David Sterritt

This sensationalistic tale doesn't delve very far into the issues it raises.

It sounds like what it is: a modest, workable story for a modest, workable picture. And that's one of the things that make Broadway Danny Rose so likable. The film's very lack of presumption lifts it above the common run of noisy farces and pretentious romances so plentiful these days. [09 Feb 1984, p.29]

This kind of quiet ambiguity, avoiding easy answers to complex human conflicts, is all too rare in American movies.

Parents will yawn, but younger children may enjoy the fun. [09 Aug 1985, p.24]

Brando made one of his most indelible impressions in this relentlessly dramatic, ever-controversial tale of loyalty and betrayal in the world of working-class unions.

De Niro and Hoffman almost give comic life to this brainless, vulgar farce.

Far from a great film, but it certainly stretches the envelope.

Old-fashioned storytelling.

Put Roeg's powerful cinematic style on the cultural map.

Its ideas are worth pondering, but as a movie it's less memorable than its interesting cast suggests.

Flashy but uninvolving crime thriller.

Christopher Hampton's film conveys the basic plot of Joseph Conrad's sinuous novel but loses the book's sardonic tone and psychological depth.

As directed by Hugh Hudson, the movie isn't workaday for a second, with its epic scale and awesome vistas and all. Instead of enhancing the story, though, the niggling details and dignified touches just slow things down. [12 Apr 1984, p.33]

Hilarious, frenetic, and touching, but stereotyped and superficial in its treatment of both homosexuals and conservatives.

The film isn't quite excellent, though, since it sags in the middle and starts to seem repetitive.

Despite his fascinating subject and an impressive cast -- Sayles lets his story drift in too many directions, as if he'd lost his Florida road map somewhere along the way during his travels.

The settings and visual effects are imaginatively done, but the dialogue is silly and the plot is a mishmash, with echoes of everything from the "Aliens" movies to Michael Crichton's novel "Sphere," which pushes similar buttons a little more intelligently.

Bowfinger is mediocre . . . can be irksome, tedious, and hard to sit through.

Equally fascinated by the afflictions of life and the usually squandered opportunities these afford for courage and self-sacrifice.

Most of the characters are one-dimensional, and Avary's over-the-top directing doesn't make them interesting for more than a few isolated moments.

Kevin Kline gives a tremendously likable performance as the ersatz president, and Sigourney Weaver brings charm and elegance to the role of First Lady who's as ignorant of the switcheroo as the rest of the country.

Was this spiritless stuff really directed by Paul and Chris Weitz of "American Pie" fame? How the rebels have mellowed!

Paying homage to drug comedies of the '70s, Half Baked is high on getting high and low on laughs.

A well-made entry in the fashionable caper-movie genre, which has gathered steam lately with "Ocean's Eleven" and others.

Smart, funny, stimulating.

The plot is a shameless plea for vigilante violence, and the dignity of the black hero is outweighed by the ethnically marked evil of his Hispanic antagonist. Beneath its crisp veneer, much of the movie is a high-energy hymn to hate.

Lachow goes for cuteness and whimsy every chance he gets, missing a lot more often than he hits.

The archival and interview footage is priceless.