Aubrey Plaza in the dark comedy Spin Me Round

Rotten Tomatoes score: 47 per cent

American restaurant owner Amber (Alison Brie) is thrilled when she’s invited to an immersive training seminar in Italy and soon finds herself drawn to Kat (Plaza).

Although the ingredients of the story were appealing, critics felt like Spin Me Round never came together as a full film.

“Alison Brie and the cast are fantastic, but the story veers unsuccessfully from light to dark to silly,” Richard Roeper wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans couldn’t save in The Gray Man

Rotten Tomatoes score: 46 per cent

Based on the novel by Mark Greaney, this movie follows CIA agent “Six” (Gosling) as he uncovers corruption and outruns ex-CIA agent Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans).

Despite their admiration for the fun set pieces, stunts and cast, critics were pretty mixed in their feelings for The Gray Man.

In a review for ABC Radio, Matt Neal said the action movie was “an A-grade budget trying to wallpaper over a B-grade script”.

Ewan McGregor in Raymond & Ray

Rotten Tomatoes score: 45 per cent

After their father dies, estranged half-brothers Raymond (McGregor) and Ray (Ethan Hawke) must decide if they’ll attend his funeral.

Most critics said Raymond & Ray was a small-scale drama that never fully clicked for them.

In a review for Pajiba, Dustin Rowles wrote that it was “a movie written for film festivals that will wind up in a streaming network where it will probably quietly languish in obscurity, save for Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor completists”.

Hugh Jackman in The Son

Rotten Tomatoes score: 42 per cent

Peter Miller (Jackman) is fully settled into life with his new family until his teenage son from a previous marriage (Zen McGrath) asks to move in.

After the acclaim of director Florian Zeller’s The Father, his follow-up drama simply couldn’t compete.

“It’s sad to say that The Son, Zeller’s follow-up to The Father, does not treat its subject matter with the same grace or consideration,” Mae Abdulbaki wrote for Screen Rant.

Mila Kunis in Luckiest Girl Alive

Rotten Tomatoes score: 42 per cent

Successful New Yorker Ani Fanelli (Kunis) is thrown for a loop when the director of a true crime documentary approaches her about the trauma she experienced as a child.

Critics lamented that Luckiest Girl Alive could have been so much more powerful than it was.

“Small edits could have propelled the film into a dark drama instead of something resembling a PSA,” Samantha Bergeson wrote for IndieWire.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was the titular lead in Black Adam

Rotten Tomatoes score: 39 per cent

After decades of imprisonment, Black Adam (Johnson) wakes up in the modern world with a thirst for vengeance.

Critics largely agreed that the flaws seen in Black Adam were indicative of a larger identity crisis at work in the DC extended universe.

Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in Don’t Worry Darling

Rotten Tomatoes score: 38 per cent

When Alice (Pugh) starts to question her marriage to Jack (Styles) and the purpose of her seemingly perfect neighbourhood, her reality begins to rip at the seams.

Critics said Don’t Worry Darling had a lot of promise and strong creative choices, despite conceding that it was riddled with pacing and plot issues.

“In an alternate reality, there’s a brilliant, 95-minute, reimagined, and restructured version of Don’t Worry Darling – one that leaves you with the right kind of questions,” Adam Kempenaar said on Filmspotting.

Charlize Theron in The School for Good and Evil

Rotten Tomatoes score: 38 per cent

Best friends Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie) are invited to The School for Good and Evil, run by Lady Lesso (Theron) and Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington), and given fairy tale assignments that don’t match their happy endings.

Some critics wondered whether the fantasy film would have worked better in a different medium.

In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Noel Murray called it “an exhaustingly long, overstuffed movie that probably would’ve worked better as a TV series”.

Chris Hemsworth in Spiderhead

Rotten Tomatoes score: 38 per cent

In this thriller, inmates trying to reduce their prison time voluntarily participate in experimental drug trials on a remote island under the supervision of Steve Abnesti (Hemsworth).

Reviewers praised the performances of the cast but felt like the story never fully came together.

“It needs a much steadier execution than this, because tonally the film is all over the place,” Amy Nicholson said in a review for Film Week.

Ana de Armas in Deep Water

Rotten Tomatoes score: 36 per cent

Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, married couple Melinda (De Armas) and Vic Van Allen (Ben Affleck) get caught in a web of infidelity, lies and murder.

Despite an alluring premise and attractive actors, Deep Water had a shallow storyline in critics’ eyes.

“It’s all very slick, ideal for a 30-second cigarette advert, if people still made those,” film critic Robert Horton wrote for the Scarecrow.

