Kevin Thomas

Ah, what glorious casting!

As worthy and moving as The Color of Paradise is, it is not entirely free of the manipulative, the arbitrary and the downright punitive.

Hoodwinked hasn't much time for soul or sentiment, but it is certainly amusingly smart and sassy.

It is a superb period re-creation and boasts a formidable international cast.... It is nevertheless absorbing and illuminating in regard to the eras its spans but is also pretty wearying by the time it starts winding down.

An attractive and talented young cast brings this graceful film alive in all its tenderness and emotion.

The trifling plot is overly talky, but all is forgiven when Dunne sings "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Lovely to Look At" and Astaire and Rogers go into action. [01 Dec 1986, p.2]

Unfolding deftly under Asher's direction, Night Warning combines darkly outrageous humor with persuasive psychological validity. [12 Feb 2004, p.E14]

The result is a movie that doesn't add up to the sum of its parts, yet some of those parts connect deeply anyway.

Too much of some good things and not quite enough of others, Kansas City is the kind of film you're eager to like more than you do. It could never for an instant be mistaken for anything but a Robert Altman film, and that counts for a lot.

A Kid in King Arthur's Court, which has a zesty, lilting score by J.A.C. Redford, is enlivened by solid portrayals all around, headed by the likable Nicholas and the veteran Ackland, whose imposing presence and majestic voice make both a credible yet wistful and vulnerable Arthur. [11 Aug 1995, p.F4]

Space Jam whimsically teams basketball superstar Michael Jordan and cartoon icon Bugs Bunny in a blend of live-action and animation containing more rowdiness and broad humor than vintage Looney Tunes charm.

Gaunt, silver-haired and leonine, Harris brings a tragic dimension and savage full-bodied wit and cunning to the aging Sandeman.

Not enough to add up to a fully satisfying movie.

Some may be offended by Eddie Griffin's blunt language, yet they would find it hard to deny that he tells it like it is.

Race You to the Bottom has an ending that is rightly open yet thoroughly satisfying -- as is the entire film.

In the end Tycoon above all evokes a melancholy awareness of the seemingly eternal exploitation and impoverishment of the Russian people.

Mr. Death, which is shot through with one dark absurdity after another, emerges as a cautionary tale if ever there was one.

Although overly long at 107 minutes, American Movie is an incisive, largely absorbing work and a far more mature effort than Smith's "American Job."

It's an ideal film to open on Earth Day, for in the least preachy way possible it celebrates the natural world to make viewers pause and consider the profound importance of preserving the planet.

Intense and affecting. [24 Jun 1990, p.67]

The film doubtless works better for those able to accept it unquestioningly as a charming fable of the redemptive, healing power of love that it means to be.

Often rowdy and uproarious, the film also has surprising depth and subtext.

Paris 36 has a beguilingly authentic sound and offers a blend of impassioned sentiment and harsh, even brutal grit

A taut and incisive thriller, stylishly incorporating a multi-image technique and a stream-of-conscious narrative. [12 Aug 1999, p.F15]

Road to Morocco is light and airy family entertainment, yet at a time when the Production Code was at its height of power, it is surprising what Crosby and especially Hope, of course, manage to suggest. [07 Jun 2001, p.34]

Nothing much happens by way of plot in the course of Father and Son, but it offers a fresh and often startling vision of one of the most fundamental relationships between human beings.

Of course, James is exploiting Stevie, but the peculiar power of this film lies in James' indirect acknowledgment of it and his hope that his film has some point and value.

Mean Machine may not have the resonance to linger in the memory affectionately as "The Longest Yard" does, but it plays well, with a fast pace and plenty of punch.

Enid Zentelis' affecting and intimate Evergreen deals with family life and coming of age and is the kind of small, deeply personal American film that rarely surfaces even in art theaters these days.

Morris pulls off a genuine shocker to cap his film, but his method exacts its price. It takes fully a third of the film's 109 minutes to become involved in it, thanks to Morris' deadpan tone and the initially jarring effect of his intercutting between straightforward talking heads and his B-movie reenactment of the crime. [2 Sept 1988]

Leviathan is Alien under water. It's not nearly as sophisticated or as terrifying as the Ridley Scott film, but it looks good and moves fast. It's elementary fun with a couple of scary moments along the way.

Shyer and Sweet bring consistent clarity and ever-increasing depth to the playing out of Jeanne's bold scheming and single-minded resolve; a tone of brisk wit gives way effortlessly to poignancy and ultimately tragedy.

A triumph of ingenuity over budget, a taut, darkly comic thriller with a dart of pathos that holds attention like Super Glue from the first frame to the last.

