‘Poms’ is too embarrassed of itself to be empowering

There’s something irreconcilable about “Poms,” a movie about women in a retirement community who start a cheerleading club. The film wants us to laugh at the idea

‘Long Shot,’ a comedy with a big heart and smarts

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen make a sparkling comedic duo in the unconventional romantic comedy “Long Shot,” about a sleek politician and a schlubby journalist that is more than

A strong Efron, but little else new in Bundy biopic

When Ted Bundy died in the electric chair 30 years ago in Florida, a witness to the execution — a prosecutor in the case of a 12-year-old

‘Avengers: Endgame’ is Marvel’s machine in high gear

Satisfaction is a complicated concept in Marvel Land. On the one hand, every morsel of pre-release information is obsessively poured over in feverish anticipation. But by the

‘Little’ heralds big-time arrival of Marsai Martin

Since Hailee Steinfeld rode into town in “True Grit,” we’ve been fairly blessed by the big-screen breakthroughs of teenage actresses. To name just a few: Anya Taylor-Joy

Happy hunting Bonnie and Clyde in ‘The Highwaymen’

It’s hard to begin watching the Netflix movie “The Highwaymen” and not think about the way it will inevitably end — in a famous ambush and a

‘Dumbo’ remake takes flight on its own charms

The original “Dumbo” was released in the summer of 1941 while Germany was spreading across Europe and war was breaking out in the Pacific. Crafted as a simpler Disney

A symphony of debauchery in ‘The Beach Bum’

Matthew McConaughey is at his dirt bag finest as a good-time Charlie stoner-poet named Moondog in Harmony Korine’s “The Beach Bum,” a bizarre and transfixing carnival of

An untamed man and horse connect in ‘The Mustang’

We don’t find out our protagonist’s name for quite some time in “The Mustang,” the feature debut of French writer-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. All we know

In ‘Triple Frontier,’ a special-ops heist goes awry

Job opportunities seldom diverge as greatly as they do for the former special forces operatives of J.C. Chandor’s “Triple Frontier.” There is selling condos or taking contract

Julianne Moore shines in ‘Gloria Bell’

Everyone is vanishing around Julianne Moore’s title character in Sebastian Lelio’s “Gloria Bell.” The disappearances don’t come with blood-curdling shrieks or thundering score cues, but with the

In ‘Apollo 11,’ the thrill of landing on the moon

The 1969 mission to the moon has been seen in many phases before but never with the shining, crystal- clear fullness of Todd Douglas Miller’s extraordinary “Apollo

A sweet swan song for ‘How to Train Your Dragon’

Born in the 3-D land rush, “How to Train Your Dragon” has never quite shrugged off the bland corporate sheen attached to it from the start. But

‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ a gloriously gory art-world satire

The art installation, so often a playground in the contemporary art museum, is in Dan Gilroy’s gloriously gory satire “Velvet Buzzsaw” a terror chamber. Interactivity is involuntary.

‘Arctic’ is a solid, and solitary, survival tale

The premise for “Arctic” is so simple it’s almost silly to describe: Stranded man tries to survive. It’s also been done more than a few times

The underwhelming rollercoaster of ‘Glass’

Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price, or Mr. Glass, as he prefers to be called, was by far the most compelling part of M. Night Shyamalan’s slow-burn comic

‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ is an immersive marvel

Director Peter Jackson is upfront about what audiences should not expect from his unconventional World War I documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old.” This is a film

In ‘Cold War,’ a love exiled by communism

Joanna Kulig plays the role of a striking, sultry blonde named Zuzanna, or Zula It took “Aquaman” two and a half hours just to put a fancy trident

Nicole Kidman as a hardened LA cop in ‘Destroyer’

A different Nicole Kidman stares out at us under the harsh Los Angeles sun of the neo-noir “Destroyer.” The actress who famously donned a prosthetic nose for “The Hours” has

Laurel and Hardy movie ‘Stan & Ollie’ is a joy

There are lot of movies in theaters right now trying to grab your attention, and dollars, from big superhero spectacles and musical extravaganzas to awards darlings and

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