David Sterritt

Adaptation is sort of like the mythical Ourabouros mentioned in the screenplay -- the snake that eats its own tail -- or like a series of mirrors repeating their images to infinity.

Grim and sordid though it often is, the film has a steady flow of visually absorbing images. It's an art movie for the masses.

John Sayles's offbeat western shows how public controversies often overlap with private grudges and conflicting memories.

The dialogue and acting are stagy at times, especially in the early scenes, but the characters are compelling and the Indian atmosphere is vividly sketched.

Its best moments are as exuberant and insightful as anything the screen has given us this season, and its passionate concern for believable characters in a recognizably real world offers a refreshing change from the current spate of feel-good fantasies.

Frankenheimer doesn't recapture the magic he once created in movies like "The Manchurian Candidate," but he does cook up an effective thriller in the "French Connection" vein.

Taking great commercial risks, director Martin Scorsese avoids movie-star performances and the psychological storytelling that Hollywood movies normally thrive on.

Sometimes disturbing but consistently fascinating.

Wittily written and deliciously acted, Lonergan's debut film is a clear cut above the average.

The comedy is often crass and crude, but it makes telling points about how much of "race" is more about the words and gestures we use than the actual colors of our skins.

The sensitive directing of Richard Benjamin and the exquisite cinematography of John Bailey give the comedy and drama a special glow, as do the strong performances by Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage and the stunning one by Elizabeth McGovern. [03 May 1984, p.29]

Quirky, heartfelt acting makes this a superior entry in the perennial teenage-misfit genre.

An eye-opening movie, both socially and politically.

Eastwood's performance is a built-in metaphor for Wilson's ungainly effort to be what he isn't. Seen in this light, it's a daring and moving piece of work. And so, despite flaws along the way, is the movie as a whole, which was directed by Eastwood himself. [13 Sep 1990]

More thoughtful and varied than the average Hollywood cartoon.

The movie is enriched by its fine acting and by its creative respect for an innovator whose influence still permeates contemporary art.

Add marvelously imaginative directing -- finally Yakin fulfills the promise he showed in "Fresh" almost a decade ago -- and you have a colorful, creative, deliciously frolicsome romp.

This intensely topical satire tackles a wide range of important issues, from corporate whistle-blowing to the toll sexual license takes on stable family structures.

Has to be called one of the year's best movies. Credit goes partly to the built-in fascination of its subject and partly to its excellent cast.

The subject and the film clips are great, although the documentary as a whole is a bit gimmicky.

The story is a sort of "Stella Dallas Meets Slums of Beverly Hills," helped by heartfelt acting from its talented stars.

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston give mature performances as the bereaved parents, and David Morse brings an offbeat touch to the basically decent man who traumatized their lives.

Sail to the box office, swashbucklers. Dumas is back in style.

Even when its emotions run a bit out of control, Kramer vs. Kramer is a strong and positive film. Its performances are first-rate, from Hoffman and streep down to Howard Duff (as a divorce lawyer) and a terrifically talented lad named Justin Henry, who visibly matures in his portrayal of Billy, the contested kid.

Anderson's cinematic style gets more adventurous from one movie to the next, and he begins this story with bursts of originality that leave his respected "Rushmore" far behind.

Janeane Garofalo and Uma Thurman make a bright-eyed comedy team in this romance.

The movie morphs into a deconstructed remake of "Indecent Exposure" and it's downright riveting, with Campbell doing her best acting to date.

Blends compassion for individuals with explanations of the socioenonomic factors that influence them.

Contains quite a few grisly and ghastly images.

The acting and directing are uneven, but many scenes have strong emotional and political power.

Must-see viewing if you're not quite sure the sun really set over the British Empire.

Lovely to look at, if not very deep in its thinking about relations between humans and their animal friends.

If you can handle its horror-comic grotesquerie, you'll find an enormous amount of cinematic imagination at work.

Offbeat tale, which tackles weighty themes. But sentimentality overtakes intelligence.

The movie is well acted, deeply moving, and unlike some love stories, it doesn't feel forced or contrived.

Its greatest assets are imaginative camera work and top-flight performances from Pam Grier as the heroine, Samuel L. Jackson as the deadly boyfriend, and Robert Forster as the bail-bondsman who falls battily in love with her.

Excerpts from Schroeder's long video documentary about him, and from the flawed melodrama "Barfly" they made together, add more variety.

