Bill Cosford

There's an odd meeting of pathos and caper-comedy in Family Business, an uneasy blend of comedy and drama that never does seem to figure out what it's up to. The movie darts in one direction, then another. When it loses its way, it slows to a plod. It's a bust. [15 Dec 1989, p.5G]

Children will at least be diverted. Adults, after they tire of trying to detect the hidden strings, are likely to find Batteries Not Included too manipulative to tolerate, but predictable enough that they can safely nap for long stretches. [18 Dec 1987, p.D1]

The best-developed theme in 2010, in fact, is anti-climax. Many scenes have one, the entire movie seems to be one. And we still don't know what the deal is with that monolith. [7 Dec 1984, p.D1]

This is what we call a movie-movie, a movie that throws nuance and self-consciousness and artiness to the wind and concentrates on the slam-bam. It's richly entertaining, it's big, it moves fast. [10 Aug 1984, p.C1]

Much of it makes no sense whatever, and the most interesting element is watching Neeson and Adam Baldwin, who plays a psychopathic Mafia underboss, steal the picture from under Swayze's nose. [7 Nov 1989, p.C8]

Midler sweeps into scenes with divine force, and Tomlin plays off her co-star with a barrage of comic nuance. Tomlin is playing parts, Midler is plying shtick, and it's wonderful. [10 Jun 1988, p.D1]

Keaton is funny when she's tough, and funny when she's soft; the Baby Boom combination, for all the film's calculations and shameless cooing (the baby's dubbed, for pity's sake), is quite appealing. [7 Oct 1987, p.D8]

Oshima, the director who was once celebrated for the elaborately scandalous eroticism of In the Realm of the Senses, is here merely impenetrable -- though whatever it is that Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is about, Oshima does seem to mean it. [30 Sep 1983, p.D2]

The several ideas whizzing about in this story are frankly fascinating, and though there are times when the film seems sadly out of date, the film has a real pull to it. [16 Mar 1990, p.G5]

Though Rosenthal is slick enough to lure us into the big Rocky climax, his movie isn't serious enough, or good enough, not to leave a bad taste in the mouth after it's over. [27 Mar 1983, p.L4]

This little melodrama is nicely put together and thoroughly entertaining. Plus, the scenery's great. Remember when that was enough? [26 Sep 1990, p.D3]

here are strange sensibilities at work here, yes. Just not working hard enough. [23 July 1993, p.G7]

The movie is full of holes, but there's never time to worry about them, and everyone's having too good a time ducking in and out of the subplots anyway. [23 Oct 1987, p.D5]

Though Breakin' follows the Flashdance formula as if it were blazed in concrete, working from a script that would make a 12-year-old snicker, it is so exuberant and lighthearted that it works. [09 May 1984, p.B5]

Those opening minutes, in which Hawn plays a heavy, are some of her best work. The rest we've seen before, a lot. Overboard is overlong, and stale as can be. [18 Dec 1987, p.D6]

It's a nifty piece of work. The tension builds nicely, the convoluted plot doubles back on itself, and for once the music score doesn't give everything away. Nothing groundbreaking here, understand. But a lot of fun. [01 Oct 1993, p.G5]

Penny Marshall proves deft at blending the silly stuff with enough action to generate a bit of suspense; the mix is that of Beverly Hills Cop. And the script, though the work of a whole crowd -- almost always a bad sign -- has marvelous moments. [10 Oct 1986, p.D1]

Agnes of God may not seem half so profound on the screen as it did on stage, but if that is the case, it is so because Jewison's direction illuminates rather than conceals the story's essence. And this Agnes is not just a filmed play; it's a real movie, and a fine piece of work. [27 Sept 1985, p.D1]

Beauty and the Beast is so funny, exciting and suspenseful that its obvious moral (appearance can mean nothing; it's what's inside that counts) is engaging rather than perfunctory. [22 Nov 1991, p.G11]

Whoopi Goldberg gives a first-rate performance in Clara's Heart, enough to atone for the sins of her Fatal Beauty period. But it's nifty work in a lost cause. The movie is sickly sweet, shot through with the kind of confectioner's sentiment that Hollywood used to crank out on assembly lines until the formula slid into disuse. [21 Oct 1988, p.E10]

The most interesting aspect -- the only interesting aspect, really -- of Housesitter's creaky script is the concept of the psychopathic liar, as played by Hawn, who can invent whole life stories under pressure. It's the film's central conceit that the capacity to delude others with long and preposterous fabrications is the one sure sign of character. [12 June 1992, p.G7]

Turner's performance is intriguing -- now we know that she can play not only a sexpot (Body Heat) but a sexpot hiding in a career woman's suit-and-tie and posing as a fleshpot. This is pretty interesting. [19 Nov 1984, p.C1]

Electric Dreams seems to take forever to establish its premise and its characters, who (computer excepted) are nonetheless rather one-dimensional. [23 Jul 1984, p.C6]

It's a big, likable movie without quite enough jokes, but the stars take turns with the burden, carrying the thing in relays. They're fun to watch. [16 Dec 1986, p.D4]

It's a character study and a stunted romance involving characters played by Tom Hanks and Sally Field, and in that strange couple's brackish chemistry the film founders and sinks. [7 Oct 1988, p.E1]

Harry is more fun, and he is less the fascist. Considering the genre -- bloody crimebusting and to-hell-with-your-rights- pal -- these are no small blessings. [12 Dec 1983, p.C6]

It is surprisingly dull...Sheen and Sweeney appear dazed, or merely bored, throughout, as if they had ODd on the film's determined sleekness. The director, Peter Werner, is best known for his work on installments of Moonlighting. Alas, his TV roots are showing, and No Man's Land seems like nothing so much as a "special, two-hour episode" from the little screen. [29 Oct 1987, p.7]

Breathless, on the other hand, earns its style -- it uses that style against its characters, so that the film's good looks serve as background while the characters, trying to live up to the scenery, grind themselves down. 18 May 1983, p.B1]