Pleasing blend of humor, sentiment and commentary.

The film unfolds as if it were a dream in which taboo subconscious urges surface symbolically as in a Dali painting, yet everything takes place in everyday settings.

The film is studded with nifty supporting portrayals, with Burns and Ford (in his film debut) especially notable. But it's the rich presence and easy authority of Robinson that brings both a gravitas and a blithe spirit to Brother to Brother.

It could have been even more powerful with more context, clarity and a well-defined timeline. Undeniably strong, The Letter is at times misleading and confusing, possessing the raw materials for a much more coherent and potent film.

This Gramercy release, expertly aimed at youthful audiences, is another instance of an exceedingly elementary plot played against production design and special effects of awe-inspiring imagination and sophistication.

Perhaps inevitably bleak and grueling, Private is also involving and provocative -- and critical of Israeli treatment of Palestinians in an effectively understated manner.

The sleek, well-oiled, well-acted The Bank, while as meaty as a steak, is short on sizzle.

It completes an informal trilogy that treats women's anxieties over food, motherhood and now clothes with humor and affection.

Carefully crafted, notably in its deft dramatic structuring, and has become timely in a way its maker could never have anticipated.

Cloak and Dagger is fun for adults as well as older kids, thanks to the imaginative writing (by Tom Holland) and direction (by Richard Franklin).

Admirably ambitious and utterly unsparing, but as credible as the arc of Danny's odyssey is in itself, the all-important need to evoke a profound sense of the enigmatic and paradoxical in relation to Danny's fate has eluded Bean.

Raw, earthy yet tender and perceptive, Lila Says marks a strong directorial debut for Doueiri, who was Quentin Tarantino's camera operator on "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown."

Though not as coherent as it might be, 3 Needles, with its stunning cinematography by Thomas M. Harting, is never less than engaging and suggests powerfully the myriad reasons why AIDS, after a quarter of a century, remains so difficult to control and combat.

A mainstream Hollywood escapist fantasy that in the end melts satire into sentimentality, but it is funny and knowing, detached enough to take a bemused stance toward its calculated tone.

Bread and Roses" hits home when one of Maya's co-workers observes, "When we put on uniforms, we become invisible." It's a truth as uncomfortable as it is undeniable.

A film that takes a steadfastly gentle look at some of life's harshest moments while not overlooking its joys, House of D deserves a chance to find an audience.

Above all, The 'Young Girls' Turn 25 is an homage by Varda to Demy, a loving and luminous companion film to Varda's Jacquot de Nante. [12 Jun 1997, p.F11]

With Eating the ever-idiosyncratic independent filmmaker Henry Jaglom continues his intimate, spontaneous, witty but always compassionate observations of compulsive, neurotic human behavior--and reveals his ongoing fascination with women.

The film makers lay on their brotherhood theme lightly and their success lies in their knowing when to be -- and not to be -- too serious. They also know exactly how much heart-tugging they can get away with. [06 Nov 1987, p.1]

Far removed from the usual college movies, as amusing as they can sometimes be, and so authentic it's like eavesdropping on life.

They are tremendously appealing, and under Stephens' direction, Anson Scoville as an Amish runaway and Paulo Costanzo as a closeted gay college fraternity man are also memorable.

A brisk, handsomely designed film in which its hardware, sturdy as it is, never overwhelms its humanity.

Under Simon Wincer's brisk, efficient direction, Glover, Liotta, Leary, et al., give the kind of full-bodied portrayals essential to making basically formulaic material come alive. [28 Jul 1995, p.F14]

A provocative, witty -- and admittedly esoteric -- experimental comedy that is serious, amusing and satisfying, in Rosenbush's words: "a Zen riddle designed more to be experienced than understood rationally."

The credible, appealing relationship that develops between Bronson and Ireland gives this 1979 film its substance. [11 Aug 1991, p.6]

As an antic romantic comedy it's fresh and actually gets somewhere. [17 Aug 1990]

Has a sitcom format, but complex emotions and perceptions keep breaking through the surface in an engaging, thoughtful manner.

Bootmen, which proves to be a real heart-tugger, is in fact accomplished in all its aspects.

A funny, raucous action comedy, effectively teams Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn in a film that's both laugh out loud funny and surprisingly subtle.

An unpretentious and amusing low-budget sci-fi entertainment. [24 Sep 1985, p.5]

Most important is the film's consistent unexpectedness. Rosenstrasse captures well not only the varying states of mind and levels of awareness in Germany during World War II but also the era's lingering effect upon its survivors.

