Bill Cosford

Kleiser seems to know something about style and pace after all, and he seems to know something about having fun with a movie. These are minor revelations, and they make Grandview U.S.A. almost unique among its class of film over the past five years: It's worth seeing. [03 Aug 1984, p.C9]

The atmospherics here are impressive. There's an undertone of comic dread in most of Cox's scenes, so artfully established that you wonder where it came from. In this respect, Cox seems a more playful variant of Wim Wenders, whose Paris, Texas might have been this funny had it not taken itself so seriously. Of course, Cox isn't Wenders -- he doesn't have the narrative skills yet. But Repo Man is without qualification the most interesting film yet about people driving around and getting into trouble. And there does seem to be a metaphor in there somewhere. [4 Apr 1985, p.4]

The great film that The Accused could have been is in there. So is Foster's lovely, measured work, the work of an actress at the top of her art, and this in a supposed "comeback." Yes, darker and more sadistic passages have burdened many lesser movies. But this one has ambition, and this one has this performance. It's a hard movie to like; it's an impossible one to ignore. [14 Oct 1988, p.E1]

In the old days -- when Hollywood knew how to make funny movies, and knew how to make cheap, sentimental potboilers, and knew the difference between the two -- City Slickers would have kept Laurel and Hardy busy for maybe 80 minutes. This version lasts nearly two hours, and the filler is all man-meets-cow, man-loses-cow. [7 June 1991, p.G-5]

It's a stand-up-and-cheer kind of movie -- hence the Rocky comparison -- with the unlikeliest of heroes. [30 Mar 1988, p.D1]

Patty Hearst is a compelling piece of work, with the bogus immediacy of old newspaper clippings. And yet it plays at times almost as satire. It's a vaudevillian's account of the end of the '60s radicalism, a murderous skit. Schrader, who loves ambiguity, has outdone himself this time. [23 Sep 1988, p.E1]

Though directed by Guy Hamilton, who has made four Bond films, Remo Williams is lackluster of pace and quite clumsy in the telling. And though no one demands devotion to verisimilitude in this kind of thing, a plot this ridden with holes is not an auspicious beginning. It seems unlikely that an audience that already has Rocky and Rambo needs a Remo. [11 Oct 1985, p.D1]

This third (and, I would guess, last) installment does what few sequels do. It actually extends the story into its logical destination rather than merely recycling familiar characters and situations. It's not terrifying. It is an audacious first film. It is fully as dreadful as fans might hope. Don't miss it. [22 May 1992, p.G5]

One thing it's not, despite the several lesbian love scenes that earned the film its NC-17, nee X, is "steamy." Nor is it provocative or even, Kaufman's best intentions notwithstanding, particularly erotic. It's a handsome bore. [05 Oct 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]

Strange as it sounds, the failure of this tawdry little odyssey into mammalia is that it doesn't make any sense. The smallest effort by writer, director or producer could have meant a movie with laughs as well as the capacity to anesthetize adults. [02 Aug 1983, p.C5]

Yes, it's junk. But it's funny junk, and it seems even to suggest a filmmaking intelligence (when was the last time you saw a shot from inside a human mouth as a giant tongue depressor closes in?) [26 Oct 1992, p.C6]

Paris, Texas is thus a curiosity. On balance it seems overblown and rickety, as substantial as tumbleweed. And it seems to be less than the sum of its two major parts, the script by Shepard and the images by Wenders. Still, it's an essential entry into the Wenders file, full of hollow portents and signs signifying little. And it would be worth seeing for Stanton's performance alone. [8 Feb 1985, p.8]

Though the charter of the Enterprise charges its crew to "go boldly where no man has gone before," the marketing strategy of Paramount Pictures clearly mandates that the film go quietly in a predictable fashion to a place where the mass audience will feel comfortable. This Star Trek II does, with its familiar faces and lovable homilies. The film seems bound to be one of the summer's big hits. Kids will love it, and dozing adults will at least find it endurable. [5 June 1985, p.C4]

Even if it were not physically beautiful -- and Ju Dou is as enthralling to look at as any Chinese film the festival has shown -- it would hold you: Its love story is as compelling as its politics, though not nearly so tragic. [05 Feb 1991, p.D8]

Weird Science is a nerd-reform film, down to its dewy finale in which all concerned have learned a Lesson About Life. But it's almost always fun. At its best, it's more proof that Hughes is one of American movies' unusual talents. He's an original. [2 Aug 1985, p.C1]

Penn makes all this fun. He doesn't camp, though he's not above borrowings and homages, and you can count the Hitchcocks. Penn's approach is almost elegant, even though this is little more than a bauble. We're not supposed actually to believe any of it, but merely to come along for the ride. [11 Feb 1987, p.D7]

Much of King Kong Lives in fact seems designed by and for invertebrates. It is well known that if you leave a monkey in a room with a typewriter for long enough, the monkey will write an intelligible story. With screenwriters, on the other hand, there's no guarantee. [22 Dec 1986, p.C5]

The few bright spots in Oxford Blues, including the handsome cinematography, are like the raisins in the tapioca: They just don't help. [24 Aug 1984, p.C10]

