Author:   Francis X. Friel

The Story: After a bump on the head, a sports agent finds that she can suddenly read men's minds. The Lowdown: Way too long and with a lopsided supporting cast, the film still finds some bright spots and is a good showcase for Taraji P. Henson's underused and gloriously lowbrow side.

The Story: A serial killer reincarnates into a young boy in order to carry out a grisly plan. The Lowdown: Happy Death Day 2U opens nationwide on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

The Story: A beauty pageant contestant is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel to move money and product across the border. The Lowdown: The rare remake that makes you wish the original had never existed.

The Story: When a bullied teen pulls Excalibur from the stone, he learns his true identity and must recruit his own Knights of the Round Table. The Lowdown: A smart and kid-friendly retelling of the King Arthur legend from the director of Attack the Block should be an easy sell, but see it soon because it's…

The Story: A lost dog spends years traveling hundreds of miles to return to her owner. The Lowdown: Perhaps too intense for younger audiences, but at least you get to watch a cute dog run around for two hours.

The Story: A mother spends a harrowing Christmas Eve searching for her son after he unexpectedly returns home from a sober living facility. The Lowdown: A clumsy, meandering film that will test your patience long before it has a chance to break your heart.

The Story: A brilliant scientist brings his wife and children back to life by uploading their consciousnesses into new bodies. The Lowdown: If anyone out there is looking for a movie that combines I, Robot with Upstream Color, you just hit the jackpot.

The Story: A grocery store manager lands her dream job by faking her resume and credentials. The Lowdown: A typical romantic comedy, only with all the cringe-worthy and annoying elements removed.

The Story: In this prequel to the Transformers series, a teenage loner befriends the wounded, stranded Autobot scout Bumblebee in 1987 California. The Lowdown: The smartest, sweetest coming-of-age story of the year that also happens to feature giant alien robots.

The Story: Robert Zemeckis' hyperstylized retelling of Marwencol, the true story of a traumatized artist coming to terms with the assault (and assailants) that changed his life. The Lowdown: An insulting and dehumanizing nightmare that doubles as a truly bizarre look into the director's own creative process.

The Story: A thousand years in the future, an orphan seeks to avenge the death of her mother while mad scientists in roaming, rolling cities piece together the history of an ancient society. The Lowdown: One of the biggest box office flops of the year is also everything Ready Player One should have been and…

The Story: After surviving a horrific school shooting, a young woman transforms herself into one of the biggest pop stars in the world and prepares to debut her new sci-fi-themed concept album. The Lowdown: Vox Sucks.

The Story: Gary Hart's bid for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination is undone by a sex scandal. The Lowdown: Not an exposé,  political statement or even really a biopic, it's a film with nothing to say about a man who didn't want to be known.

The Story: A couple become foster parents to a trio of siblings, broadening their understanding of what it takes to be a family. The Lowdown: A kindhearted but thoughtless film that contains some troubling metaphors and doubles as a huge PR stunt for National CASA, an organization that would have been better served by simply throwing…

The Story: The Grinch who stole Christmas is back on the scene, prowling and scowling on big silver screens. The Lowdown: While it's beautiful, bouncy and bright, the book or the short are your best bets tonight.

The Story: When her sister Danica is catfished, newly released ex-con Tanya goes to great lengths to help her solve the mystery. The Lowdown: An extremely raunchy, emotionally dead and typically tone-deaf Tyler Perry comedy.

The Story: A haunted ventriloquist dummy turns a small town into a "living Halloween" by bringing to life Halloween costumes and decorations. The Lowdown: A sometimes inspired but overall chaotic grab-bag of kiddie horror imagery that will entertain, if not exactly scare, its target audience.

The Story: A dyslexic high-school dropout must attend night school and get his GED to land his dream job and win back the love of his life. The Lowdown: Try as he might, director Malcolm D. Lee can't recapture the near-transcendent raunchiness of his hard R-rated Girl Trip within the softer, cuddlier PG-13 formula.

The Story: When an entire town's text and browsing history is hacked and leaked, the girl suspected to be behind it all is targeted. The Lowdown: An ultra-violent ode to rape culture masquerading as a feminist manifesto.

The Story: A sprawling, time-hopping metanarrative on the subjects of love and loss. The Lowdown: Yet another insipid and cringe-worthy melodrama taking the "it's all connected" route while landing the biggest dissociative emotional belly flop of the year.

The Story: The secret history between a novelist and his wife is revealed after he wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Lowdown: A good story, interesting characters, and a great cast can't quite make up for the leaden and obvious filmmaking.