What distinguishes The Nun is its silky, sumptuous shadows. Directed by British filmmaker Corin Hardy (“The Hallows”) and shot by Maxime Alexander (who was also cinematographer on the “Conjuring” spinoff “Annabelle: Creation,” The Nun shrouds itself so much in darkness that it at times verges on becoming a nightmarish abstraction. You almost lose sense of what exactly is going on, as Sister Irene falls into a labyrinthine abyss.

Donaldson ("No Way Out," "Marie") directs from a script by Daniel Pyne ("Pacific Heights," "Doc Hollywood"). He spins wheels at times and goes nowhere fast, but manages to produce a fairly even little adventure. There are good performances from the leads, with Rourke his usual nasty self - he's even sprayed his hair into a goofy-looking '50s 'do. Dafoe is determined and no-nonsense; Jackson is a proper, though somewhat manic, villain; and Mastrantonio provides a softened edge to the rough stuff. [20 Apr 1992]

All the charm and style in the world, and J.Lo has more than anyone, can’t make up for the bizarre tonal imbalance of “Shotgun Wedding,” a movie too violent to be funny and too funny (in the odd, weird sense) to be fun.

Hopkins has combined a tightly written script, two superior actors and stunning African vistas into a film that is breathtaking in its beauty and thrilling with suspense. [10 Oct 1996]

Al Capone’s last year could make for an interesting film, but there is little poetry or transcendence in Capone, and nothing even remotely close to the quietly devastating third act of “The Irishman.”

The Meg is best when it acknowledges its derivativeness, just one more silly shark movie in an ocean full of them.

The film has much to recommend it: great scenery, thrilling climbs, expert acting, Zinnemann's meticulous direction. But an oppressive melancholy overhangs the proceedings like an alpine mist, and the conclusion brings a feeling of hopelessness. [22 Nov 1982]

It’s not surprising that “Folie à Deux” originated in concept as a stage show. It’s stuck in place, with only Phoenix’s dazzling contortions to marvel at.

Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson suffer admirably as the farm couple, but their roles have no real dimension. [15 Jan 1985]

Few films in memory have squandered so much acting talent in such a cliche-ridden, exploitative and dishonest way.

The action comes fast and furious, and the banter is pleasant enough. Diaz, especially, makes the proceedings decently enjoyable and some of the sillier lines believable.

The issue is simply that with all the artistic resources and refreshing ideas here, there’s a fuzziness to the storytelling itself.

Honest Thief, co-written and directed by Mark Williams, is a predictable and slack affair, relying on eerie music, dark sets and smoke to create tension. There is no particular set of skills here.

It’s hard to overstate just how garish and frenetic this whole endeavor is. Even with the explosion of colors it still strains to hold interest.

Yes, the cinematography is what stands out here. There are also several compelling performances, though Baldwin’s somewhat halting, somber turn is not among them.

Wandering aimlessly in the well-worn corridors of 1980s puerile frat flicks, Life of the Party wobbles to a predictable end and then sort of finishes without a bang.

It's admittedly a gimmicky premise for a film about growing up, but screenwriters Kimi Peck and Dalene Young and director Robert F. Maxwell carry it off with lots of humor, reasonable sensitivity and only minimal mawkishness. [1 Apr 1980]

McKay, director of The Lego Movie, is most at home in humor, and The Tomorrow War can be funny. It’s less adept at some of the operatic notes it tries to strike, but, well, aliens can be tricky.

Writer-director Florian Zeller’s second installment in his trilogy examining mental health is an emotional wrecking ball almost exquisite in its destructive power.

The buddy movie balance of “Uncharted” never clicks. Wahlberg, who was once attached to play Holland’s part, plays Sully like Nathan’s roguish, less tech-savvy elder. But they lack the needed chemistry and the script, by Rafe Lee Judkins, Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, doesn’t give them enough comic material to do much with.

Paramount’s limp, animated remake actually triggers new stereotypes in the service of trying to expose racism for a pre-teen audience. The studio seems to have reached for legitimacy by bringing the venerated Brooks along for the bumpy ride, darkening both legacies. What emerged sits uneasily at the corner of tribute, parody, theft and laziness.

Fire and Ice combines fairy tale with sword-and-sorcery for a visually impressive, often exciting feat of animation. [05 Sep 1983]

The Jared Hess-directed action-adventure artfully straddles the line between delighting preteen gamers and keeping their parents awake.

For all its obviousness and insipid dialogue, Sniper does have many moments of armchair-clutching suspense as the two Americans dance and dodge their way around those speeding rebel bullets. And now and then there are flashes about the dark memories that sniper must endure. It's just that those moments and insights are unfortunately too few. [27 Jan 1993]

Wonder Park has a great premise about a spunky kid engineer and a world she constructs taking flight, but takes a few too many dark loop-de-loops and crashes hard. If you pass this amusement park, skip it.

It’s not the quality of the acting that limits Eastwood’s film. It’s a threadbare script that fails to find much of a story to tell behind the headlines.

Morano is absolutely adept in keeping tension rising, her characters grounded and her audience intrigued, a half-step behind.

It is more like half a movie, standing in the shadow of its parent. It is a film made to sell us more lunchboxes.