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Wrath of Man” director is mangling is Operation Postmaster — a British World War II effort in which a group of rogues were secretly sent to the coast of Africa to steal a Nazi supply ship.Without that precious cargo, German submarines couldn’t function, thus allowing American forces to cross the Atlantic and join the war effort.You won’t be surprised to learn that the op’s Wikipedia page is a lot duller than this hugely entertaining movie of badass shootouts, explosions and typically eccentric humor.“An unsanctioned, unauthorized and unofficial mission,” says “M” (Cary Elwes) of the risky plan endorsed by Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear). A young Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox) is involved in the plot, too.

The Purge,” and is about 1% as entertaining.“Civil War”’s schtick is that it’s not specifically political. For instance, as the US devolves into enemy groups of secessionist states, Texas and California have banded together to form the Western Forces.

Spotlight”).Running time: 102 minutes. Rated TV-14. On Netflix April 5.Or neither.That murky middle is seen in “Scoop,” a Dollar Store “Frost/Nixon” about Prince Andrew’s 2019 interview with the BBC in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scandal.Director Philip Martin’s film is not poorly made, per se, but its efforts to make the exciting behind-the-scenes scramble to get the Duke of York on TV are for naught.

whopping $37 million during its first week in theaters, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo. The Rebecca Hall-helmed big budget beastly buddy film, which The Post said has “a brain-busting plot,” opened in 3,861 theaters, and follows 2021’s “Godzilla vs.

between lizard and monkey. A creaturely collab.But “x” is also the symbol that should have been prodigiously used to cross out the script’s many, many stupid ideas.

the setting of “Road House” from Missouri to the Florida Keys should go down as one of the best decisions made by a movie remake ever.The scenery is tropical, the personalities are oversize and the area inspired a song that goes, “Wasted away again.”Plus, as any skimmer of crime headlines knows, macho bar brawls are not uncommon in the boisterous Sunshine State. Really, this action-packed update of the truly ridiculous 1989 film that starred Patrick Swayze as the world’s best bouncer could almost be a documentary.

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” shows just how wrong a tried-and-true formula can go.How could these filmmakers possibly fumble the simple plot of “Answer the phone, find the ghost, vanquish the ghost”? Start by playing up a wholesome family sitcom dynamic that sanitizes the old story into a forgettable “Growing Pains” with lasers. After the likable last film, the Spenglers have relocated from dusty Oklahoma to New York City, where grandpa Egon (the late Harold Ramis) and pals Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) first donned the beige suits and battled the Stay Puft marshmallow man.

Lindsay Lohan’s latest romantic comedy for Netflix, is a four-leaf clunker.Running time: 93 minutes. Rated: G. On Netflix.While the film is a modicum better than the actress’ “Falling For Christmas” last year — such a punishing world, this is — the improvement is also a knock against it.

after 16 years and a quartet of films, where else is there for Po to go? “4,” while nice enough, suggests that the smartest move would be to let the fuzzy guy retire to a calming bamboo forest rather than embark on yet another predictable adventure.The decent animated film still boasts the formidable voice talent of Black, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, James Hong and Ian McShane. Now they’re joined by Awkwafina, Viola Davis and Ke Huy Quan. Not too shabby.This go-round, Po is reveling in his mini celeb status — swanning around town, posing for (hand-drawn) pictures with fans and cutting the ribbon at the Dragon Warrior Noodle and Tofu restaurant.

Pedro Pascal or Matt Damon turn, you won’t find it in “Drive-Away Dolls.” Qualley is the closest here to a standout. Her energetic personality pops, even if her over-the-top character is something out of “SpongeBob: After Dark.” Viswanathan, on the other hand, has been giving the same side-eye, dry, “I’d rather not” performance since 2018’s “Blockers.” Her consistency has begun to feel rote and clinical.The arc of Marian and Jamie’s companionship is as predictable as Old Faithful, and the warm conclusion unearned.“Dolls” is, of course, meant to be lighter than air.

Denis Villeneuve’s grand 2021 film about a young duke who may or may not be an embattled world’s long-awaited messiah. Paul Atreides’ true role for the people of Arrakis — a k a Dune — becomes clearer in this more propulsive second chapter. But, when the end credits roll, there is no question that “Dune” is the savior Hollywood needs.

the 51st Annie Awards, where “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” won best feature and collected seven prizes in total. “Across the Spider-Verse” is nominated for best animated feature at the Academy Awards — and the Annie Awards can often be a good predictor of winner.The 2024 box office has gotten off to a sobering start for Hollywood, and the disappointing result for “Madame Web” won’t help. Moviegoing has slowed to a crawl in recent weeks, while 2023’s strikes have impacted this year’s release schedules.

songs from her new album, also called “This Is Me… Now,” and somehow concern itself with the many highs and Los of her topsy-turvy romances.Well, now that it’s here in all its gaudy glory, I can reveal that the Amazon flick is a whole lot wilder than touching introspection set to music. This ain’t an acoustic Springsteen on a stool, or Miley in the backyard.J.Lo has delivered an over-the-top song-and-dance camptacular, both gravely serious and deliriously funny, providing one cuckoo moment after another.

