“The Secret Life of Pets” (Universal) is an entertaining animated free-for-all in which amusing characters and pleasing visuals of the Manhattan setting predominate over a serviceable but sketchy plot.

In the pre-9/11 days, it all seemed like it might be possible. This sequel, though, seems like an exercise in nostalgia for most actors from the original.

More compelling in theory than in practice, the central figure in this follow-up to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), does not contradict Carroll’s vision so much as supplant it. Viewed through a decidedly contemporary prism, presumably to satisfy a modern insistence on gender equality, she conforms to present-day social, political and cultural norms. It’s no wonder the resulting picture feels forced and mechanical.

In crafting his thoughtful, but ultimately unsatisfying, religious drama “Last Days in the Desert” (Broad Green), writer-director Rodrigo Garcia attempts to sidestep this crucial issue of identity.

The idea of having Jesus tempted in the desert by someone looking a lot like himself was in the mind of Rodrigo Garcia, the writer-director of the new movie “Last Days in the Desert.”

“The Young Messiah” (Focus) is an engaging, devotion-friendly piece of entertainment suitable for viewers of most ages. Families will welcome it as especially appropriate fare for Lent as well as the Easter season.

Capsule reviews for Disney’s “Zootopia” and Paramount Pictures’ “10 Cloverfield Lane.”

In days of yore, Hollywood knew how to make Christian themes pay off at the box office. Though the result was not always decorous – risque content in 1932’s “The Sign of the Cross” helped spur the formation of the National Legion of Decency – they were sometimes spectacular.

By Joseph McAleer Some might fear, simply from reading its title, that “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” (Paramount) would turn out to be little more than a rehash of the congressional hearings on the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya. In reality, the film is a gripping, fact-based account of what happened on the […]