“Logan Lucky” (** out of four) was a scattershot comedy about two down-on-their-luck redneck brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) who throw caution to the wind and decide to commit a high-stakes heist at a NASCAR race in North Carolina. Sporadically amusing but never as sharp or funny as it could have or should have been. Disappointing return for director Steven Soderbergh whose “Oceans Eleven” was a much more clever and entertaining heist movie. Tatum is solid as usual but Daniel Craig is unconvincing as a white-trash explosives expert named Joe Bang (are you laughing yet?).

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“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” (*** out of four) was a mindless but entertaining story about a C.I.A. bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) assigned to protect and escort an international criminal (Samuel L. Jackson) to a trial in which he’s testifying but they have to face death at every turn from various rival hitmen and underworld figures- and at the same time try and not to kill one another. Throws in everything but the kitchen sink in action and comedy and never stops moving. Jackson is a pleasure to watch as usual and him and Reynolds make a fun team although Gary Oldman is wasted as the main villain. At the end- movie features music from “Midnight Run” which this movie sometimes resembles. Yet another solid showing for director Patrick Hughes whose a first-rate director of action scenes.

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“Calico Skies” (** out of four) was a muddled story about a recluse (Tom Sizemore) who lives in almost complete isolation in the Mojave desert and uses drugs and digs holes in his spare time but his controlled life is turned upside down with contact with new townsfolk and some unexpected turn of events. Sizemore is literally the whole show in this mostly one-character and one-note drama. Sizemore is good but his character dovetails a little too closely to his perceived public persona. Gorgeous cinematography of the Mojave makes this worth watching for a few minutes.

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“Annabelle: Creation” (** out of four) was a drab horror story about a doll-maker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife (Miranda Otto) who welcome numerous orphans into their home who all become gradual victims of the murderous doll Annabelle. Allegedly a prequel to the 2014 hit which in itself was a prequel related to “The Conjuring” which ripped off countless other horror movies before but it’s really just more-of-the-same. A few good jolts here and there but enough already! For a scarier and more engrossing movie about a killer doll, watch 1988’s “Child’s Play” instead.

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“The Ice Cream Truck” (** out of four) was an odd dark-side-of-suburbia thriller in which a repressed middle-aged housewife (Deanna Russo- who is a dead-ringer for Olivia Wilde) moves back to her suburban hometown but finds that the suburbs are a lot scarier than the big city. Oh yeah- I almost forgot to mention that the local ice-cream truck driver is a brutal serial killer. Best thing about the movie is Russo who is sincere and charismatic but otherwise this is alternately bizarre, tedious, and predictable. Subplot about the ice-cream truck driver has almost nothing to do with the main story! David Lynch satirized and vivified everything there is about suburbia in “Blue Velvet” over 30 years ago anyway!

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“Delinquent” (** out of four) was a lukewarm teenage melodrama about a young delinquent (Alex Shaffer) from the wrong side of the tracks who is forced to improvise and manage the fall-out of a robbery gone wrong involving his family (Bill Sage and Kevin Bigley) when a hard-nosed local cop (Kim Director) begins to investigate. Tired and predictable story is well-intentioned but covers all-too-familiar territory. Crisply shot by Daniel Marks on beautiful locations in Woodbury, Connecticut.

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“Ripper” (* out of four) was a bottom-of-the-barrel horror mess set in London 1888 around the time Jack the Ripper was gripping the country; numerous local citizens and terrible actors come together to combat the situation and find Jack but find he’s one tough psychopath to crack. Insulting and incoherent look at a historical story makes previous Jack movies “Jack’s Back” and “From Hell” look like HItchcock by comparison. Over a hundred years later, perhaps it’s time to let Jack rest in peace and put these umpteenth rip-offs to bed.

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“Fatal Defense” (*1/2 out of four) was a fatally dumb thriller about a single mother (Ashley Scott) who signs up for self-defense classes from a young instructor (David Cade) after a break-in at her house but he subsequently develops a frightening obsession with her that soon goes off the rails. Illogical and predictable and often laughably silly. Sherilyn Fenn has a key role as a detective on the case but she would have fared better taking part in the “Twin Peaks” reunion instead of this dreck.

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“The Book Of Henry” (*1/2 out of four) was an unbearably hokey children’s drama/adventure/family unity story about a young kid (Jaeden Lieberher) who is dying of a rare brain disorder and leaves behind a book for his determined single mother (Naomi Watts) to help save the girl next door from her abusive father (Dean Norris) but this proves difficult for all of them. A well-meaning but almost complete misfire that tries to incorporate about 5 movies into one! Sincere performance from Watts and nice music score by Michael Giacchino are unable to enrich this corn. Disappointing directorial change-of-pace for Colin Trevorrow who directed the much more exciting “Jurassic World.”

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“Batman And Harley Quinn” (** out of four) was a crude and silly animated feature about Batman (voice of Kevin Conroy) and Nightwing (voice of Loren Lester) who are forced to team up with the Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn (Melissa Rauch) when a deadly threat is presented to Gotham City from Poison Ivy (voice of Paget Brewster) and Floronic Man (Kevin Michael Richardson). Harley comes off as screechy and annoying and Batman is one-note and stiff leading to an absence of fun; where are Margot Robie and George Clooney when you need them? Even though the proceedings are forgettable, the scene where Quinn gets up and sings Blondie’s “Hanging From A Telephone” and an entertaining action climax makes this almost worth a look for Batman completists.

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