Spider- Man: No Way Home (2021):

Without question, this is the best superhero movie I have ever seen. What made it so impressive was the combination of character-driven stories in a genre that is too often nothing but mayhem and mindless action, combined with special effects that did not make me feel like I was watching special effects at all, but rather the world as it actually was. There is plenty of action too, but it all makes sense and points in just one direction, looking to deal with different iterations of people good and bad from the multiverse that we learn is infinite. Tom Holland makes his sixth appearance as the webbed-warrior in this Marvel Comics Universe story that has him working with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is trying to help Spider-Man out of a very bad spot. Spidey's secret identity was revealed by Mysterio in "Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), and now everybody, good and bad, knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Dr. Strange to the rescue with a spell that can put things back to the way they were before ... but something goes very wrong when Peter interrupts the magical wizard in mid-spell, and now we have not only all the bad people of Earth after Peter aka Spidey, but a host of creatures from other planets, other galaxies, and even other universes looking to end things for the Webbed Wonder. I loved the appearances by Toby McGuire, a previous Spidey, and Andrew Garfield who also played that role, as well as a great supporting cast, largely from previous Spider-Man movies, including Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, J.K. Simmons, John Favreau, and Jamie Foxx. Sit tight after the movie ends as there is another scene about four minutes into the closing credits, and if you are patient and wait another eight minutes, you will see a three-minute piece of the upcoming Dr. Strange movie. Rated 14A.

C’mon, C’mon (2021):

Joaquin Phoenix tackles another unusual role here, and as is so often the case, does so as though he is himself as odd and strange as the character he plays. As “Uncle Johnny,” nearly estranged brother to his sister Viv, he makes a difficult choice to step in and help look after her young son Jesse (Woody Norman) when Mom Viv has to leave LA to go to Northern California on some urgent family business. Johnny is a shy, soft-spoken radio journalist who travels the country interviewing young boys and girls about their thoughts about the future. Now, with Jesse in tow, he embarks on his usual road trip, but begins to learn a lot about relationships, about family, and about the perceptions of the world out there as seen through a different set of eyes. Woody Norman who plays Jesse, is British, so he does the whole movie, which is shot in black-and-white, with a put-on American accent. Writer/director Mike Mills who has just a handful of documentaries to his credit, shot the film in sequence, and even in the midst of it, was not certain if it was supposed to be comedic or serious. He settled on “funny, when possible. Rated 14A.

Last Looks (2021):

Charlie Hunnam (“Pacific Rim,” “Papillion”) is a disgraced LAPD officer named Charlie Waldo who now resides off the grid in the wilderness high above the city, having reduced his carbon footprint dramatically, and obsessively holding on to only 100 items for his personal use. He is almost unrecognizable, sporting a three-year growth of beard when his former lover shows up looking for his help. She is Lorena (Morena Baccarin), she’s a private eye and she needs his help on a murder case that has her stumped in her role as a private investigator. It’s a high profile killing in which a well-known TV actor (played by Mel Gibson) is accused of dispatching his wife in a violent fashion. Since the actor is a confirmed drunk, he is unable to recall any of the events surrounding his alleged murderous actions. Charlie reluctantly agrees to help, but soon gets the message that nothing is as it appears to be. Robin Givens and Rupert Friend also star. Rated 14A.

The Adam Project (2022):

Canadian director Sean Levy (the "Night at the Museum" movies) helms this time travel twister in which a 13 year-old boy named Adam, grieving the loss of his father to a sudden death a year earlier, walks into his home's garage to find a wounded pilot hiding inside. Played by Ryan Reynolds, the pilot is also named Adam, and he turns out to be the young boy's older self who, in the future, is working on a project involving time travel, which is/was in its infancy at that time. He is on a secret mission, and he must collect his younger self, and go further back in time where the two of them can find their father before his death, and deal with some world-threatening issues that could destroy life on our planet. Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo also star. Rated 14A.

Robin Robin (2021):

This stop-motion animated film from the UK tells the story of a little baby robin who rolls out of her nest onto the ground, and who is saved, and then raised by a family of mice. As Robin gets older, she begins to realize that she is not a mouse, and that maybe she doesn't really belong with this family. A heart-warming story with an excellent message that both children and parents will enjoy. Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files") provides one of the major voices in this British made film. Rated G.