‘BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE’: The first “Bad Boys” came out in 1995. The fourth installment, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” is directed by the filmmaking team Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known as Adil & Bilall. Writers Chris Bremner and Will Beall offer a story that is wide but shallow. This convoluted yarn concerns the bad boys’ deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano), who has been posthumously framed for corruption, accused of sharing intel with drug cartels. Marcus (Martin Lawrence) and Mike (Will Smith) seek to clear his name but find themselves at odds with Howard’s U.S. Marshal daughter, Judy (Rhea Seehorn), bent on vengeance, and their colleague Rita (Paola Nuñez), who has brought the charges with her attorney and mayoral candidate fiancé Lockwood (Ioan Gruffudd). Their only chance at fingering the real bad guy is Mike’s drug dealer son Armando (Jacob Scipio), who has been imprisoned for the chaos he wrought in “Bad Boys for Life.” It’s a thin tapestry of lore with some interesting creative embellishments, but without any real interest in character, it feels flimsy and disposable. You could do worse, but you could certainly do better. 1:55. 2 stars. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

‘THE BIKERIDERS’: Making a movie inspired by Danny Lyon’s 1968 photojournalism book “The Bikeriders” offers a filmmaker everything except a sure thing. A one-time member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, photographer and (later) documentary filmmaker Lyon turned the aesthetic notion of Robert Frank’s “The Americans” outside in, capturing images — and in Lyon’s case, tape-recorded anecdotes converted to text accompanying the photos — not as a penetrating outsider but a watchful insider. From this book, working in a spirit of homage, writer and director Jeff Nichols has made a cool, absorbing feature that goes its own way. 1:56. 3 stars. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

‘THE GARFIELD MOVIE’: Since 1978, cartoonist Jim Davis has explored the quotidian dramas of pet ownership via the daily travails of beleaguered Jon Arbuckle, his eager dog Odie and the titular tubby orange tabby, Garfield. “The Garfield Movie” is an oversize action- adventure film, replete with references and comparisons to Tom Cruise. Those Cruise- inspired Easter eggs are laid not necessarily for kids but the adults who have accompanied them to the theater, such as when the score references “Mission: Impossible” while an ox named Otto, voiced by Ving Rhames, lays out the plan for a heist. Later, a triumphant climax featuring airborne food delivery drones offers the chance for a bit of the “Top Gun” theme while Garfield (Chris Pratt) brags that he does his own stunts, “just like Tom Cruise.” The heist plot allows for the action, adventure and suspense to come into play, as well as the Cruise references, and nods to film noir and early silent films. Though the film is formulaic and somewhat annoyingly energetic, it’s cute and irreverent enough, and manages to bridge the generation gap, offering up a kid-friendly flick that can keep adults somewhat entertained for the duration. 1:41. 2 1/2 stars. — Katie Walsh

‘GHOSTLIGHT’: The films of Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are rare cinematic gems: simple but deeply felt portraits of people trying to do right by themselves and finding profound connections with others and within themselves. Their second feature is “Ghostlight,” which they co-directed from a script by O’Sullivan, a small-scale indie family drama with a huge heart that fearlessly tackles the kind of big feelings that can seem impossible to manage. O’Sullivan long had actor Keith Kupferer in mind for the lead role of Dan, a construction worker who stumbles into a community theater production of “Romeo and Juliet” during a time of personal turmoil, and Kupferer so happens to have an actor daughter, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, and partner, Tara Mallen, who slot perfectly into the roles of Dan’s fiery daughter Daisy and wife Sharon. The emotional mystery of “Ghostlight” is best left for the viewer to discover, as Dan’s story unfolds like the petals of a blooming flower opening up to reveal a devastating inner core. This is a beautifully life-affirming fable about the power of art to heal, but really, it’s the people making the art that heals. 1:50. 3 1/2 stars. — Katie Walsh

‘INSIDE OUT 2’: Pixar’s “Inside Out” (2015) leaned into old, turbulent emotions in a new way, all the way. The story dealt with 11-year-old Riley, a Minnesota girl into hockey, who relocated, uneasily, with her parents to San Francisco. A big move means big challenges for any kid — and any parent. Director Pete Docter and the “Inside Out” screenplay acknowledged Riley’s depression while underscoring her ability to manage it and flourish. The emotions depicted in the control room of her mind — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust — navigated their increasingly tricky human charge, as well as their own clashing personalities. “Inside Out 2” is the engaging sequel that pits 13-year-old Riley against new challenges and a tangle of new insecurities. Emotion management center honcho Joy (Amy Poehler) must accommodate new emotions led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke), along with Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Nostalgia pops in for a couple of appearances; June Squibb voices her, unerringly. Crucially, Phyllis Smith returns as the measured, morose voice of Sadness, alongside some new voices for familiar characters (Tony Hale in for Bill Hader as Fear; Liza Lapira in for Mindy Kaling as Disgust; Kensington Tallman replacing Kaitlyn Dias as Riley). It’s gratifying to see an ordinary and, yes, anxious 13-year-old’s life, like millions and millions of lives right now, treated as plenty for a good, solid sequel, and without the dubious dramatics of the first movie’s climax. What’s happening on the inside can be enough. 1:36. 3 stars. — Michael Phillips

‘THELMA’: Set over the course of one day, “Thelma” is a love letter to tough grandmas and Tom Cruise, and a celebration of California’s San Fernando Valley. And while “Thelma” is notable for being the first lead film role for the 94-year-old June Squibb, the film is also a calling card for writer, director and editor Josh Margolin. Margolin does a lot with a little in this dramedy, which is inspired by his own relationship with his grandmother, also named Thelma. His surrogate in “Thelma” is Daniel (Fred Hechinger), a 24-year-old sensitive ne’er-do-well whose best friend is his grandmother Thelma (Squibb). When Thelma receives a frantic call with the news that Daniel’s been in an accident and she needs to send $10,000 in cash, she doesn’t hesitate to book it over to the post office to drop the money in the mailbox. It’s when she finds out she has been the victim of a scam that the plot kicks into gear. With Daniel safe and unharmed, the police aren’t much help, and her family (Parker Posey as her daughter, Clark Gregg as her son-in-law) throw up their hands in defeat. But Thelma isn’t about to take this lying down. 1:37. 3 stars. — Katie Walsh

RATINGS: The movies listed are rated according to the following key: 4 stars, excellent; 3 stars, good; 2 stars, fair; 1 star, poor.