This is not a happy tale, and its ending will have moviegoers reaching for every handkerchief they can find. But its compassion is as clear as the talents of the folks who made it.

Directed by newcomer Todd Field, who has a sensitive eye and a knack for storytelling.

In sum, this is hardly an "Iliad" adaptation for the ages. But if you're hankering for sand, sandals, and swordplay, this could be the movie for you.

Tom Hanks makes his directorial debut with this likable comedy, which shows that while pop culture is a business like any other, enthusiasm and high spirits can lead to satisfaction even if major success proves elusive.

The story is surprising, the screenplay is witty, and the animation is wonderfully creative. A super sequel.

The movie's somber message is worth heeding, and the acting is mostly excellent.

Dumont's methods are radical, but there's a fascinating method to his seeming cinematic madness.

Lots of brilliant filmmaking and high-spirited acting, at least until the story turns repetitious and formulaic in the last 30 minutes.

The stars of The Bear are compulsively watchable. Just the way they move their bodies is endlessly fascinating. Ditto for the magnificent Canadian scenery. [08 Nov 1989, p.11]

It's an engrossing and inventive drama despite its flaws.

The story is amusing and the animation is first-rate, but there's less sparkling originality than in "Toy Story."

Its discussions don't go very deep, and moviegoers with strong religious values may wonder why it comes down for humanism over spirituality.

Debrauwer brings crisp conviction to what might have been an overly sentimental tale, filming it with a straightforward style and good-natured sincerity that ring consistently true.

The parallel stories don't always dovetail with each other smoothly, but the acting is strong and the atmosphere is powerful.

Watts is wonderful, and the story's forsaken-child theme still has plenty of horrific power.

Like its subject, the movie is a tad overzealous, but often fascinating and revealing.

Smart and engrossing, if too heavy on the symbolism at times.

Suspenseful and psychologically rich.

It captures their magic with a freewheeling spontaneity that became a model for later pop-music movies.

While Jaoui's film is interesting to watch, it dawdles enough to lose its storytelling grip.

Emmerich's screenplay gains emotional punch from its sincere concern for family values, but science-fiction fans may be disappointed by the limited exploration of its fascinating time-travel premise.

Best when it recreates the cultural and political ferment of the era, capturing the idealism that made youths push against the social boundaries imposed on them by elders.

Without question, the bold Jeanne Dielman deserves to be seen by those curious about new directions in cinema or about the vigorous Belgian film scene of which Akerman is an important member. But it's a long shot that so challenging and demanding a work will have much widespread appeal. [31 Mar 1983, p.17]

Haneke brings his usual dark sensibility to bear on the multifaceted story, expressing the fractured quality of modern city life through scenes that wander through a labyrinth of missing links and lost connections.

The farce is energetically written, breezily acted, and never quite as dumb as the lunkheads it's about.

The first half drags a bit, but the adventure scenes are exciting and the visual effects are as dazzling as Hollywood's most advanced technology can make them. Focusing as much on time and memory as on danger and disaster, it's an epic with a heart.

Divine Intervention is the "Dr. Strangelove" of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, bringing barely acknowledged fears to the surface so they can be understood.

The plot switches gears every time it threatens to run out of energy, which keeps the show as lively as it is preposterous.

Davison gives one of his many bravura performances in this 1977 adaptation of Miguel Pinero's hard-hitting play.

The story of Laurel Canyon doesn't ultimately live up to the technical polish Cholodenko brings to it, but it's worth a visit if you want to check out the latest emotional vibes emanating from the Hollywood Hills.

Rodriguez makes a promising debut with this unsentimental drama. If she keeps working on her screenwriting skills, she could become a filmmaker to reckon with.

Too staid and stolid for audiences on the hunt for easy entertainment.

Distinguished less by its elements of melodrama and psychodrama than by its intense acting and the vivid immediacy of Levring's powerful imagery.

Its ethical and intellectual insights wane when the love story kicks in, weakening what might have been a much deeper movie. Still, its performances are wonderful to watch.

Burden of Dreams is most fascinating, however, when it zeroes in on Herzog himself. [28 Oct 1982, p.18]

The drama makes up in intellectual weight what it sometimes lacks in psychological interest and cinematic realism.

You may not literally laugh or cry, as the ads promise. But you'll have a good time watching the dream-fulfilling denims make their comic-romantic rounds.

