Brian Lowry

A polished and satisfying film, yet one that conspicuously feels even more like a consumer product than most Disney revivals of its animated classics.

The problem is that those pulling Child's Play's strings don't consistently commit to anything other than the gore.

Even grading on a curve, though, Murder Mystery is a tired, bordering on tiresome endeavor -- feeling like the pilot for a not-very-good TV show -- as well as a reminder that Netflix's content buffet caters to all kinds of tastes.

Toy Story 4 delivers a cinematic grand slam, a nine-years-later sequel that's wholly equal to the high expectations raised by the terrific trio that it follows. Touching, raucously funny, adventurous and yes, even profound, Pixar's signature property once again touches them all.

A private eye who's "a sex machine to all the chicks," as the song went back in 1971, isn't exactly tailor-made to 2019. The new "Shaft" plays with that tension but yields mixed results, in an action comedy that's neither consistently funny nor especially exciting, despite Samuel L. Jackson's second stab at the part.

The movie conjures some of the goofy charms associated with the franchise, but sags in its midsection like "Endgame"-vintage Thor before nicely rallying at the finish.

There's a good movie to be made about a woman wading into late-night TV's headwinds -- both in front of and behind the curtain. Despite solid moments, Late Night isn't consistently it.

Simon Kinberg has worked on scripts for three previous X-Men films, and with his promotion here to writer and director, approaches the material with considerable conviction, as well as plenty of callbacks to the earlier movies. What he can't do, at least consistently, is make this story pop, or prevent the inevitable showdown -- with multiple parties engaged in a massive battle -- fully engaging, as opposed to devolving into a sort-of chaotic mess.

Park and Wong are both innately likable, which makes the movie pleasant enough to watch, but also a bit of a slog given the ostensible inevitability of where it's heading.

Those raised on John's music will surely luxuriate in the songs, from the title track to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Your Song" to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." In those moments, it's easy to share the euphoric sense of being lifted off the ground. It's only a bit of shame that Rocketman, as constructed, doesn't consistently stay airborne.

The net effect is more numbing than stirring, with only a few monster-on-monster tussles that come close to being worth the price of admission.

Chalk it up to modest expectations -- starting with early previews that rubbed people the wrong way -- but Aladdin is a great deal of fun, with charming leads and elaborately mounted songs. It's hardly a whole new world, but in this suddenly well-populated land of live-action reboots, makes the most out of its familiar one.

Proves just clever enough to come out on the right side of a split decision.

There's a lot of teeth-sinking, bordering on scenery-chewing, in this latest film from writer-director Dan Gilroy, which reunites him with Gyllenhaal and real-life spouse Rene Russo after their collaboration on "Nightcrawler."

Still, the madcap nature of the exercise -- and narrative road map that the earlier movie provides -- can't help but make this incarnation feel less inspired, for all its colorful irreverence, before rallying a bit at the finish.

A mildly pleasant but significantly flawed vehicle for Taraji P. Henson.

A wholly forgettable movie, most likely to be remembered, lamentably, for its contributing role in Neeson landing in hot water.

Isn't It Romantic has charm to burn, in a light-hearted send-up of romantic comedies that playfully turns all the familiar tropes into a lively vehicle for Rebel Wilson. The movie owes a thematic debt to "Groundhog Day," but mostly -- in a film so conscious of conventions that it niftily bleeps its foul language -- it's a heckuva lot of fun.

There are no icebergs here, but that doesn't prevent the movie from sinking under its own weight.

A solidly made animated feature, but one more notable for the height of its aspirations than its consistent ability to deliver on them.

The movie does contain an empowering message thanks to its gender distinction, which is thrown into sharper focus by the period. Yet while it's a welcome landmark, Marvel and Disney's ambitious plans will almost surely reduce that status to a historical footnote.

Wonder Park feels like the kind of mild attraction that younger kids might enjoy when it hits secondary platforms. It's just not an adventure that's worth the price of a ticket or standing in line to see.

Richardson, in particular, shines in the role.

As a first film, this movie would have surely been hailed for its promise. Held up against a debut that garnered a well-deserved Oscar nomination and honors for best original screenplay, it's easy to come way thinking that "Us" doesn't merit all that fuss.

Dumbo achieves a minor miracle, taking a challenging animated classic and completely refashioning it into an effective, often-charming live-action movie.

A bloody mess.

Even with the interlocking nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Endgame feels like a triumph of narrative engineering -- weaving in enough callbacks to earlier movies to delight even the nerdiest patrons.

One wishes the movie had a little more heft to it. It's fine, even welcome, to see a superhero exult in his abilities, and on that level, "Shazam!" is generally fun. Even so, that lightning symbol notwithstanding, the film only occasionally conjures the spark of magic that gives the title its meaning.