The Favor is a pleasant romantic comedy, aimed at thirtysomethings and younger, and it affords solid roles for Harley Jane Kozak and Elizabeth McGovern. [29 Apr 1994]

Star Trek III has a genuine spirituality, and, at its end, you may be surprised, especially if you're not really a Trekkie, to realize how moved you've been.

Writer Deborah Dean Davis and director Andy Tennant are fully aware of the absolute predictability of their material and therefore make the getting to an inevitable ending as much fun as possible.

A skillfully made teen comedy with such an endearing sensibility that it's fun even for those old enough to be the grandparents of its stars.

A dark comedy that reveals the stultifying rigidity of Japanese office life - which the film persuasively suggests endures to this day.

ZigZag is also richly cinematic. Los Angeles locales have been chosen with a keen eye to freshness and pungent atmosphere, and they have been masterfully photographed by James L. Carter with a notably effective play of dark and light.

Intent on offering viewers a good time yet manages to sneak in considerable substance in a disarming, even old-fashioned manner.

Well paced and affectionately observant, Way Off Broadway is a good example of a low-low-budget first film in which the filmmaker got everything just right.

A well-crafted film, and it must be said that its actresses, in being prepared to come close to baring all for art, reveal stunning figures and perform scorching routines.

The ways in which very ordinary, uncharismatic people try to cope with their needs and longings is ultimately most affecting.

Intricately and imaginatively structured, building to a powerful climax of complex irony.

A rich sense of the dawning of gay liberation.

Director Rosser Goodman makes the crucial decisions facing Trevor suspenseful and involving -- and tinged with humor as well as pathos.

Assayas displays an intimate, informal style and a sharp sense of proportion that allows him to have some fun, score some points and then wrap it all up before overstaying his welcome. Irma Vep is as effortless as a shrug and boasts a film buff’s dream cast.

Above all a man's confrontation with self in middle-age and his need to accept the fact that his children, beyond their mixed ancestry, are after all native-born English citizens.

A wry romantic comedy of sexual confusion that deftly becomes increasingly serious without losing its sense of humor.

Broken Sky is that increasing rarity, a film that is fully realized visually. Keeping dialogue at a minimum, Hernández and inspired cinematographer Alejandro Cantú create a constant interplay between light and shadow, movement and stillness, dramatic spaces of architectural grandeur and intimate enclosures to evoke the ever-shifting emotions of an all-consuming first love.

While Black Sheep isn't as consistently funny as the Farley-Spade debut feature, "Tommy Boy," it's a crowd-pleaser directed with maximum energy and panache by Penelope Spheeris, who's just the person you need to make material funnier than it really is.

The result is a warm, imaginative comedy of wide appeal. [02 Oct 1987, p.8]

Beeswax has a rhythmic quality, and it eschews conventional plotting for sharp observation of human strengths and foibles.

An amiable 1973 John Wayne movie, typical of his later Westerns. [09 Oct 1988, p.4]

To be sure, there's plenty of humor to offset serious matters, and Mayron reveals both terrific rapport with youngsters and ability in maintaining a gentle flow to material that is inherently episodic when there are so many characters' stories to tell. [18 Aug 1995, p.F8]

aAn ambitious ensemble piece in which every actor is able to shine and every character is a master of the well-turned phrase.

It is high-energy entertainment that is also silly and sentimental and so over-the-top as to become wearying at times. But that it is also funny and good-natured ends up counting more.

As sweet and gentle as it is, Quinceañera is quite clear-eyed about human cruelty and indifference. In structure, however, there is a circularity to the film that allows it to end on a well-earned upbeat note.

Crocodile Dundee II is almost as much fun the second time around. As an adventure it's nothing special, yet it's an inspired and good-humored presentation of one of the freshest, most likable screen personalities to emerge in the past decade. [25 May 1988, p.1]

Smart and sassy high school movie that's fun for all ages.

Warm and appealing, but there clearly was a far more informative and comprehensive film to be made of the life and world of Francis Barrett.

The "Blue Velvet" of high school horror pictures...Certainly, it's not on the deeply personal, highly idiosyncratic artistic level of the David Lynch film, but it is a splendid example of what imagination can do with formula genre material.

A blithe-spirited comedy in which teenagers discover their romantic vicissitudes mirrored in their high school production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It's being directed by their nasty drama teacher (Martin Short, hilarious), who has written 12 original songs for the production.

A sleek Hollywood crowd-pleaser, more movie than art film, but its makers have wisely stuck not only to the spirit but often even to the letter of the original.

For all of Troche's skill and talent, The Safety of Objects (a splendid title) nevertheless tries to cover too much territory. In movies, as elsewhere, a little less sometimes can add up to a lot more.

