Movie Reviews

Everything is still awesome in this spinoff to 2014's The Lego Movie. Will Arnett's Batman has gone from side character to main hero, and the results are as inspired and fun as fans have been hoping.

A United Kingdom is the story of a real-life relationship more surreal than fairy-tale. Set against a post-WWII backdrop of Apartheid, colonialism and political gymnastics, the film's core contains a simple message: love conquers all.

The Space Between Us is an intermittently stirring look at different types of parenthood as seen through the eyes of an orphaned boy born and raised on Mars. It's also a teen romance that travels across the solar system to Earth, where it settles into a more conventional, even bland, chase narrative.

Christian viewers might struggle with the concept of this gentle family film built around the idea that a dog can die repeatedly and be reincarnated as another dog over and over again. Whatever its charms, the film's underlying idea makes it hard to fully recommend.

With a degree of charm and self-parody, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone overcomes a few early clumsy spots to become something of a touchstone in the evolution of faith-based filmmaking. Offering a sometimes-inconsistent but mostly fulfilling blend of humility, romance and yes, resurrection...

The story of how Ray Kroc took a small walk-up hamburger stand and turned it into the McDonald's we know is fascinating. Keaton's performance is outstanding and the visuals are terrific (golden arches!). But Happy Meals don't mean happy endings; this tale of unbridled greed may leave a bad taste not even crispy fries can take away.

Monster Trucks is a goofy, family-friendly monster movie that manages to be mildly charming despite its flaws. While it’s hardly E.T. for this generation, it's entertaining enough.

With a riveting first half and probing questions about family, Lion's careful attention to life’s cruelty balanced with an inspiring tenderness and optimism make it a strong motion picture.

It’s not the best Star Wars movie ever, but it’s certainly not the worst. This “non-series” prequel to Episode IV offers plucky characters, impressive sci-fi action, a fair number of laughs and enough nods to the original to keep Star Wars fans happy until the next installment in the series comes out.

A powerful story of love and loss. The acting is as good as you'd expect and the story is much more interesting than the trailer suggests. Making the most of its 94 minutes, this one presses a lot of emotional buttons but will leave you feeling good. And maybe a little sad. But a good sad (it's complicated).

La La Land features just enough content to merit its PG-13 rating and to remind us that we're living in the 21st century. But apart from a handful of harsh profanities and a cohabitating couple, this song-filled, cynicism-free romance is about as old-fashioned as it gets these days.

While this Christian movie certainly isn't lacking in charm, the promising story gets tangled up in a message that's more about economic minutiae than Christmas spirit. The end result will still satisfy believing viewers, but leave skeptics feeling cheated.

There's a lot of polish on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it just didn't all get rubbed in or off. The result is a few unclear spots and a gloppy trail leading into an uncertain future of sequels. It's certainly a big-screen event with a definite Rowling spark, but loses something without the innocence of student stars. There's such a thing as too much wizardry when it involves special effects over emotions.

There's no Independence Day-like bim-bam-boom here. No little green men or giant robots with laser eyes, either. In fact, this intelligent, multi-layered pic is likely not what you're expecting it to be at all.

When two simple people who simply want to live in peace find themselves in the middle of a landmark Supreme Court case, their story unfolds with quiet grace, highlighting their commitment. Loving is not just the name of the featured couple in this biopic, it perfectly describes their story.

This is a tale that's more than merely strange, including astral projection and other practices that are troubling from a Christian perspective. At the same time, Doctor Strange is much more philosophically fascinating and briskly entertaining than other Marvel movies.

This let's-all-get-along tale is pretty much exactly the kind of felt-and-glitter silliness you might expect from a movie about something you used to keep in your pencil box.

The characters keep talking and talking through Ron Howard's latest adaptation of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels. Plot twists and a sense of mystery are slow to develop in a story that's constantly explaining what's happening and why.

Neither a pugnacious retelling of the Columbine massacre, nor a cheesy canonization of its main character, Pure Flix's I'm Not Ashamed is more the general story of The American Christian High Schooler, given urgency, poignancy and inspiration through its setting in a national tragedy.

A simple suburban couple gets caught up in the wildest ride of their lives when they discover their too-perfect neighbors are leading a dangerous double life. The brilliant cast turns an otherwise simple story into a solid 3.5 out of 5 star flick.