NEW YORK (CNS) -- The most frequently used word in the animated adventure "Wonder Park" (Paramount) is "splendiferous." But the constant, eventually annoying, repetition of the term only draws attention to the fact that it does not apply to the proceedings on screen -- which fall far short of such a superlative.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Five Feet Apart" (Lionsgate), a generally engaging young-adult romantic drama about the redeeming power of sacrificial love, is aimed, with the precision of a heat-seeking missile, at 17-year-old girls.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Wit, positive messages and lavish production values buoy the origin story "Captain Marvel" (Disney). While some of the mythos in this adaptation of various strands of Marvel Comics lore, as well as other considerations, make it unsuitable for kids, the film is tame enough to be possibly acceptable for mature teens.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Tyler Perry has given his alter ego Mabel "Madea" Simmons, in what is billed as the final film of her escapades, a sweet and funny valedictory in "A Madea Family Funeral" (Lionsgate).
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- In his 1922 book "What I Saw in America," the great Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton reflects on how beautiful New York's Times Square would be for someone who couldn't read. Similarly, the animated adventure "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" (Universal) would benefit from being shown without sound.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- You can't judge a book by its cover -- or, in this case, a film by its title. "Fighting With My Family" (MGM) turns out to be an entertaining comedy-drama despite its off-putting name.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Everything viewers need to know about the futuristic action adventure "Alita: Battle Angel" (Fox) is summed up in the line of dialogue that describes its young heroine, played by Rosa Salazar, as having "the face of an angel and the body of a warrior."
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Funny thing about recent Hollywood comedies, many of them are anything but. Whether marred by a post-"Hangover" desire to be outrageous or by actions or situations entirely unrelated to normal human behavior, they usually wind up being more tiresome than tickling.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Like its 2017 predecessor, "Happy Death Day 2U" (Universal) is all about being trapped in time. But a scattershot effort to cross genres and the undercutting of its essentially sound basic values by gory moments and some vulgar content may leave viewers of writer and returning director Christopher Landon's follow-up feeling as though they're the ones confined.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Grown moviegoers with a strong tolerance for mayhem will learn from the edgy creepy-kid tale "The Prodigy" (Orion), if they didn't already know it, that the technical term for having different colored eyes is heterochromia.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- "What Men Want" (Paramount) examines female empowerment and the constant mutual misunderstandings that beset the sexes. A somewhat high raunch factor, however, necessitates a restrictive rating.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- A grieving father embarks on a murderous rampage to avenge the death of his son in "Cold Pursuit" (Summit), a bloodthirsty crime thriller. Director Hans Petter Moland has taken the unusual step of remaking his own Norwegian-language film, 2014's "In Order of Disappearance," this time in English and relocated to the American Rockies. Despite some fine acting and stunning cinematography, this time-worn tale of vigilante-as-hero remains as unacceptable for viewers of faith as it was in the "Death Wish" movies of old.
Read more
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Everything is (still) awesome in "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" (Warner Bros.), a spirited and amusing sequel to 2014's "The Lego Movie." This go-round, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller turned the directing reins over to Mike Mitchell ("Shrek Ever After"), but remained as co-writers, serving up the expected preponderance of puns and bounty of belly laughs that made the original animated movie so popular.
Read more