Successfully venturesome, but you need to know that it's also a real downer.

Has a certain stiffness and awkwardness at the start, but this deeply personal work steadily grows more powerful and eloquent, creating a tragic vision of the plight of illegal aliens that transcends its melodramatic elements.

As fast and energetic as it is funny.

The Exorcist III doesn't completely work but offers much more than countless, less ambitious films. [20 Aug 1990, p.F6]

Not as inspired or amusing as it might be, leans heavily on the considerable charm of its three young and attractive principals. Their charisma and the film's larky spirit, English locales and elaborate cons might be just enough to divert easily satisfied date-night audiences.

Although you could certainly wish that Seagal and his writers, Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin, could have found less preachy ways to express themselves, On Deadly Ground is otherwise lively entertainment for action fans.

Has sufficient mayhem to please Diesel's action fans while allowing the star to reach out to family audiences.

Well-paced and solidly crafted.

An easygoing, earthy comedy that's a good showcase for the robust comic gifts of Cedric the Entertainer.

No "Babe" but should delight youngsters, although parents likely will find it is sentimental in the extreme, with a plot that telegraphs every development.

As a grand flourish of cinematic technique, it is awesome; as a human drama, it is disgusting and silly, a mindless depiction of carnage on an epic scale. [15 July 1988, Calendar, p.6-1]

If Tony Vitale's Kiss Me, Guido isn't quite the laff riot its trailer suggests, it nonetheless abounds in good-hearted humor, adding up to a perfectly pleasant summer diversion.

The stories are interlinked effectively, and the film strikes an upbeat note yet does not address racism and discrimination. For all its affection toward its characters, however, the film is too long and too slack.

The result is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser that will strike Chen's admirers as a heartfelt but decidedly minor effort.

Comedy is ever an effective weapon against hypocrisy and oppression, but to be effective it has to cut a lot sharper and deeper than it does in You I Love.

There's a spirit of generosity to How High that allows many performers to shine beyond its sharp and amiable stars.

Surprise after surprise follows in this increasingly dark comedy, which is loaded with sharp observations and exceptionally complex characterizations.

A leisurely, understated film reminiscent of any number of Japanese counterparts featuring quietly heroic rural teachers. It is easy to label the film as slow, old-fashioned and sentimental, which it certainly is, but it has the tenacity of its heroine, the pretty and intelligent Melinda (Alessandra de Rossi).

An engaging and forthright documentary.

A tour de force of technical brilliance, with flashes of humor and a wild spirit of adventure signifying that you're not supposed to take it too seriously, but the cumulative impact of its avalanche of mayhem is so numbing that it's enough to shrivel your soul.

A sensitively told story of first love that could have been more affecting with a little more grit and without so mawkish a score.

Lee's energy never flags, and She Hate Me resonates with authority and impact and daring, but the messages it sends are mixed.

Besson's restored Big Blue proves mystical, intriguing.

There's enough atmosphere, mayhem and just plain energy to make the film a viable midnight movie.

With a hilarious script and capable cast, the film puts a clever spin on the everyone-is-a-suspect plot.

A thoughtful but uneven film.

Luckily, there's a jagged spontaneity to Wild Style that goes with the scruffy street art and culture that it celebrates. [22 May 1998, p.F17]

Unfortunately, this film is not as convincing as LaBute's first feature ("In the Company of Men"), for it betrays its origins in the theatricality of its dialogue, resulting in an aura of artificiality.

Hamburger Hill pays heartfelt, richly deserved tribute to the young American soldiers who fought so valiantly there. If only director John Irvin, who was in Vietnam in 1969 making a BBC documentary, and writer Jim Carabatsos, a Vietnam veteran, had been content to honor these men who were prepared to risk their lives in what had become a singularly unpopular war. But they don’t trust the soldiers’ brave actions to speak for themselves and instead give them a series of preachy, rabble-rousing speeches that add up to a diatribe against the anti-war movement at home rather than an attack on U.S. involvement in the war in the first place.

Starts encouragingly and finishes strongly with a twist, but the middle is weighed down by too much discourse when it should be visually evoking its ideas and developing its mood of unease.

Third in the series, the effortlessly effervescent Powell and Loy and a sharp supporting cast are all but overwhelmed by a tedious, impenetrably complicated plot, involving the murder of Nora's late father's business partner (C. Aubrey Smith). [14 Jul 1996, p.4]

Thumbsucker aims high but swerves too frequently between the engaging and the credibility-defying to be satisfying.