Henderson steals the show as an elderly African-American man befriended by one of the main characters.

Strong acting and no-nonsense filmmaking lend interest and impact to the dramatic story.

Although the action tends to become melodramatic and even overwrought at times, the imaginative power of Campion's images and emotional insights (especially with regard to the heroin) rarely allow the story to seem artificial or exaggerated. [12 Nov 1993]

The action is as perky as the main characters.

The athletic scenes are so lively and the main performances are so magnetic that even moviegoers who resist sports-centered pictures may be won over. [11 Sep 1998, p.B2]

It's fun to watch Marlon Brando parody one of his most justly celebrated roles and to see Bert Parks singing ``Maggie's Farm''; Matthew Broderick gives the comedy extra charm. The action sometimes gets bogged down in silly slapstick, though.

Moving the action to a modern American city, the hyperactive movie seems goofy and gimmicky at first, but it acquires real power when the cinematography settles down enough for Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes to do some excellent acting.

As slow-moving as the voyage it portrays,...a surprisingly complex view of contemporary life beneath its good-natured surface.

Although there's quite a bit of nudity and sex, the potentially sensationalistic story is acted with sincerity and directed with a creative eye.

There's only one kind of movie that Spielberg has truly mastered: the kind that looks like a wide-screen video game complete with loony plot twists and mind-bending special effects. And that's Jurassic Park down to its bones. [11 June 1993, Arts, p.12]

The screenplay by director Bell is packed with surprises, and the acting is excellent.

It's often beautiful to watch, although it's more interested in visual style than philosophical depth.

There's heavy influence from the "Brave New World" brand of dystopian fantasy, but engaging performances and a stylized visual approach lend it originality.

The movie is Allen's most successful in years, even if you don't see it as a self-made commentary on his own career. Credit goes less to the comic dialogue than to the razor-sharp performances of an excellent cast.

Noe's despairing view of human nature is as thoughtful as it is grim, limning the most appalling aspects of earthly experience in terms recalling Dante and Bosh, among other apocalyptic artists.

The sensationalistic beginning and needless mumbo-jumbo ending aside, this is a female buddy film with bite.

The action is tight and suspenseful, and the plot culminates in the most astounding last-minute switch of the decade. Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman shine as the main characters, and Will Patton leads a solid supporting cast.

Trumpets the worthwhile message that ballet is just as manly and athletic as any other masculine activity - and maybe a touch more so, if you have to defy an uncomprehending community in order to pursue it.

Sincere acting and heartfelt filmmaking add energy to this unassuming Tunisian drama.

It packs an emotional punch despite shortcomings of story and style.

The visuals are amazingly realistic, filling the screen with authentic effects.

Jeffs is an unusually gifted director, but her screenplay (based on Kirsty Gunn's novel) never quite gets a firm grip or a fresh perspective on its coming-of-age subject matter.

Touching and sentimental.

A gripping documentary, although we learn too little of the relationship between the filmmaker and his subjects.

Has undertones of serious commentary on American violence, thanks to the screenplay by Larry Cohen, who often uses horror-film plots to explore cracks and contradictions in society.

The analytical discussions don't run very deep, but eyes will shine and toes will tap whenever this picture is shown.

The material is vivid and harrowing, although the movie provides little analysis or larger-scale context.

Very well acted and directed, if overlong.

The picture has enough assets to please moviegoers willing to put up with its many four-letter words and the bursts of violence that spring from nowhere at unexpected moments. [27 October 1995, Arts Film, p.12]

The movie's seven scenes were filmed in real time (as opposed to condensed editing-room time) over the course of a year, giving the drama an extra touch of realism and humanity.

The overall result is a serious though harrowing journey into the dark corners of this century, marked by a compassionate approach and even a fillip of optimism at the end.

It's too emotionally honest and psychologically dense for its own good. It's a movie that demands more than one viewing to absorb all its ideas and feelings.

All emerge as vivid historical figures in this lucid account.

A reasonably bright and original movie -- with enough good-natured star performances to make up for glitches in the screenplay, which never quite decides if it's more interested in laughs, chills, or romance.

Rambling, meandering, likable.

The gentle story, told via old-fashioned "flat" animation, is perfect for the very youngest viewers.

The result would be an important drama if the screenplay (based on an early Arthur Miller novel) didn't lapse into preachiness and imprecision at times.

Few American filmmakers put more faith in the ability of words to stimulate mind and heart.

