John Mulderig

“Babylon” (Paramount), writer-director Damien Chazelle’s sprawling recreation of Hollywood shortly before and after the advent of talkies, is a film of undeniable artistic intent. Yet its considerable aesthetic strong points are overshadowed by both overt content and an underlying tone that viewers of faith will feel compelled to reject.

Frenetic action sequences are interspersed with a series of gentle moral lessons in the entertaining animated adventure “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (Universal).

Tim Burton steps forward as director of “Wednesday,” a spin-off named for, and focused on, the comically macabre Addams family’s daughter. All eight episodes of the series, which stars Jenna Ortega in the title role, are streaming on Netflix.

The upshot of “Violent NIght” is a strange blend of bloody mayhem and rank sentimentality that goes down like a gulp of sour eggnog.

‘Strange World’ tells the story of the Clade family, denizens of an imaginary realm called Avalonia.

Working from Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s 2019 bestseller, director Maria Schrader depicts the dogged determination of the newswomen, the courage and resilience of their victimized sources and, ultimately, the power of journalism to reveal wrongdoing. Although their efforts take a toll on family life, both leading characters are shown to be in strong marriages.