David Sterritt

Superbly acted.

The scenes of magic and mayhem are peppered with sly surprises, and Anjelica Huston plays the wildest wicked witch since Dorothy got back from Oz.

See it with an open heart and a tapping toe.

There's a little humor, a little suspense, and not a hint of reality. You'll tune out quickly, unless you're 11.

The adventure is well-acted by Mira Sorvino and Giancarlo Giannini, among others, and imaginatively directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who gives a new twist to old science-fiction effects.

The same story was told vastly better in the 1949 melodrama "The Reckless Moment."

Why does affection sometimes grow between people who seem to have little or nothing in common? That's the tantalizing question running through this capably acted comedy-drama

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

Malkovich is wryly amusing as German director F.W. Murnau, and Dafoe steals the show as a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire.

There are thrills and cliffhangers galore, even though everyone now knows the outcome of the tale, and chief wheeler-dealer James Carville emerges as a zesty screen personality. [12 Nov 1993, p.12]

While this isn't a masterpiece on the level of his great "Chunhyang," it packs a sophisticated cinematic punch.

Tender Mercies builds a marvelous flow of suspense and surprise precisely by refusing to ''pay off'' on situations that would plunge toward sensationalism in any conventional picture. Add another stunning portrayal by the brilliant Duvall - who even does his own singing! - and a splendid supporting cast, and you have a movie to treasure for a very long time to come. [10 Mar 1983, p.18]

A stirring documentary, and would be more so if it focused more on social problems than on Briski's own work.

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.

At least Dennis Hopper plays the bad guy with wildness and wit. Costner's stolid hero seems a washout by comparison.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow with lots of dull spots, a few effectively intense moments, and as much gore as the monster genre usually calls for nowadays.

Babette's Feast isn't a fast-moving or flashy film. But it has a subtle charm and a warm humor that stick to your ribs far longer than the usual motion-picture glitz. [4 March 1988, p.21]

There are lots of lively tunes in an excellent cause, but in the end you wish you'd either probed more deeply into historical events or heard more uninterrupted minutes of inspired performing.

One of the most inventive offerings so far this season.

The movie is more a family album than a historical study, but you'll learn a lot and your toe will tap, tap, tap.

Loses its way in a crime-movie subplot and a less-than-believable love affair.

Cary Elwes is marvelously funny as the hero. [25 Sept 1987]

Shots of blood and naked bodies clash bizarrely with Coppola's more quaint and engaging notions; the result may be intended as a dialectical encounter, but seems more like a head-on collision.

Although the story seems disjointed at times, no other war movie has tried so valiantly to convey not only the suffering of combat but the awful fissures it leaves between humanity's ideal oneness with itself and the world we live in.

A lavishly produced and often involving drama that never reaches its full potential. [09 Jan 1985, p.25]

The story soon lapses into familiar private-eye formulas, though, and the characters aren't interesting enough to hold much attention on their own.

The tale is simply told but stunningly photographed and superbly acted in the best tradition of modern Iranian cinema.

This capably made HBO documentary takes an understated and compassionate look at a subject that is often sensationalized in other contexts.