Balaban's superb performance blends with Moyle's mostly understated directing to produce an uneven but sometimes enchanting comedy-drama.

Gries and Morris act up a storm as the optimistically named Sunny Holiday and his long-suffering manager.

You never know what to expect from Boyle, and that goes triple in this offbeat comedy drama. It's a movie about family that family viewers will find good, quirky fun.

Romantic comedy about a bridegroom-to-be who gets sidetracked on the way to his wedding, especially by an unexpected traveling companion who's both free-spirited and beautiful.

It has a good heart, though, and makes an amiable introduction to the integration battles of the '60s and '70s.

It gains a major charge of dramatic energy from Kurt Russell's ferocious acting, almost certainly the best of his career.

Tarantino has always been an inventive director, and in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 he's at his cinematic best, showing an ingenuity that nothing in his monster hit "Pulp Fiction" surpasses.

Denzel Washington is stellar, and so is Tak Fujimoto's cinematography, which is as edgy and antsy as the story it tells.

While this slightly edgy comedy has moments of offbeat charm, it would carry more conviction if the acting were richer and the characters focused on more sophisticated attitudes and ambitions.

Although the story slips into clichés despite its offbeat subject, Leconte's cinematic style is fresh and vigorous, and Auteuil remains one of France's most engaging actors.

Distinctive feel.

The ending is especially inventive, managing to be sour, cynical, sentimental, and upbeat at the same time. [22 Dec 1989]

Heartfelt performances make up for some stodgy dialogue and corny moments, though. And it's nice to know some filmmakers still have a foot firmly planted in old-fashioned humanistic storytelling.

The mid-'50s version is slow going most of the way, but there's no beating Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the charm department, and director Leo McCarey comes up with some amusing moments that are more diverting than anything in Beatty's updated edition. [13 Oct 1994, p.10]

Spooky, atmospheric tale.

Moore turns the camera on himself too often for comfort, but he provides an eye-opening array of facts and revelations.

Spain's most important living filmmaker isn't at his very best in this complicated tale, but it raises still-timely questions well worth pondering.

Generous doses of bright-sounding music add to the movie's appeal.

Baye gives a stunning performance in the central role, backed by a first-rate supporting cast.

While more performance views would have been welcome, this is a treat no balletomane can afford to miss.

The director, Bob Clark, has earned a reputation for childish leanings in some of his earlier work, and A Christmas Story does have a few stupid and vulgar touches. But these pass quickly, while the movie's overall sense of goodwill lingers.

Norton gives the comedy unexpected sparkle in his directorial debut.

Like its precursor, U.S. Marshals has lots of action and the Jones groupies are likeable. Though the overall picture isn't as fine-tuned or character driven, it still delivers what moviegoers want to see - a fast-paced and entertaining chase.

Gently filmed, quietly thoughtful, sometimes almost heartbreaking.

With its skillful blend of documentary, confessional, and comic moods, this is one of the infrequent avant-garde movies that's as amusing and entertaining as it is artful and sophisticated.

It would be even better if Eastwood followed his character's lead and emphasized "real issues" over "human interest" in a story that touches on important social problems without doing much to illuminate them.

As director of the movie, Eastwood takes a conservative approach, with few of the imaginative touches that have made some of his films – "Bird," "The Eiger Sanction" – so memorable.

It's a rousing movie within its limitations. [13 May 1982, p.18]

The evocative visual style -- is the main reason to watch this whimsical comedy-drama.

The story takes a while to get started, but the acting is lively, the special effects are snazzy.

This gritty drama doesn't rank with the greatest Iranian films, but its urban characters offer an interesting change from the nation's best-known productions, which generally center on rural subjects.

On the surface, The Game is an unusually imaginative thriller that bends its offbeat plot into so many twists that you actually have to pay attention - something few Hollywood movies demand nowadays - to understand its evolution and enjoy the multiple payoffs at the end.

Less original than the first "Star Wars" and less resonant than "The Empire Strikes Back," but packed with fast-paced action and downright cuddly Ewoks.

Stirring on religious and humanitarian levels, and very timely notwithstanding its 1979 setting.

Horror fans will find plenty to shriek about. Everyone else should keep their distance.

Sharper and smarter than any animation since "Shrek 2," making it one of the season's supermovies.

Worth viewing by anyone concerned about world events.

Offers much food for thought.

