Yet again, Hollywood mistakes vulgarity for wit. Charlie Day and Ice Cube star in “Fist Fight,” an R-rated comedy about a wimpy teacher challenged to an afterschool brawl by a testy fellow educator. This mean-spirited vehicle manages to pummel a …

Yet again, Hollywood mistakes vulgarity for wit. Charlie Day and Ice Cube star in “Fist Fight,” an R-rated comedy about a wimpy teacher challenged to an afterschool brawl by a testy fellow educator. This mean-spirited vehicle manages to pummel a few crass laughs from the audience, but it may make you want to punch the screenwriters.   Style over substance isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But in the case of the gothic horror flick “A Cure for Wellness,” the style chokes out any substance. Filmmaker Gore Verbinski, best known for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, allows the visual razzle-dazzle to overwhelm an interesting premise and a strong cast. Dane DeHann is a business executive who travels to a creepy health resort in the Swiss Alps to bring back his vacationing boss, but winds up a patient instead. Overlong and overblown, “A Cure for Wellness” is too dark to be campy fun.   “Toni Erdmann” is an Oscar-nominated black comedy from Germany about a man who creates a fake persona to worm his way back into the life of his estranged daughter, an ambitious corporate type. It’s brilliant in a number of ways, but its deliberate pace, considerable length and…

It’s sequel mania at theaters this week, and at least two of them live up to the originals.   Who would have thought that an animated movie about toy building blocks would have been a hit, let alone a brash, …

It’s sequel mania at theaters this week, and at least two of them live up to the originals.   Who would have thought that an animated movie about toy building blocks would have been a hit, let alone a brash, cheeky and fast moving…wait for it…blockbuster? But 2014’s “The Lego Movie” was just that.   In the sequel, “The Lego Batman Movie,” Will Arnett reprises his role as a narcissistic and self-centered caped crusader whose lonely life of crime fighting is upended when Robin and Batgirl help him face his greatest challenge from The Joker and a wide assortment of other bad guys. This goofy and colorful romp is sure a lot more fun than Ben Affleck’s version.   Keanu Reeves is back for more R-rated bloody mayhem in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” about a super assassin reluctantly drawn back into the business. The ultra violent action thriller exists for one reason, and that’s to allow some of the best stunt people in the world to expertly ply their trade. Inspired by Hong Kong action cinema, this zippy flick has it all, including car chases, hand-to-hand combat, gunplay and a slew of bad guys being dispatched by all manner of…

The teen sci-fi romance “The Space Between Us” has an intriguing premise and good intentions. However, with its plot holes and eye-rolling circumstances, it could have been called “The Space Between its Ears.” Asa Butterfield plays Gardner, the first human …

The teen sci-fi romance “The Space Between Us” has an intriguing premise and good intentions. However, with its plot holes and eye-rolling circumstances, it could have been called “The Space Between its Ears.” Asa Butterfield plays Gardner, the first human born on Mars, the secret love child of an astronaut who dies in childbirth. After 16 years of being raised on the Red Planet, Gardner yearns to travel to Earth, find his father and meet a girl with whom he’s developed an Internet friendship. The scenes on Mars are fairly involving, but when Gardner finally rockets to Earth, the movie almost crashes and burns. The fine cast includes Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino and Britt Robertson and the production values are solid. But this kind of sentimentality requires deft touch of someone like Steven Spielberg to pull it off, and filmmaker Peter Chelsom isn’t quite there. As is, “The Space Between Us” is a sappy sci-fi soap opera.   Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar returns with his 20th feature film, “Julieta,” a beautifully produced drama about a woman’s troubled relationship with her daughter. In a series of flashbacks, we learn why they’re estranged as Almodovar slowly fills in the plot gaps.…

Who would have thought that the most controversial movie in theaters today would be about puppy dogs? “A Dog’s Purpose” has come under scrutiny because of a leaked video that suggests that a dog might have been treated inhumanely during …

Since hitting the big time with “The Sixth Sense,” the work of quirky filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has been a hit-and-miss affair. His new horror entry “Split” is something of a return to form. James McAvoy is excellent as a …

Since hitting the big time…

Since hitting the big time...