David Baron

An underwhelming cop yarn - a suspense tale whose occasionally arresting characters are far more satisfying than its workaday plot. [20 Apr 1993, p.D7]

"Down" is in many respects a quite modest achievement. While several of his characters are colorful enough to elicit laughs (the sweet but bland hero, I'm afraid, isn't one of them), Breathnach takes a perilously long time to generate narrative excitement and delivers only a pint-sized dramatic payoff. [3 July 1998, p.L27]

It's a shame to see Washington and Goodman, who share some ruefully humorous moments here trading philosophical banter as well as partnerly support, doing thoughtful work in such a thankless context. [16 Jan 1998, p.L22]

Not much sets director (and co-writer) Rowdy Herrington's suspenser apart from other run-of-the-mill efforts in this genre, though a number of supporting players acquit themselves well. And the story's resolution has the ring of unpleasant truth to it. Willis is by now so familiar with characters like the perennially grungy Hardy that he can portray them in his sleep - and at times seems to be doing just that - while Sarah Jessica Parker makes for a fairly lackluster romantic sidekick. [22 Sept 1993, p.E10]

It's a dutiful but rarely lively effort, and hardly an inspired one - a film destined, perhaps, to please those unacquainted with earlier and richer cinematic adaptations. [01 May 1998, p.L40]

If it weren't the late Tupac Shakur's last film, there would be little reason to give a second thought to Jim Kouf's misleadingly titled "Gang Related." (The movie has nothing to do with gangs.) But because it's Shakur's last film, this pedestrian crime yarn must be reckoned a special disappointment. [10 Oct 1997, p.L24]

All of this goes down somewhat easier, it's true, with talents like Cage (who's at his loose, non-Expressionistic best here) and Jackson (who proved himself a great dramatic actor in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever") at the helm. Both performers extract what reality they can from Frye's two-dimensional creations, and they give Amos & Andrew at least an iota of satirical bite. [05 Mar 1993, p.L21]

Raggedy as it is, Don't Be a Menace offers at least a momentary comic antidote to the casual horrors that have become entirely too familiar to today's youngsters. [19 Jan 1996, p.L28]

While hardly the sensation its hype promises, the D.A. PennebakerChris Hegedus documentary The War Room offers some droll glimpses behind the scenes at the workings of the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign and its twin masterminds, Cajun firebrand James Carville and cucumber-cool George Stephanopoulos. [4 Feb 1994, p.L26]

It's a genial and mostly well-crafted picture, if hardly one that breaks new ground. [27 Aug 1993, p.L21]

Pigskin fans will doubtless cheer "The Program," a new melodrama set in the high-stress world of collegiate athletics, but while this David S. Ward feature pretends to address many of the most troubling aspects of high-stakes college football, it winds up ducking just about every issue it tackles. [28 Sept 1993, p.C7]

Dragon is guilty of simplifying the raw material of Lee's life for melodramatic as well as martial-arts purposes - and isn't always convincing in the process. Still, headliner Jason Scott Lee does a fine job of suggesting the charisma, grace and sheer explosive force of Bruce Lee's personality, as well as his drive to master self-awareness as well as self-defense. [11 May 1993, p.D7]

But its behind-the-scenes satire of the peccadilloes of "serious" French filmmaking eventually turns downright pedantic, while the backstage intrigue (much of it hinging on a female staffer's romantic designs on Maggie) is surprisingly tame. [25 July 1997, p.L31]

After a "Porky's"-style segment dealing with puppy lust, the film then segues to its better second half, hitting its stride when a ball signed by the revered Babe Ruth must somehow be retrieved from behind the fence.

Dunston does all sorts of zany things in Ken Kwapis' wisely brief feature, but whether the movie is therefore worth seeing will depend on whether his monkeyshines are apt to make the viewer go ape. [12 Jan 1996, p.L24]

Those who like their swashbucklers to resemble, say, the farces of Jim Abrahams and the brothers Zucker, will be in good hands with David Loughery's obvious sight gags and anachronistically "hip" repartee. The only real wit in sight is supplied by Curry, who does what he can to give viewers some respite from the picture's relentlessly giddy brand of schmaltz. [12 Nov 1993, p.L25]

Mike Leigh's awesomely overpraised Naked is that one-in-a-hundred mediocre movie that contains a genuinely compelling performance. [4 Mar. 1994, p.L27]

So if a feeling of deja vu is what you most crave at the movies, go and see director Thomas Carter's "Metro." You'll pay six or seven bucks to feel as though you've seen it all before. And you have. Eddie, please, come back when you can find some decent material. [17 Jan 1997, p.L26]

The sheer abundance of bare bosoms and coyly choreographed hanky-panky is exceeded only by the syrupy swell of violins at every climax. [06 Mar 1998, p.L31]

Director Rob Reiner hits a career low at the helm of "North," a charmless comedy-fantasy starring Elijah Wood as a disgruntled 11-year-old. [22 Jul 1994, p.L29]

It has been directed with no discernible style by Robert Harmon, who did far more imaginative work on "The Hitcher." It is acted in a near-narcoleptic stupor by Van Damme, whose only aesthetic contribution to the movie is a series of beefcake scenes featuring partial nudity. [19 Jan 1993, p.D7]

Rash's movie is forgettable, the smarmy Shore being just as hard to take as the sophomoric one. So if you're not a fan, consider waiting for Son-In-Law to slouch its way into a dollar house. [2 July 1993, p.L22]

Street Fighter's cartoon plot has no purpose other than to provide butts for our hero to kick. Van Damme does so with martial arts efficiency, but zero charm, and this weary assessment pretty well sums up why I'm praying his fifteen minutes of fame are about over. [06 Jan 1995, p.L29]

Hype Williams is a trend-setting music video director who has decided to take the plunge into feature films. One devoutly wishes he hadn't. [06 Nov 1998, p.L31]

At last! - a movie that combines the most lurid and irresponsible aspects of the "Mandingo" black-exploitation yarns of the '70s with the gratuitous violence and ubiquitous gore of today's horror cheapies. [17 Mar 1995, p.L34]

One other problem. Parodying movies like "Basic" and "Attraction" is an inherently dicey proposition. After all, such oversexed morality tales are practically parody themselves. [2 Nov 1993, p.C10]

What on Earth is Tom Berenger doing in a picture as awful as "Sniper"? [2 Feb 1993, p.D7]

This blunt-edged, in-your-face comedy, however, is simply too obtuse to provide enjoyment for post-adolescent viewers. (Youngsters, I suspect, will eat it up.) Its mile-a-minute gag attempts yield groans far more frequently than laughs, and its humor is so unsubtly deadpan as to undercut the wit that lurks behind its premise. [9 Feb 1993, p.D7]