Venom

While it’s not a Spider-Man film, Venom is made “in association with” the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story begins when a space probe launched by diabolical tech billionaire Dr. Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) inadvertently delivers a gelatinous alien symbiote to Earth. As the glob merges with a compatible host, its human vessel becomes endowed with extraordinary superpowers and an insatiable hunger. When motorcycle-riding investigative TV reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) questions Drake, the symbiote attaches itself to him, slowly melding and transforming Eddie into the hybrid Venom, much to the shock and dismay of his lawyer girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), who turns to Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) to try to extract Eddie’s malevolent parasite. But, of course, the carnage has barely begun, since Venom informs Eddie that his species plans to invade the Earth. Clumsily directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom can best be characterized by one of the only memorable snatches of dialogue in the film: “a turd in the wind.” Optional. (S. Granger)