John Hartl

An Almodovar-like blend of laughs, drama and uplift, filled with the kinds of pop-art colors and pop-out performances that Almodovar loves.

Breezy, good-hearted Irish comedy. [17 Dec 1993, p.H3]

Ewan McGregor in a raw, funny, star-making performance.

What a dynamite cast. What a savvy director. And what a soggy comedy they're all stuck in. [02 July 1997, p.E5]

Perhaps the primary reason A Room With a View is so involving is that Ivory has cast the film perfectly, and given each of the actors ample room to breathe. Even the characters you're not supposed to like are allowed their moments of vulnerable humanity.

The year's most original and thought-provoking coming-of-age drama, with standout performances by Gael Morel as Techine's on-screen alter ego and Frederic Corny as the Algerian-born boy who challenges his adolescent assumptions. [31 Dec 1995, p.1]

No. 2 in the James Bond series, and the one with the most memorable villains (Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya), the most exciting fights and chases, and Sean Connery in his prime. At this point in the series (1963), the gadgetry hadn't taken over, the budgets were still relatively modest, and the director, Terence Young, had to rely on his actors and his own filmmaking ingenuity to create excitement.[10 May 1991, p.65]

The Phantom has more potential as an audience-participation show than as a straight movie, so try to see it in a packed theater with a crowd that can have fun with it. Or wait for the videotape so you can build your own "Mystery Science Theater" party around it. [7 June 1996]

The mixture of nostalgia, surreal fantasy, self-parody and contemporary satire is seamlessly Fellini-esque. The style has become so recognizable that it's become difficult to separate Fellini from the national postwar cinema he helped create. [17 Jun 1993, p.E5]

What makes "Fly Away Home" worth seeing is Ballard and Deschanel's beguiling imagery: the geese devotedly following Paquin around the farm as she tries to speak their language; a wry shot of Kinney dozing off in front of a televised wrestling match as Amy sneaks off to tend her eggs; and those spectacular flying episodes, which are quite unlike anything else on the horizon. [13 Sep 1996]

Wickedly funny, scathingly original new comedy.

This is an ambitious movie that attempts too much rather than too little.

Visually a macabre knockout, this 75-minute fantasy boasts some of the wittiest, most vigorous stop-motion animation effects in the history of the process.

This long, sometimes hard-to-watch movie is a challenge, but it has authority and raw power.

Closer to "M*A*S*H" than "Dr. Strangelove," which in itself wouldn't be a bad thing. But for all its engaging qualities, Three Kings doesn't seem to know what kind of beast it is.

Based on the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, two late-1940s serial killers who conned and murdered several widows who took out lonely-hearts ads, writer-director Leonard Kastle's only feature film to date is one of the least glamorous couple-on-the-run movies ever made. [05 Dec 1992, p.C5]

Altman lucked out when he cast a singer, Ronee Blakley, in a major role in "Nashville," but he has not been as fortunate here with Annie Ross and Lyle Lovett, who lack Blakley's soulful dramatic presence.

This expertly sustained 1971 suspense classic established Steven Spielberg's reputation as a director. [23 Dec 1993, p.E7]

You may not buy the plot of this gripping little movie about a 12-year-old Brooklyn drug runner who finds a novel way of escaping the crack ghetto. Too much depends on timing, luck and the myopia of adults who fail to pay enough attention to the boy. But the picture is so beautifully designed and dynamically performed that you'll probably feel inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Practically perfect in its unpretentious way, MGM's Get Shorty is the kind of smart, witty, polished entertainment that restores one's faith in the studio system.

The ingenious cinematographer, Bobby Shore, uses the Newfoundland locations to achieve some of his most striking effects. The result is sort of a horror film, but not really. It’s too funny to be categorized that way.

Typically low-key and lovely.

The co-writer and producer, Henry Bean (Internal Affairs), and the director, Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem), punch up the story with plenty of action, some of it gratuitous and illogical. But for the most part they stick close to Fishburne's character and his increasingly difficult choices. [15 Apr 1992, p.D6]

In the end, it’s all about that little girl and how she responds to the lavish song-and-dance epic designed to praise Korea’s leader, the late Kim Jong-II. Under the Sun may seem slow and hollow at times, but her emotions appear to be quite spontaneous.

A comedy of great charm and generosity, Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet" is the freshest, happiest surprise of the movie year. [06 Aug 1993, p.D16]

All of it is vital and involving, and some of it is hilarious...I've rarely seen a group of people in a darkened theater react as viscerally as they do to Reservoir Dogs.

Art-house audiences that might otherwise warm to this essentially sensitive drama could be turned off by an exceedingly bloody opening sequence and a late-arriving brawl that's reminiscent of the worst moments in John Ford's classics. But Imamura eventually makes it worth your indulgence. [06 Nov 1998]

Everything clicks here.