Movie News

NEW YORK – There's much to like about the vibrant comic-book adaptation Spider-Man: Homecoming (Columbia). Besides an unslacking pace and a clever central plot twist, there's the fact that the mayhem on display is kept virtually bloodless.

VATICAN CITY – What do the Sistine Chapel, a used car with 186,000 miles on the odometer and a statue of Our Lady of Lujan made out of metal from an abandoned factory have in common?

NEW YORK – Director Pierre Coffin's animated comedy "Despicable Me 3" (Universal) – the second direct follow-up to the 2010 original – turns out to be something of a disappointment, falling short when compared to its predecessors.

NEW YORK – Grown-ups who yearn to connect with their inner 11-year-old boy are given a two-and-a-half-hour window of opportunity to do so in Transformers: The Last Knight (Paramount).

QUEBEC CITY – Faith and films have been lifelong obsessions for director Martin Scorsese, obsessions that he said have given him moments of peace amid turmoil, but also challenges and frustrations that, in hindsight, he will accept as lessons in humility.

NEW YORK – The clumsily fashioned horror flick "The Mummy" (Universal) turns out to be anything but tightly wound.

NEW YORK – Close to eight decades ago, William Moulton Marston – whose name seems more suited to a stodgy novelist than a writer of comic books – created Wonder Woman. In the years since, the character has, of course, become a staple for DC Comics.

CANNES, France – When films by Fellini and Rossellini topped the list of Pope Francis’ favorites, it should have been clear that, when it comes to cinema, this is an unusually discerning pontiff.

NEW YORK – Iconic and eccentric buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) hoists the black flag for a fifth time in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Disney). The result is a flashy but ultimately unsatisfying journey for the theme park ride-based franchise that first set sail in 2003.

NEW YORK – Once you've seen one vicious extraterrestrial gnaw its way out of a human body from the inside, you've seen 'em all. Or so at least the jaded – or squeamish – moviegoer might be tempted to think.