The audacity of a Netflix premiere a little over two hours after a Super Bowl trailer presentation aside, there’s precious little about The Cloverfield Paradox that rises to the same heights as the previous two entries in the anthology series soared to, making this one more of a uniquely weird curiosity than it is anything compellingly substantive.

This Flatliners makes all of the exact same mistakes as the original, stranding its talented and attractive cast in ways that grow increasingly ridiculous as things move towards a climax.

Much like last year’s Ouija: Origin of Evil was a prequel that proved to be a monumentally massive improvement over its anemic low budget horror predecessor Ouija, Annabelle: Creation somehow, some way bucks the odds and proves to be a superior motion picture to its woeful 2014 precursor Annabelle.

Even if some of the horror beats are all too familiar, that doesn’t make the overarching narrative any less fascinating, Alien: Covenant continuing to prove that big things can indeed be born of small beginnings, and I for one am decidedly curious to discover where this story is going to go next.

This screenplay is shockingly dumb, there’s just no other way to put it, Life more akin to a low budget ‘80s Roger Corman schlock sci-fi knockoff than it comes close to resembling a Ridley Scott or John Carpenter genre classic.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is easily the most entertaining of the sequels, and while not as consistently engaging as Anderson’s first film, still the best video game to film adaptation to ever see the light of day, that doesn’t make the portions here that do work any less fun.

I got a kick out of Underworld: Blood Wars. It’s a step up from the last entry in a lot of major ways, Foerster showcasing solid directorial chops that helps give this fifth chapter an added infusion of energy and excitement I wasn’t anticipating…If there is a final chapter, I’ll be there to see it opening night, happily paying for a ticket alongside other fans eager to see how Selene’s story comes to its end.

Morgan has its moments, just not enough of them to make up for its ample shortcomings, all of which results in a thriller that doesn’t thrill and a mystery few are going to care to learn the resolution of.

While I can’t say I was as energized by The Purge: Election Year as much as I was the two stories that came before it, I’m still fairly enthused by what it is DeMonaco is doing here, this third chapter in the saga a politically astute meat grinder that’s worthy of a look.