John Hartl

The movie's larger-than-life tone is mostly justified by the quality of the performances and the theatricality of the settings. [29 Oct 1993, p.D24]

"There's nothing about this place worth filming," insists one character, but Kiarostami always comes up with something: a Tati-like scene in which a canister rolls down a street, all but waiting to be kicked, and several exotic glimpses of urban life, including a turkey salesman who carries a couple of unplucked birds through the Tehran streets. [26 Feb 1999]

Watching Phoenix in his last film, I couldn't help thinking of James Dean's final performance, as the cranky loner, Jett Rink, in "Giant." [12 Nov 1993, p.D3]

Most of Alison Chernick’s sweetly reverential new documentary, Itzhak, suggests a contemporary day in the life of a world-famous musician.

Slick and raunchy when it might have been grindingly realistic, Viva is finally all heart.

If you can take it for what it is, however, City Slickers does deliver the goods, especially during its sprightly first half. [7 June 1991, p.22]

Haneke carefully and ingeniously presents the boy's point of view without sympathizing with him. He then does the same with his horrified but protective parents. [18 Nov 1994, p.G35]

I.F. Stone, an underground journalist who died in1989, left a rich legacy that is celebrated in a timely new documentary, All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I.F. Stone.

It never feels like a history lesson about the social-political changes wrought by the Restoration, although it could be argued that it's exactly that. Even when it's taking itself seriously, it neatly avoids pomposity. [02 Feb 1996, p.F1]

It's wry and stylish and perfectly cast, and only occasionally does it fall into the trap of taking itself as seriously as its characters sometimes do. [05 Oct 1990, p.26]

The best of several film versions of Jack London's story about a Nazi-like sea captain (Edward G. Robinson in top form), this Warner Bros. production co-stars Ida Lupino and John Garfield and was directed by Michael Curtiz, shortly before he made "Casablanca." [26 Dec 1991, p.E1]

The first-time director, Frank Marshall, has said that he modeled the film on The Birds, and the structure of Arachnophobia does follow the pattern set up by Hitchcock. But it's definitely a Disney/Spielberg movie, smooth and neatly packaged and more interested in the gimmicks than the central enigma of Hitchcock's movie. [18 July 1990, p.E1]

Buscemi gets such fine ensemble work out of his actors that you never doubt that Tommy and his friends, family and ex-friends are united by one thing. They've spent far too much time together. [25 Oct 1996, p.F6]

Engaging and constantly surprising.

The House of Seven Gables probably has the strongest reputation as a film, thanks mostly to the casting of George Sanders and Vincent Price, Lester Cole's serviceable script, Milton Krasner's moody cinematography and Frank Skinner's Oscar-nominated score. [21 May 1988]

The darkly comic tone is often just right, and the casting occasionally pays off.

Best of all is a Halloween party where the Falls are complimented on their "costume," then outed.

Technically, Titanic is a marvel.

This might have been a very good movie if it had lost about one of its three hours.

It's not a profound film, but it is heartfelt, and Burns has done his best to keep it clear and emotionally direct.

A movie that keeps you wondering about its characters' true feelings and motives long after you've left the theater.

A sweet, funny exercise in nostalgia, though it's also self-congratulatory and awfully calculating.

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.

Before it finally twists itself into a pretzel in the third act, this paranoid thriller creates a scary mood and allows its leading actors to go all the way with it.

Its honesty and insights are refreshing.

Gorgeous and troubling.

For all the cynicism on the soundtrack and the occasional lapses in tone, this is a remarkably generous comedy.

The story moves beyond the limitations of its setting, transforming itself into an affecting parable about the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children from trauma, cruelty and knowledge of evil.