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Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week.

America: The Motion Picture (Netflix)
Starring: Channing Tatum, Olivia Munn, Simon Pegg, Judy Greer, and Jason Mantzoukas
Synopsis: This new animated feature, delivered today just in time for the Fourth of July Weekend, is an animated re-telling of the founding of America. Now, I know what you're thinking, this is a patriotic endeavor. You would be wrong... This one is as much a send up of American pop culture and business as it is a riff on American history. It wants to be funny and compelling in a way we've seen in these kind of films before. But this one misses the mark. It's weird, crude and ends up being overly ridiculous. Given many people's tenuous grasp of history, however, some may not notice. By the end, George Washington (Tatum) and the other Founding Fathers are some kind of superheroes, fighting in an overly graphic battle to found America in all its glory.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: One star out of four

The Croods: A New Age (Hulu)
Starring: Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Nicholas Cage, and Peter Dinklage
Synopsis: This animated film dropped at the end of last year and is available for free on streaming now. it picks up where the original film left off in 2013. The Croods and their new member Guy (Reynolds) are still trying to survive the prehistoric era when they stumble across a new family, the Bettermans, who knew Guy's parents. This launches a new adventure as the Croods rough ways clash with the Bettermans attempts to make a new society. Particularly at odds are Grug (Cage) and Phil Betterman (Dinklage), the leaders of each group. This one has the same kind of fun hijinks and style as the original, so if you enjoyed that film this one will likely appeal. I thought the story was OK and the animation was OK, too. I enjoyed the first one for what it is and think the second was roughly the same.
Rating: PG for peril, action and rude humor.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

The Devil Below (Netflix)
Starring: Alicia Sanz, Adan Canto, and Will Patton
Synopsis: Netflix provides a flood of content weekly. Some of it is good, some of it misses the mark. This film, which feels like a low-budget horror thriller, falls in the latter category. It's about a group of adventurers who recklessly seek to check out a closed mine that was the site of a mysterious fire. Turns out it is hiding a darker secret, and despite the warnings of the mine owner (Patton) who has stayed behind to ward off the evil contained within, the group proceeds and things do not go well. This one has a predictable story and middling performances. I did like Sanz the best, but this one isn't overly impressive. It doesn't have a lengthy run time but still outlasted my interest in it. The special effects were nothing special and the story and characters lacked depth.
Rating: NA
Verdict: One star out of four

False Positive (Hulu)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Ilana Glazer, and Justin Theroux
Synopsis: This latest from Hulu is about a couple (Theroux and Glazer) who want to get pregnant. They turn to a renowned fertility specialist (Brosnan), and their dream appears to be coming true. But for Lucy (Glazer) that dream soon becomes something of a nightmare. This new horror thriller is beyond strange at times. It comes from writer/director John Lee, who crafts some interesting visuals at times but delivers a weird story that ends on perhaps the weirdest moment of the entire 95-minute production. This is something different for Glazer. In fact, I didn't recognize her at first. Brosnan is sufficiently creepy in his role and Theroux is fine in his role, though his character seems the least well defined. This was touted as a gripping new thriller, but it was just a strange, sometimes off-putting mess. This one was a big miss, especially the weird final act that descends into some kind of madness.
Rating: R for disturbing/bloody images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
Verdict: One star out of four

F9: The Fast Saga (Theaters)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Charlize Theron, and John Cena
Synopsis: The ninth film in The Fast Saga delivers a blockbuster epic worthy of the big screen. As we're emerging from the pandemic, the summer blockbuster season at theaters is starting to kick into high gear. F9, which was delayed twice due to the global pandemic, finally was released. This one finds Dom (Diesel) forced to face off against his long-lost brother, Jakob (Cena). This one returns almost all the characters from the world, incorporating the crew from Tokyo Drift in a way not previously done. It also returns Theron's villainous Cipher, who again has to be stopped by Dom, Letty (Rodriguez) and their team. This one, directed again by Justin Lin, features plenty of new stunts that take the world to places its never been before. You don't go to these movies for epic performances and realism. By now, the audience knows what they're getting here. I still enjoy watching the spectacle of these films, even if they aren't always as compelling to me as they once were. This one is too long, clocking in at nearly two and a half hours. Some of it is very emotional, but it's getting tougher for the writers to cover the glaring absence of Brian, the character played by the late Paul Walker. Cena wasn't a great foil here, either, as his scenes opposite Dom lacked pop. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are out of this round, too, likely due to their spin-off action in Hobbs & Shaw, and the characters added in their place don't really boost the overall experience. That being said, if you're a fan this is still worth checking out and certainly worth seeing on the big screen.
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

