“Black Adam” (Action: 2 hours, 5 minutes)

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi and Pierce Brosnan

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Rated: PG-13 (Sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language)

Movie Review: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is perfect for superhero movies. He fits this character and brings along his megastar presence. After years trying to get this movie to the big screen and a big multi-million budget, Johnson’s “Black Adam” is now gracing cinemas and it is an enjoyable action movie.

Teth-Adam (Johnson) was once a slave in Kahndaq, a Middle Eastern place that appears like Egypt. He gained superpowers that rival Superman’s abilities and he freed his people. Approximately 5,000 years later, Teth-Adam is reawakened from his imprisoned slumber and called Black Adam, the new defender of a modern-day Kahndaq.

He is not your typical defender. Unlike other superheroes, he kills his enemies. To rein in Black Adam’s might. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) contacts the Justice League which dispatches Hawkman (Hodge), Doctor Fate (Brosnan) and new recruits Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).

Dwayne Johnson once again teams up with director Jaume Collet-Serra. They last worked together on “Jungle Cruise” (2021). Their work here is a nice addition to the DC Extended Universe but the movie is not without its flaws. It almost appears a movie of halves. One where good fights bad and then bad turns sort of good. The result is uneven but the movie brings plentiful action.

This is a popcorn flick but its cast enlivens the entertainment. Hodge and Brosnan are nice additions to the superhero realm. Brosnan is especially a treat as Doctor Fate. With hope, DC will find a reason to keep his character in future movies.

And, Johnson is always entertaining in macho roles. His Black Adam poses new ventures for the DCEU. Even as the movie exists as an action movie, it provides enough amusement to warrant a peek.

Grade: B- (Action energizes if nothing else.)

Playing at Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry” (Drama/Comedy: 1 hour, 45 minutes)

Starring: Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, Blair Brown, Scott Foley, Christina Hendricks and David Arquette

Director: Hans Canosa

Rated: PG-13 (Strong language, suggestive material and thematic elements)

Movie Review: If one is a lover of books and the pleasure they bring, then this artful movie is for you.

“The Storied Life” is about storytelling. Although A. J. Fikry, played by Nayyar, may be the centerpiece of this narrative, he and several acquaintances all contribute stories that unite them all in a meaningful manner.

A.J. Fikry is a widower barely staying in the black as a store owner. His only sense of joy is his Edgar Allen Poe book of poems. When someone steals the book, Fikry becomes depressed. However, an unexpected rival at his front door changes the course of his life.

What makes this movie unique is its cast consists in well-acted substories that are intricately captivating. None of the stories are powerful but they find a unique niche that makes multiple characters relevant.

Some of the moments are soap operatic. Additionally, some the substories are lacking, especially some romantic scenes. However, director Hans Canosa and screenplay writer make this an observable quaint movie.

Grade: B- (A bulky story leads to an adequate life.)

“Lyle, Lyle,Crocodile” (Adventure/Comedy: 1 hour, 46 minutes)

Starring: Javier Bardem, Shawn Mendes and Winslow Fegley

Directors: Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Rated: PG (Moments of peril and thematic elements)

Movie Review: Unlike other movies involving talking — or in this case singing — animals, humans actually respond accordingly to what would be the rarest phenomenon on Earth. Such makes this script well enough to entertain families.

Based on the children’s book by Bernard Waber, this story follows the life of Lyle (Mendes), who is the pet of entertainer Hector P. Valenti (Bardem).

When financial difficulties arise, Valenti abandons Lyle, a singing crocodile, to pursue work.

Sometime afterward, the Primm Family moves to New York City and into the house.

There, they discover Lyle. The discovery is an unexpected one that yields new horizons for the Primms, especially for their son, Josh (Fegley), who could use a friend in the megacity.

“Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” plays as a movie with music, adventure and mild comedy. The result is an easy to watch movie for the entire family.

Mendes’ singing scenes are engaging and Bardem’s antics grab one’s attention.

Grade: B (Lyle, Lyle, he for you and your child.)

Playing Valdosta Stadium Cinemas

“Halloween Ends” (Horror/Thriller: 1 hour, 51 minutes)

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney and Will Patton

Director: David Gordon Green

Rated: R (Bloody horror violence and gore, strong language and sexual references)

Movie Review: “Halloween Ends” will do just what its title suggests with hope.

Advertised as the final installment of the battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode since their 1978 debut in “Halloween” (director John Carpenter). “Halloween Kills” (2021) was supposedly the end of their battle, yet Myers, a.k.a. “The Shape,” keeps returning from the dead.

Myers (Courtney) returns once again to kill people. Still, his major target is Laurie Strode (Curtis). Laurie is living with her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). Enter Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell).

People of the city accused Cunningham of killing a boy he was babysitting. Cunningham just wants a regular life after a court ruled the killing an accident. Still, his presence begins a chain of events that lead to the return of Myers.

This slasher thriller has long extended its cinematic presence beyond its expiration date. If a series can make money, movie producers will continue making them.

“Halloween Ends” is smart, briefly, during a few scenes. The script does not maintain its swift brilliance. Like numerous other slasher photoplays, it quickly submits to being just action sequences with some frights. Like most of Myers’ victims, this series is dead.

Grade: C (The end.)

“Clerks III” (Comedy: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes

Director: Kevin Smith

Rated: R (Pervasive language, crude sexual material and drug content.)

Movie Review: This is director-writer Kevin Smith’s goodbye to the “Clerks” trilogy that started in 1994.

This movie feels like a reunion and a farewell tour simultaneously. It is a nostalgic venture that will delight fans of these characters. The movie, however, debases itself in repetitive adolescent comedy. The characters are older, middle-aged people but they still behave as if juveniles.

After a heart attack, Randall (Anderson) enlists Dante (O’Halloran), Jay (Mewes), Silent Bob (Smith) and others into making a movie about the mini-market. The place has been a major part of their lives for many years and Randall believes they should honor the memories made there.

“Clerks II” was a 2006 movie. The characters are older here but their lives are still similar. They are still working as clerks, even as managers/owners, at a convenience store. Immature neighbors of the market still surround them. So, Smith’s screenplay is a nostalgic piece — more of the same with some touching moments for those who have followed these characters for years.

Grade: C (Check-out time … the store is closing.)

“Paul’s Promise” (Period Drama: 1 hour, 36 minutes)

Starring: Ryan O’Quinn, Linda Purl, Shari Rigby and Josef Cannon

Director: Matthew Reithmayr

Rated: PG-13 (Thematic material including racism and domestic violence, language, some violence and smoking)

Movie Review: This movie’s basis is a true story about overcoming one’s past but it appears like one of the many movies about racism in the U.S. South. It feels familiar, even if inspiring at moments.

Paul Holderfield (O’Quinn) is a bigoted firefighter during the 1960s at the height of Civil Rights Movement. Despite being the best of friends with Jimmy Lipkin (Cannon) during their childhood, Holderfield pretends not to know Lipkin now and even scorns his former best friend because of racism.

Holderfield’s mother, Minnie Holderfield, who is dying, prays daily that Father Jehovah will deliver his soul.

A good note about this story is Paul Holderfield became a pastor and started one of the first integrated churches in the American South. The desegregation efforts of a church in a Jim Crow-era South would be a better screenplay.

Instead, the material presented plays like a comedy when its themes are very serious. However, the acting is lackluster mainly because of character inconsistencies in the script that dissuade from this narrative’s tangibility.

The result is an affable story poorly executed.

Grade: C- (A light promise.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar has been reviewing movies in South Georgia for about 25 years.