The Little Rascals is such an emphatically well-shaped, well-crafted picture that you wish you could have enjoyed it more than you did.

A charming if overlong Canadian film. [01 Nov 1993, p.F8]

Whereas its plot may be derivative--and at several junctures, unconvincing--Flight of the Navigator nevertheless manages to develop considerable humor and poignancy from David's predicament and what he does about it.

A striking Western but empty as it is elegant. [25 Jan 1987, p.5]

Lively and often comical.

A likably thoughtful romantic comedy.

Jakubowicz has aptly said of his film that "the beauty of Secuestro Express is how localized it is. The more local it becomes, the more universal it becomes." The truth of his remark resonates throughout this fast and furious film.

Felicity Huffman is such a wonder, at once funny and brave, playing a pre-op male-to-female transsexual in the uneven comedy Transamerica that she sustains several lapses that might otherwise have sunk it.

It is ultimately more routine than provocative, despite the timeliness and seriousness of the issues it raises.

Decidedly uneven yet intriguing.

A clever, entertaining stunt, no more, no less.

Virtually everything about the film is derivative--even the design for the eerie setting for the climactic struggle recalls the interiors of the more exotic old movie palaces--but its makers can't be accused of cutting corners. No doubt about it, those who ask only for pure action will be getting their money's worth.

All the ways in which the killer’s evil spreads and manifests itself are consistently dazzling. The trouble is that they show up the film’s human relationships as drab and conventional in comparison.

Although graceful and dynamic, Three Dancing Slaves is none too substantial or original, lacking the edge or complexity of Morel's impressive debut film, "Full Speed."

As deliberately silly as the film is, it is very knowing and carefully thought out.

Amiably glossy if naggingly old-fashioned.

Even though Defamation, which is sprinkled with unexpected moments of wry humor, will be inescapably controversial, Yoav Shamir strives admirably to be evenhanded.

Everything that ensues is laughably predictable and silly, but primitive as it is, Spider Baby is a professional effort in which Hill makes an attempt at style, aided by Al Taylor's shadowy black-and-white cinematography and Chaney's willingness to play straight. [01 Apr 1994, p.F8]

First-time writer-director Renée Chabria's sincerity and commitment to Sueño are so complete they override its sentimental streak and some overly familiar plotting.

Fjellestad exhibits a playful adoration for the man and the otherworldly sounds of his machine in an intriguing rendering of one of music technology's seminal figures.

Flawless this Joel Schumacher film is not, but it plays so well that scarcely matters.

While an abundant sense of humor cannot save the film from terminal silliness, it might make watching it bearable and even sometimes amusing.

The Money Pit grows increasingly mechanical, both in its content and in the resolution of its plot, as the effects start overwhelming this essentially modest little romantic comedy.

This big-scale work, directed by Martin Ritt, is of solid craftsmanship but little style. James Earl Jones' Johnson is, however, intensely vital and larger-than-life. [10 Dec 1989, p.2]

Perceptive, good-natured movie.

Like its predecessor, it's Hollywood hokum at its most glamorous and effective.

The film means to be an unpretentious, engaging romantic comedy but stretches its charm awfully thin with a 110-minute running time.

Thraves is skillful at evoking mood and atmosphere and at depicting transitional periods in a person's life with a mildly wistful humor.

Leaves you wanting to know more, and that's not a bad thing.

The film is amiably silly, gaudy and even pleasantly diverting for the non-Hindi-speaking viewer who realizes that the verbal gags that elicited laughter in the original language tend to elude translation via English subtitles. The comedy, however, is also heavy on slapstick, pratfalls and crazy disguises.

A skilled heart-tugger from Australia that verges on rock opera.

Despite honoring noir genre conventions, Buschel also draws upon his fertile imagination in dialogue and in storytelling that allows his film gradually to accrue meaning.

A warm and largely amusing family film. [18 Oct 1987, p.5]

Very much a first film, but a venturesome start for Devor as well as a splendid launch for Warburton.

Payne cops out, and the result is off-putting, despite a sparkling cast headed by a fearless Laura Dern in the title role.

A gentle film yet develops increasing dramatic tension beneath its easygoing, fair-minded surface.

Chan defies time and gravity with remarkable energy, ease and resourcefulness, not to mention charm and humor. He even gets away with a nude scene, not bad for man who turns 50 in April.

What follows is graphic, but it's too cerebral and too challenging to be dismissed as pornography.

The picture is never less than pleasant -- but it's not more than that often enough.

A heart-tugging comedy-adventure that's in the spirit of the holiday season.

Paper Clips arrives with an authentically persuasive message of hope.

