Bob Thomas

The gorgeous Elizabeth McGovern makes up for the sketchiness with rare depth of feeling.

Scott lends credibility to the far-fetched happenings, and director Peter Medak manipulates the standard scare tactics with skill. [07 Mar 1980]

The story of centerfold girl Dorothy Stratton has been told before, in a television movie and countless articles. But Fosse gives it new and immediate strength through his superior talent as a filmmaker. [7 Nov 1983]

There are lots of laughs in the script by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson, as well as wry insights into modern relationships. [20 Dec 1982]

The plot is simplistic, but the film makes no pretense. It is aimed at the action fans, and it should immensely please them. [11 Apr 1983]

Fire and Ice combines fairy tale with sword-and-sorcery for a visually impressive, often exciting feat of animation. [05 Sep 1983]

Preposterous? Of course, but somehow the movie watcher becomes thoroughly involved in the author's chase after the mad killer. [13 Aug 1979]

Since the men are Anthony Quinn and Kevin Costner and their mutual love is a stunning newcomer, Madeleine Stowe, the film rises above formula. [13 Feb 1990]

Chris Columbus, who wrote and directed as he did for Home Alone, enhances the comedic bits with commentary on the human condition: the emergence of male-female love; the silver cord between mother and son; the plight of aging single men whose only ties are their pub companions.

Radio Days maintains a joyful balance between reality and a world of dreams. [14 Mar 1987]

Literal-minded moviegoers will find it easy to hate Pennies from Heaven. But those willing to go along with the device will find the film a source of constant surprise and delight. [14 Dec 1981]

First-time director Arnold Zwick does a fine job of capturing the vitality of the singles scene. [30 July 1986]

A Shock to the System marks a promising entry into feature films for Jan Egleson, who has directed prestige films for public television. He skillfully plays the murderous events against the normality of New York high rises and peaceful suburbia. [02 Apr 1990]

Perfect is gorgeous to look at, with its disciplined bodies (there is even a visit to a male strip joint) and modern cityscapes. Travolta was never more personable; doubts concerning his star presence are dispelled here. Jamie Lee Curtis matches him charismatically, despite her ambivalent role. [21 May 1985]

The Border is a well-made action-adventure film enhanced by authentic settings and a superlative performance by Jack Nicholson. [08 Feb 1982]

With Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson as the Three Men, you can forgive the artifice. All three have affable, winning personalities - not a hint of darkness in any of them. And it's refreshing to see a buddy movie without blazing Uzis and crashing cars. [19 Nov 1990]

Vice Versa, in fact, is a nifty comedy of the supernatural variety. It benefits from a clever script by Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais (who also produced), lively direction by Brian Gilbert and the inspired teaming of Reinhold and young Savage as the misplaced father and son. [21 Apr 1988]

Rarely has a major film been so coolly designed to capture the young market. Yet for all its crass calculation, Grandview, U.S.A. has a buoyant vitality, an engaging lack of pretense and occasional bursts of humor and sentiment. The movie's prime asset is a bright, attractive cast. [07 Aug 1984]

If Out of Africa falls short of greatness, its fault lies in the politeness of one and all. Except for a brief argument between Streep and Redford, everyone remains deucedly civil. You find yourself hoping that someone - anyone - would just stand up and yell. [30 Dec 1985]

The ever-astounding Robin Williams is the battery that makes Toys work. He is at the peak of his inventiveness, yet he never loses the handle on his character. [15 Dec 1992]

The ecological message is commendable, and there are some amusing situations with the space travelers in contemporary scenes. Nimoy's direction keeps a lively pace and the special effects are state of the art, as always. [08 Jan 1987]

A satisfactory, if fairly standard, action entertainment. [29 Apr 1985]

Richard Donner (Superman) directed with an expert eye for action but impaired vision for logic. The climax comes with a samurai-like duel between Gibson and Busey while Glover and fellow officers watch. This is the crowning absurdity. [03 Apr 1987]

It is a slick, well-acted mystery with enough stomach-turning horror to make The Exorcist seem G-rated.

The original screenplay by Stanley Weiser (based on a story by Weiser and Lasker) offers intriguing situations, and Jonathan Kaplan's direction hurries the action along. Perhaps because he has covered the same territory before, Broderick's performance is surprisingly flat. Helen Hunt fares better, especially in her scenes with Willie. [18 June 1987]

The actors perform their deadpan duties satisfactorily. The news about Charlie Sheen is his pumped-up body. Look out, Arnold and Sly! Bridges is amusingly wild-eyed as the bionic president, and Golino manages to be sexy and funny at the same time.

Soul Man isn't designed for realism, nor does it aim at any lofty moral. It was concocted strictly for laughs, and it delivers an adequate number. [24 Dec 1986]

It's harmless family fun. [1 June 1992]