Duane Byrge

A tightly packed entertainment. It explodes through familiar teen-transition territory with dark ironies, but, all the while, touches are sentiments.

Although one need not have graduated from a weekend screenwriting seminar to tell where the story is headed, Big is just plain funny and wonderfully goofy throughout. Again, while certainly not a new story or even a new theme, Big is done refreshingly well.

Woody Allen has lightened up. He's playing this one for laughs, going back to old times, and viewers should find it a welcome respite from his more recent, tightly-coiled important works. A murder mystery, in the fluffy "Thin Man" style, starring Allen and Diane Keaton, this TriStar release will appeal to those who prefer Allen's work up through "Annie Hall." It's thin fluff, but that's when Allen is his most weighty. [9 Aug 1993]

Van Damme is no mere fighting machine: His performance is buffed with subtle humor and a sympathetic, self-deprecating demeanor. The bad guys are terrific: Lance Henriksen as the cold and cunning sporting promoter and Arnold Vosloo as his psycho hunting dog.

The film's antic comedy is superbly centered by the talents of the technical team, who have nicely imbued "Dennis" with an old-fashioned, all-American feel. [21 June 1993]

Finders Keepers charts out a screwy insight into humanity that is usually only captured in the minds of twisted cartoonists.

A blend of cornpone commentary and tongue-in-cheek exposition, Nuts! is consistently very entertaining.

Joshua: Teenager vs. Super Power is actually a rousing documentary on a youth movement against, essentially, educational brainwashing.

It is on the family level that Bopha! realizes its most graceful power. [17 Sept 1993]

Trapped is a succinct and heart-rending revelation of this complex and controversial subject. Most strikingly, it puts human faces on a social and personal issue that has been often engulfed by the invective surrounding it.

Stylistically, The Settlers is crisp: It's an intelligent blend of interviews, historical exposition and newsreel footage.

A scruffy underdog yarn that will appeal not only to kids but also to their thirty- or fortysomething parents.

Despite the premise's admittedly thin motivational set-up, "Act 2" skits along on exuberant charm and zippity humor. [10 Dec 1993]

Unlocking the Cage makes its case for reevaluation of non-human animals' legal status in crisp, convincing fashion.

Filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia probe this phenomenon, jarring viewers with an inside look at one of these “reform” centers, as well as shedding light on the mindset of these Internet “addicts.”

Likely to be popular among kids, as well as the aforementioned slugs, Stay Tuned is an amiable, end-of-summer, lite refreshment making good fun of suboobia. [17 Aug 1992]

With its superbly cast leads, including a well-selected Alex Datcher as a feisty stewardess who wins Cutter's heart with her heroics, Passenger 57 soars beyond its simple generic dimension. [06 Nov 1992]

A combination of exposé on Air Force experiments with chimpanzees and cuddly pet story, Project X should fly high as family entertainment.

Mainly Bernie's is good old, knock-down slapstick with just the right dose of cruelty thrown in.

It's Costner's eye-on-the-ball exuberance that carries Dreams past its often mechanical aesthetic paces.

While the elements all seem to be lifted from the scriptograph, they're pleasingly assembled in this Richard Dreyfuss/Emilio Estevez starrer, a good-natured, lightweight amusement which should nail down some passable box office and then scurry on to greater success as a video rental. [19 July 1993]

This smart HBO documentary convicts the media coverage and trial itself as guilty to Farce in the First Degree.

While vampirologists at the priciest film schools may someday offer thick tomes on the mythical traditions of Joe and Marie's civic quest, Innocent Blood is, at its story marrow, your basic kill-the-monster-before-it-devours-the-city yarn. Screenwriter Michael Wolk's straightforward scenario is flecked with outrageous snatches of humor, which Landis expertly milks to the hilt. While he demonstrated a splendid ability to blend tones and rhythms in "An American Werewolf in London," Landis goes straight for the jugular here -- Innocent Blood is a horror-comedic onslaught. Even its romance is a rampage. [25 Sept 1992]

The chief wonder of this rock 'n' roll cast is Tom Everett Scott, whose easy charisma, dreamy smile and undersurface intelligence should shoot him up the acting charts like a bullet.

Tykey Michael J. Fox is Mikey in Life With Mikey, a charmingly scruffy story about a former child star whose career and life are rejuventated by a feisty street urchin. Impish and good-hearted, this Buena Vista release should delight elementary school kids on summer vacation and stake out a lively life at the boxoffice. [1 June 1993]

Heart is an often enthralling film of determination, heartbreak and triumph.

Polanski's crisp and twisted direction unravels one kinky film. [18 Mar 1994]

Writer-producer Hughes and director Chris Columbus have wrapped up the same winning story ornaments from 1990's holiday smash, repackaged them in gleaming array and topped them with a sparkling slapstick climax. While some Scrooge-ish adults may niggle that this sequel is merely a superimposition of the original, kids will be delighted by its keeping all their favorite goodies.