Title: Star Trek Beyond | Rated: PG-13 | Runtime: 120 min | Theaters nationwide

It’s prime time to be a Star Trek fan. Gene Roddenberry’s franchise just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and it has reason aplenty to live long and prosper. A new Trek TV series, Star Trek: Discovery, is scheduled to premiere next year – nearly 12 years after the end of Star Trek: Enterprise. The latest entry in the reboot feature film saga (dubbed the Kelvin timeline), Star Trek Beyond, opened in theaters this past weekend. Furthermore, there’s already a fair bit of chatter regarding its sequel, in which Chris Hemsworth will star. Indeed, any Trekkie (or Trekker) must be over the moon, especially since the recent film is arguably the best in the Kelvin timeline so far.

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Title: Free State of Jones | Rated: R | Runtime: 139 min | Theaters limited (reducing)

There’s no shortage of incredible true stories, and a great number of them deserve to be told on the big screen. After all, through the magic of filmmaking, a story can come to life and engage the viewer emotionally, intellectually, and visually. The story of Newton Knight and the “Free State of Jones” rebelling against the Confederacy during the Civil War is an utterly fascinating one, and it’s well-suited to be a movie that engages on all fronts. Writer-director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games) is up for the task, but Free State of Jones is a cluttered film that simply tries to juggle too much and ultimately doesn’t fulfill any part of its incredible subject matter.

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Title: Ghostbusters | Rated: PG-13 | Runtime: 116 min | Theaters nationwide

When it comes to this year’s female-led Ghostbusters reboot/remake, you’ve got to have an opinion. Ever since the project was announced, it has been met with a barrage of absolute hatred that shows no signs of stopping. I’ve yet to come across any preview on YouTube where the “likes” outnumber the “dislikes,” low ratings are already flooding its IMDb page, and a large number of individuals seem to relish reading any negative review. All this is happening before the movie officially opens stateside in a few hours, by the way, so general audiences haven’t seen it yet. Such reactions come from a variety of people, from fans of the Ivan Reitman films to trolling misogynists to Donald Trump himself. To say the least, this is a strange and troubling phenomenon: there’s a widespread desire to see this particular film tank hard. It’s very unfortunate since the film isn’t the cancer-inducing dumpster fire that many want it to be. On the contrary, it’s a solid flick that – despite its flaws – bursts with energy and fun, thanks in large part to the chemistry between its leading ladies.

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Title: Swiss Army Man | Rated: R | Runtime: 97 min | Theaters wide

Let’s face it: a movie about a shipwrecked survivor relying on a farting corpse with incredible abilities sounds pretty stupid, if not outlandish. That said, it’s almost magical when a pair of filmmakers inject that story with so much emotion, fun, heart, and humanity, turning it into something that almost defies description – and that’s exactly what Swiss Army Man is. It does bite off more than it can chew, but you can’t deny that it’s exciting to watch unfold.

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Title: The BFG | Rated: PG | Runtime: 117 min | Theaters nationwide

Two of the world’s greatest storytellers have come together. One is Steven Spielberg, perhaps the greatest living master of cinema, and the other is Roald Dahl, whose books have caused the imaginations of children across many generations to run amok. It seems like a perfect match given their techniques and tendencies, and it’s almost surprising how Spielberg hasn’t adapted a Dahl story until now. His book of choice is The BFG, and on paper, his adaptation of the zany novel sounds like nothing short of a home run. Alas, the film turns out to be one of his weaker efforts – a visual treat boasting a pair of terrific performances, but marred by slipshod pacing and a mishandling of the book’s tone.

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