You can drop Nic Cage in your dull movie all you want, but when you do, you're only getting a memorable Cage performance in an otherwise unmemorable story. I love to watch Cage work. I just wish I didn't have to watch him work under these conditions.

For all the storylines it juggles — part love story, part franchise extension, and part treatise on how mind-numbingly awful group projects in class can be (seriously, this early section might actually be the highlight of the movie) — The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes feels caught between its humbler, more character-driven aims and the blockbuster expectations of reinvigorating a brand.

As entertaining as it may be to revel in the 1990s setting of it all, not updating the script makes The Little Things feel stale. The bad guys are one-note creeps; the men are stoic and violent; the women only exist to be either background noise or helpless victims. Even some 30 years ago all of this would’ve felt dated. Today, The Little Things has even less to offer.

It all ends up being a touch forgettable by the time the end credits roll, but the journey to get there is never dull.

There are plenty of enjoyable moments here, and audiences who want nothing more than a Jason Statham beat-'em-up will surely be satisfied. But this movie's narrative and creative stumbles put into stark relief what we've known for 10 years now: The "John Wick" formula might seem easy to replicate, but to make an equally legendary action film is much, much harder than it looks.

As a movie, It Ends With Us is an infuriating, emotionally manipulative watch and a disservice to the talents of every actor involved.

Anemone does a capable job of building up the mystery at its heart, waiting and waiting until the pressure builds before finally giving both audiences and its characters a release valve — primarily through yet another tour-de-force monologue that Daniel Day-Lewis makes a meal out of, as he's done many a time before.

A maniacal whirlwind of cinematic insanity, it feels equally likely that Prisoners of the Ghostland could become a cult classic or disappear into the fog. Whether its overall inscrutability is a bug or a feature remains to be seen.

If you're simply looking to see Murphy slip back into a familiar role and have a little fun, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" might do the trick. Even though this film is lackluster, it's still fun to watch Eddie Murphy do his thing, and there are moments here where he genuinely seems to be having a good time, and that can be contagious. So maybe that's enough to satisfy. Or, when you sit down and fire up Netflix to watch this film, you can make a wiser choice and just watch "Dolemite is My Name" instead. It'll be a much better use of your time, I promise.

If you're looking for a creepy children horror film to watch, "There's Something Wrong with the Children" will deliver that in half-measures. But there are enough bloody thrills and dramatic tension at play here to make it a fun romp for a Friday night and bowl of popcorn.

There’s so much wasted potential here. As the story draws to its big, loud climax, and one fan-service moment after another arises, you begin to get the sense that Abrams is just checking off boxes and fulfilling a quota. There’s no spark; no joy; no life. If this truly is the end of the Skywalker Saga, what an ignoble end it is.

The Forever Purge is at its best when it’s attempting to subvert the standard formula.

The beauty of the "V/H/S" series is that it continues to showcase the infinite flexibility of found footage horror, giving thrilling collections of genre filmmakers a chance to strut their stuff and test the boundaries. And with "V/H/S 85," everyone means business.

We Have a Ghost can't escape its overstuffed nature, and that hampers the entire experience.

This version of Nani and Lilo's relationship is far closer to reality, which makes the heartstring-pulling snap back with even more intensity. In a cute albeit sanitized reimagining, the bond of these sisters is the one thing that cannot be broken.

Despite a villain that does everything possible to elevate The Amazing Maurice, this is a forgettable movie. I think kids will have a decent time with it. Adults won't be as fortunate, and it'll take a lot of restraint to not stare at their watches.

Blackk makes for a great protagonist, and Haddish gets some big laughs here and there, but the rest of the cast feels slightly lost, primarily because the story introduces them only to then have them fade into the background.

I found myself annoyed that such a fresh new take on Dracula, and from Nic Cage no less, is wasted on such a lousy movie. Nicolas Cage's Dracula deserves a better movie, and so do we.

In the end, Affleck is the film's only real draw. His funny, uncouth, working-class schlub performance breathes much-needed oxygen into the film's lungs, but at the end of the day, this isn't his story, and it really should've been.

It's silly at times. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Yet, it also has something pretty loud and timely to say. It goes hard with the gore when it needs to. The movie feels a little long in the tooth at times, particularly before we figure out what's going on, but that's a minor crime compared to what Nelson got away with here.

After this solid set-up, The Devil Made Me Do It occasionally grows a bit murky.

All of this is very silly, but there's nothing wrong with that! In fact, Hypnotic would be a lot better off if it learned to lean into that silliness. Instead, Rodriguez keeps everything very dour, and while he injects some life here and there via action beats (the bank robbery scene is quite well-staged, as are several chase sequences), the filmmaker can never really get "Hypnotic" working.

Love it or hate it, believe it to be honest or self-indulgent, "The Moment" is a movie that refuses to pander, and for that, I appreciate it. We may never know who the real Charli XCX is, but unlike the fictional Charli, she seems to be putting herself out there on her own terms.

Deep Water has its pleasures, some of which are of the inexplicably daffy variety . . . And when you compare Deep Water to ... well, just about every other movie available right now, either in theaters or streaming, it really does feel like a singular sensation.

Elba is his usual dependable self — the man oozes charisma, even when threatening people with violence. And Serkis is clearly having fun playing such a repulsive bad guy; the type of villain we can't wait to see get his comeuppance. This all results in a sturdy little thriller that runs a little long but mostly gives you what you want.

Tatum and Johansson are the stars of the show, oftentimes conveying with a mere look what entire monologues couldn't have accomplished. These are the two engines propelling the movie into the stratosphere, taking what could've been a disposable, forgettable effort and transforming it into an experience that'll have you floating on air out of the theater ... likely as you hum a very apt Frank Sinatra tune to yourself.c

There's a difference between intentionally misleading the audience and cleverly setting up, then subverting, expectations. Ultimately, "Monstrous" does the former, leaning far too heavily on expository dialogue that fundamentally contradicts everything the audience is seeing.

Happy Gilmore 2 is a poor excuse for nostalgic comedy, and you'd have more fun getting a colonoscopy with a rake.