Mike Clark

Even surly moviegoers may discover how pleasant it can be to actually like movie characters.

This is one movie in which you don't feel the long-ish running time, in part because there always seems to be a surprise (as well as a new street guerrilla) around every corner.

Fans of the stars should be satisfied. Those allergic to car chases, casual killings and the phrase "Oh, s - - -!" may suffer hives. [7 April 1995, p.3D]

Is this a comedy, action pic or sensitive Belushi-Harris romance? Director Rod Daniel never establishes a definitive tone, though he comes close in the scene where James Brown's I Feel Good hits the sound track after some canine fornication. You don't need a dog to smell this. [28 Apr 1989, p.4D]

All three actors give it their all, but Monaghan stands out with a sexy yet oddly down-to-earth variation on the Midwest girl gone wrong, thanks partly to a dark dysfunctional family secret.

A flop in its day despite France's rhapsodic reaction, but a movie I've always loved even before its knockout finale, which even detractors admit redeems a lot. [29 Jun 2007, p.10E]

With a half-dozen characters sorting out life's woes, the pacing is a couple of beats faster than languorous — just enough to sustain one's interest.

Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. is half-a-good movie, three-quarters of a good debut, and an even better showcase for its live-wire lead performer. Even so, a protracted, then pat, wrap-up saps much of the goodwill reflected by these promising components. [23 Mar 1993, p.10D]

With enough plot to take in a mercy killing and massive train wreck, Cecil B. DeMille's extravaganza is often cited as the worst movie to have taken the Oscar, as if a lot of lackluster picks (from Cimarron to Crash) were half as entertaining. [07 Apr 2008, p.10A]

Sharon Stone rides into a Western dust hole bent on revenge. Gene Hackman, virtually reprising his Unforgiven heavy, gives this goofy genre-bender some authenticity. [17 Feb 1995, p.4D]

Even though Batman's Tim Burton is a better filmmaker than Beatty will ever be, Dick Tracy is the movie - of all screen attempts - that most convinces me I'm watching a live-action cartoon. [14 Jun 1990]

Inventing the Abbotts would be a lot more fun were it a trashy Troy Donahue-Diane McBain vehicle ground out by Warner Bros. in 1960, the year this hormonally motivated high school-college romance mercifully concludes. [4 April 1997, p. 4D]

Though there are helmets deeper than this movie, you do have to admire the level of screen showmanship .

Even with Burns' smoothest performance yet as a lead, Confidence is on a level with Steven Soderbergh's blah remake of "Ocean's Eleven." But because no one is expecting much, it seems a little better.

Frigid soul or not, it's the most unforgettable supernatural comedy since Brazil. Could be it's time for the Coens to drop the pretense, and embrace sci-fi head on. [11 Mar 1994, p.4D]

The warden implores the prisoners to relinquish their weapons, and out of the cells come flying a zillion blades of all sizes. In a Mel Brooks movie, this bit would be funny. Here, it sums up the chilling situation in five seconds.

Engrossing up to a point, the movie ends up being another mild disappointment from a filmmaker who last put it all together with Passion Fish -- seven years and four movies ago. [04 Jun 1999]

Neeson is earnest, but this is a Foster we haven't seen before, a transformation that extends to her appearance. There's a showy aspect to her performance that raises my eyebrows, but it's a pretty good show. Better, to be sure, than the movie. [14 Dec 1994, p.1D]

Michael Mann , directs with his standard prejudice toward the sheer physical. The result, almost musical, has only a couple recent movie precedents. [25 Sep 1992, p.1D]

Hunt is coldly clinical rather than emotionally resonant; so is the measured ensemble work of a super cast. [2 Mar 1990, Life, p.1D]

Cameron Crowe's Singles is such an unabashed joy that some viewers may find themselves blinking. Can a ''twentysomething'' comedy so modestly conceived offer up captivating memories for days? It can, it does, and it figures. [18 Sept 1992, p.5D]

Filmed during that great early period of his career when he played heels better than anyone ever had, Kirk Douglas is the morally tortured 21st Precinct New York cop who lets unbridled hatred for street scum poison his marriage. [28 Oct 2005]

Even if a lot of adults have problems following this picture 100%, look for computer-savvy teen-agers to guarantee this sometimes original but too often derivative time-killer a shelf life.

The chuckles here come from the leads' interplay, crying on each other's shoulders and cheering each other up.

One of those movies that goes for a jarringly new emotion every 30 seconds or so while the story's foundation is collapsing.

Valiant is voiced by Robots' Ewan McGregor, an actor apparently no longer in a "Trainspotting" mood.

Proves there are Holocaust stories still to be told.

This meaty Irish stew isn't arty or elliptical. It ought to connect with anyone who's survived sibling tension or romantic fence-sitting. [9 August 1995, Life, p.5D]