As flashy as it is with tremendous and eye-popping special effects, "Terminator: Genisys" has created an extremely convoluted mess of merged timelines and revisionist storytelling that treads all over what made the 1984 original and superior 1991 sequel so great. This is more of an attempt of retcon than of homage. Even if you find yourself entertained by the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to his signature franchise, you may be asking, maybe even screaming in outrage, why this revision exercise was even necessary.

MOVIE REVIEW: Big Game

Bankrolled overseas for just under $10 million, the new film "Big Game," playing concurrently in limited theatrical release and Video On Demand, stars a sizable cast of Hollywood players stealing easy money and cashing quick paychecks. "Big Game" is a dumpster fire. It might be so incredibly terrible that it's too bad to ever become a "so-bad-it's-good" guilty pleasure and cult favorite. This might be beyond the boys at RiffTrax to mock, and that's saying something.

MOVIE REVIEW: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

By tackling the subject of cancer and doing so in the guise of a quirky high school comedy, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" stands out as proof that a movie can be earnest and humorous at the same time. It can be understated in one moment and then completely outgoing the next. It is a film that can feel facetious and yet still be profound. It takes the modern high school setting that is deliberately riddled with innate tropes, stereotypes, and cliches and masterfully steers around every single one of them to offer you something smart, touching, and, most of all, original. That is no small feat and something to stand up and celebrate.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dope

The next sure-fire addition to any list of possibly great coming-of-age films is "Dope," the fifth feature film from writer-director Rich Famuyiwa ("Brown Sugar," "The Wood'). "Dope" debuted in dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected as the prestigious closing film of the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in France last month. Those are prominent feathers to have in any film's cap. Better yet, they are kudos that are more than earned by this film's energetic brilliance.

MOVIE REVIEW: Inside Out

The prevailing feeling has been that the hallmark extra level of magic and poignancy that used to be Pixar's calling cards have been lost while they milked dollars from lackluster sequels and prequels like "Cars 2" and "Monsters University." We have missed the visual originality from "Monsters Inc." and "Cars." We have missed the sense of wonder from "Wall-E" and "Ratatouille." Most of all, we have sorely missed the strong familial dynamics of the "Up," the "Toy Story" series, and "Finding Nemo." "Inside Out" is exactly the redemptive return to form that Pixar desperately needed. The film rivals each of those prior greats in each of those areas. This is exactly what you loved and were missing while being something truly great that can stand on its own merits.

MOVIE REVIEW: Jurassic World

Spectacle defines "Jurassic World" perfectly. Just as the dictionary definition states, the blockbuster is unusual, notable, and entertaining in an eye-catching, dramatic, and very public way. It is loud and dumb, but, hot damn, it sure is fun. More discerning tastes will definitely gravitate to the "object of curiosity and contempt" version of the definition and they wouldn't be wrong in doing so. In the end, the simple definitions seal "Jurassic World" too. It is an very impressive monster movie and it will indeed attract attention and shock.

MOVIE REVIEW: Spy

In her two films since "Tammy," Melissa McCarthy has done both. Going against her bread-and-butter zaniness, playing it straight for a change in last fall's superb Bill Murray vehicle "St. Vincent" was the first step. The new summer spoof comedy "Spy" is the next step, thanks to McCarthy returning as the go-to muse for her "Bridesmaids" writer/director Paul Feig. With Feig and a stellar cast, "Spy" is clearly better company, but it's not a tremendous step up in material or acting for our star. "Spy" feels like one of those movies that is funny the first time and lasts for that one dose, but won't be something you'll revisit and likely something you'll regret you really liked five or ten years down the road. It is worth your Redbox rental, but not all that much more.

OVERDUE REVIEW: The Age of Adaline

In a new subset of movie reviews on my main website, I am circling back to see and review reasonably recent films that I either missed during their main theatrical runs or saw later then their window of mainstream prominence. As a guy with a traveling day job and a new father of "two-under-two," I can't see everything every week and I have to choose my spots to head out to the theater. These are my educational-themed "OVERDUE REVIEWS" and the life lessons are still in full effect.

MOVIE REVIEW: San Andreas

"San Andreas" is one of those terrible-to-OK movies that Dwayne Johnson makes either passable or good solely through his presence, heroics, and charisma alone. We're a long way from great here, but "San Andreas" counts as mind-numbing fun that's fit for the summer season. The errors, implausibilities, and eye rolls are as high as the city-leveling casualty rate, but Warner Bros. and company weren't aiming very high.

MOVIE REVIEW: I'll See You In My Dreams

Not too many films come along tailor-made for the senior demographic, and even fewer romances. It's a shame too because none of that talent over the age of 40 has gotten worse. If anything, they've honed their craft and waited for the right time to blossom once again. For the lost-lost, 72-year-old Blythe Danner, the new film "I'll See You in My Dreams," an audience favorite from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, is a chance for her to emerge behind the "mom" roles from films like the "Meet the Parents" series of TV's "Will and Grace."

OVERDUE REVIEW: Woman in Gold

In a new subset of movie reviews on my main website, I am circling back to see and review reasonably recent films that I either missed during their main theatrical runs or saw later then their window of mainstream prominence. As a guy with a traveling day job and a new father of "two-under-two," I can't see everything every week and I have to choose my spots to head out to the theater. These are my educational-themed "OVERDUE REVIEWS" and the life lessons are still in full effect.

MOVIE REVIEW: Tomorrowland

Thinly veiled beneath the powerhouse studio running the show, Disney's "Tomorrowland" is your new lightning rod between poignant and preachy. It is, with absolute certainty, an enormous message movie hiding behind a summer blockbuster. Brad Bird's film is a platform for big ideas that knows it's on a platform to also sell tickets and merchandise, putting it in that very divisive place between intention, tone, and how people are going to interpret it. If that surprises you, get in line. Everyone that was likely expecting a whimsical family-friendly film with gadgets and adventure are instead getting what stands to be the most polarizing film of the season, if not the year. That might not be a bad thing.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

BRINGING YOU MOVIE REVIEWS AND MORE SINCE 2010

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