"Cry Macho" is an Eastwood picture through and through but that little something extra described above sets it apart and shows why Eastwood is still up there with the best of them.

"Copshop", a lower budget but efficient par-for-the-course entry from director Joe Carnahan continues to shows his love but also texture to make small taut action movies.

With "Malignant", while the horror of the core idea has merit, its reasoning and eventual use is so asanine that it becomes generally laughable at parts (which is not a look that the director of "Aquaman" should be having).

In "Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings", it is a pendulum swing back and forth melding the aspect of the Marvel Comics with both an Asian sensibility and a Western flair.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead has always moved to the beat of her own drum, not adhering to what anyone should think about who she is or the choices she makes. She likes bad asses, understated but also strategic.

With a film like "Mosquito State", the horror is bathed more in the metaphor of the life it is building and destroying at the same time.

Instead of creating a more grounded structure, the film realizes itself more with abstract imagery and flashbacks per se with some CG enhancements (whose indications are unclear at best).

In "The Swarm", hailing from France, there is a sense of loss and longing in the character of Valerie (played Suliane Brahim) who is growing locusts to create flour. But like anything...too much becomes overwhelming.

The story is based on the lore of anonymous writer but that basis might have indicated jealousy, greed or nepotism criticism in a certain way on the part of the writer who may have been an unreliable narrator.