Movie Reviews

Emotional ambiguity pervades the dramatization "Killers of the Flower Moon" (Paramount/Apple TV+). Epic yet intimate, director and co-writer Martin Scorsese's masterful recounting of real-life events in 1920s Oklahoma is too gritty for kids, but deeply rewarding for grown-ups and possibly acceptable for older teens.

Small-time retail investors take on some of the titans of Wall Street in the wry fact-based blend of comedy and drama "Dumb Money" (Sony). Although the David vs. Goliath aspect of director Craig Gillespie's film is appealing, the relentless vulgarity of its dialogue gives his retrospective a hard edge and renders it acceptable for few.

Although the horror sequel "The Exorcist: Believer" (Universal) gets off to a reasonably promising start, it degenerates quickly. In fact, it ends up being a muddle both dramatically and, more significantly, in its treatment of religion.

Curmudgeonly comedian W.C. Fields may have warned his peers never to act with dogs or children. But the combination has proved a highly successful one -- on both the small and big screen -- for the folks behind the franchise that gets an extension with the spirited cartoon adventure "Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie" (Paramount).

Science fiction is often used as an allegorical vessel within which to explore real-life current events, and such is the case with "The Creator" (20th Century). Although primarily set in the year 2070, this thinking person's war drama takes for its main topic the very timely subject of artificial intelligence.

With "Expend4bles" director Scott Waugh extends a franchise that dates back to 2010 and that has always been fueled by mindless machismo. The latest blood-soaked entry in the series maintains that lunkheaded outlook.

"Tenacity is a superpower," observes a character in the fact-based profile "A Million Miles Away" (Amazon). And so it seems to prove for the subject of director and co-writer Alejandra Márquez Abella's warm, folksy biopic, Mexican American astronaut José Hernández (Michael Peña).

"A Haunting in Venice" is the third in a series of Agatha Christie adaptations, all featuring her famed sleuth Hercule Poirot, on which director and star Kenneth Branagh has collaborated with screenwriter Michael Green. Yet, in at least two related respects, the newcomer is noticeably distinct from its predecessors.