This one-of-a kind charmer casts an immediate and delightful spell.

Has the great sleek, dark look of its predecessors and, most important, it has Snipes.

Dares to take a different tack, taking its young people seriously in a more realistic context. If ever there was a director ready to graduate from genre films, it surely is Shea. [12 March, 1999, Calendar, p.F-6]

A major cult film, but a bit much, to put it mildly. [23 Sep 1991, p.F12]

An unpretentious, amusing thrill-a-minute sci-fi horror thriller / monster movie that plugs right into fears of a Y2K crisis.

A heart-tugger that, although highly inspirational, has a strongly orchestrated quality.

To consider Harry and Max as being about incestuous feelings would be shortchanging it, because the film is really about the evolving nature of love and the need to define it.

It makes clearer much that was so vague in the original; it even jokes about how confusing its premise is. In short, audiences who made the first film successful enough to warrant a second will be getting a bit more for their money.

Mission: Impossible proves something of a letdown, not just because it's fairly easy to guess who the bad guy is but also because we've hardly gotten to know anyone in the movie well enough to become more than superficially involved with them.

Not quite original enough to make much of a dent in the marketplace, but it shows its stars to advantage.

The Boy Who Could Fly is as fragile as a kite, yet it’s kept aloft by the commitment of writer-director Nick Castle and the talent and presence of lovely young Lucy Deakins, who has that crucial gift of catching us up in her imagination.

The film may be fearlessly sentimental, but it is sturdy enough to provide rewarding major roles for two veterans, who are of an age when such starring parts are rare.

Kika, which has Almodovar's characteristic high gloss, may not be a vintage film but it's nevertheless indelibly idiosyncratic. Nobody but Pedro Almodovar could have made it.

A fine mood piece with lots of atmosphere and boasts terrific performances from its stars.

Francis Ford Coppola has reworked somewhat and meticulously restored his ambitious 1982 romantic musical fantasy One From the Heart, out of circulation for more than 20 years, but for all his efforts it stubbornly remains a bold experiment in style and technique that doesn't work.

Has lots of energy and a sensational villainess, Divatox (Hilary Shepard Turner), whose fashion tips come from Ming the Merciless and who has been given all the film's sharpest lines.

A moderately diverting thriller that builds suspense and entertains effectively... strongest selling point is Charlize Theron.

Sea of Love is a satisfactory end-of-summer diversion, the kind of film that works as long as you ask nothing of it beyond simple escape. It's a slick, knowing genre film, through and through, a New York cop suspense thriller that we've seen countless times before.

Lightly reflective and consistently entertaining, Lucky Break is an easy-to-take diversion.

It's a persuasive spiritual journey, sentimental at times but never hopelessly cloying.

A lively, good-looking kiddie action comedy best left to those under 10. Although their attention may wander, parents can be grateful that there's some substance as well as fun in this Disney release, for martial arts is presented as a matter of defense rather than aggression, emphasizing that it is a matter of mind and spirit as well as body and requiring resourcefulness and discipline.

A pow-in-the-kisser kind of movie.

The difference between the "Phantasms" is the difference between "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010." Coscarelli's sequel is a fast, entertaining fright show, but it's not inspired in the way the original was.

The witty coming-of-age film is marred by an uneven, digitally shot look, a disservice to its first-rate cast.

If Hay's style tends to the theatrical, his use of flashbacks, aided by Edie Ichioka's sharp editing and Matthew Heckerling's resourceful camera work, is entirely cinematic, revealing his clever way with plotting.

It's a good thing Better Than Sex, which is pretty raunchy and absolutely not for prudes, does have more than sex on its mind, because otherwise audiences might be tempted to dismiss it as a tease.

If there's not much content -- and even less logic -- in Demons, there is a helluva lot of form. With its stark modern architecture and neon glare, West Berlin has a cold, hard atmosphere that's just right for the film, and the city has been captured gloriously by cinematographer Gianlorenzo Battaglia. [06 Sep 1986, p.13]

Has a charming, skittish quality, and Lewis finds pathos and humor in his characters' often painful search for love.

You find Went to Coney Island sticking with you long after it's over.

As it stands, Dark Blue World -- for all the considerable skills of the Sveraks and their colleagues on both sides of the camera -- occupies that treacherous territory between art film and popular epic.

Though not exactly a gripping experience for adults, parents have reason to be grateful for a movie that has been so carefully tailored to preschool to first-grade sensibilities.

Adds up to a carefully crafted romantic drama of considerable insight and emotional impact that provides Lopez an acting challenge she meets with ease.

