Curtis Morgan

A muddled fantasy revolving around a really good cruise ship piano player, doesn''t live up to its title.

Bad in a good way if you appreciate this sort of silly thriller.

A garish clashing of sacred images and bloody semihorror, this is a movie that defines the category: interesting failure.

Sporadically amusing.

When the youngsters are out of the way and old pros Hackman and Weaver work, it's hard to really dislike Heartbreakers. Sometimes, it's even a little bit of harmless fun.

Isn't a total crock.

Overdone performances mar the fine ones -- (Turturro) has become, alas, a hambone.

Chan's string of chop-socky films were never boring. Shanghai Noon is.

Annie DeSalvo, a first-time director and screenwriter, can't escape the made-for-TV feel but does manage to give her cast, mostly once-big names fallen from grace and popularity, flashes of humanity between lessons about various saints and sermons disguised as dialogue.

Based on evidence in My Favorite Martian, it can be concluded that while life does exist on Planet Disney, it's not particularly intelligent. Or funny. [12 Feb 1999, p.10G]

One national group for the blind protested Mr. Magoo as insensitive. Magoo's nearsightedness does play a part in the humor, but it seems mainly a manifestation of his kindly but naturally oblivious nature. There's not a cruel joke in this movie.[25 Dec 1997, p.5F]

The Night Flier flirts with being a decent chiller, one that for a time values the dark morality tale over the oozing entrails. In the end, it gives in to its cheap soul (it was made for and first shown on HBO) and sometimes cheesy plot (adapted from one of King's sillier stories), but not before it conjures up a creepy tone and an aptly unappealing main character. [6 Feb 1998, p.12G]

Flat and forced, Jakob the Liar aspires to be a poignant parable about the power of hope but instead uses one of humanity's greatest tragedies for trite melodrama.

The story is stale, action uninspired, pacing lackadaisical. The whole production looks a little cut-rate, too.

Simply creaks with contrivance -- particularly in its overwrought finale.