One could argue that we are currently living through a golden age of unnecessary sequels. It seems that there’s a constant effort to revive and reinvigorate IP of varying degrees of dustiness; why make something new if you can make something familiar that people have already told you that they like?

Of course, that leaves us in a world where we’re surrounded by not just the ongoing blockbuster franchises that are the box office’s foundation, but also movies that continue stories that audiences believed had reached their conclusion (note: for the most part, audiences were fine with that).

And so we get something like “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” the third installment in the adventures of Channing Tatum’s charming and unlucky male stripper. Did we need another “Magic Mike”? Almost certainly not – especially nearly a decade after 2015’s better-than-it-needed-to-be sequel “Magic Mike XXL.” But hey – Steven Soderbergh came back (he directed the first film) and he’s always had a sort of quasi-muse thing happening with Tatum. Maybe it’d work?

Reader, it did not.

Look, the choreography is great – it’s always great in these movies – but that isn’t enough to carry the day. Particularly when you’re dealing with a confusing and occasionally bordering on nonsensical narrative. Soderbergh knows how to make this stuff look good – and there are stretches when this movie looks phenomenal – but when the story unravels upon even a cursory examination, it isn’t enough, despite the efforts of the director and his stars.

There’s no accounting for taste – especially in Hollywood. Concepts like “good” and “bad” are mere abstracts at the highest levels of the movie business. The quality of the product itself is secondary; all that matters is the money. And when a movie makes a lot of money, there’s a good chance we’re going to get a sequel. Even if the movie in question is kind of terrible.

Hence, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.”

This awkwardly-titled sequel to 2017’s mediocre-at-best action-comedy “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” can’t even rise to the level of the rather low bar set by its predecessor. This new offering features Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds reprising their roles as the titular hitman and bodyguard, respectively; Salma Hayek is back as well (she’s the wife). A collection of new faces appears as well, including a handful of folks who definitely should have known better.

Gotta tell you - it’s not good, folks.

That first film managed to get by on the energy of its two leads and the chemistry between them, occasionally reaching the level of store-brand “Midnight Run,” but even that sense of fun is long gone in this new entry. Instead, we get a tonally inconsistent combination of smug mugging and bloody violence that isn’t nearly as funny as it seems to think it is, presented to us alongside a confusing and borderline nonsensical plot and a bunch of rote, repetitive and generally uninteresting action sequences.

What if the life you know isn’t the whole story?

Few science fiction tropes offer the kind of narrative oomph that you get from parallel worlds. It’s an ideal way to introduce that “what if?” vibe that can make for such an interesting story. A more recent evolution of the concept is from the notion that we are living inside a simulation – an idea that seems to be steadily be gaining more real-world traction.

Of course, the fact that it CAN be effective doesn’t mean it always WILL be effective. And that potential for effectiveness means that we see it used a lot; unfortunately, that high volume doesn’t necessarily translate to consistent quality.

“Bliss” – the latest film from indie genre auteur Mike Cahill – attempts to explore some of the potential ramifications that might come from learning that what you believe to be real … isn’t. And while it does find room for some interesting ideas and a couple of sly subversions, it unfortunately becomes rather tangled in its own construction, to no one’s benefit.

Cahill, who wrote and directed the film, has a history of doing a lot with a little, crafting a pair of marvelous genre gems in “Another Earth” and “I Origins.” He’s venturing into familiar territory here, but despite some big ideas and strong performances from his leads, the film never quite clicks, particularly in its chaotic and vaguely unsatisfying third act.