Edward Guthmann

Life Stinks will never stand with the classics -- it's basically a diversion -- but its plea for economic equality is well taken. And Brooks, after years of lousy movies, finally seems back on sure footing. [27 July 1991, p.C3]

A sweet, unabashedly sentimental tale.

With a surgeon's precision and trenchant wit, director Patrice Leconte slices open the French upper classes of the late 18th century and reveals the black, wilting heart beneath the pomp and pretense.

Despite the weakness of Sciorra's character, and the lack of development in her relationship with Snipes, Jungle Fever is a fascinating movie -- consistently provocative, brilliantly acted and written, in most cases, with a number of moments that transcend anything you've seen this year in their wit, sexual heat and emotional intensity. [7 June 1991, p.E1]

Despite the awkward, stomach- churning camera movements and the grainy, flat images that come with insufficient lighting, the actors' work is often riveting and compelling.

It's a passionate, beautifully mounted film -- but the agenda she sets for herself is too large and the conflicts she portrays too complicated to be illustrated in a single drama.

In one sense it's aged surprisingly little -- the language and physical gestures of camp are largely the same -- but in the attitudes of its characters, and their self-lacerating vision of themselves, it belongs to another time. And that's a good thing.

A visually spectacular film, distinguished by strong performances and brilliant Steadicam photography that snakes through the U-boat as its patrols the North Atlantic during World War II. [Director's Cut]

Guaranteed to inspire, antagonize and divide his (Lee's) audience.

Wong denies us the satisfaction of resolution, but in sharing his mastery of cinema, and his gift for conveying mood, desire and vivid emotions, he's more than generous.

A charming, finely nuanced romance.

Placing style above coherence, Seven glosses over plot points and shows a weakness for cheap, lurid effects.

It's downbeat material and it tends to drag a bit, but Jia's performance is so unsparing and intense -- and the film so compassionate and chaste in its approach to a life lost and recovered -- that Quitting ultimately satisfies.

A movie so cheeky, aggressive and bursting with vitality that it can't help being annoying and exhilarating at the same time.

A movie by a man who adores film and relishes its potential.

Could use more background and personal detail on Rijker, but Bankowsky's tight, no- frills approach is always compelling.

(Holm) nails one of the best roles of his career.

Entertaining.

This is Rampling's film, and she's never less than surprising, never less than a revelation.

Schrader seems to understand these characters implicitly, and the result is probably the best film he has directed.

It's hard to follow, the characters are ill-defined, and the wide-angle shots used by Wong's perennial cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, are deliberately unflattering.

Manages to be affectionate without drawing too deeply from a well of sugar and schmaltz.

At its best, Forrest Gump is a gentle, elegiac fantasy about love and trust.

A study in unexpressed emotion, but Mamet turns the flame so low that his film lacks the emotional payoff we expect.

The animation is rich and densely detailed, the characters well defined.

The Neon Bible is a lovely, rewarding film, but it requires some work and some faith on the part of the viewer. Davies' rhythms and camera moves are as slow and stately as ever -- the antithesis of most Hollywood films -- and the moments of crystallized emotion he achieves are sometimes separated by dull patches and self-conscious artiness.

Jay and Claire are exquisitely played by Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox.

Sick does a remarkable thing in presenting extreme, sometimes revolting material and simultaneously making us like and admire Flanagan.

It becomes stronger and more honest than most character studies on film.

Exhilarating not only for its dreamlike images and fierce, frequently reckless imagination but also for the fact that it got made (and released) at all.

His (Seidl) camera is shocking in its intimacy, his film surprisingly casual in its depiction of extreme behavior and the randomness of violence.

The photography is strong, the performances sympathetic and the sex plentiful.

A first-rate historical drama.

Sci-fi has rarely been so playful.

Holds our attention by dispensing information gradually, like a piece of fiction.

Wonderfully original comedy.

The only way to enjoy Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is to savor the performances and behavior quirks, and release the notion that plot is essential.

Barbarella is a pure goof -- Vadim called it a kind of sexual Alice in Wonderland of the future -- and Fonda seems to have reveled in every sexy, campy moment.

Leigh doesn't sentimentalize these tragic, dead-end lives but allows his characters to be ugly and stupid, to make horrendous mistakes. Sometimes they're laughable, and yet there's never the sense that Leigh is mocking them.

Captures the effervescence and playfulness of Johnson's novel, even as it attempts to shoehorn a tangle of characters and situations.

A handsome film, filled with lavish costumes and set designs and told in a series of exquisitely composed images. But even with its visual polish, it's a chilly, largely unaffecting film about an unsympathetic man.

A powerful allegory.

The aftertaste of that father-son scene is so strong, so disturbing, that the riches of Happiness -- its writing, its performances, its trenchant wit -- all seem a bit diminished in the bargain.

A blast of manic energy in the form of a film.

It's Eric Bana, a popular Australian stand-up comic, who justifies our interest with a dazzling performance of blunt humor, unpredictability and an edge of menace.

A master of minimalism, Finland's Aki Kaurismaki makes films that are so dry, so delicately ironic that they seem on the verge of crumbling in front of us -- but they never do.

A strange, vivid tale of two British schoolchildren stranded in the deserts of the outback.

It's a strong film, but apart from its stunning images, it doesn't linger in your mind's eye the way you would like it to.

Despite its implausibilities, Only the Lonely disarms you with its innocence. [24 May 1991, p.E1]

It's a sensational part for a young actress -- the film is told entirely from her point of view, using her journal entries as voice-over narration -- and Judd, in her first film, gives a subtle, delicate performance. [05 Nov 1993, p.C12]

(Morris's) strangest and most disturbing portrait yet.

What Happened Was . . . isn't always easy to watch. Like a Beckett play, it doesn't spare its characters, but strips bare their insecurities, their fear of rejection, their essential isolation and foolishness. [07 Oct 1994, p.C3]

The film doesn't explore the nature of ghosts, as it promises to initially, but it's fun to watch Del Toro confront death and fear with such energy and humor.

A zingy self-empowerment fantasy for kids.

The quality of acting in September, coupled with Idziak's images, warrant a visit.

A gentle, sprightly satire that pokes fun at these trendy communards but emphasizes their humanity and fallibility.

A breezy, occasionally funny spoof.

A big, gorgeous, sprawling swashbuckler that delivers its diversions in grand, uncomplicated fashion.

Does about as good a job of simulating that terror as it possibly could, but it's no competition for what we create in our mind's eye while reading.

It's a sweet, low-key and satisfying film -- and it deserves a heap of credit for treating its subject with humor and humanity.

Gentler in tone than the English working-class comedies of Mike Leigh (Life Is Sweet and High Hopes), The Snapper manages to draw laughs from the cheerful vulgarity of its characters without ridiculing them. [17 Dec 1993, p.C3]

The film's loose, scaled-down technique never turns gimmicky...but enhances the tension and intimacy of Rosetta's struggle.

What we have here isn't a disaster, exactly, but a very handsomely produced let-down.