“Justice League”

2 stars

Director Zack Snyder has not put together a complete action film since “Watchmen.” In that film, Snyder showed a great skill at blending very personal moments with plenty of fist-throwing action. Since then, his action scenes are more chaotic than cleverly controlled, and he puts together scenes where events unfold before there’s any explanation of what is happening. When he finally gets to the explanatory moments, they tend to slow the tempo of the movie.

The two best things going for “Justice League” is a running time of 119 minutes (including secret scenes) and that it came out in the wake of so many recent stumbles with DC Comics movies. Buried under a stack of problems is a core of a good idea that could be used should the franchise continue. That core comes from a few of the members of the hero team and not from the tease after the closing credits that if used has the potential to make a “Justice League” sequel a flop.

“I, Tonya”

3.5 stars

This tale of infamous ice skater Tonya Harding — from her first days on the ice to the aftermath of what is known as “the incident” — is a well-written, cleverly directed and fun look at a headline-making story that has been told before. It gets that boost from director Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl”) working from an original screenplay by Steven Rogers (“P.S. I Love You”). The film is a weird hybrid of fact, fiction and documentary.

The main reasons to check out the DVD are the performances by Margot Robbie as Harding and Allison Janney (“Mom”) as her mother. Robbie’s skill comes through on and off the ice as she gets across the blue collar elements of Harding that worked against her in competitions.

But it is the Oscar-winning Janney who steals the movie. If Harding’s mother was one-millionth as cruel and brutal as Janney plays her, it’s a wonder Harding didn’t go around breaking kneecaps all the time. Her work alone makes this a wickedly fun film to watch.

“The Disaster Artist”

3 stars

Depending on how much background you have with the 2003 feature film “The Room” (not to be confused with the 2015 Brie Larson film) will make the difference in watching “The Disaster Artist” of thinking James Franco is brilliant or he’s completely lost his acting mind. Those seeing it with no knowledge of the original production will find “The Disaster Artist” to be a quirky look at the movie business. Anyone who has seen “The Room” — or at least looked at clips from the film on YouTube — will see this as an incredible peek at what happens when those with no business making movies produce a film.

The best way to fully appreciate “The Disaster Artist” would be to see it as a double feature with “The Room.” Since that’s not likely to happen (and that’s not the worst thing), “The Disaster Artist” can still be fully appreciated on its own. Franco has placed enough links to the original film that his based-on-fact look at the making of “The Room” is weirdly fun on its own and one of the most creative films of the year.

“Thor: Ragnarok”

3-1/2 stars

The somberness that has been a foundation to bring Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to the big screen in both “Thor” (2011) and “Thor: The Dark World” (2013) is gone with this film. Whether it be from a writing form of whiplash created by the massive success of the comedy-heavy Marvel productions of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Deadpool” or the unbridled direction of Taika Waititi, “Thor Ragnarok” is the funniest films in the franchise and most of the other comic book movies to come from the studio.

“Thor: Ragnarok” is packed from the opening sequence to the secret scene credits at the end. Waititi manages to dodge and weave his way from moments of such high-impact action that you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up with a bloody nose to quieter moments that bank as much on laughs as landed punches. Mix in a stunning new villain in Hela as portrayed with wicked abandon by multiple Oscar winner Cate Blanchett with enough big action scenes to fill a half dozen movies and “Thor: Ragnarok” rocks.