“Agenda: Payback” (** out of four) was a tepid melodrama about a high-living sleazy executive (Sean Patrick Flannery) who is captured and taken hostage by a man who he screwed over (Eric Balfour) but all is not what it seems and the two men turn the table on one another numerous times. Both Flannery and Balfour are good and infuse this with all the electricity that they can but this runs out of steam and becomes tiresome even at only an hour-and-a-half. Remains watchable throughout but by the end, viewers may want a payback of their own.

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“Death Wish” (*** out of four) was a riveting remake of the Charles Bronson classic about a mild-mannered surgeon (Bruce Willis) whose wife and daughter (Elisabeth Shue and Cammilla Morrone) are brutally attacked turning him into a vigilante on the streets of Chicago. The 1974 original is updated to the contemporary social media era with lots of action, tension, and plenty of timely moral ambiguity about gun laws and taking the laws into one’s own hands. But what really holds the movie together is Willis who gives his strongest performance in years as a man who becomes a reluctant action hero. One of director Eli Roth’s more unusual films for him but one of his best.

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“Red Sparrow” (**1/2 out of four) was a gripping if not enthralling spy melodrama about a Russian ballerina (Jennifer Lawrence) who is recruited to join an intelligence service in which she is forced to use her body as a weapon and seduce a C.I.A. agent (Joel Edgerton) but this and a sinister mole within the organization threatens to unravel the security of both nations. Strong performances from a game cast keep you tense and involved but the suspense slackens at times, especially as film becomes fatally overlong at nearly two-and-a-half hours. Director Francis Lawrence’s inventive use of colors and a strong supporting cast including Mary Louise Parker and Jeremy Irons provide extra style.

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“Battle Of The Drones” (*** out of four) was an explosive action thriller about a group of U.S. mercenaries (Louis Mandylor, Natassia Malthe, and others) who find themselves betrayed by the government (led by a sinister Michael Pare) and are forced to survive against a lethal team of murderous droids. Action starts to become somewhat mechanical after a while but it never stops moving and has some surprising touches of style and humor along the way. Pare is solid in an unusual villain role.

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“Beyond The Woods” (* out of four) was a beyond-awful horror thriller set in Ireland about a group of friends (John Ryan Howard, Mark Lawrence, Ross Macmahon and others) who vacation in the countryside but their plans are thrown astray by a sinkhole near their home which unleashes a sinister force that threatens to kill them all. If that doesn’t sound like much to be scared about, you wouldn’t be wrong. Irish scenery is nice but otherwise this is amateurish and routine enough to make anyone need a stiff pint of Guiness or Jack. Begorrah!

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“Half Magic” (*** out of four) was an engaging female comedy about three women (Heather Graham, Angela Kinsey, Stephanie Beatriz) and their various sexual and personal frustrations with the numerous men in their lives. First-time director Graham obviously watched “Sex And The City” a few times before filming this but she does a solid job of making her characters likeable and funny. Starts to go overboard with silliness but is still light and entertaining.

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“Con Man” (**1/2 out of four) was a slick but superficial melodrama about Barry Minkow (Justin Baldoni) who grew up a charismatic young enterpreneur who gradually became a wealthy CEO by lying and cheating and embezzling church donations which gradually led to his imprisonment. Interesting story of greed and capitalism but lacks the grandeur and electricity of “The Wolf Of Wall Street” and “War Dogs” which covered similar territory in recent years. Baldoni is good in the lead role but much of the supporting cast (including James Caan, Armand Assante, Talia Shire, and VIng Rhames) is criminally wasted.

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“Beast Of Burden” (** out of four) was a tedious action thriller in which an airplane pilot (Daniel Radcliffe) has to deliver a plane full of illegal cargo within one hour and has to alternately assure the DEA, a professional hitman, and a drug cartel that nothing is wrong otherwise his wife may be killed! Radcliffe is literally the whole show here having to carry most of the film on his own and tries his best but unfortunately he’s not a commanding or charismatic enough actor for the task. Story sounds a lot more tense and nerve-wracking than it plays out as it takes the form of a one-character play.

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“Mute” (**1/2 out of four) was an alluring but abstract Netflix futuristic melodrama set in Berlin 40 years from now in which a mute bartender (Alexander Skarsgard) is determined to find his beloved partner who disappeared on him but this puts him up against ruthless gangsters in the city’s underworld and two mysterious surgeons (Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux) who keep trying to thwart him. Alternately striking, intriguing, murky, and derivative; film is full of style and keeps you watching but never fully takes off. Skarsgard does what he can with a role with almost no dialogue but Rudd dominates every scene he’s in, in one of his most entertaining performances ever and makes this worth watching at least for a little while.

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“Game Night” (*1/2 out of four) was a scoreless action comedy about a group of friends (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and others) who meet at the house of Bateman’s brother (Kyle Chandler) who is kidnapped and nearly murdered and they follow in hot pursuit but they all think it’s a gag and part of the game, get it? One-joke movie is as dumb as it is contrived although at least it moves fast. One scene involving Bateman bleeding on a dog is the only laughs in the movie. Cliff Martinez’ moody music score is one of the few virtues but doesn’t belong in this movie.

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