John Mulderig

Seafood goes bad, very bad, very quickly. So, too, does the dead fish-scented sequel “Meg 2: The Trench” (Warner Bros.)

Things get dark down under in the Australian horror yarn “Talk to Me.”

Life in plastic may be fantastic but the tedious ideology-driven comedy “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) is not. Although genuinely objectionable elements are relatively few, moreover, this is distinctly not a movie for the age group to which the figurine of the title is primarily marketed.

The onset of overlapping strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has put Hollywood on hiatus.

In a timely move, the folks behind the slick, vibrant espionage thriller “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” have added an experimental Artificial Intelligence project run amok to their roster of villains.

In theory, the tale of a shy but enthusiastic high schooler who is really a sea creature rather than a human might make for a pleasant diversion. But the major feminist and minor gay agendas that underlie the animated adventure “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” (Universal) spoil any potential fun the film might offer.

The story of Ballard’s battle against the sexual enslavement of kids — a horrifying form of depravity that’s disturbingly widespread — makes for a valuable and ultimately uplifting experience.