Morbius,” here comes more BS.Sony’s latest superhero mush is “Madame Web,” another of the studio’s dreary “in association with Marvel” movies that make viewers go, “On second thought, ‘Ant-Man’ wasn’t so bad.” The C-list character they’ve sunk their fangs into this time is Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a 30-year-old New York Debbie Downer who discovers she can glimpse into the future.Running time: 117 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence/action and language). In theaters Feb.

Nobody will leave writer Diablo Cody’s new horror-comedy “Lisa Frankenstein” shouting “it’s alive!” “It’s amusing,” maybe.The “Juno” scribe’s wacky contribution to the litany of riffs on Mary Shelley’s novel — from Boris Karloff to “Young Frankenstein” and “Frankenweenie” — makes the gothic tale into an 1980s teen sex comedy.Running time: 101 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violent content, bloody images, sexual material, language, sexual assault, teen drinking and drug content). In theaters Feb.

Sundance Film Festival’s lineups can often be dark affairs with edgy shocks, narcotics and strident political talking points. But one of the most soul-satisfying movies to premiere at the 2024 edition features no drug dealers, whistleblowers or bloodbaths. It’s about a sweet 93-year-old grandma who collects marbles and rides a mobility scooter.And, OK, yes she also holds a man at gunpoint.Running time: 97 minutes.

The “Erin Brockovich” director moves his camera around so much, you want to yell at the screen, “Settle down, please! I have a headache!” There is a rationale for his nearly-nonstop motion shtick: the audience is experiencing the haunted house from the perspective of a ghost. And this particular ghost apparently needs to get its steps in.However, aside from a couple creepy voyeuristic scenes that the technique complements, its more obvious purpose is for Soderbergh to show off elaborate tracking shots.

“Ben Is Back” with Julia Roberts and “Beautiful Boy” starring Timothée Chalamet. A few years back at Sundance I saw the premiere of the awful “Four Good Days” starring Mila Kunis and Glenn Close.

bringing up “Twilight” now that Stewart has been an Oscar nominee, however we first learned in the vampire saga that the actress does infatuation very well. She effortlessly gives off an “I’d die without you” aura, and there is a tractor-beam power in her stares. Behind O’Brian’s wild eyes, meanwhile, is a person who could either kiss you or brutally stab you to death.

more minutes.” Not once, until I saw “My Old Ass,” which premiered Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival.Director Megan Park’s otherwise dreamy teen romance flick with a time-travel twist was chugging along quite sublimely, and then it abruptly stopped like someone cut power to the building.Without giving too much away, my hunch is that writer-director Park ended her film, which is produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap, the way she did in order to avoid being lumped in with a particularly tired young-adult sub-genre. Running time: 88 minutes. Not yet rated.That’s the right idea.

be him. Benji blurts out totally inappropriate comments that other people could never get away with.

David Schwimmer has never been known for his movies. Perusing the “Friends” star’s film resume is quick — and painful. There’s “Six Days Seven Nights,” “The Laundromat” and “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” among other screen non-classics.But the actor’s undeniable charisma and uniqueness are finally put to proper full-length use in the demented “Little Death,” which has its world premiere Friday night at the Sundance Film Festival.

lifeless “Captain Marvel,” their latest movie has, um, flecks of the supernatural heroism and urban vigilante justice that we associate with the comic book genre. Running time: 106 minutes. Rated R (strong bloody violence, language throughout including slurs, sexual content and drug use).However, unlike many of those bland caped behemoths, “Freaky Tales,” which had its world premiere Thursday night at the Sundance Film Festival, also boasts enough forceful, nerdy personality to fill the San Francisco Bay.

into a black hole of misery with the gloomy “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League.” And now the diabolical director is zapping the enjoyment out of outer space, too, in “Rebel Moon — Part One: Child of Fire” on Netflix. Running time: 133 minutes.

Watching “The Iron Claw” can feel like getting slammed with a metal folding chair over and over again.So bludgeoning are the true and tragic circumstances that befell the famous Von Erich wresting family during the 1980s and 90s, which director Sean Durkin’s film depicts.Running time: 130 minutes. Rated R (language, suicide, some sexuality and drug use.) In theaters.Starting about halfway through the movie that stars Zac Efron in prime meathead mode, a shaken man sitting next to me in the theater repeatedly whispered “What the f–k?” about fifty times.

