There is a tonal consistency to The Equalizer II its predecessor never had. Coupled with Washington’s magnetically stalwart performance, I ended up enjoying this sequel just enough to exit the theatre smiling, and as mid-afternoon matinees are concerned there’s just enough that works here to make this predictably explosive thriller easy to recommend.

Newcomer Aislinn Clarke’s confident and sinister debut feature The Devil’s Doorway is a clever twist on the “found footage” subgenre of horror films, her movie more concerned with her three principal characters and their twisting moral ambiguities than it is in unleashing a bunch of nonsensical cheap scares.

I’m as flabbergasted as anyone that I enjoyed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again as much as I did. But this sequel got to me and did so within in the first few minutes, an opening rendition of “When I Kissed the Teacher” having a sundrenched Technicolor exuberance that’s wondrous.

As a minimalist survival thriller showcasing humanity’s continual battle against the forces of nature The Lighthouse is a beacon of low budget indie ingenuity worth shining a positive spotlight upon.

At a certain point the increasing inanity of the situations Will and his family must find a way to overcome become too incredulous to do anything but unintentionally laugh at, all of which makes Skyscraper a towering farcical misfire built upon a foundation of misbegotten nonsense.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a breezy, fast-paced sequel that goes out of its way to provoke buckets of laughter and massive sighs of wide-eyed awe in pretty in equal measure. It’s a fun film, and other than that I have little more to say.

While no one is going to win an Academy Award for their efforts the collective authenticity of the primary cast is never in doubt, and as such caring about whether they live or die is surprisingly easy to do.

Leave No Trace is a human mystery where the clue to answering complex psychological riddles squarely resides in the familial bonds of love a father shares with his only daughter, Tom’s ability to see the bigger picture while also taking charge of her life on her own accord an inspirational stunner I can’t wait to see again.

If Let the Sunshine In isn’t Denis’ most vital work, that doesn’t make it any less artistically dazzling, the hope for a better tomorrow overflowing in thoughtful companionship and unfettered love a universal longing intelligent viewers of all types should have no problem relating to.