Alien: Covenant Is Certified Fresh

The first two chapters in the Alien saga were so close to flawless that the failures of their subsequent sequels were almost preordained — and yet the allure of the franchise’s sturdy premise continues to prove a powerful draw for audiences as well as the director who helped start it all. With this weekend’s Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott continues building on the Alien origin story he started in 2012’s Prometheus, introducing audiences to another ill-fated space crew whose dreams of a utopian mission are destined to go horribly (and gorily) wrong. Like its predecessor, reviews describe Covenant as a solidly entertaining sci-fi horror outing whose nagging failures are magnified by its evident desire to tackle weighty themes it never satisfactorily addresses — and, of course, its connection to a couple of modern classics. Yet those flaws aren’t enough to keep the majority of critics from recommending the movie, which compensates for a somewhat uneven narrative with strong acting (particularly from Michael Fassbender in a dual role) and plenty of pulse-pounding xenomorph action. And remember, Alien fans: if you like this, Scott’s got at least a couple more installments up his sleeve.

Aging out of a role is a fact of life for any franchise actor, but time can be particularly cruel to child stars. To wit: the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, whose original junior stars are now too old to fit their parts, and have been replaced as part of a top-to-bottom casting overhaul for the fourth installment, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. Unfortunately, that roster of fresh faces (which includes Alicia Silverstone and Tom Everett Scott as our wimpy kid’s parents) hasn’t improved the franchise’s critical fortunes. While never exactly an acclaim magnet, earlier Wimpy Kid movies managed middling reviews; not so The Long Haul, whose road-trip plot opens up the canvas without adding much of actual interest. If your tastes run toward pratfalls and family-friendly scatological humor, make a beeline for the theater posthaste — but for everyone else, this chapter offers a particularly poor substitute for the best-selling books on which it’s based.

A boy, a girl, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: this is the stuff YA love stories are made of, and Everything, Everything is no exception. Adapted from Nicola Yoon’s novel, this teen-targeted romance seeks to make viewers swoon over the story of a housebound teenager (Amandla Stenberg) whose rare illness prevents her from leaving the safety of her sterile environment — but can’t keep her from falling for the boy next door (Nick Robinson), who’s determined to be with her despite her condition. If three-hankie romances are your thing, in other words, you’ve seen more than a few variations on this type of thing before, and it won’t surprise you to learn that critics aren’t exactly falling over themselves with praise. On the other hand, in the context of the genre, the limited number of reviews have been somewhat surprisingly kind, describing a viewing experience that — while certainly predictable and a little manipulative — more or less achieves its limited goals. If you’re in the mood to cry in the dark with some strangers this weekend, Everything, Everything should just about fit the bill.

The adorable and insightful — though sometimes grating — titular pet elevates Downward Dog from its potentially “ruff” premise into a sweet, intellectual comedy.