To be fair, Secret Admirer is somewhat more clever and a great deal sweeter than the standard for its damp genre. Those who remember with affection Archie's constant flailings at Veronica with the help of lovesick Betty will feel on familiar ground here. The outcome seems fixed almost from the opening moments, and the fact that lonesome Toni, who is made out to be the wallflower, is considerably more attractive than the horsy Debora Anne ("the most beautiful girl in school") is only the first of many tip-offs. [14 June 1985, p.D2]

In Chopping Mall the conflict is merely an excuse for a repeat of the kids vs. slasher formula. Nothing heavy here, just the predictable deaths of the couples who went "all the way," the survival of the virgins, and the best exploding head sequence since Deadly Friend. [05 Nov 1986, p.D6]

Even at 85 minutes, Throw Momma From the Train seems flabby; it's out of jokes before an hour is up. [11 Dec 1987, p.D5]

Strangely, considering the source, the most appealing aspect of Stakeout is Badham's success with the characters. Dreyfuss and Estevez work well off one another, Stowe and Dreyfuss are a likable couple and there's something approaching depth to most of the people on screen. [7 Aug 1987, p.D5]

The film likewise lurches here and there, but for the most part its aim is true. Action accelerates nicely, a series of pointless cuts to parallel action in Moscow and London provides a false but convincing sense of urgency, and not until the final moments do the filmmakers run out of steam. They have an answer for that, too, in the film's coda. [28 Aug 1987, p.D5]

This is a problem for a story located deep underwater, because without an immediate, photogenic threat, the movie literally has nowhere to go. The hard-working cast, led by Greg Evigan, Miguel Ferrer and the psychedelically named Taurean Blacque, lurches from bulkhead to air lock on cue, but accomplishes little beyond contributing to a growing sense of claustrophobia. [16 Jan 1989, p.7]

Fast, well made and utterly inconsequential -- The Terminator is a vintage "B," and it's good to know that Hollywood can still crank them out. [29 Oct 1984, p.C6]

Nothing but Trouble used to be called Valkenvania, which gives you an idea of the filmmakers' instincts: From the obscure they moved to the generic. The movie is something of both, and not much fun on either count. [19 Feb 1991, p.C8]

The movie's as dumb as dirt, but in the early going the action is staged well. The best thing about Tango & Cash is the series of gags to which Stallone has allowed himself to be the target. [22 Dec 1989, p.G10]

Like most Norris vehicles, The Delta Force is long on spurious action and short on production values. It's also silly, but it's more than that. Rambo asked, "Do we get to win this time?"; Norris' Delta Force gets to go back and win last time. [19 Feb 1986, p.D8]

John Derek, who wrote and directed and filmed Bolero, failed to make Bo look sexy; managed, in fact, to make her look dull and foolish. [01 Sep 1984, p.B5]

Robocop 2 is as funny as it is loud, and nearly as smart as it is gross -- though the latter quality does win out, particularly in the climactic brain-squash sequence. [22 June 1990, p.G5]

In some ways, Misery is the ultimate writer's inside joke -- the author as slave to a single, maniacal editor. This is not a great film, but it's good enough to invest the word deadline with a whole new meaning. [30 Nov 1990, p.G5]

It's a sturdy Streep vehicle. [11 Nov 1988, p.C1]

Croc, as played by the sinewy and appealing Paul Hogan, may be a fish out of water, but he's a formidable comic hero, a kind of Outback James Bond only less perturbable. And this sequel is actually a better film than the original, which was one of the movies' least likely success stories in 1986. [25 May 1988, p.D1]

G-rated material with the snap of a good story and animated artwork that often sparkles. [01 Dec 1982, p.D6]

Compromising Positions is not a big movie in any way, and it has its share of rough spots, particularly toward the end. But it's a late-summer concession to grown-up tastes after a season of intergalactic kids. And it's hard to hate a movie that contains this sentiment, again delivered deadpan: "God, I'd love to kill a dentist." [30 Aug 1985, p.D15]

Maximum Overdrive is the classic botch. Good idea, nice effects, bad pacing, porous script, no punch...Too bad. As usual, the premise has promise. [26 July 1986, p.C1]

What were charming once -- the clumsiness of Uys' style and the crudeness of his effects -- now seem quite tired: After all, he had the budget this time, and he has had six years to learn how to do things. It's as if Uys never quite understood what made The Gods Must Be Crazy so enchanting. [13 Apr 1990, p.G5]

Man bites dog in Turner & Hooch, the new Tom Hanks vehicle, and it's a tender moment. But there's precious little else going on in this tired little action comedy, which is so bereft of ideas that it winds up borrowing from Lady and the Tramp, among other familiar sources. [28 July 1989, p.G5]

Easily the best thriller of this or any other recent year...It's the film that marks him as a genius, that proves the auteur (or authorial) theory of filmmaking all by itself. It's the movie that shows a distinctive stamp, the movie that could not possibly have been made by anyone else. And most important, Vertigo is immensely entertaining. It has great peformances from its stars, an overtly Wagnerian score from the celebrated Bernard Herrmann and a plot that is almost hopelessly complex. Almost. [23 Dec 1983, p.D1]

It is almost a prototypical action picture; there is never a moment when something isn't happening or about to happen, and the fact that most of the action makes no sense doesn't matter much when events move this fast. [27 Sep 1985, p.D7]