Bullet Train isn’t going anywhere fast. It’s self-indulgent and thinks it’s doing something entirely unique. The film gives itself far more credit than it deserves.

There is little redeeming value to They/Them. It fails as an escapist slasher flick for queer kids to vicariously live through, and it doesn’t make a strong case for dismantling conversion camps.

In its heart, Luck does have something important to say. The film wants to teach children that bad luck is a learning experience and that they shouldn’t shut down when things go wrong. Challenges and problems are opportunities to adapt.

Once again, Rice has proven her star power. She stole scenes from actors whose careers began before she was born in The Nice Guys, Senior Year, and Mare of Easttown. It won’t be long before Rice is a household name, and this fourth-wall-breaking performance as a teenage Machiavellian coup leader is a tour du force.

Those who have grown weary of caped crusaders fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way can rejoice in DC League of Super-Pets. While it’s not the finest of animated superhero films (that title is still firmly in the hands of Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse), the movie is a good-natured romp through the varied and wonderful journey of having a pet. Superpowers not guaranteed.

Vengeance, more than anything, is a plea for life to have meaning without being distilled into content generation. It’s a plea for presentness, a willingness to embrace regrets, and a promise to do better.

It’s not too hard to see where Senior Year went wrong. The humor is rooted in meanness and mockery, despite the script’s insistence that this high school is a place of inclusivity. Even with two impromptu dance numbers, the movie is sluggish and humorless Senior Year clearly has a case of senioritis.

Ultimately, Minions: The Rise of Gru is solid. The runtime doesn’t overexert the potentially irritating nature of the Minions, and the new characters breathe life into the franchise. The film proves to be a more than serviceable entry into the Despicable Me franchise and will most likely not be the last we see of the Minions.

Don’t Make Me Go does veer into a sensationalist ending that is more in line with films like The Fault in Our Stars. It’s a disappointing choice that feels like tragedy for the sake of tragedy instead of the more refined journey that brought the audience to this destination. Ultimately, the beginning of the film really does set the stage for the ending, but there was hope it would subvert these expectations.

The Gray Man is a wannabe John Wick or Kate lost in a tonally incohesive script. It’s one man with armies of assassins on his tail who survives more gunshots and stab wounds than should ever be possible, all to save a young girl. Needless to say, you’ve seen this movie before you even press play.

In nearly all ways, Lightyear is underwhelming. It’s shocking that this film was Pixar’s return to theatres after the pandemic. Soul, Luca, and Turning Red all would have made better theatrical releases than Lightyear.

“I like you brave,” Nanna Connie tells Marcel toward the end of the movie. There’s a lot for a one-inch shell to be afraid of. And there’s a lot for an average-sized human, so much bigger than Marcel, to be afraid of. It’s easy to make excuses and turn down opportunities that scare us, and it’s easy to stay in the world that we know, but humanity is at its best when we are brave.

Unlike other based-on-a-true-story movies, the value of Jerry and Marge Go Large is not in the oddity of its story. A loophole in the lottery (that still required hundreds of hours of work) is not as can’t-believe-it’s-true as movies like Catch Me If You Can or Hustlers. Instead, this film should have doubled down on the love and sense of community Jerry and Marge created.

That, no matter the era, humans have always had dreams, felt misunderstood by their parents, and tried their best to make sense of this indescribable world. Alma’s Rainbow is timeless.

Those who throw caution to the wind and go after what they believe in, even when the world tells them it’s impossible. Mrs. Harris’ unrestrained enthusiasm for life rubs off on everyone she meets and, if they let it, that magic will rub off on the audience too.

The film’s final scene explains the rationale for the film’s title. Without spoiling it, this last scene shows a glimpse of a different path Love and Thunder could’ve taken. A path that would have been more fit for Waititi’s vision of an 80s romance adventure hijinks-filled movie.

Clara Sola shows what happens when enough finally becomes enough. A breaking point decades in the making over something that never should have been taken from Clara in the first place: her autonomy.

There’s a time and a place for epics about yearning romance. Mr. Malcolm’s List has unfortunately just missed the effect it’s going for. That ineffable charm of Austen that’s often imitated and rarely achieved is essential for this type of film to truly soar.