From a purely narrative perspective, there’s nothing new here but like a new arrangement of a familiar tune, the slight changes make it fresh and enjoyable.

An amateurish effort that boasts direct-to-video characteristics, the latest version disappoints in almost every production aspect.

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.

Anthropoid is engrossing but it isn’t happy. War movies, at least the best of them, seldom are.

The best animated feature (at least thus far) of 2016.

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.

Matt Ross’ screenplay occasionally stumbles (especially late in the proceedings) and the ending opts for a too-facile resolution but the director/writer offers moments of genuine power and pathos that make it easy to forgive the missteps.

Despite regurgitating elements from the founding trilogy, Jason Bourne represents the best the series has yet offered.

Nerve does a better job with its style and pacing than it does with its characters but, ultimately, Vee is likable enough for us to stay on the ride with her. For a late-summer throwaway, the film is surprisingly entertaining.

The plot, credited to Simon Pegg & Doug Jung, is pure Trek. Unfortunately, it’s also instantly forgettable.

A scathing satire of conspicuous consumption and a fashion-obsessed culture, Absolutely Fabulous - The Movie hits most of its targets and twists the knife but, as funny as the material sometimes is, the flimsy narrative and threadbare caricatures encounter difficulties trying to sustain a 90 minute motion picture.

Unfortunately, the film stumbles, offering too few legitimate scares and displaying an overreliance on traditional horror movie clichés.

It is, at best, an oversized, overbudgeted Saturday morning cartoon.

This is a mediocre horror/comedy that deserves neither high praise nor disparagement.

This isn’t "Miami Vice." In fact, the intent (perhaps intentional) is for the gritty, noir-tinged The Infiltrator to tilt in the opposite direction.

Like much of what transpires during the course of this production, it’s just crass.

The Secret Life of Pets is strong enough that parents won’t fall into a catatonic state while watching it with their offspring. Unlike top-notch animated fare, however, it’s questionable whether this can be considered “destination fare” for the single adult.

Unlike so many of the bloated, disappointing entries into the 2016 big budget sweepstakes, this is good escapist entertainment.

Contrasting The BFG to "E.T." does the new film a disservice, and it’s mediocre enough that it doesn’t need the comparison to emphasize its shortcomings. In recent years, Spielberg has become a hit-and-miss filmmaker and this is closer to a “miss” than a “hit.”

The film clearly wants to be more than just a run-of-the-mill horror-thriller but the allegorical aspects are half-baked and the attempts to mimic Kubrick’s "A Clockwork Orange" and "Eyes Wide Shut" feel more like campy satire than an homage.

Tarnishes the image of its predecessor but the original Independence Day wasn’t all that good to begin with.

The film’s problem is that, after chronicling Nancy’s nightmarish 12 hours on a tiny rock island, director Jaume Collet-Serra and screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski don’t know how to end things. Their choice of a resolution is preposterous and underwhelming.

Horror fans will be so bored by the first 90 minutes that they will have either walked out or fallen into a coma by the time the blood starts flowing.

With its canned, predictable action sequences and mirthless attempts at humor, it displays an ineptitude that is frankly shocking considering the talent involved.

Finding Dory is enjoyable in its own right, even if its powerful sense of déjà vu keeps it from approaching the pinnacle of the Disney/Pixar collaborations.

Warcraft provides the shell of a great fantasy adventure saga but never effectively goes beyond that. This is much more like the bad fantasy of the 1980s and 1990s than the better brand we have recently become accustomed to.

This time around, however, the magic has fizzled. Based solely on merit, Now You See Me 2 is a sequel that should never have been made.

The Conjuring 2 proves that, with a sufficient investment of time and energy, sequels don’t have to be unsatisfying cash-grabs.