It's a swift, shrewdly devised youth comedy, a reliable blend of dazzling stunts on the slopes, including mind-boggling somersaults on skis and cornball humor. [15 Jan 1990, p.F9]

Posey and Moore's portrayals are among their career bests, and Torn is at once comical and poignant while Ellen Barkin, as his woozy, drugged-out girlfriend embraces deglamorization with a vengeance.

There's a genuine attempt in Gleaming the Cube to deal with the impact the loss of a brother has upon a likable, footloose teen-ager. Unfortunately, the conventions of the action-adventure/youth-flick genres prevail. The result is an exploitation picture with a little something extra--lots of awesome skateboard wizardry, culminating in a speed-of-lightning chase sequence, in which skateboards are pitted against cars.

Death Wish 4 may be preposterous, but on the level of technique it's a solid textbook example of crisp exploitation picture craftsmanship. Thompson clearly takes pleasure in setting up every scene with maximum economy and impact, and his work is that of a professional without apologies.

More satisfying than not, and it plays out credibly.

It would have been nice if Harris, who casts a sardonic yet compassionate eye on the Travis family, had set his sights a little higher than the typical chronicle of a dysfunctional suburban family.

A shameless heart-tugger of considerable appeal that, like many movies that start off with much going for them, could have been so much better had its makers aimed higher.

For all the serious efforts on the part of all involved, Bat 21 (rated R for the usual war-film bloodshed) doesn't rise above the routine.

With its moments of comic relief overly exaggerated and at odds with its realistic tone, Dorian Blues is at its best at its most serious.

In Linney, Morrow has chosen a formidable co-star, an actress who seems to draw upon an unusual degree of self-awareness to endow every character she plays with dimensions beyond what any script could provide.

A sweet-natured romantic comedy that's easy viewing but could have used a little more energy and a little less unalloyed niceness to put it over with more punch.

The film itself is a genial, slight, entirely predictable football comedy, but it serves Bakula well.

Taylor Hackford's 1980 debut feature The Idolmaker, inspired by the life of Bob Marcucci, discoverer and promoter of Fabian and others, has some gritty, satirical commentary on the pop music scene of decades past but is hampered by an ending that seems self-dramatizing fantasy made real. Ray Sharkey, however, is impressive in the title role. [11 Aug 1991, p.6]

It was shrewdly written by Forrest Smith and directed crisply by Paul Abascal (Gibson's onetime hairdresser) for maximum visceral impact upon the susceptible.

When it comes to serving up diabolical horror with bold, sophisticated glee, Park, best known for "Oldboy," is right up there with Dario Argento, Guillermo del Toro and Takashi Miike.

Becomes disarmingly warm and even a little folksy at times, but Edwin de Vries' script proves devastatingly deceptive.

For the most part successful, focusing on the struggles of Muhammad's followers in 7th century Arabia. The reliance on point-of-view shots, however, is at times disorienting and creates the unintentionally comedic effect of a prophet-cam panning back and forth or up and down as Muhammad moves his head.

So much of the film is so funny, inspired and sophisticated, the performances so richly nuanced, that many viewers, Rudolph admirers in particular, will be inclined to forgive a little self-indulgence on the part of this authentic auteur.

Starts out deliriously funny but allows sentimentality to squeeze it to a pulp by the time it's over.

An illuminating and engrossing look at the life and times of pioneer Los Angeles physique photographer Bob Mizer

La Petite Lili itself is pretty good, but it is also assured to the point of glibness.

It is clear that these individuals have exercised considerable courage and determination to sort out their sexual natures and to be true to them. They have the sturdy sense of human survivors, and in Venus Boyz Baur regards them with compassion and dignity.

Gung Ho goes after that ever-so-elusive Capra-esque spirit of communal triumph over adversity, but both sides too often verge on stereotypes for this to pay off as richly as it should.

With its stylized, near-surreal comic-book look and roots, The Princess Blade has all the makings of a cult film.

An affectionate tribute to the drag artist who has been a Manhattan institution for more than 20 years.

Works up some genuine emotion offset by occasional humor and creates individuals of a certain degree of complexity, but the film is glazed over with an aura of artificiality.

At once a tender love story and a psychological suspense drama that lays bare the acute tensions that threaten to tear apart an upwardly mobile suburban L.A. Chinese American family.

A luminous, ambitious but only fitfully alive adaptation (by Harold Pinter) of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished Hollywood novel. Robert De Niro is wonderful as the extraordinarily complex, subtle and perceptive Monroe Stahr, whom Fitzgerald based on Irving Thalberg. [01 Oct 1989, p.7]

It has a lively start and finish, but the middle could use less talk and more action--which is not to say it couldn't do with a much lower body count as well. Indeed, were it not for a big dollop of gratuitous violence, it would be more diverting and better crafted than most of the stuff filling up the screen in anticipation of the rest of the summer blockbusters.