Light, lively, informative, fun.

The filmmakers are more interested in spinning an entertaining yarn than probing the spiritual dimensions of their important subject.

Detailed, compassionate, humane.

Cary Grant is irresistible as Dudley the angel, David Niven brings offbeat humor to the clergyman, and Loretta Young is refreshingly low-key as the title character. The picture is more witty than laugh-out-loud funny, but director Henry Koster serves up some fetching scenes, and there are snappy second-string performances from old pros like Monty Woolley, Elsa Lanchester, and James Gleason. [03 Jan 1997, p.15]

Humane, unsentimental, eye-opening.

Efficiently and imaginatively directed.

A ruthless dissection of suburban malaise.

The music and camera work are dazzling, and the story has solid sociological insights into a fascinating pop-culture period.

The dialogue is often silly but Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn deliver it with enough crackerjack energy to keep audiences laughing.

This engaging 1966 comedy isn't de Broca's best movie, but it was so popular with American audiences in the late '60s that it's still one of the era's most fondly remembered cult classics.

Harrowing, realistic, humanistic.

The movie's most striking assets are its lyrical visual style, which forms a silky counterpoint to the plot's turbulent emotions, and Beat Takeshi's smooth and expressive performance as a senior warrior.

This is closer to an Allen comeback than anything else he's made recently. Maybe he'll achieve it with his next movie, "Match Point," due this year.

Its grimness is explicit, so approach it with caution.

Timely, chilling, and grimly instructive.

As deliciously eccentric as the real-life characters it chronicles.

The story's rambling, meandering style is just right for the melancholy subject being explored, and all the acting is excellent.

Gwyneth Paltrow is enchanting as a self-confident young woman who decides to wile away her time by playing matchmaker for a friend whose romantic life would fare much better without interference.

The acting is excellent, and the movie has a good-natured spirit to match its ultimate faith in the hero's deep-down goodness.

Effective action, solid suspense, excellent Ribisi, plus enough clichés to equal the grains of Gobi sand that fill the screen.

Baye and Lopez are excellent, as always.

The picture makes up in energy and high spirits what it lacks in structure and style.

Thoughtfully directed by the versatile Iain Softely from Hossein Amini's screenplay, which reduces James's intricately structured narrative to feature-film scale without losing the book's rueful psychological tone.

Tykwer doesn't aim for the heights of excitement and invention he reached in "Run Lola Run," but he blends an impressively varied palette of moods into an intriguingly unpredictable story that's never short of ideas.

The movie is often preachy and self-conscious, especially in long dialogue scenes, where Robbins's inexpert scriptwriting makes people talk at instead of with each other. Yet the picture's solid assets enable it to soar above such problems, both intellectually and emotionally. [29 December 1995, Film, p.13]

Redford gives one of his best performances ever in this taut, emotionally engrossing thriller.

Splendid acting, a screenplay as likable as it is unpredictable, and an undercurrent of deep human generosity make this a particularly engaging comic-dramatic experience.

De Villa's debut film is persuasively written and acted, if a tad rougher around the edges than one might wish.

Who would have guessed a documentary about Derrida, the great French philosopher of deconstruction and "différence," would be so entertaining?

This unusual Macedonian release is engrossing if not always nimbly directed.

The characters are hardly original...but Stone puts them into play with his usual fever-pitch gusto, producing what's probably the most heart-pounding gridiron movie ever made.

Manages to seem fresh, funny, and original from start to finish.

This remarkably clever, often hilarious animation derives much of its humor from its satirical view of the 1950s.

Lavishly produced animation makes imaginative use of familiar formulas, filling the screen with handsome images accompanied by sprightly songs and lively voice-performances.

Stone does a masterly job of balancing two Nixons, the ruthless power-monger and the sadly vulnerable man, allowing each to flourish as a fully rounded screen figure. Yet here, as in many of his other movies, Stone pushes the envelope a little too far, allowing his own similarities to Nixon. [20 Dec 1995, p.14]

It's so clean a film, you could bring your grandmother.

Grand Canyon finds Kasdan in firm control of a restrained and intelligent style. Eliciting first-rate performances from a well-chosen cast, he brings these to the screen with graceful eloquence - giving words as much weight as actions.

It's a beautiful movie to watch, and the cartoony characters are as endearing as they come.

If one's domestic environment is a kind of autobiography, then the five households visited by this entertaining documentary reveal fascinating lives indeed.

