Kevin Thomas

Overly preachy and maudlin but is saved by its obvious sincerity and forthright sense of purpose, and further enhanced by its rich color cinematography.

Boiling Point is taut and crisp, and when it’s required, Harris handles violence with swift dispatch rather than the large-scale fireworks that have become de rigueur.

[An] inept, incoherent and charmless would-be romantic comedy-thriller.

Has a seductive easiness (which may not be for everyone, but it works), a laid-back yet ever-so-slightly portentous score and a wonderful sense of place.

In working with Lynne Adams' script, Shalhoub, the esteemed star of the current USA series "Monk," gives his cast the inspiration and confidence to express the characters' many facets and seeming contradictions.

Romero easily commands an enormous cast, a plethora of action sequences and a cornucopia of special effects -- some of them very gory -- and creates one darkly dazzling image after another that allows Land of the Dead to emerge without any nudging whatsoever as a bleakly humorous, hard-charging allegory.

Smartly directed by Jim Gillespie from a script by various hands, Venom is from Dimension Films and follows its stylish, energetic and darkly amusing horror movie tradition.

Locale is crucial here, and Monte Carlo, Athens and Istanbul are a wonderful trio of cities for glamorous romance, intrigue and danger--and they could not seem more richly atmospheric with Dreujou's lush camerawork.

Can never rise above the melodrama of a past era, despite a splendid, impassioned portrayal by Willem Dafoe and an affecting one by Luo Yan.

What makes the famous 1949 Raoul Walsh gangster film White Heat a classic is its crackling tension that derives from Walsh's breakneck pace and the developing psychological complexity of James Cagney's Cody Jarrett. [21 Oct 1990, p.6]

A harrowing and wrenching coming-of-age story.

An ambitious and intelligent film probing that chronic contemporary phenomenon, the seemingly senseless crime, but it is ultimately unsatisfying for all its efforts and various pluses.

In short, Vlad could have used a substantial transfusion of wit and energy, with a dash of dark humor.

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.

A heady yet disciplined work, a dazzling fable of love, destiny and redemption.

Although Head Over Heels moves swiftly, has an appealing cast and a serviceably diverting plot, it is nevertheless hard to fall head over heels over it.

Since the film is based on the Atari video game of the same name, it also has much to appeal to headbangers: fast pace, lots of gadgets, monsters, explosive special effects, plenty of inscrutable plot twists and turns.

Successfully brings to the big screen those no-brainer nerds who have brought laughter to living rooms around the world for nearly four years.

A hard-charging horror movie with a clever gay twist.

Clever and diverting dark comedy.

The effect is dazzlingly beautiful and surreal.

A fantasy, a fairy tale, but its characters and the emotions they elicit become painfully real.

As stylish as it is grisly, Jeepers Creepers has cult film written all over it, and it's not for nothing that Francis Ford Coppola has been a staunch Victor Salva mentor.

A decently crafted, standard Mafia blood bath with a few new wrinkles and an aura of authenticity.

Moving and invaluable.

Walter Hill's Extreme Prejudice is as red-hot as a Saturday-night special, an ultra-violent action-adventure fantasy so macho that it verges on parody--on purpose. Sensational rather than serious, it is an exploitation picture but one with class: it has style, a point to make that happens to be highly topical and, thankfully, a dry, saving sense of humor.

Smile is like a dose of cod liver oil: It may be good for you, but it's no fun.

She has something to say to everyone, and one can only hope that she is preaching to more than her choir of devoted fans.