I kept forgiving “Black Rock” for being a so-so action movie because I was waiting for it to turn into something else: a rumination on gender roles, perhaps, or even an examination of the government’s ambivalent response to the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But no, as it ambled along to its fairly inevitable climax, it was clear that a so-so action movie is all it was ever planning to be. One could argue that waiting for a movie to improve counts as actual suspense, but in this case, that’s an exceedingly generous interpretation.

Pity that, because “Black Rock” seemed to be...

The original “Star Trek” series (and its various successors) used science fiction as a way to make observations about contemporary world issues like racism, war, etc., so it’s no surprise that J.J. Abrams’ “Trek” reboot, now in its second installment, puts 9/11 into the mix.

If there was any sort of grace period where mainstream action movies thought that audiences weren’t ready to look at terrorism redressed as entertainment, that moment has officially passed; “Star Trek Into Darkness” fulfills its title right here on Earth, with the destruction of a building in London and attacks on skyscrapers...

There’s a certain brand of comedy that’s practically a genre unto itself — call it “Pre-Marital Mishaps on the Cape.” They involve an impending wedding, embarrassment, awkward revelations, accidental ingestion of controlled substances and a clash of cultures and/or classes, all in a picturesque seaside setting.

You loved this movie when it was called “Meet the Parents,” you possibly missed out on a very good version of it entitled “Jumping the Broom” and you may still regret walking in on the one bearing the name “That’s My Boy,” but you know the plot beats before you’ve even bought your ticket. What these movies boil down to, since surprise plays no role, is whether or not you laugh.

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The idea of contemporary high schoolers having a passionate argument about Trotskyites vs. Maoists is so alien as to feel like something out of science fiction, but we believe the political passion of the characters in “Something in the Air,” the stirring new film from writer-director Olivier Assayas (“Summer Hours”).

Coming of age in 1971, these teenagers are blossoming into adulthood in a very specific cultural context -- the wake of the May 1968 demonstrations in France, in which both students and workers went on strike, grinding the nation to a virtual halt. (The film’s French title is “Apr...