Call it another form of bandwagoning, or a wave of critics relieved that at least the production values were sharper and the supporting cast beefed up.

But “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is enjoying reviews that, based on the meta-meter and the tomatometer, would have you thinking it’s as good as “Gravity,” “All is Lost,” “Philomena,” etc.

It’s only reading through the reviews that you run into the asides — dull, overly chatty, action beats recycled, etc. Not a bad movie, I thought. But mediocre.Poor directors make poor movies, and Lionsgate hired Mr. “Constantine” to do the last three films in the series. Ouch.

Knowing it’ll be a blockbuster makes it awfully hard to pan, as with the Potter, Pirates and Twilight pictures. But sometimes, you have to.

“Delivery Man” is inferior to the French-Canadian film it is based on. Even having the same writer-director on board couldn’t lift the pathos needed out of Vince Vaughn. I found it watchable with some nice human dimensions, but I’m in the minority on this one, too.

“The Christmas Candle” is a lovely looking but emotionally barren holiday picture for the whole family, provided your family doesn’t mind period piece tedium.