Like "Annihilation", "Contact" or "The Arrival", good science fiction about intelligent life in the cosmos has to be done in a very specific way but with the technology we have at hand. "Signal One" from writer/director Jonathan Sobol takes quantum tech and uses it to create sounds in the air in a specific way. Isabelle Fuhrman, best known for her title role in "Orphan" takes on a very intelligent, instinctive and fascinating new role as a scientist who figures out an algorithm that can open up portals of communication.

A tit-for-tat "Sniper"-type thriller hasn't been done in a while. While "Seven Snipers" has some story issues, its taut progression, effective acting and great use of a single location allows it to rise over others of its ilk despite some story issues. This has to do with the three leads, in Radha Mitchell, Ioan Gruffudd and Tim Roth. While the main face off is between Mitchell and Roth, Gruffudd, plays Milk, a compadre of Mitchell's character Hewndricks and bridges the gap for Mitchell's daughter Anja (Annabelle Wolfe).

The focal point of "Pressure" which has been seen on countless History Channel documentaries and other military programs over the years is the weather that threatened and eventually perhaps helped the D-Day invasion in Normandy. What is interesting in this film is to hyperfocus it in the decisions made in the nights before but place it in the main perspective of Team Captain Stagg (here played by a demure -- in a way -- Andrew Scott). After "Ripley", this is indeed a right turn in the best way for him because it shows his manner even when the character at the interim point is unlikable.

"Chum" in many ways wants to be a play on "Jaws" with nods to "The Meg" on an independent budget. The background location set up is beautiful with Malta (increasingly pushing its film locations) built as the backdrop of a destination wedding between a lawyer and her soon-to-be activist husband. Things are not all right in paradise. But the night after the wedding, their friends rent a catamaran to lounge on the water, and hijinks ensue.

The inset of "Jensei" is an interesting play using a context of today which in other cultures maybe depicts a context of popularity but how the intent of society and time disassembles the reality of staying power is the true barometer. Ryuza Suzuki as the director hand drew the entire film over an 18-month period. While certain parts are low fi, as the film expands especially between certain aspect ratios, it uses the idea of practicality to show a window into certain psyches and disconstructs them in a very existential way

The motivation of the Grogu/Mandalorian connection is one of father and son. While the context of the new movie "The Mandalorian And Grogu" very much integrates that story in a very subtle but also feeling way, the reality is that the series could do it just as well. It is not that the film isn't cinematic. It ups the ante from the get-go, in many ways like "Solo" did. This a more mature and seasoned Mandalorian as well as Grogu. Director Jon Favreau knows this...and in writing this with Dave Filoni, he does understand his characters inherently.

While the trailer definitely created a sense of anticipation specifically around the Johnny Cage character, played with gusto by Karl Urban, the tonal unevenness specifically with the performances still relegates this new entry in "Mortal Kombat II" into B movie territory despite its B+ intentions. Granted the actual play of the Kombat competition makes sense. But in a new world, it is not as simple as the 90s version that was all balls and fury.

Billie Eilish does have a style and approach and, like most artists, she will evolve as she grows older. But the singing style she and her brother Finneas created in their teens has a classical ring that feels at times more like jazz than pop. Director James Cameron somehow found an interesting muse in Eilish and knows enough using his 3D cameras to find a way to capture a concert like you are there and do it in one night.

The integral structure of "The Devil Wears Prada" is understanding the path if not leading the path. The first film, which is 20 years old, spoke of a certain idea before influencers. While the new film doesn't hit that right on the head, it does talk to the digital and click based idea encapsulating modern journalism, even within the fashion industry. The sequel benefits greatly from time because it allowed the characters to live life or reinforce what they are.