Booking “Ticket to Paradise” is for those of us who yearn for an old-fashioned romantic comedy, starring two of the most appealing movie stars from yesteryear who still have impeccable chemistry.

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have made five movies together, including “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and “Ocean’s Twelve” (2004). This time, they play Georgia and David Cotton, a bickering, long-divorced couple who collude to try to stop the impetuous wedding of their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) to Gede (Indonesian/French actor Maxime Bouttier), a seaweed farmer she met on vacation in Bali.

After graduation, Lily admits to her BFF Wren (Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s real-life daughter) she’s just plodding down the road to a law career. So it’s not surprising that she’s up for a romantic fling? But is she really ready to abandon all ambition for leisurely island life? 

It’s a clever premise but, unfortunately, director Ol Parker (“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”), who wrote the script with Daniel Pipski, so neglects to delineate and develop the romantic relationship between the vapid young couple that her parents’ doubts are undeniably valid. Bali is certainly beautiful but is living in paradise enough to sustain a marriage over the long run?

Complicating matters is the unexpected presence of Georgia’s young, French, airline pilot lover, Paul (Lucas Bravo – a.k.a the sexy chef on “Emily in Paris”). Pleasant surprises are Agung Pindha as Gede’s supportive father and the respectful depiction of the traditional Balinese nuptial ritual. 

Credit cinematographer Ole Bratt Birkeland and production designer Owen Paterson but shame on costumer Lizzy Gardiner for dressing Julia in drab, shapeless jumpsuits!

Bottom line: It’s predictable and formulaic but there are enough amusing chuckles along the way to justify a visit. And be sure to stay through the outtakes during the credits.

Tourism note: Because of Covid-19 restrictions, filming took place on the Whitsunday Islands off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, not Bali. 

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ticket to Paradise” is a sweetly simple, escapist 7, playing in theaters.

“Black Adam” is mindless, meaningless mayhem but, if you want CG-action, it’s non-stop!

Years ago, when I taught screenwriting, I told students: “Show me a story,” adding that good stories need solid characters. Both are lacking in Jaume Collet-Serra’s cacophonous live-action DC cartoon.

The prologue introduces the ancient Middle Eastern kingdom of Kahndaq, where the ruler Sabaac forces his slaves to mine for the magical metal Eternium. When a huge gemstone is found, a young boy encourages others to revolt but – after he’s captured and about to be executed – powerful wizards intervene, transforming him into the titular champion (Dwayne Johnson) who topples the entire realm.

5000 years later in Kahndaq, as archeologist Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) searches for the king’s legendary Eternium crown, she unwittingly unearths the mythological spandex-clad anti-hero, Teth Adam – with a pentagram scar on his chest and a backstory with his son Hurut. That’s where Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani and Adam Sztykiel’s ‘origin’ script stops being coherent. 

While Adrianna’s skate-boarding, comics-obsessed son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) introduces disoriented yet rage-filled Adam to the modern world, smugly preening Adam advocates violence/destruction as the only way to solve whatever problems occur.

Meanwhile, feeding into the concept of Western imperialism, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles four members of America’s Justice League – Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) – to intervene. 

“In this world, there are heroes and there are villains. Heroes don’t kill people,” golden-winged Hawkman tells Adam. “Well, I do,” Adam retorts, adding “Force is always necessary.”

FYI: When Adam says “Shazam!” it’s not the familiar “Shazam!” uttered by Captain Marvel, although it also serves as an acronym to activate their superpowers – but that’s never explained.

 And – if you’ve remained stoic through the perfunctory two hours+ – stay for the ‘revealing’ credits, featuring a cameo by a much beloved DC hero, setting up a future franchise confrontation.

On the Granger Gauge, “Black Adam” is a sloppy, senseless 6 – playing in theaters.

At the start of this claustrophobic, bizarrely unpredictable series “The Patient,” recently widowed psychotherapist Alan Strauss (Steve Carell) is kidnapped by Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson), a victim of traumatic childhood-abuse who has become a serial killer. Alan is kept prisoner in the dingy basement of an isolated house in the woods.

“You have to fix me,” psychotic Sam insists, as therapist and patient try to curb Sam’s homicidal compulsion.

Chained to the floor, Alan lies on a bed with a plastic urinal and bedpan nearby, along with Dunkin Donuts coffee and repeated interludes of Kenny Chesney music.  Sam tells Alan about No Shoes Nation, Chesney’s community of fans, and reveals that he’s been to 27 of the musician’s concerts.

Each night, Sam supplies ethnic take-out meals that he buys while driving home from work as a restaurant health inspector.

The lengthy ordeal allows Alan to reflect on his secular Jewish faith and regret his estrangement from his son, Ezra (Andrew Leeds), who converted to Orthodox Judaism, which Alan and his late wife Beth (Laura Neimi) considered rigid and restrictive, particularly when Ezra had children of his own. Beth, who died of cancer, was a cantor in a Reform synagogue,

Emanating from Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, the same production/writing team that created FX’s Russian-spy drama “The Americans,” there are many, often revealing flashbacks, plus David Alan Grier as Dr. Charlie Addison, Alan’s long-deceased therapist – with whom Alan has imaginary conversations – and Linda Emond as Candace Fortner, Sam’s mother who – while she fears for Sam – is also afraid of him.

What distinguishes this dark, grim psychological thriller about forgiveness and atonement is the consummately subdued acting displayed by Steve Carell (“The Office”) and Domhnall Gleeson (“Ex Machina”). And throughout the series, I kept thinking it would make an effective stage play.

On the Granger Gauge, “The Patient” is an intense, suspense-spiraling, often surprising 6 – all 10 episodes running only 20-25 minutes in length except the finale – and all are now streaming on Hulu.