2 Hearts (Netflix)
Starring: Adan Canto, Radha Mitchell, Jacob Elordi, and Tiera Skovbye
Synopsis: This drama, which was released in 2020, is now available to stream on Netflix. It's based on a true story and follows two parallel love stories. In one, Jorge (Canto) is a businessman who meets a flight attendant, Leslie (Mitchell), and falls in love. Soon they get swept up, get married, and start a life together. In the other, a college student, Chris (Elordi), meets Sam (Skovbye) and falls in love. In both love stories, healthy becomes an obstacle. Jorge's lungs begin to fail, placing him on the transplant list. Meanwhile Chris drops and suddenly finds himself in the hospital. This is where the two stories converge. Those that have seen the trailer or read the description can probably guess where we're headed here. This one tells the story of real people, how they intersected and how it changed the world. There are some emotional moments here, but overall the film is a touch bland. It pulls a bait-and-switch in the middle that some might consider emotionally manipulative. It's OK, and the performances are solid but it isn't overly compelling.
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

The Ice Road (Netflix)
Starring: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne, Marcus Thomas, and Benjamin Walker
Synopsis: This new Netflix action film set in the frozen north where an accident leaves miners trapped. Though it's April and the season is over, a trio of drivers (Neeson, Midthunder, Fishburne) and a mechanic (Thomas) have to attempt a daring rescue mission, carrying weighty parts across the quickly thawing Ice Road. But it turns out nature isn't the only challenge they have to overcome. This one starts out with what seems like a simple and engaging premise about having to beat the odds to deliver parts across dangerous terrain. Then it morphs into something different, and that's where I started to lose some interest. Neeson, Fishburne, Thomas and Midthunder are great in this, while Walker is OK as the antagonist. I liked the setting and the challenges of completing this drive against dangerous conditions. But the plot layered on top of that felt like a bit too much and took me out of a film that, at times, I really enjoyed. Neeson continues his trend of aging butt kickers, but I was also impressed by the sassy and plucky driver played by Midthunder, who was great in the F/X series Legion as well. This one isn't deep and isn't great, but at times it's fun and it's mostly entertaining. That makes it a decent summer stream.
Rating: PG-13 for strong language and sequences of action and violence.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

Operation Varsity Blues (Netflix)
Starring: Matthew Modine
Synopsis: Operation Varsity Blues is a hybrid documentary and dramatic recreation exploring the college admissions scandal led by Rick Singer (Modine) that saw a number of famous folks, including Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin, caught up. This one gives insight from the FBI Agents and investigators who helped crack the case, which led to more than 50 indictments, as well as some of the victims and tangential players. The recreations, which feature Modine as Singer, are based on the real wire-tapped conversations from the case. They help give a feel for Singer's methods and how this unfolding scandal was uncovered. This one is interesting for those who want to know more about the case, but as a film it's overall a bit tepid.
Rating: R for some language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four

The Seventh Day (Netflix)
Starring: Guy Pearce, Stephen Lang, and Vadhir Derbez
Synopsis: This new film, from writer/director Justin P. Lange, is a supernatural drama about a young exorcist (Derbez) teamed with a veteran exorcist (Pearce) to investigate the possession of a young boy who murdered his family. It begins with an introduction to Father Peter (Pearce), and his first case where a training priest, Father Louis (Keith David), was killed. Now a veteran teacher, he takes young Father Daniel (Derbez) under his wing to pass on what he's learned at the behest of the Archbishop (Lang). As they wade into the case, Daniel begins to realize things aren't as they seem, especially with Peter. This one starts interesting and has a good moody look and feel. Pearce is a solid choice as the grizzled Father Peter, and I was drawn into the first half of the story. There are some decent effects here and I thought the film developed the tension and story well at the outset. But it soon takes a big turn as we get to the heart of the action and it just didn't work. The third act was a tough sell as the film faded to the finish despite a decent set up. It had its moments, but ultimately this one doesn't work.
Rating: R for violent content, disturbing images and some language.
Verdict: One star out of four

Willy's Wonderland (Hulu)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, and Beth Grant
Synopsis: We've reached the point in Cage's career where he doesn't even have to have lines in films he plays. His general look, presence and name are enough. Such is the case with Willy's Wonderland, a horror comedy that was released in early February and is now available to stream on Hulu. In this one, Cage plays a drifter whose care is disabled near the edge of a small town. In exchange for repairs, he's asked to spend the night cleaning a defunct children's entertainment location, Willy's Wonderland. But things aren't as they seem. The town Sheriff (Grant) and other leading residents are hiding Willy's Wonderland's dark secrets, while a group of teens led by Liv (Tosta) tries to save the drifter and expose the truth. This one is weird and wild, and at the outset I was sort of into the concept. But it quickly goes off the rails in the realm of the ridiculous. Cage has done a lot of films in recent years, some good, some bad and some awful. This one ends up in the awful category, as it currently is sitting on my list of the worst films I've seen in 2021. Unless you're a glutton for punishment, this one can be safely skipped.
Rating: TV-MA
Verdict: One star out of four