Lively acting and stylish directing make this an engaging comedy-drama, although its attitude toward guns and violence is disconcertingly romantic.

Although overlong, the picture has a fair measure of jolts and surprises.

The story is as rambling as the characters, but superb acting by McTeer and Brown goes a long way toward redeeming it.

The offbeat screenplay turns even the corny bits in unpredictable directions, and it's rare indeed to see such consistently superb ensemble acting.

Logue's magnetic performance is the movie's main virtue, supported by a good secondary cast and a sharply written screenplay.

The movie works well as a straight-out horror yarn, proving that the Hughes Brothers are more versatile than their previous "ghetto pictures" suggest.

A caper that rarely goes wrong.

The film begins strongly and violently, then simmers down to a standard-issue suspense story.

The picture is a little too pretentious to achieve its artistic and emotional goals, but its ambition and imagination are impressive at times.

Loach has made more memorable films, such as "Raining Stones" and "Ladybird Ladybird," but his dramatic sense remains strong and his social conscience is absolutely unstoppable.

High-energy comedy.

A revealing, often amusing, sometimes disturbing look at the history and politics of marijuana use in American society.

Some will dislike its shaggy-dog screenplay and restless camera work, and others may find its finale too postfeminist for comfort.

The fine cast helps an old-fashioned screenplay seem reasonably fresh most of the time.

Sensitive acting and imaginative filmmaking help rescue the movie from potential excesses of its own.

Best of all, Ben Kingsley as the menacing man in the yellow suit, brings the picture pungently to life every time he flashes his enigmatic smile.

The screenplay by Tina Fey -- head writer for "Saturday Night Live" -- is marvelously smart, though, and the ensemble cast is uncannily in sync with it.

Alexander Payne's equal-opportunity satire persuasively argues that no ideological group has a lock on "values" or "correctness," and reminds us that fanatics can be found on every side of an issue.

An entertaining look at a genuinely offbeat subject.

Full of old tricks - cuts between worried faces and overheated gauges inching into the red zone - but director Mostow pulls most of them off with conviction and pizazz.

Boorman treats this moving, important subject with restraint, tact, and candid views of horrors suffered by the nation.

The comedy is frantic and tasteless in the usual Waters mode, but it takes telling potshots at the Hollywood establishment, which isn't nearly so open about the tackiness of its products.

John Turteltaub directed the drama, which lapses into medical jargon and new-age clichés near the end, but it scores telling points with its respect for intelligence and optimistic view of human potential.

Girard invests each episode of this production with dramatic credibility and emotional strength.

Fine acting and creative directing lend three-dimensional life to this absorbing story, which blends dreamlike elements with sharply etched drama and touches of pure cinematic ingenuity.

Driver gives a winning performance in a human-scaled story that avoids romantic clichs and gender stereotypes, although a few of both creep in from time to time.

The ultimate challenge of making a first-rate caper movie is dishing up often-used ingredients with enough novel twists to make them seem familiar and fresh at the same time. Mamet soars over the hurdles with energy and imagination to spare.

Smart and entertaining almost every step of the way.

The ensemble acting is impressively in tune; and Michael Nyman's surging score adds an extra measure of emotional power.

The humor is uneven and sometimes crude, but much of the mock-documentary is surprising and amusing.

The fast-talking Tucker and quick-kicking Chan are a surprisingly good team that manages to deliver a fun combination of highly choreographed action and comedy.

Intolerable Cruelty is a romantic comedy, but it has enough dark, strange, and cynical moments to qualify as a full-fledged part of the Coen canon.

Lively acting, eye-catching cinematography, and funny dialogue lift this fantasy a notch above the average until love-story cliches and horror-movie shocks bog it down.

The animal action is often gripping and suspenseful. As a whole, a giant step beyond Annaud's earlier animal movie, "The Bear," a more gimmicky film of 1988.

What keeps the movie from championship status is a sense that the filmmakers see Ali's social and political contributions as extra added attractions, ultimately less important than his greatness in the ring.

Its most vivid scenes -- a visit with an insane ophthalmologist, a showdown at Anderton's supposed crime scene -- have the kind of anything-goes creativity that set "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" apart from the crowd last year.

The story raises hard moral questions relating to the relative value of human lives and the overwhelming debt that may be felt by those who benefit when others sacrifice. But the movie falls short of excellence because it doesn't so much explore these issues as finesse them in an action-filled climax.

