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Okay, so in a universe/world where Thanos (Josh Brolin), the ultimate baddie, has vanished 50% of all living things, the remaining Avengers must team together to attempt to restore order in the universe, trouble is, they may be too late, could this in fact be the end?Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by a small army of writers, this heartfelt love letter to the Marvel Universe ties up many loose ends and places tidy bows on multiple storylines to a satisfying conclusion…Kind of like attending a high school reunion, and, surprisingly emotional at a number of points, the Russo brothers take great care to pay respects across multiple franchises offering call backs and hat tips throughout the entire three hour runtime. Yes, you read that correctly, three hours, not exactly the film to play bladder busters with a thirsty two ouncer of your favorite carbonated beverage. Pro tip, start the film mildly dehydrated, a take just a few sips of water before “go time.” Solid delivery from the entire ensemble, you already know the drill, which is also to say, if you’re a fan, you’ll enjoy the heck out of this film, if you’re a newcomer, you’ve got some catching up to do, but note, this isn’t a film one can walk into cold and expect to “get” everything. Might I advise viewings of the first Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America, and Avengers: Infinity War as the short list to get you primed? That said, go enjoy, it’s fun for fun’s sake! Avengers: Endgame is rated PG-13.

Documenting what appears to be a year in the life of Antarctic Penguins, this is the anthropomorphized story of Steve, voiced by Ed Helms, a penguin looking to live his #bestpenguinlife, find a girl, settle down, have some kids, and become “the man,” in a good way. But, life on the ice and in the sea isn’t easy and certainly not very forgiving, keeping his family together will take more grit he could ever imagine. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson with story by David Fowler this “documentary,” while not hard hitting certainly does manage to contain enough educational strength to inform even the hardest of critics. More impressive yet, the footage and commitment to capturing this waddle up close and personal provides for some absolutely stunning cinematography and truly awe inspiring moments. So, while not exactly “David Attenborough” in caliber for its cognitive qualities, the overall charm makes for a breezy 76 minute watch that kids of all ages will still enjoy. Penguins is rated G.

Social worker Anna (Linda Cardellini) finds herself and her two children, Chris and Samantha (Roman Christou and Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen) in the crosshairs of an old folkloric curse, that of La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez). As legend has it, stricken with grief from her husband’s infidelity, La Llorona killed her entire family including her two young sons and now walks the earth as a damned soul in search of new children to replace her own. Thwarting the evil will not be easy, in fact, that will take the help of former priest Rafael (Raymond Cruz), is it already too late? Directed by Michael Chaves and Written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis and produced by James Wan, this shifting of focus in the “Conjuring Universe” to other unexplored evils makes for an interesting premise and setup but ultimately falls flat in delivery past Act II, especially once the monster is out of the box and logical decisions gravitate towards stupidity. There’s also one eyebrow raised at the lukewarm concept of the Conjuring Universe, while not an idea D.O.A., there’s a question of necessity, and or the thought it might actually weaken the overall product potential or reception, time will tell. On the positive, the ensemble gives a strong effort to keep the ship afloat despite the overall thin source material, and, wrapping up in a merciful 93 minutes, you could do worse. Rated R, despite lack of blood, nudity or strong language, Wan Lite, this is The Curse of La Llorona.