Secret Life barely checks the boxes for what it needs to do and never excels at any of them. A young studio like Illumination should aspire to more; hopefully they’ll learn some new tricks before they get too set in their ways.

Finding Dory, like most Pixar films whether original or sequels, is unforgettable and should have animation fans hooked and craving more.

Spectacular visuals and a wonderful performance from Sasha Baron Cohen make this a Trip Through the Looking Glass worth taking.

Angry Birds does a good job of taking the video game and creating a new, fuller world, giving the lifeless characters personalities. But they don’t sustain it and by the end all we get is a bonus level of the old game.

Captain America: Civil War is fun, exciting, and a compelling drama, making it arguably one of best superhero films to date.

Video game movies may be the next big thing in Hollywood, but Ratchet & Clank is an inauspicious start. This will be a trend that will soon run out of lives if the studios don’t figure out a winning strategy.

It may be a remake of the animated classic, but this live-action version of The Jungle Book is a wonderful film that will leave audiences both young and old in awe of the visual feast it presents.

Holy letdown! The cast is great and the action is cool, but Dawn of Justice is bat-frustrating and not quite super enough.

After 25 years, the beautiful and dramatic Only Yesterday finally gets a well-deserved English dub and North American release.

Zootopia earns a savage review as it spends too much time trying (and failing) to get its message right at the expense of making an enjoyable story.

A fascinating short film about life that is both simple and complex.

The martial arts trilogy has a satisfying conclusion, warm, funny, and with a heart as big as its panda hero’s tummy.

Simply unbearable.

Even with a somewhat uneven tone, J.J. Abrams crafts a truly magical and nostalgic trip back to a galaxy far, far away. Our review is (mostly) spoiler-free.

There is nothing terribly wrong with The Good Dinosaur — if you consider it a children’s movie. But for the rest of us expecting something meteor meatier from Pixar, the story here is just too ordinary and uninspired.

Whether you think the filmmakers successfully kicked the ball or fell flat on their backs all depends on whether you were expecting a faithful adaptation or a modern take.

While not as original or surprising as the first film, Hotel Transylvania 2 still touches the heart-strings and tickles the funny-bone. Kids will love it and adults won’t die of boredom either.

While no where near being one of Marvel’s best, Ant-Man is still perfectly decent summer entertainment…albeit on a smaller scale.

Skillfully made and utterly charming, Shaun the Sheep Movie is filled with wooly situations, sheep thrills, and good-natured fun. You won’t have a baaaad word to say about it afterwards.

Minions has potential but is ultimately disappointing with an uneven plot and stale jokes. Instead of feature length these little guys would be better served doing short films from now on.

Home is a lackluster and innocuous affair that will, at best, be forgotten about the day after you see it, or at worst, make you ask if you can has those ninety minutes back.

The animated classic gets a magical live-action retelling that should please audiences both young and old, while Frozen Fever proves to be a delightful follow-up to the Disney blockbuster.

While Sponge has the humor and style kids expect, it never reaches the amazing highs the show achieved in its glory days — this is one sponge who should’ve stayed underwater.

Want a head start to making a great movie? It’s no secret. You just need a good solid story. Otherwise you’ll have to resort to cheap tricks and strange magic.

Penguins of Madagascar is not Pixar, but it’s not trying to be either. It compares much more favorably with the Looney Tunes cartoons of the past — zany, silly fun for fun’s sake. And, Hoover Dam, does it succeed!

Big Hero 6 is yet another winner from Disney — with an assist from Marvel! Despite some nit-picking criticisms of the story, audiences will be more than satisfied with their film.

Story, as the saying goes, may be king. But a weak story doesn’t have to be the death of a film when, like The Book of Life, the animation, music, humor, acting, and everything else is so heavenly.

The Boxtrolls isn’t necessarily bad. And it tries very hard not to be. But it takes more than crazy characters in a cardboard cutout story to make a really good movie.

With a more interesting subject and setting, and a wider canvas, Planes: Fire & Rescue is better than its predecessor — but it isn’t quite a first-class upgrade.