Hitpig seems to have gone all in on the goofy humor and left the movie with an unappealing and unenthusiastic story that, despite the novelty of a bounty hunter pig, can't make up for a movie with no stakes.

Clifford will entertain the youngest viewers, and is destined to be the kind of film preschoolers want to watch again and again, but most audiences will be bored by its stale jokes, two-dimensional characters, and lazy writing.

What enjoyment there is to draw from the action, which has its ups and downs, is tainted by the skepticism of this whole endeavor that's baked into the filmmaking. Even knowing better which direction they should go in, McQuoid & Co. remain frustratingly unwilling to commit to it. What they've made is tellingly at its best when making fun of itself.

Whatever the intent, the execution isn’t all the way there, and that’s the biggest disappointment of all.

The feature doesn’t dig any deeper than it has to, leaving us drifting along with Jacqueline without anything to latch onto to keep us afloat.

I can't deny Krawchuk has absolutely improved on some of his missteps from the first film, but in his apparent effort to pull from the success of Terrifier 2, he learned the wrong lessons regarding mythology pacing and crafting a compelling final girl, making this slasher sequel another learning experience rather than a celebration.

Woodley and Mendelsohn do everything they can to convert the weak story to something worth watching.

Where’s the passion and the drama, the heart and the tension? Clooney’s lackluster film strips all that away, leaving behind a muted sports film that barely engages with its characters in any meaningful way.

While there are a few jumpscares during the family's stay in the farmhouse, the film is more geared towards evoking a feeling of uneasiness than truly frightening us.

The movie possesses reams of intriguing ideas, but instead reheats much of Legacy's plot and then busies itself with semi-incomprehensible set pieces.

No Man’s Land is largely uninterested in exploring the Mexican characters’ stories, which transforms the film into an unbalanced drama that lacks nuance.

It wants to celebrate the American Dream and the entrepreneurial spirit — while making a statement about consumerism and corporate greed. In the end, Queenpins doesn't really say anything, which would have been fine if it was at least funny.

While Our Little Secret passes the time just fine when Chenoweth and Lohan are butting heads, it has nothing to offer that hasn't been done better by even the most insipid of Netflix Christmas rom-coms.

Its best moments aren't in the octagon — they're in the quiet moments when Johnson's Kerr is talking to an interviewer backstage or when Dawn and Mark are exchanging barbs in between affections in their cozy Arizona home.

Capone has lofty ambitions of being the next great crime drama, but falls short of finding a compelling story about its subject's final days.

The Kindred is overrun with clichés despite providing some solid concepts, marred completely by a sluggish pace and unconvincing writing.

The movie's attempts to expand The Grudge's mythology generally don't work, and its stabs at being grittier and more realistic than the films before it are undone by its over-reliance on bloodshed and just plain unpleasant details for shock value.

All in all, The Legend of La Llorona is a kooky movie with more laughs than scares, and is best watched after midnight alongside like-minded friends.

Although there is much to love in the picture, and the subject matter is a topic that needs to be part of the public discourse, the film's many faults distract from the compelling people and events that Joe Bell is trying to honor.

Marks’ sophomore outing can be quite charismatic and fun, but it’s a misfire when it comes to exploring the couple and their attempts at polyamory.

It reaches for the spiritual vastness of Cloud Atlas and the hushed introspection of Ad Astra, yet ultimately struggles to stir even the faintest flicker of emotion or hope.

Annette is extravagant and ambitious, but it’s also frustrating, pompous and emotionally flat.

Director Chuck Russell’s projects always bring a sense of vivacity and killer action sequences in ways his peers often struggle with. But this time around, the magic is missing from Paradise City. Sure, his film contains reliable and entertaining components like most action features do — including an underlying vengeance plot, an expert conman, and even a budding romance — but these elements tend to quickly run their courses thanks to a predictable script, wonky dialogue, and pacing issues.

This story and these women deserve better.

Olympic Dreams' backstage look at the 2018 Olympics is much more compelling than the movie's bland and contrived romantic comedy storyline.

Arkansas struggles to find an internal rhythm - resulting in a laid-back crime film that suffers from flat execution, in spite of some bright spots.

The underlying story is about dealing with grief, but I’m Totally Fine is neither nuanced nor funny enough to comment on that topic meaningfully.

At the heart of this plausible political thriller is a need for more insightful and incisive writing. The Independent often shows audiences what they already know about American politics, but it doesn’t tell one more.