"Night Patrol" is an interesting play upon the cop/gang genre by placing it within a deeper genre context but not avoiding what the film is really about. Directed by Jordan Prows, an AFI alum, the film delves into the gangland structure of Los Angeles with a similar vengeance of something like "Training Day" but a different track.

"Primate", helmed by "Welcome To Raccoon City" director Johannes Roberts is an interesting play because of its build but also the ethical and empathetic considerations it brings into play. Its focus works on college age girls returning to Hawaii where one of their fathers is doing research on primates. The initial texture because of its setting has a "Jurassic Park" dread to it but on a much smaller scale.

Gerard Butler, like Jason Statham, but in a different way, has found a way to crash his own corner of the concept realm while still delivering box office. Seemingly "Greenland", bolstered by the pandemic, did well to allow the story to move on. "Greenland 2: Migration" is bigger in scale and obviously takes on a different locale in a way. Beginning in Greenland where the last film ended, utopia, or what the inhabitants were hoping for, doesn't turn out in the way they hoped.

From any point of view, the new "Avatar" film "Fire And Ash" is breathtaking. Granted it uses certain formulas and concepts of history but the sheer spectacle of it coupled with the fact of James Cameron's prowess in making something both immense and intimate simply invites criticism as well as praise. But that said, it is a sprawling story that does take three hours and fifteen minutes to tell and would be hard to tell shorter than that.

The essence of "Wicked" is the beauty and darkness of what we see behind the scenes of "The Wizard Of Oz". While the first "Wicked" was more about bright colors and drawing the younger audience in, "Wicked: For Good" is the more dynamic of the two. This is simply becomes the fact that despite anything, this is a story of platonic love between two women but how heartbreak can and does happen.

The initial concept of "The Running Man" has a dexterity of vision. When the original with Arnold Schwarzenegger was made, it was a 80s action movie built in a certain essence of cheese and Cannon film fodder which in itself is its own art form. The new "Running Man" starring Glen Powell and directed by Edgar Wright has good intentions but it never quite gets to its break point despite some interesting sequences.

With a franchise that seemed to get old in the tooth after the 2nd go around, writer/director Dan Trachtenberg has brought "Predator" back to the cinematic structure it needs to be but albeit from a different point. "Badlands" has the DNA, edge and balance of an old school "Predator" movie but it is also made and adjusted for the era we live in.

The intention of "Die My Love" from director Lynn Ramsey skirts the idea between reality and the metaphorical nature of being. The film mostly follows Grace played by Jennifer Lawrence. Grace is a wild spirit but like anyone sees the path to settle down with Jackson (Robert Pattinson) but as often in life, things don't go as they should.

The aspect of many collaborations is pushing the boundaries while also doing something new. Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater have done this before. Whether the "Before" movies or, at its pinnacle, "Boyhood", they have experimented with form. Their latest "Blue Moon" is more of a staged piece following one night of a artist's journey (or deconstruction if you will).