Jay Boyar

Half of a wonderful movie is nothing to sneeze at. A love affair that ends badly can still be an affair to remember. [21 Oct 1994, p.27]

Despite its faults, however, Pacific Heights does the most important thing that any thriller can do. Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, it'll get you crazy. [28 Sept 1990, p.7]

If you're not on the Kids' wavelength, this could quickly become annoying. So, for that matter, could their offbeat sense of humor, which isn't just dark but gleefully dark. But if you like this sort of thing, it's fun hopping around with the troupe as their movie's geography gradually becomes clear. [21 Apr 1996, p.A2]

Far-fetched as the premise is, I was willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt for the sake of the impressive cast. But as Flatliners rolled along, its pretentiousness became increasingly toxic.

The actors make the most of Carroll's dialogue, which is often quite witty. [22 Jan 1999, p.17]

Fortunately, director David Carson and screenwriters Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga (all of whom have served in the Star Trek universe) keep the longueurs to a minimum. Whenever you feel like beaming up (or is it out?), they switch scenes.

Director Walter Hill (48 HRS., The Warriors) keeps things moving quickly while making sure that the story doesn't get lost amid the slam-bang action. And Hill's comic-book-style visuals are just about perfect for the material. [08 Jan 1993, p.20]

For the most part, Life Stinks is about as far from art - or even simple entertainment - as you can get. And if I may be forgiven a small joke that's as true as it is obvious, most of the time Life Stinks stinks. [30 July 1991, p.E1]

Not everyone has realized this yet, but with Wayne's World and So I Married an Axe Murderer, Mike Myers has somehow become the first major movie star of the '90s. [30 July 1993]

A Walk in the Clouds does have its problems, but it looks good enough to eat. [11 Aug 1995]

In the final analysis, the action-picture mechanics of the film are too limiting. No Mercy barely has a subject, much less a theme. Yet moments from the picture linger in the mind. If you don't leave the theater satisfied, you may at least be moved.

Failed attempts at satire aside, John Carpenter's Escape From L.A. is basically a routine action picture. [09 Aug 1996, p.22]

When the dust clears, Blue Steel turns out to be just one more violent movie whose basic theme is women as victims. [16 Mar 1990, p.3]

The Exorcist III isn't crudely exploitative so much as it's just unendurably pretentious. [24 Aug 1990, p.4]

Kika is flamboyant and provocative. But the new film, which was partly inspired by the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith, is ultimately quite serious.

Despite its shortcomings, however, the movie is often stimulating in a way that movies generally aren't. A dark, mirthless satire set in the near future, the film keeps your attention by holding a warped mirror up to our own time. [19 Mar 1990, p.C1]

The dialogue sounds irritatingly tough-clever, the premise is elaborately contrived, and the pacing is best described by the term "commercial-ready." But Narrow Margin has one element that lifts it above the all-too-obvious limitations of the material. That element is Gene Hackman. [21 Sep 1990, p.8]

She's the One has fewer rough edges than The Brothers McMullen, but it also has fewer of the weird little nooks and crannies of personality that were the best things about Burns' debut film.

Bottom line: Stake out another movie. [23 July 1993, p.8]

What's missing in Point of No Return is basically the same thing that was missing in La Femme Nikita - cleverness. Both are stylish action pictures that would seem a lot more stylish with a few ingenious plot twists. [23 March 1993, p.E1]

For the most part, then, Tomorrow Never Dies is a straightforward action picture. And since the action is clearly and suspensefully staged, this unpretentious production turns out to be the best Bond flick in years.

The movie contains Jane Fonda's first big-screen appearance since On Golden Pond (1981); if she doesn't quite find a character in Martha, she is nonetheless riveting. Anne Bancroft, too, is impressive. Finally, though, it is Meg Tilly who makes the movie live. Her performance, which works on both realistic and symbolic levels, allows you to believe in the story.

One great thing about the script for Housesitter - the new Steve Martin-Goldie Hawn screwball comedy - is that it takes the romanticism of shared dream-spinning and turns it into a sustaining comic device. The other great thing about the script is that it's beautifully structured. [12 June 1992, p.19]

The screenplay may have too many holes in it, but it gets a merit badge for the cleverness of its sarcastic dialogue, much of which is unprintable here. [13 Dec 1991, p.20]

A creep-out with style to spare. [16 Jan 1998, p.19]

It's a lot of fun to watch - over two hours of thrills, spills, elaborate sets and special effects, all tied together by a pleasingly varied (and lighter than usual) musical score by John Williams.

The film may be a collection of little moments that don't add up, but on a moment-by-moment basis, it isn't hard to take. [22 Jun 1990, p.6]

Putting up with weeks - or even months - of such media-fed psychobabble is a big price to pay for a couple of hours of defiantly unwholesome entertainment. The Getaway might just be worth it, though.