REVIEW: ‘Mortal Kombat’ is mostly poor filler between a few fun fights

Karl Urban is back in a video game adaptation and it’s certainly better than his last outing 20 years ago. Although, 2005’s “Doom” isn’t exactly a high bar.

Regardless, in this sequel to the 2021 “MK” film, Urban stars as Johnny Cage, a former martial artist turned action movie hero whose Hollywood career has declined. Now just attending fan conventions for money, he’s somewhat directionless in life. That is until he’s recruited to represent the realm of Earth in a tournament.

That tournament is one that will determine whether the empire of Outworld, ruled by the warlord Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), can conquer Earth. However, while the emperor’s forces are powerful, there is a dissenter in his daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), whose own world was conquered by Outworld after her realm lost a similar tournament.

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REVIEW: ‘Deep Water’ is a serviceable survival drama

Sharks. The Animal Kingdom’s gift to cinema that just keeps giving.

The latest film to feature the sharp-toothed creatures is “Deep Water,” which stars Golden Globe nominee Aaron Eckhart as Ben, the first officer of a flight going from Los Angeles to Shanghai. He is joined in the cockpit by the captain, Rich, played by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley.

While it’s a long flight, everything seems routine. That is until a device in the bag of one of the passengers causes a fire, leading to an explosion, resulting in a crash landing in the ocean. The plane breaks apart in the process, leaving survivors clinging to wreckage. As the crew works to help passengers, they learn the waters they’re in is full of sharks.

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REVIEW: ‘Prada 2’ succeeds with stars, news industry intrigue

When a sequel that’s not part of an ongoing series or trilogy comes out, it’s sometimes fair to feel trepidation. That’s not quite the case in a film like this, though, with such a strong cast.

One member of that cast is Anne Hathaway, who reprises her role of Andy Sachs. Now an established and respected journalist with two decades of experience, Andy is at what should be a good point in her career. That is until she learns that herself and the rest of the newsroom at the publication she works for have been laid off.

As luck would have it, the ownership of Runway, where she was once an assistant, needs some editorial guidance after a scandal breaks out. To help navigate things, ownership of the publication hires Sachs as the new features editor to help right the ship. However, the move isn’t warmly received by Runway’s Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep).

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REVIEW: Dizzying, absurd story causes ‘Fuze’ to fizzle out

The director of “Hell or High Water” being attached to this built some excitement, but the experience in this new crime drama from David Mackenzie isn’t on the same level without writer Taylor Sheridan.

Mackenzie’s new film centers on a World War II bomb being discovered in the London metro area by a construction crew. Following the discovery, the military is called in, with bomb defusing specialist Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) leading the examination of the explosive.

With threat of the bomb potentially going off, the police department, under the leadership of chief Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) evacuates the nearby area. Meanwhile, a bank heist is taking place during the distraction including characters X (Sam Worthington) and Karalis (Theo James).

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REVIEW: ‘Michael’ movie can’t escape mediocrity

I mean, it’s cool to see the background of “Thriller.” But if I want to watch “Thriller,” I could just watch “Thriller?”

That’s a common thought during the course of “Micheal,” a biographical film about the King of Pop during roughly the first 35 years of his life. The picture begins when he was a boy, making waves in the music scene with his brothers as part of the Jackson 5. Under the guidance of their strict father Joseph (Colman Domingo), the group experiences great success.

Michael, played by the musician’s actual nephew Jaafar Jackson, later wants to go on a solo route. The film follows how this creates tension between him and his father, and how he pushed forward to make his notable hits, such as “Beat It.” The film also explores his isolation and difficulty building connections with others.

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REVIEW: ‘Normal’ goes big with action, humor with nominal impact

Bob Odenkirk has now starred in a trio of action flicks, but he still has a way to go before he matches the older grizzled action hero status Liam Neeson has.

In Odenkirk’s latest film, he portrays Ulysses Richardson, a law enforcement officer who’s taken the role of temporary Sheriff until the county of Normal can elect a new one. The county seat is also named Normal, and that’s where Ulysses finds himself trying his best to manage a smooth transition to a permanent replacement.

It’s the latest in a string of temporary jobs he’s taken since a traumatic experienced flipped his life and marriage upside down. But his latest stint starts to look less mundane than he first thought. As his law enforcement instincts kick in, he begins noticing suspicious things, and it leads to a thrilling ordeal he didn’t expect.

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REVIEW: ‘The Drama’ presents spectacular relationship chaos

If you’re going to simply call your movie “The Drama,” the tea involved better be hot. In this movie, it’s properly boiling.

In the latest film distributed by A24, Robert Pattinson stars as Charlie, a groom-to-be who’s deciding what to say in his vows to fiancé Emma (Zendaya). The two were introduced in a classic meet cute and have since grown to be the perfect couple. The film picks up with the couple only a week away from their wedding.

So far, the preparation process has been entirely routine, and the movie finds them trying out wines and entrees to include on their menu for the big day. They do the activity with a pair of friends, and all seems to be going well. That is until they play a game of revealing the worst thing they’ve done, and Emma reveals a dark part of her past.

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REVIEW: Galactic ‘Mario’ sequel improves on predecessor

Nice of the Princess to invite us over for a sequel, eh Luigi?

Yes, like this film, I too can dig up references. This movie, a sequel to the 2023 flick, once again centers on the plumber Mario “Jumpman” Mario (Chris Pratt) and his taller green-clad brother (Charlie Day). The two have become full residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by the benevolent Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), and help her by taking care of various issues.

Life is going fairly normal for the brothers and Peach, until an intergalactic threat emerges. It turns out the son of first film antagonist Bowser (Jack Black) has set out to build a planet busting weapon and break his dad out of prison. Because of the threat, the princess and the plumbers, as well as a new cosmic character have to stand in the way.

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REVIEW: Imperfect ‘Hail Mary’ still scores with charm, excitement

Not going to lie, this movie lost some points for not having the 2Pac song “Hail Mary.” I’m only kidding, sort of.

“Project Hail Mary” is a film based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir. Fans of both film and books likely remember Weir’s other novel “The Martian,” which was adapted into a film, garnering award recognition. The latest Weir book-to-movie production stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a molecular biologist aboard an interstellar spacecraft.

Grace wakes up with his ship nearing its destination in a far off system. There, he’s tasked with investigating a microorganism that eats energy from stars, including the sun, which will drastically cool the Earth. Tragically, he wakes up to find his two crew mates passed away. However, he encounters an alien also studying the star eater, and the two decide to partner on a solution.

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REVIEW: ‘They Will Kill You’ will entertain you

After “You’re Next,” “Satanic Panic,” “Ready or Not” and a RON sequel, we get the next movie in the Woman Surviving Evil Rich People Cinematic Universe.

In “They Will Kill You,” Zazie Beetz stars as Asia Reaves, a woman who gets a job as a maid in a New York high rise building after a 10-year prison sentence. Her stint behind bars was because of an incident involving her attacking her abusive father to protect her younger sister.

Now out of jail, Asia is looking to get her life together with her new job. She’s also looking to reconnect with her sister who she hasn’t seen in years, and is committed to using this opportunity to find her. However, she soon learns that the owners of the building have ulterior motives, namely sacrificing their new maid to Satan to keep their immortality.

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