Clifford Terry

Like a relentlessly charismatic political candidate offering the moon, stars and a viable health-care plan, Bob Roberts promises much but ultimately fails to deliver.

Throughout the film, cinematographer Arthur Jafa brings in lovely, imaginative photography, showing a remarkable eye for light and composition, while Dash provides crisp, sensitive direction in putting together a moving work about a simple but proud people immersed in a distinct culture and ritual as they try to "touch their own spirits."

A solid meat and potatoes film. Like the land itself, there are no frills, and the cinematography by William Wages is commendable. But, someone should tell the filmmakers that there probably weren't any big mountains outside of St. Paul, even in 1917.

Extracting a meat-and-potato slickness from the screenplay by James Toback (a sucker for facile laughs), director Barry Levinson (Rain Man) provides a good chunk of entertainment if not much creative risk. Fast-paced in its first half, Bugsy eventually slips into a stall, especially in the clumsy scenes where the protagonist tries to handle domesticity with his long- suffering family.

There is enough material to provide grins and, sometimes, guffaws. Along the way, there are jokes and sight gags involving convenience-store robberies, ocean debris, dandruff commercials, Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations," frequent-flyer miles, Nazis, Ninja Turtles, Oprah, Mike Tyson and Mr. Potato Head. And, of course, the favorite targets of this particular genre: mimes and doughnut-eating cops.

FX 2 is entertaining enough, but lacks the zip and wit of the original.

Charming and gentle and steady-on, it contains few dramatic moments (except for one notable scene involving two children), even fewer surprises, and lacks the judgmental harshness and bite of Bergman's most celebrated creations. [14 Aug 1992, p.B]

A crackling, intelligent thriller.

Made with a flashy hit-and-run-style, the documentary too often tries to record too much of the overall campaign, instead of concentrating more on the details of insider baseball-or, as it were, the fun-and-war games.

At times, though, the appealing but uneven film seems rather disjointed, with Anders not quite getting a handle on her material, which is weakened by a sometimes-murky storyline (some of the minor characters drift in and out for no apparent reason) and pretention (there is a lot of talk at the end about the desert being a kind of metaphor for hope and renewal). Still, Anders decidedly is a director worth watching. [6 Nov 1992, p.J]

Unhappily, Manhattan Murder Mystery could use more comedy and less mystery. As the movie progresses, it gets sillier rather than wittier. Still, it is nice to get back to the old Woody Allen as a non-brooding director - nothing Bergmanesque here - and it is nice (never mind the off-screen circumstances) to see Diane Keaton up there in place of Mia Farrow. [20 Aug 1993, p.A]

An amiable comedy about a patched-together football squad, tries to do just that, comes up short after half time, but hangs on well enough to beat the spread.

Relentlessly driven by fashionable revisionism and good intentions, Geronimo: An American Legend-which deals with "days of bravery and cruelty, heroism and deceit"-is so politically correct it often is dramatically inert. [10 Dec 1993, p.C]

The best-sport award, though, goes to Palance, who turns in a delicious self-parody. [7 June 1991, p.D-2]