John Petrakis

As much a curiosity piece as anything else.

The film is surprisingly easy to sit through, digest and even enjoy. Why? A lot has to do with Hogan's well-documented charisma as a performer.

A hit and miss proposition, with an abundance of laughs and emotional highlights to help brighten the dimly lit corners of cliche-mongering.

Less a pure documentary than it is a fact-finding mission, with the real story waiting to be presented somewhere down the line.

The film doesn't always take advantage of its dramatic potential (except for its strong soundtrack), as it relies too heavily on scenes of crazed warriors in makeup and costume, running and screaming and jumping up and down.

Some films, oddly enough, can be too ambitious for their own good, which is the case with Restaurant.

A shy and depressed college graduate falls in love with a Bohemian artist, as in Woody Allen's "Manhattan."

Ultimately a disappointment because it refuses to take any aspect of itself seriously.

The direction by first-timer Mark Pellington is competent, as he pretty much allows Wakefield's script to play out without fanfare. [10 Oct 1997]

The landscapes and backgrounds of the Min Valley and the Nanking Road, not to mention the cuddly pandas themselves, are the big-ticket items here.

There is something inherently dishonest about Dark Days.

Much to enjoy in this potpourri of silly fun and forbidden games, but a bit less ambition and a tad more focus might have helped.

A multilayered documentary that explores music and friendship, and in its own quiet way, the battle with fame.

Works better as a sociological study than as a gripping drama.

By the end we are left with a mildly amusing comedy and the lingering memory of a sterling cast that deserved better material.

Ultimately, the weight of the film falls on Goofy's powerful shoulders. He does his best, but like Norma Desmond, he can only do so much.

It has terrific moments, but whenever it starts to cruise along nicely, it hits a comedic pothole that forces it to sputter on down the road.

An all-too-familiar barfly story that often seems aimless. [25 Oct 1996, p.A]

So look for (Francis) at the 2000 games in Sydney, which may provide a more heated ending to this lukewarm story.

If you are looking for an abundance of eye-gouging, flesh-burning, blood-oozing and head-chopping, not to mention cauldron after cauldron of boiling oil, than THIS is the movie for you. [05 Jul 2002, p.C6]

Absorbing in places, but considering the large and diverse pool the filmmakers had to draw from, it's a surprisingly repetitive and predictable collection of big-city sagas.

Thinner has its meaty moments, but overall, it's Stephen King lite. Less taste, less filling, less fun.

Overall, Wide Awake is a sound concept that fell considerably short of its goals. [27 Mar 1998, p.B]

There aren't many surprises in Fire Down Below, except for the presence of a few very good actors (Harry Dean Stanton, Kris Kristofferson, Levon Helm) and a slew of country stars in cameo appearances (including Loretta Lynn's twin daughters and singer Randy Travis, who looks to have a future as a movie heavy). [8 Sept 1997, p.C2]

A decent idea that never goes deep enough for genuine satisfaction.

When the final twist has been turned and the last corpse has hit the ground, it is a film that could have been twice as good if it had been half as complicated.

Perhaps it is time for the folks at Jim Henson Productions to start thinking up original stories again, or at least find material that lends itself to the Muppets' overall strengths, instead of playing into their weaknesses. [16 Feb 1996, p.F]

It's more of a pastiche, a montage of brutality, a slow descent into Dante's Inferno until we reach the subbasement of a boy's soul. [21 Apr 1995]