Curtis Morgan

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]

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

Pretentious, perplexing and plain rock-dumb movie.

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]

A charming confection spun from pure whimsy.

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]

Remains a remarkable, almost timeless study.

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

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]

The enigma of Reeves, sort of a human black hole on screen, works well in "The Matrix" but it drains the life from weepy romance.

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

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.

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

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

Grim, tight and well acted.

Moves too slowly, running out of gas in the later rounds of the plot.

Entertains but never quite engages.