One of the most fundamental aspects of being human is a desire for connection. We seek those connections through romance and family and friendship, all in an effort to feel just a little less alone in a world that is too often cold and uncaring. When we find those connections, and cultivate them, our sphere expands and the space through which we move becomes just a little warmer.

But what happens when we lose those connections? And worse – what if we don’t even understand why?

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” the latest film from writer-director Martin McDonagh, asks that very question. And it isn’t about death or divorce or anything like that. It’s not about the loss of a family member or a spouse. No, this is about what happens when someone’s friend – their very dear friend – decides to not be a friend anymore.

From this seemingly simple idea, McDonagh unleashes multitudes. It’s an exploration of the toxic repression of emotion that was the masculine ideal for so many generations and how damaging the results of that repression can be. It delves into the value of connection, both in terms of celebrating its presence and mourning its absence. All of it refracted through the pitch-black prism of McDonagh’s dark and tragic sense of humor and brought to effusive, excruciating life by two actors at the top of their game.

Comic books have become the dominant source material for franchise filmmaking. There is a staggering amount of IP out there, ripe for exploration on the big screen. And yet, there are a handful of characters to which we invariably return. Characters upon whom filmmakers can’t resist placing their own stamp.

Few characters have seen the kind of churn that we’ve gotten from Batman over the years – a churn that continues with the release of “The Batman.”

Since Tim Burton’s “Batman” hit in 1989, laying the groundwork for the superhero explosion that would eventually follow, we’ve seen numerous artists and artisans embrace the character in their own way. Early on, we got Burton’s neo-Gothic vibes and Joel Schumacher’s candy-colored neon fever dreams. After that, Christopher Nolan’s trilogy redefined the possibilities of what the character – and comic book movies in general – could be. Next, we got Zach Snyder’s stylized grimdark take as the character was moved into a wider expanded cinematic universe.

And now, Matt Reeves has entered the ring.

“The Batman” promises a more grounded take on the character, moving away from the more extreme interpretations and focusing on a younger Batman, one still learning the logistical challenges and harsh realities that come with costumed vigilantism. With Robert Pattinson assuming the cowl, the film seeks to dig into the early years of the hero and his development.

The film seeks to embrace verisimilitude – at least, to the extent that a movie based on a superhero comic can – and focuses more on the idea of Batman as detective, an aspect of the character that has largely been underplayed or outright ignored by previous adaptations. The result is a movie that, while uneven, offers room to evolve and expand in ways we haven’t yet seen on the big screen.

We can all agree that no one does charming scumbags like Guy Ritchie, yes? While he certainly has other gifts as a filmmaker, the truth is that Ritchie is never better than when he’s throwing wave after wave of idiosyncratic and charismatic criminals at you.

His latest film (which he both directed and co-wrote) is “The Gentlemen,” a skewed and stylized look at what happens when a career criminal decides to divest himself of his illicit holdings, only to find himself forced to do his own particular brand of business with (and against) those who seek to profit from his departure at his own expense.

With an all-star cast led by Matthew McConaughey and wholly invested in Ritchie’s vision, “The Gentlemen” is a brutal and very funny film, off-kilter and convoluted in the most entertaining ways. It might not ascend to the level of the filmmaker's most beloved works, but it’s still a heck of a good time.

Whatever your feelings with regards to mainstream Hollywood’s ongoing devotion to remakes, you have to accept the fact that things aren’t going to change anytime soon. Like it or not, you’re along for the remake ride – all you can do now is hope that they’re good.

With Disney’s live-action “Dumbo” – a remake of the studio’s 1941 animated classic – it seemed as though the pieces were there for success. Tim Burton’s pop-goth sensibilities and Technicolor weirdness seemed like a potentially fun lens through which to tell this story. The cast looks really strong. And the tale is a beloved one.

And yet – the film is less than the sum of its parts. While Burton’s aesthetic did lead to some memorable, engaging visuals and the ensemble provided generally solid-to-strong performances, an iffy screenplay and lack of spirit undermined those efforts. While it’s far from a bad movie, this “Dumbo” never manages to soar.

Legal drama fails to match Washington’s outstanding performance

Film fails despite solid cast, intriguing premise

Strong performances can't salvage weak plot

Those people who enjoyed director Niels Oplev's work with the first film version of Stieg Larsson's 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' have likely been looking forward to the director's American theatrical debut. 

'Dead Man Down' would appear to have all the requisite pieces. There's a strong cast, including Noomi Rapace, who so embodied Lisbeth Salandar in 'Dragon Tattoo.' There's a dark undercurrent of deception and vengeance fueled by anger. The story has that noir-ish feel that Oplev grasps so firmly.

Total Recall' remake explores the nature of memory

Current conventional wisdom (or what passes for it in Hollywood, anyway) indicates that there's very little room in the Cineplex for original ideas. It's all about creating and maintaining franchises or else buffing a modern sheen onto repackaged old ideas, so the fact that Hollywood rebooted a movie like 'Total Recall' isn't nearly as surprising as the fact that it took over 20 years for them to get around to it.

The works of author Philip K. Dick have served as the basis for something like a dozen films his stories led to films such as 'Screamers,' 'Minority Report,' 'Paycheck,' 'The Adjustment Bureau' and more but 'Total Recall' was only the second Dick-based work ('Blade Runner' was the first.). It was based on Dick's short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' and it was far from a sure thing.