Author:   Francis X. Friel

The Story: After discovering her husband has been having an affair, a wealthy socialite moves in with her more down-to-earth older sister and tries to get her life back on track. The Lowdown: The most forgettable "musical" comedy since La La Land.

The Story: A game of truth or dare takes a dark turn when a group of college friends realizes the game has overtaken their lives and will eventually kill them all. The Lowdown: Lucky them.

The Story: The 1969 drowning of Mary Jo Kopechne off Chappaquiddick Island and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding why Sen. Edward Kennedy fled the scene of the accident. The Lowdown: Send Teddy off to do this, send Teddy off to do that, let Teddy take care of some Mickey Mouse nightclub somewhere, send Teddy to…

The Story: Thinking her husband has betrayed her, a woman puts an elaborate plan for revenge into motion. The Lowdown: A movie that gaslights its own characters at the expense of tricking its audience.

The Story: A teenage girl, suffering from a rare condition that makes her deathly allergic to sunlight, meets the boy of her dreams and has to choose between the isolated life she's always known and following her dreams of falling in love. The Lowdown: Like a live-action and weirdly insensitive version of that sun level…

The Story: When cool, confident and closeted teen Simon is threatened with being outed to the whole school, he goes to complicated lengths to keep his secret while falling in love with another closeted stranger. The Lowdown: A sweet, sincere and attentive film about young love and friendship that passes the Howard Hawks test and…

The Story: The (more or less) true story of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight from Tel Aviv that led to a seven-day hostage standoff in Uganda. The Lowdown: While stylish in places, the film flops in every conceivable way in tackling weighty philosophical elements against one of the most divisive political situations…

The Story: A biopic of Bart Millard, lead singer of Christian rock band Mercy Me, who survived an abusive upbringing to go on to write one of the biggest Christian rock singles ever recorded. The Lowdown: Or at least that's what they'd like you to believe.

The Story: The night before their daughter leaves for boarding school, a family is terrorized by a trio of sadistic killers. The Lowdown: The best type of needless 10-years belated sequel that gets right down to its grisly business without stepping on its own feet (that pesky colon in the title notwithstanding).

The Story: On the fourth anniversary of a quantum physicist’s mysterious disappearance, his daughter is recruited by time- and space-hopping beings to rescue him. The Lowdown: Ava DuVernay’s clunky but big-hearted adaptation is equal parts Madeleine L'Engle, Zack Snyder and David Lynch, with no single influence or perspective able to take hold and keep the…

The Story: As a massive storm touches down, a federal agent attempts an inside-job robbery of an Alabama currency shredder, while his partner enlists a hotshot meteorologist in her efforts to stop him. The Lowdown: An absurdly over-the-top action spectacle that doesn't overcome an overstuffed script and uneven cast.

The Story: After a home invasion that kills his wife and lands his daughter in a coma, surgeon Paul Kersey goes on a killing spree across Chicago in his hunt for the men responsible. The Lowdown: All those who still think Three Billboards was a racist, boot-licking film should go see Death Wish and then…

The Story: A teenager falls in love with a person who switches bodies every day and discovers just how difficult (and easy) this can be. The Lowdown: A playful (but very thoughtful) film that delves deep into the throes of first love with a decidedly queer bent that lets it stand out from the rest…

The Story: Caveman slobs must play a life-or-death soccer match against Bronze Age snobs to win back their homeland, the spot in (early) Manchester where the first asteroid hit and wiped out the dinosaurs.  The Lowdown: The creators of Wallace and Gromit continue their perfect track record and I only hope that this doesn't get lost in the February…

The Story:  Rabbits Peter, Mopsy, Flopsy, and Cotton Tail face off against their obnoxious human neighbor Mr. McGregor in a battle over who gets to rule the garden. The Lowdown: A breathless, dizzyingly joyous adventure that brings some seriously intelligent skill to these classic hare-brained characters.

The Story: The declassified true story of the horse soldiers sent in to take out the Taliban leadership in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, that mission turning out to be even more complicated than it first appears. The Lowdown: An OK movie that could have been great with great actors (given weak…

The Story: Country music star Liam Page returns home to the town and the woman he left behind, only to find it's going to take a bit of work to earn back the respect and trust of those he abandoned all those years ago... The Lowdown: ... but not too much work, since every character…

The Story: Mary, a mob assassin who takes in a young boy she made into an orphan, threatens to kick off a full-fledged street war when her motherly instincts turn deadly and she murders the boy's abusive guardian. The Lowdown: Don't lose any sleep worrying about the way things might've been.

The Story: Time-hopping from the 1950s to the film's version of the present day, we witness series star Elise grow up and come to grips with her burgeoning powers while years later confronting the truth about her own past during an investigation at the house where she grew up. The Lowdown: While adding little to…

The Story: The Bellas, all realizing they're only at their best when they're together, reunite for a European USO tour. The Lowdown: A lot more knife fights and exploding yachts than you might expect, plus some bad covers of boring songs, but still a perfectly acceptable way to kill a couple hours.

The Story: Munro Leaf's classic story of Ferdinand the Bull, who only wants to sit under his favorite tree sniffing the flowers rather than follow the more expected path of becoming a famous fighter. The Lowdown: Loud and raucous while staying gentle and sweet, the film has its heart in the right place and is…