Movie Reviews

Awkward moments abound in the comedy “Downhill” (Fox Searchlight) while laughs are likely to be far less frequent

The DC Comics adaptation “Birds of Prey” (Warner Bros.) — which, for the record, carries the exhausting subtitle “(And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” — is presumably intended as a tart treat. Instead, it comes across as a sour exercise in random mayhem.

This film covers the familiar outlines of the old story, with two children negotiating a dark and very foggy forest as they escape a famine-scarred home life in search of food and security.

Over the years, Henry James’ classic 1898 novella-length horror story “The Turn of the Screw” has proved fertile soil for movie adaptations.

Throughout the darkly sophisticated, but sometimes wildly wayward crime saga “The Gentlemen” (STX), writer-director Guy Ritchie keeps his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.

At first blush, the title of the drama “Marriage Story” (Netflix) may strike some as ironic. This is, after all, at least on the surface, an engrossing study of the divorce process in contemporary America.

The South Korean feature “Parasite” (Neon) begins as a sly comedy, then takes a surprising turn that leads on to a bloody, operatic climax laden with grim social commentary about class conflict.

“Jojo Rabbit” has a broadly-drawn humanistic theme and doesn’t flinch from the horrors of war and prejudice.