"The Secrets of Dumbledore" has the most competent story yet, even if it's missing some crucial details to properly flesh out new elements of the wizarding world.

Cronin and his team work overtime to make this movie gross, filled with goo and guts and uncomfortable squelching noises. A lifetime of horror movies has made me mostly immune to such things, but the third act of this film goes to such gruesome places that a woman at my screening who had inexplicably brought her very young child to this R-rated movie quickly scooped her kid up and hurried out of the theater.

The Instigators makes exceptional use of Damon, Affleck, and the rest of its impeccable roster. It's just a shame that even this cast can't make this add up to more than a movie that's, quite simply, the sum of its parts.

There’s a beating heart at the center of First Date, but unfortunately, the movie is less interested in exploring that central relationship and more amused with its zany cast of idiotic supporting characters. Good pacing can only get you so far.

While there are some truly jaw-droppingly beautiful visuals that speak to a greater imagination on Ando and Miyaji's part — they were animation directors for several acclaimed projects and have a keen eye for how to make things look good — the soul is missing. The Deer King can't help but feel like a paint-by-the-numbers riff on greater films before it.

Wendy should not be written-off entirely, and younger audiences may be taken with the movie’s sugar-rush charms. But in the end, there’s not enough fairy dust in the world to make Wendy fly.

Sometimes you want to see a fine-tuned work of precision pop art like "Jaws," and sometimes you just want to watch a CGI shark bite a guy on the ass. We, as movie-watchers, contain multitudes.

Vivo is plenty colorful, with a bright pastel palette both when the film’s action takes place in Cuba and in Florida, though the backgrounds are far less detailed than would be ideal. It’s good, but not good enough. The same is true of the story, and of the songs.

Most attempts to adapt the works of Jack London to the big screen have, more often than not, resulted in a neutered final product. Chris Sanders‘ live-action/computer-animated adaptation of The Call of the Wild falls firmly in this category.

For a movie that insists on the value of artistry, it certainly plays like an expensive knock-off. I liked it fine, because I love these characters in this world, but ultimately... that's all.

Free Guy is the equivalent of a pop earworm – something a little tinny and artificial that nevertheless worms its way into your brain, whether you want it or not. Which makes it rather fitting that the big emotional crux of the movie is actually based around a pop song. And that the film’s star is epitome of pop likability: smooth, digestible, inoffensive — yes, even with all the curses that roll off his tongue.

It's sturdy, dependable stuff, and it might do the trick for viewers not expecting a more traditional serial killer thriller. But if you're looking for something beyond a surface-level telling of a true story, you might just want to rewatch "Zodiac" again instead.

It's really a movie about a couple reconnecting with each other and with their kids through the power of the lottery. It's very silly, yes, but the movie at least seems to sincerely believe in this.

Ultimately, Night Swim is a bit of a contradiction in terms, a mostly generic horror film that impressively adds a few unique elements to the proceedings. It's a shame that McGuire doesn't follow Russell's lead and allow the movie to really go bonkers; perhaps they were intimidated by 2002's "Dark Water" or the "Jack Frost" films, which do more with the idea of "evil water" than is seen here. Still, "Night Swim" delivers the goods enough to be a fun time, and like a day in a backyard pool, it may not be super memorable but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable.

Insidious: The Red Door closes the book on the Lambert family and delivers more than a few thrills and chills. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it doesn't really add a whole lot to the series as a whole.

Admittedly, How to Train Your Dragon is not terrible like some of the Disney remakes out there, and it's better than almost all of them, but it's not substantial enough to warrant its existence.

This movie isn’t going to rock anyone’s world, but it’s a sweet little movie with a wholesome message and a good-natured attitude that will almost certainly bring a few smiles to your face. Sometimes, that’s good enough.

As a showcase for Gyllenhaal's talents, The Guilty is passable, but that's just not enough.

The problem with Like a Boss is that it spends so much time being a pale imitation of other female-led comedies that it overlooks what makes the film work: Haddish and Byrne. If you just let them riff, let them live together and let the cameras roll, you would get an infinitely better movie than the middling workplace comedy that Like a Boss turns out to be.

Those craving a well-put-together monster movie with creepy creature effects and sturdy set-pieces will probably find plenty to like here. But it shouldn't be controversial to want better results. As I said at the start of this review, there are no bad "Alien" movies. But with Alien: Romulus, there's definitely a disappointing one.

This is a sweet, friendly, low-key affair that often feels less like a story and more like a home movie Linklater collected to share with his grandkids.

De Armas' dazzling screen presence is inarguable. But with a disjointed directorial eye and a messy script, de Armas is simply doing the best she can within the chaotic world of Monroe's life, but also the chaotic world the film itself forces her to be a part of.

Green’s humanistic stamp is evident when Wahlberg expresses a soulful sentiment or denunciation of narrow-minded thinking, yet there’s little for any director to do when faced with such an untidy script.

Spaceman fails to grab our attention and, like Sandler's character, feels adrift. But as the journey towards the Chopra cloud — which Hanuš describes as "the beginning of everything" — continues, the conversations between spaceman and space spider grow warm, thoughtful, and even charming.

All Jacked Up and Full of Worms is a movie that clearly doesn't care if it's enjoyed by the majority of viewers. While that is commendable to a certain degree, it shouldn't come at the cost of an undercooked and wasted narrative.

Once you overlook the commercialism of it all, this premise is fine, and has potential. But writer Billie Bates and director David Poag fail to explore it to its full potential.

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.