Margot Robbie in Amsterdam

Rotten Tomatoes score: 33 per cent

In 1933, three friends – Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale), Harold Woodsman (John David Washington) and Valerie Voze (Robbie) – are swept up in a mysterious murder of a retired general.

Critics wanted more from the mystery thriller and said it fell flat in comparison to American Hustle director David O’Russell’s previous work.

Film critic Jane Freebury wrote that the movie was “a mixed experience, replete with stellar acting talent, but the moments of lacklustre writing and uncertain direction end on an awkward note”.

Dakota Johnson in Persuasion

Rotten Tomatoes score: 31 per cent

Based on the classic novel by Jane Austen, Persuasion focuses on Anne Elliot (Johnson) and her surprise reunion with old flame Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis).

Critics largely agreed that this adaptation was far flung from the charm of Austen’s original source material.

“There’s nothing wrong with updating Austen, but this isn’t so much updating the book as performing a gut renovation,” Tom Shone wrote for The Times.

Tom Hanks starred in Pinocchio

Rotten Tomatoes score: 27 per cent

After lonely woodcarver Geppetto (Hanks) crafts a wooden puppet (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and raises him as his son, Pinocchio sets off to have his own adventure.

Many critics yearned for the warmth and sincerity of the Disney original animation from 1940.

“For a story about a wooden puppet wanting to become a real boy, [Robert] Zemeckis’ woeful approach with not-so-deep-fake animation visually destroys the narrative,” Liam Maguren wrote in a review for Flicks.

Lupita Nyong’o and Jessica Chastain in The 355

Rotten Tomatoes score: 25 per cent

CIA agent Mace (Chastain) joins forces with MI6 ally Khadijah (Nyong’o) and other international agents to retrieve a top secret weapon from the wrong hands.

“If you’ve ever seen a mediocre action movie with a surprisingly stacked cast, then you’ve basically seen this,” Kristy Puchko wrote for Mashable.

Vanessa Hudgens in Asking For It

Rotten Tomatoes score: 23 per cent

After Joey (Kiersey Clemons) is assaulted, Regina (Alexandra Shipp) and Beatrice (Hudgens) take her under their wing and teach her how to exact revenge.

Many critics wished that the women leading the film were more fleshed out.

“For how extreme the threats are, and for how little is needed to create them, it’s missing the key ingredient: three-dimensional leads,” Ferdosa Abdi wrote for Screen Rant.

Pedro Pascal appeared in The Bubble’s all-star cast

Rotten Tomatoes score: 21 per cent

A group of actors (including Pascal, Karen Gillan, Keegan-Michael Key) attempt to make their dinosaur-packed action sequel while following Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on a movie set.

Critics said that the biggest problem in The Bubble was how quickly the jokes had gone sour – and old.

“Unfortunately, it has nothing new or insightful to add to the discourse, and instead seems comfortable recycling jokes that weren’t funny when we first encountered them on Twitter two years ago,” Oliver Jones wrote for The Observer.

Simon Pegg lent his voice to The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild

Rotten Tomatoes score: 17 per cent

Possum brothers Crash (voiced by Vincent Tong) and Eddie (voiced by Aaron Harris) become trapped in a dinosaur-filled ice cave and fear the end is near until they’re rescued by Buck Wild (voiced by Pegg).

The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild was received as little more than a cash grab that lacked heart and creativity.

“A cheap looking and lame continuation of the Ice Age franchise with virtually nothing new to offer,” said film critic Sean Chandler.

Matt Smith in Morbius

Rotten Tomatoes score: 15 per cent

Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) and his surrogate brother Milo (Smith) suffer from the same rare blood disorder until Michael’s illegal experiment leaves them with super strength and bloodthirsty tendencies.

Most critics were unbelievably bored with the derivative superhero film.

“Not the epic disaster we expected,” Nick Schager wrote for the Daily Beast. “It is, however, generic as all hell.”

Zac Efron in the remake of Firestarter

Rotten Tomatoes score: 10 per cent

Andy (Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) live a life on the run, terrified that the government will take their daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) and use her telekinetic abilities for evil.

Across the board, critics wondered why producers created a remake of the original Firestarter (1984), which starred Drew Barrymore.

“Don’t worry, no knowledge of the original is needed for this pointless and lifeless update,” wrote film critic Keith Garlington. “It stands and stinks on its own.”

Kevin Hart in the comedy Me Time

Rotten Tomatoes score: 6 per cent

After his wife and kids depart for the weekend, Sonny (Hart) reconnects with his old friend Huck (Mark Wahlberg) for a weekend that quickly spirals out of control.

“How many juvenile jokes on body parts and bodily fluids can be used in a pathetic grab for easy laughs?” Lynn Venhaus wrote for the Webster-Kirkwood Times.