Julia Roberts is brighter and spunkier than usual, and Rupert Everett steals the show.

Victimization of homosexuals during the Holocaust era has often been overlooked. Epstein and Friedman lucidly recount this woeful history, with help from Everett's articulate narration.

Fascinating footage goes beyond the boxing ring to document Ali's brilliance as a public personality.

Riveting stuff.

A splendid adaptation that will be hard for the others to match. The Portrait of a Lady, directed by Jane Campion, brings intelligence and sensitivity to a story rich in psychological subtlety and sociological detail.

Färberböck has directed the story with a canny blend of liveliness and taste.

Violence Hitch would have found way beyond what's necessary. Horror fans will find effective shivers, though.

This energetically acted, creatively directed comedy-drama has every ingredient for success except a satisfying finale.

This offbeat Chinese production is at once an innovative art film, a traditional suspense yarn, and a moody voyage through Shanghai's gritty back roads.

Directed by Tom Holland, who serves up the oldest horror-yarn clich'es with a straight face, keeping the action good-natured and even humorous until the gory climax.

Milos Forman's drama is full of outrageous material that will offend liberals and conservatives alike, but it's positioned on the cutting edge of contemporary debates about free speech, feminism, and the effects of mass media on modern society.

Some of the action is as lurid as the title, but passionate performances and ingenious visuals make this the most absorbing movie by Spanish director Almodvar since his great comedy "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

The story is sweet by animé standards, although it has harsh elements as well.

Wilson is the main reason to see The Big Bounce, where he's perfect as a reasonably smart guy who often seems to have no idea what he's getting into. The other reasons are a solid supporting cast.

One of the most inventive offerings so far this season.

The kind of breezy teen-pic that youngsters flock to nowadays, and this particular specimen is imaginative enough to explore an environment off Hollywood's beaten path. It's also broad-minded enough to portray the evangelical milieu with flair, satirize its foibles with restraint, and respect its ideals even as it shows how individuals may fall short.

Compassionate and marvelously acted, although a subplot about the gay grandson slows the story down for a while.

The movie has no profound insights to offer, but its nimble acting and lifelike dialogue make it entertaining as well as thoughtful. Think "Stand by Me" meets "Ghost World," and you just about have it.

Stylishly made, if less intellectually resonant than first-rate Mann films like "Ali" and "The Insider."

Snow is a full-fledged genius who enlarged the fundamental horizons of cinema with his classic "Wavelength," but here his aesthetic and philosophical ideas don't quite keep pace with his technological boldness.

Poignant and well acted, though not very memorable.

This atmospheric story unfolds through leisurely shots that invite us not just to watch the characters, but to live and breathe along with them.

While the result is visually brilliant, it's oddly disjointed and packs less emotional force than Richard Price's novel.

A series of vignettes...Some are weak, some are superb -- there's a priceless one with Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan as Brits with different feelings about learning they're cousins -- but they get better as they go along.

Michael Douglas and Annette Bening head the well-chosen cast, but what gives the movie substance is its willingness to take real stands on real political issues.

Clooney shows strong filmmaking imagination in his directorial debut, but the movie's driving force is Charlie Kaufman's screenplay, a genre-bending romp that blurs all boundaries between the factual and the fantastical.

Colorful, if not exciting.

This first-person account of suffering and survival among Hungarian victims of the Holocaust contains much stirring and revealing material, although the conventionality of its style diminishes the freshness and urgency of its content to a degree. [05 Feb 1999, p.14]

Although it's less novel and feisty than the original "Fantasia" of 1940, this collection of music-filled animations is highly entertaining at times.

Energetic acting and perky filmmaking help this likable Argentine comedy-drama avoid the sentimentality that intermittently threatens it.

It's not a masterpiece, but its story of Civil War enemies banding together for battle against Indian warriors and French soldiers packs an occasional wallop.

Wharton's old-school compassion and Davies's taste for artfully wrought melodrama make an unusual but ultimately successful combination.

It's a unique blend of history and hysteria, and there's no escaping the dead-serious ideas that run beneath its flamboyant surface.

The screenplay has flashes of real wit, and Perlman is perfect in the title role.

James Mangold follows up the promise of his excellent "Heavy" with this smartly written, superbly acted melodrama.

This high-quality Disney animation combines strong pictorial appeal with amiable voice-performances.