Works well enough. It has a decided plus in its appealing young star, Amanda Bynes, last seen opposite Frankie Muniz in "Big Fat Liar."

An endearing, affectionately humorous and even lyrical depiction of the dawning of adolescence amid the privileged, yet Jennifer Flackett's script, for all its sheen, is problematic.

It's clear early on, however, that this is standard concert-film fare geared to the faithful.

Intermittently compelling but unavoidably improbable.

Warm and wise comedy of middle-age malaise.

The picture is sleek rather than merely slick, moves like lightning and is loaded with nail-biting incidents and dynamic action. What's unfolding for the most part is fun and exciting, but unfortunately it isn't always fully clear.

A breezy, well-paced diversion, amusing rather than scintillating yet clearly personal.

The number of characters makes Rugrats Go Wild somewhat bulkier than its less complicated predecessors, but fans are not likely to mind.

A mainstream holiday movie, complete with stupendous special effects, amazing make-up artistry and sumptuous production design.

Slaughter High, which benefits greatly from its authentic setting, a big, old derelict Tudor-style school building in a remote area, gets actually quite scary, yet its grisly special effects are of the darkly comic, Grand Guignol variety. There's a trite coda that the film could have done without, but even so, Slaughter High (appropriately rated R) is effective schlock.

About as well-meaning as a movie can get, but that's never enough to ensure it comes alive on the screen, which is sadly the case here.

Produced and directed by Mark DiSalle, an alumnus of the Van Damme movies Kickboxer and Bloodsport, The Perfect Weapon moves well, and its many action and martial sequences are crisply staged. But unless you are a die-hard martial-arts fan, be prepared to be thoroughly bored by such a strictly by-the-numbers plot.

Glitter is the week's only major Hollywood release, and it offers considerable escapist entertainment while hitting an affirmative note.

Unafraid of improbability and coincidence, writers Ned Kerwin & Scott Duncan pile on nonstop action that keeps up a furious pace without giving the viewer time to ponder its credibility.

Shot in sepia, "The Fall of Otrar" is as exotic in look and feel as a Sergei Paradjanov fable but a lot more rambunctious and savagely humorous. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly hard to track and not surprisingly assumes the viewer is up to speed on medieval Central Asian history. [03 Feb 2005, p.E20]

Return to the Blue Lagoon, which was produced and directed by reliable TV veteran William A. Graham, who should know better, might make it with junior high audiences. The Fiji locales are gorgeous and the Basil Pouledouris score unashamedly lush.

An elegant Merchant Ivory production, it is too slight and perhaps too precious. But it will be a witty pleasure for admirers of its grande dames: Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin and Bulle Ogier.

There's probably sufficient energy and violence in RoboCop 3 to satisfy undemanding action fans, but it's as mechanical as its cyborg hero.

The dehumanizing aspect of pimping is what's scariest about the Hughes brothers' investigation--so powerful the filmmakers realize they need only to record it.

There might have been a better, more involving method of telling Hoffman's story, but it is expressed with a firm sense of commitment to accuracy and authenticity.

A picture with possibilities and an attractive star performance from James Garner that's among his best, but Marvin J. Chomsky's blunt, straight-on direction flattens out the film as surely as if it had been run over by the Sherman tank of its title. [28 Aug 1988, p.5]

An elegantly told tale of obsession that, in failing to take on any larger meaning, rapidly becomes depressing to watch.

There are some inspired off-the-wall moments, but they are more than offset by a pervasive aura of tedium and the lack of any sense of the forward momentum necessary to sustain an adventure of this kind.

A small picture of many satisfactions.

It's good that God's Sanbox has such an intriguing premise and compelling performances, because Doran Eran's pacing tends toward slackness, and most of the dialogue is in an English that is often impenetrable.

It is solidly crafted enough from inherently powerful true-life material, however, that WWII buffs and religiously inclined audiences won't be disappointed.

Soderbergh has lots to say but this time seems to lack the confidence to express himself seriously.

Courageous but uneven The Hidden Half landed the director in jail.

On the whole, Chain Camera is encouraging.

There are, thankfully, a few humorous and imaginative touches here and there, but Alien Nation is hardly inspired.

Kawalerowicz directs with briskness and vigor but cannot keep the first half of his film from slipping into tedium.

Even with satisfying performances from the principal actors, Poster Boy is longer on energy than focus.