Peter Stack

The strained romantic plot is a slow fizzle.

A beautifully crafted, fun-filled and full-gallop action adventure. [17 Nov 1990, p.C3]

A wild ride through nonstop visual effects yet a warm wallow in the cinema of the dumbed-down.

It's a swashbuckling extravaganza, but Davis is not convincing. And before anyone objects, it's not because she's a woman. Get out already! This is the '90s, and women can do anything. But they can't escape from a lousy movie any better than a man can.

The big screen -- with that 3-D depth charge -- captures the strange magic of the "big top" Cirque in visual gulps.

Diamonds doesn't shine.

It's the worst Carrey movie yet, but it has a handful of inspired moments in which his signature wackiness is so funny it hurts.

Riveting.

"Steel" plays like a Saturday morning cartoon -- overdone stunts and hokey chase sequences with the hero on a motorcycle, dodging heavily armed gangsters as well as cops who think he's a bad guy.

Delicately flavored as much by the inherent appeal of its classic Cinderella-like story as by its pictorial beauty, The Scent of Green Papaya is a lovely experience in the dreamily exotic.

At least it can be said that Renaissance Man, the new Penny Marshall film arriving at theaters today, has its heart in the right place and that star Danny DeVito comes across as thoughtful, intelligent, even sweet. [03 Jun 1994]

This one's so much fun, it's worth taking the whole family.

Surprisingly dull and predictable in its characterizations.

Billed as a comedy, it's draped over dreary gags and irritating manic overacting on the part of its co-star, British comic actor Rik Mayall. [24 May 1991, p.E7]

When all is fretted and done, there's little dramatic payoff in this moody first feature by Bart Freundlich. But cinematographer Stephen Kazmierski's images are appealing, and the mood is on target -- Thanksgiving as hell.

What more or less saves the movie is not the humor as much as it is the action. City Slickers II, lame as it is, keeps hobbling along in an appealing way through a Wild West landscape. [10 Jun3 1994, p.C3]

The colorful, character-rich details of Carlito's Way provide the fire and fun in Brian De Palma's latest suspense opera, which dives into a Spanish Harlem swaggering and swaying with macho and meanness. But it's a bloated picture, full of itself in the name film art. [12 Nov 1993, p.C1]

Star Trek: Insurrection is out there where the imagination collides with roaring spaceships, exotic planets, wonderfully nutty costumes, a few choice jokes and some fascinating ideas.

Pleasant, ultimately sweet but never quite inspired.

Given its mad-dog subject, Cobb, starring Tommy Lee Jones as the raspy, snarling and seemingly demented Ty Cobb -- one of baseball's greatest players -- should have been a home run of a bitter, heartrending drama. Instead, this histrionic portrait of the most celebrated cur in sports history comes across like a fly ball that thuds on the ground.

One of the most hauntingly beautiful mysteries ever created on film.

An extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the comedy game.

It's engaging as a non-drama of people doing nothing, but suffering a lot.

A joyous first feature by director Kwyn Bader, is a charmer.

Provocative, audacious.

The big trouble with Raising Arizona is that the Coens overdrew their wild and crazy yarn, and overdo almost every gag and gimmick. [20 Mar 1987]

Kinda cute, laced with a few chuckles, but mostly just annoying, the new feature film version of The Little Rascals is not likely to go down in history as a paean to kids or a filmic delight for anyone much older than 7. [05 Aug 1994, p.C3]

It's going to be easy for some to dismiss the new Touchstone Pictures comedy, Captain Ron, as a leaky boatload of predictable gags. But it's what you can't predict that keeps this stupidly amusing seafaring tale afloat, making it surprisingly fun. [18 Sep 1992, p.C3]