Desmond Ryan

The triumphant masterpiece of Akira Kurosawa's fertile twilight.

The definitive movie of the genre - a scathing satire of the warped logic of atomic confrontation with a brilliant cast led by Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden. [14 July 2001, p.E01]

The new print does justice to Philippe Agostini's splendidly atmospheric cinematography.

The worst of times has brought out the best in Spielberg, and it is the delicate narrative balance that makes Schindler's List such a special and profoundly moving experience. [15 Dec 1993, p.E2]

The chase influenced a generation of filmmakers, and Hackman's Popeye Doyle put an indelible stamp on the archetypal burned-out cop who was to become such a ubiquitous presence in movies. [12 March 1999, p.16]

A classic of subversive surrealism.

It's an occasion for welcoming a restoration that transforms a flawed movie, one that was touched by greatness, into a masterpiece. [10 Aug 2001, p.W3]

One of the better Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire outings. [14 Jun 2004, p.D01]

Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life is a minimalist, mesmerizing allegory set in a limbo. It is not a memorial to the dead but an extraordinary consideration of what memories mean to the living. [11 June 1999, p.12]

The way that power and wealth corrupt the spirit is a recurring theme in Huston's work, and it is served up here in a hugely entertaining fashion. [17 Mar 1995, p.11]

By turns touching and funny, King George is the wittiest film in a long time, and anyone who savors the language will rejoice in its company. The cast is a top-flight representation of talent from the British stage and screen, but the film is dominated by Hawthorne. [27 Jan 1995, p.03]

It is a gorgeous triumph - one lion in which the studio can take justified pride. [24 June 1994, p.03]

First Kid is a surprisingly apolitical comedy that settles for general purpose humor aimed unabashedly - and pretty lamely - at kids. [30 Aug 1996, p.03]

If you've had enough of the loony tunes coming from Florida, this piece of absurdist serio-comedy is the perfect picture.

Modernizing the play with resource and ingenuity, Richard III holds a mirror to our blighted age. McKellen's Richard, a master of statecraft and cunning blackmail and manipulation, is a very contemporary tyrant. [19 Jan 1996, p.03]

When it comes to the realistic portrayal of the complex process of grief, most actresses are at a loss. Sissy Spacek is decidedly not most actresses.

Among lovers of the genre, Shane is surely among the top five westerns ever made. [14 Jun 2003, p.D01]

Has the incoherent look of a movie thrown together by a committee whose members weren't on the same page.

A film that returns the director to the blunt and cutting honesty, pungent observation, and sharply targeted humor that made him so appealing in the first place. [16 Oct 1996, p.D01]

Triumphs by taking an elliptical approach that still reaches directly into the very core of genius.

The humor of the script constantly confounds expectations, and yet Shrek still manages to say all the right things to children.

Underlines the nightmare of entrapment so vividly captured in The Day I Became a Woman.

An overpowering and original piece of bravura filmmaking that constitutes one of the most breathtaking and impressive directing debuts in years.

It's a work that preaches to the choir, and the song has been more subtly sung in better movies.

La Promesse is a compelling look at issues that - in a world where ethnic frictions grow more tense, even as national boundaries disappear - really are universal.

Greenwald's film is filled with an infectious love for the region's songs. It could hardly be otherwise, given the level of musical talent she recruited for Songcatcher.

The accomplishment of The Eel is to be both sardonic and compassionate - often at the same time. [23 Oct 1998, p.16]

(Director Lionel Coleman) wisely opts for a straightforward approach with long takes that capture Cho's kinetic rhythm and rely on her talent and honed timing to carry the evening.