Adam Driver is back to barking in an Italian accent after the heinous “House of Gucci,” only this time he sounds a lot less Russian and thankfully did not take Lady Gaga along for the ride.Running time: 124 minutes. Rated R (some violent content/graphic images, sexual content and language). In theaters Dec.

the popular 2018 original.DC heads Peter Safran and James Gunn are hard at work on revamping the entire stumbling franchise, starting with a shiny new “Superman,” but first they had to waste precious time finessing the problem-plagued and oh-so-five-years-ago “Aquaman 2.”Adding to their headaches, the studio was forced to deal with Amber Heard, who played A-man’s girlfriend, Mera, in the first film, but is now best known for her pass-the-popcorn Johnny Depp defamation trial. What did director James Wan do? He kept Heard, but gave her character a sidelining injury within the first 40 minutes.The lazy “Lost Kingdom” is built on such compromises and dodges.

the 2005 Broadway musical and a perfect 2015 revival of that same stage show.Running time: 140 minutes. Rated PG-13 (mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and language).

see my happier list for those), to find them, I had to sift through piles and piles of dirt.Here are some of the films released in 2023 that had me typing “bars nearby” into Google Maps afterwards.The power of Christ compelled me to give this film one star. There have been bad “Exorcist” sequels before — “II” is right up there with the worst movies ever — but I held out hope for this one because “Believer” was directed by David Gordon Green, who expertly revitalized the “Halloween” franchise. Big mistake.

Oppenheimer”).During the simultaneous Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes, the sagging box office was boosted, like NFL ratings and the economy of East Rutherford, New Jersey, by Taylor Swift.Marvel Studios, which used to be the surest thing in Hollywood, began to underperform (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”) and then downright flop (“The Marvels”).And DC was revealed to actually stand for Dud Central, with all of the studio’s comic-book films of 2023 (“Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash” and “Blue Beetle”) turning out to be financial failures.In a win for Gen Z, studio execs determined Zendaya’s star wattage is so huge now that two of her movies — “Dune: Part 2” and “Challengers” — were delayed a year due to the strikes, so she can promote them to her hoards of fans. And baby boomers were dinged by the big-time tanking of the nostalgic “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” starring a now 81-year-old Harrison Ford who schlepped around New York and Europe.Despite all the madness — and a sea of schlock — some excellent films hit theaters this year.

Emma Stone was a sex comedy MVP.The “La La Land” actress got her start in raunch-fests such as 2008’s “The House Bunny,” in which she played the leader of a sorority that invited a retired Playboy Playmate to be its house mother, and she took on the part of a teen outcast who faked hooking up with nerds for a quick buck in “Easy A” in 2010.Running time: 141 minutes. Rated R (strong and pervasive sexual content, graphic nudity, disturbing material, gore, and language).

Hugh Grant) has been reworked into a crafty, chatty, upper-crust Brit, obviously to erase those pesky imperialism critiques about previous portrayals of the captured Loompaland natives.And, while there are plenty of shady adults, there are no frightening Dahlian lessons for kids about the perils of bad behavior, a la “The Witches,” “Matilda” and “Charlie.”“Wonka” is its own, totally unchallenging confection. A Nestle Crunch bar of a movie.

“Mary Poppins” and “Peter Pan,” the reason being that it’s a nostalgia trip for the studio’s 100th anniversary. Well, as far as birthday celebrations go, “Wish” is about as special as throwing your “I’m a century old!” bash at a rest-stop Arby’s.Will young kids enjoy themselves? Of course.

Jacob Elordi, on a roll), a handsome member of the upper crust.And so do we. Sure, he’s a bit vapid, flaky and self-absorbed. Who cares? Let’s give Felix the benefit of the doubt, because he is attractive and rich!When Felix’s bike tire blows, smitten Oliver graciously lends him his ride, and a hot-lava friendship commences.

Cruella,” “Joker” and “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” only strewn with young-adult corpses, silly clothes and Roman names.The trouble is that by the end of the over two-and-a-half-hour movie, directed by Francis Lawrence, viewers still can’t quite put their fingers on why Coryo (Tom Blyth) picks the nasty path he ultimately does. Is it a basic lust for power? A lightbulb realization that survival is more important than morality? Who knows? A lot is shoved into a long and anticlimactic third act, but we’re left hungry for a meatier conclusion.“Songbirds and Snakes” is set during the 10th annual Hunger Games — a televised battle to the death that pits 24 low-class kids against each other in an arena — 64 years before the events of the first film.

Excusez-moi?Earlier, when the strategic genius is frustrated by rival Britain’s naval might, he whines like a little boy who’s been bullied at recess, “You think you’re so great because you have boats!”Depicting one of the most consequential figures in all of European history as a sourpuss clown who crazily rattles off nonsense is a brow-raising choice by Scott, screenwriter David Scarpa and the always peculiar Phoenix.After all, a person can’t very well forge a half-million-square-mile, multi-continental empire by being a total moron.But that’s what this Napoleon is — a fool. Viewers spend most of the two and a half hours (Scott says his Apple TV+ cut will be a merciless four) laughing mockingly at the guy who commissioned the Napoleonic Code.