From a purely objective standpoint, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a terrible movie. The plot is nonsensical, the characters are one-note clichés, and the song lyrics barely connect to the action. Yet, whenever the story stops taking itself seriously and gives in to the sheer silliness of being a jukebox musical based on some of the airiest pop songs ever written, it becomes infectious in spite of itself.

Part of what makes Marvel movies so dominant in today’s film culture is that despite their many superheroes co-mingling in the same universe, they mostly offer individual tones and character traits. If earnest Captain America and Black Panther explore serious political debates, and bad-boys Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy rock out with loopy, roguish humor, then Ant-Man—the only headlining hero who is also a parent—stands out for his small-scale, every-dad values. Think of him as the George Bailey of the Avengers.

After years of delays, audiences this fall finally will get to see the true-crime film about abortionist and murderer Kermit Gosnell.

Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer stars Dean Cain as the lead detective in the investigation into the abortionist’s horrific practice, in which he routinely killed babies born alive. Gosnell was convicted of three counts of murder in 2013 and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In Sunset Boulevard, Norah Desmond famously quipped, “I’m big, it’s the pictures that got small.” These days, you’d have to argue the opposite. As movies have grown into mammoth, multifaceted universes of blockbusters, actors have seemed to dwindle in importance. We have more celebrities than ever, but not many with the bankability to draw crowds when they aren’t wearing a superhero (or a wizard or a Star Wars) costume.

Paul Schrader’s new movie First Reformed (rated R for a disturbing scene of suicide) is a rare film that’s being praised far and wide for its thoughtful depiction of Christian faith. NPR hailed it as a “spiritually probing work of art.” The Washington Post described it as “a listening for God’s call.” Most intriguing, the San Francisco Chronicle called it a “seriously Christian movie.”

Except it’s not.

What it is is a movie that offers humanist philosophy masquerading as Christian profundity.  

Of course you can’t call a two-hour timeout on the Eighth Commandment, but heist flicks are supposed to be fun. Not so Ocean’s 8. Like the 6-pound diamond necklace at the center of the crime, this third follow-up to the 2001 hit Ocean’s Eleven (Twelve, Thirteen, and now 8) dazzles the eye but has no life in it.

When The Incredibles first hit theaters in 2004, it earned nearly universal praise not only for its excellent animation but also for the way it snuck provocative themes into a thoroughly entertaining storyline. Fourteen years later, the Incredibles are back and, once again, they’re sure to spark the kind of analysis that will make non-movie-obsessed people say, “We’re talking about a kids’ movie, right?”