Curtis Morgan

A mediocre widget stamped straight out of the mold of the popular police procedural.

A wrenching film.

A mix of slapstick, melodrama and jaw-dropping stunts.

Never shies from acknowledging the natural fascination with their abnormalities.

Oddly entertaining ride.

Director Arnaud Desplechin follows his characters on a languid excursion that is circular and, ultimately, probably pointless (which may itself be the point) -- but the trip is also funny, weepy and charming. Like Paul's life, the movie feels messy but beguiling, jumping from past to present, parading about so many look-alike long-legged, haunting women that it's hard to keep track of who's sleeping with whom. [24 April 1998, p.9G]

A tad too raunchy for its own good.

It's just as voyeuristically enjoyable as those VH-1 has-been bios but without the soft-focus star shots and with far more edge, energy and originality.

Bogs down in a deep muck of inevitability.

In a movie packed with broad humor, the best jokes are so small they're easy to overlook.

It is a riveting and memorable performance and Kingsley finds subtlety in Logan where there doesn't seem to be any.

Something of Angela's Ashes does gets lost in translation -- mainly, its fiercely funny voice.

They're all too old to be considered a black brat pack, but you get a feeling The Best Man will lead to even better.

If there's a flaw, it's that Kempner has fashioned more a hagiography than true biography.

The characters are easy to overplay, but the ensemble keeps its feet on the ground.

Very French and at times threatens to dissolve into a steamy sex farce.

Rising above simple sentiment to explore class differences and the enduring clash between East and West with wit and wisdom.

Quite simply, Les Miserables is a messy classic -- difficult to condense, contrived and highly melodramatic, which made it fine fodder for a pop opera. To counter the antiquated excess, Danish director Bille August ( Pelle The Conqueror ) keeps the mood as cool as an autumn night in Copenhagen, which also creates an emotional distance. [01 May 1998, p.6G]

A charming confection spun from pure whimsy.

Remains a remarkable, almost timeless study.

Sad confusions and emotional disconnections are what the story is all about.

It's the slum, the favela, that emerges as Orfeu's most compelling character -- criminally poor yet rich in life.

The latest and loosest -- in the saucy sense of the word as well -- adaptation of (Austen's) sly comedies of uppercrust manners.

Grim, tight and well acted.