Claudia Puig

The only redeeming feature about The Gunman is its exotic locations.

Like an uneven album, the movie has some harmonious, authentically lilting moments and other off-putting ones.

Director Kirby Dick has gone from examining sexual assaults in the military in 2012's "The Invisible War" to investigating rapes on college campuses. His is an impassioned and well-researched film that will incite outrage.

With its vibrant sparkle and enchanting visuals, Cinderella almost makes you believe in magic.

These movies can't possibly be the best chance Neeson has got. Certainly he's offered more nuanced dramas that call on subtler acting skills and don't entail a mounting body count.

More like a serving of lukewarm treacle than savory tikka masala.

Chappie is meant to inspire questions about what it means to be human, and at times it does. However, director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp doesn't explore its intriguing premise deeply enough.

Focus never quite comes into clear view. It's a muddled and twisting romantic caper that at times feels like Steven Soderbergh lite.

If a pointless and nasty Hollywood satire filled with vile characters and no one to root for sounds like a good time, go see Maps to the Stars.

With its homages to "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," director David Gelb's The Lazarus Effect is at least smarter and tenser than last year's crop of tame horror films.

If you've seen "Mean Girls" or "Easy A," you've seen a far better version of The DUFF.

A cross-cultural charmer, an endearing true story told with intelligence and warmth by director Niki Caro (2002's Whale Rider).

Some of the gags are stupid-funny, others are just puerile, making for a hit-or-miss experience.

Mashing up satire, subtle social commentary, clever gadgetry, keen wit and high-octane style, this spy saga — based on the comic book series The Secret Service — is bolstered by a terrific cast.

Sitting through the turgid and tedious S&M melodrama that is Fifty Shades of Grey may feel like its own form of torture.

The quirky film is simultaneously bizarre, humorous, disturbing and suspenseful.

Moore goes into operatic mode as Mother Malkin, a nasty witch who morphs into a menacing winged dragon. The worst performance, however, belongs to Jeff Bridges as a marble-mouthed, curmudgeonly knight named Master Gregory.

The live-action elements — mostly in the person of Antonio Banderas as cranky pirate Burger Beard, who spends most of his time addressing a flock of seagulls — don't mesh seamlessly with the animated sequences. It almost feels like two movies awkwardly melded together.

The sci-fi film's reported $175 million budget must have gone largely into loopy production design, wild costumes, outlandish hairstyles and colorful make-up. It certainly didn't go into developing a coherent script or coaching believable performances.

Claustrophobic, compelling and suspenseful.

Give Binder credit for addressing racial divides even if not as profoundly as one would hope.

What was once fresh and innovative now is tired and overdone.

Predictable and foolishly unsuspecting characters react in ways that make you want to shake them. But there's an undeniable sense of silly fun in this erotic thriller.

Strange Magic is strange all right, but hardly magical.

Whishaw, Hawkins and Downton Abbey's Bonneville strike just the right notes. Imaginative production design, which occasionally brings to mind Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," adds to the story's appeal.

Blackhat is a tedious, preposterous and incoherent cyberthriller that is anything but thrilling.

While this third installment offers a jot more humor (mostly unintentional), the action scenes are disjointed, badly staged and mind-numbing.

Despite its patina of stylishness, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is sorely lacking in thrills.