual fight scenes are well-executed and occasionally involving. It might have helped the excitement level if we had more than a passing affinity for any of the characters.

The sense of verisimilitude helps to ground the drama. Although MDMA goes to some dark places and features its share of ugly scenes, it’s ultimately a story of hope and redemption. It helps to remember that Wang has become a successful businesswoman and now filmmaker.

Ultimately, however, the movie is so desperate for a conventional ending that it subverts everything it was willing to try earlier.

The overall package, despite suffering from some third-act narrative problems, generally goes down easily and boasts a strong, lived-in performance by Shannon Purser (Barbara from the first season of Stranger Things).

Peppermint isn’t preaching a message; it’s intended as escapist fun. The problem is, there’s nothing “fun” about sitting through this 100-minute exercise in robotic butchery.

Five Fingers of Marseilles is simultaneously familiar and unique. As befits a film set in an isolated corner of the pre-and-post-Apartheid country, the movie incorporates its contemporaneous circumstances into the plot.

An unevenly paced but ultimately winning romantic comedy, Juliet, Naked is the latest success based on a Hornby novel, joining "Brooklyn," "High Fidelity," "About a Boy," and "Fever Pitch."

There’s nothing momentous about The Wife but it functions equally effectively as a character-based drama and an allegorical statement about the power dynamic between men and women in pre-21st century marriages.

A taut, effectively paced mystery-thriller with a powerful emotional component

As horror movies go, Boarding School is worth seeing simply because it’s different. Not weird, off-the-wall different like mother! or Hereditary, but different in a good way.

At times dull and plodding and at other times cartoonishly silly, Kin rarely works and, when it does, it’s often for the wrong reasons.

The movie, which is concerned primarily with the several weeks surrounding Eichmann’s capture, mixes factual elements with a few “Hollywood touches” to provide a compelling thriller.

First-time director Jonathan Watson crafts a film that’s neither funny nor exciting, although it often seems to be straining to be one or the other. It’s a tonal mess and its inconsistencies make it a frustrating viewing experience.