Perhaps only of merit to the hardest of hardcore Van Damme completists, Kickboxer: Vengeance is a rehashed, lackadaisical outing in need of goofy silliness and campy flair.

Records does his best Lou Taylor Pucci in the lead role, crazed yet innocent (his turn from Where the Wild Things Are unavoidably brought to mind). He imbues John with a sense of longing, out-of-place and out-of-touch with social cues delivered his way.

Don’t Breathe makes for a very fun little thriller, though it also veers into being exceptionally stupid or eye-rollingly gross (although admittedly, it is sometimes more than one of these things simultaneously)

Just as things get bumpy and tensions rise, a bow-tied resolution commences, devoid of stakes yet overflowing with heavy-handed message.

Despite feeling too familiar, as far as late-summer comedies go, it’s hard to deny War Dogs is entertaining and skillfully crafted, playing fast and loose with the actual story, while remaining politically middle of the road.

Aboubakr Bensaïhi and Martha Canga Antonio deliver unforgettable performances as these two teenagers in way over their head.

Guatemala’s first-ever entry for the foreign language Oscar is an absorbing, beautifully-shot drama of cultural ritual and the drive of one young woman to escape a rudimentary social system.

Steeped in the mythology and fables of Japanese history, it’s another fantastical adventure from the studio with innovation and awe at every turn, despite a story that could benefit from having more specificity and focus.

As wartime thrillers go, Anthropoid is disappointingly limp.

Florence Foster Jenkins is nice, but only in the way that any undeservedly wealthy person considers themselves “nice” when they give a pittance to charity while sheltering as much as possible from the IRS and spending extravagantly on themselves.

Blood Father, directed by Jean-François Richet (Mesrine, Assault on Precinct 13), works remarkably well as a grindhouse throwback, sporting a screenplay (from Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff, based on Craig’s novel) that’s better than it has any right to be.

Sausage Party is a mixed bag of comedy, but when it finally has the gusto to ratchet things up on a visual level, the surrealistic vulgarity is something to be appreciated, even if you may feel assaulted once the lights come up.

[Schoenaerts] and Kruger can’t sell the low-key attraction that develops between their characters, which turns a lot of the stakes — and the story’s resolution — into absolute shrugs. This is what Disorder ultimately adds up to.

Though the film misses the opportunity to flesh out its alternative vision through character depth and narrative idiosyncrasy, its innovation through violence is a sight worth seeing.

Along with Aisholpan’s enduring spirit, The Eagle Huntress excels in portraying the beauty and respect the people here have for both the animals and environment.

Despite being energetic even if it wears out its welcome and fascinating even as it frustrates, it never quite commits to a tone in true punk rock spirit.

A tense journey of psychological despair.

Neither Heaven Nor Earth transports you to a world where you believe anything could happen because it effectively paints wartime life so closely to supernatural terror. War may quite literally be hell.

If you were not a fan of the original film or are easily offended, Klovn Forever will do little to change your opinion on Frank and Casper’s style of humor. But those who enjoy their antics will undoubtedly find this sequel delivers the goods, despite being unable to top their outrageous outing that was the first feature.

A pensively maudlin Hallmark commercial, if such a thing exists, Five Nights In Maine aspires to the levels of high-minded, heart-wrenching tearjerkery, and falls short.

Without the narrative or formal conviction to pull off the clichés rampant throughout, it sadly seems stuck between two worlds.

Muddled characters and uneven storytelling are the roots of the issues here, but the ways in which Ayer seems to try to cover up his film’s deficiencies grate most of all.

The humor enhances this drive by lightening the weightiness of the Lunsfords’ struggle as well as endearing them as a relatable group not so different from our own families regardless of our personal issues possibly not matching their immense tragedy.

The jokes simply don’t land as hard as they should, even though the cast has a genuinely interesting shorthand with each other.

The film’s charms exist in the performative elements contextualized amongst the film’s interviewees.

Atmosphere and mood are the film’s strong suit, both growing thickly heavy as time elapses and strange occurrences commence.

The journey is nuanced and subtle, though, just like its science-fiction premise. So don’t expect a thrill a minute.

It’s nice that Spa Night has a story with a different kind of protagonist than what we’re used to, but it tells that story with all the lackluster waffling of any other shaky indie drama.