Rene Rodriguez

The Forbidden Kingdom may be nothing but disposable fun, but it is a great, heaping, overflowing helping of fun. If you're 10, it may also seem like "Citizen Kane."

Doesn't break any new ground, but it doesn't leave you wishing you had stayed home, either. Considering the state of action movies today, that's something.

Just because the new The Day the Earth Stood Still is green, though, doesn't mean it's dull. If anything, there's a lot more mayhem and destruction this time around.

Even if V for Vendetta isn't nearly as incendiary as it's been made out to be by some alarmist critics, there's still something enjoyably subversive about it, beginning with the way it tramples over the conventions of the contemporary action film.

A sleek, rousing contraption, a comic-book movie with a sense of playfulness, a welcome streak of humor and just the right touch of gravity.

A fluffy, feel-bad drama, with some serious things to say about the viability of homosexual men as fathers and role models.

Corny? You bet. But it also proves surprisingly inviting -- for a while, anyway.

This is certainly not a movie worth going out of your way for, but don't be surprised if you happen to come across it on cable one rainy Sunday afternoon and find yourself watching it to the end. Even Lopez pulls off a few good moments.

Veteran director Manuel Gomez-Pereira (Boca a Boca, Between Your Legs) falls short of the manic screwball farce he was aiming for.

A model of pitch and modulation and craft. For two hours, the Coens hold you in their grip so tightly that for long stretches it feels a little hard to breathe.

Theron's transformation in Monster goes far beyond mere appearance. As Wuornos, the actress gets to display a blunt, graceless physicality that is rarely needed in women's roles, which are traditionally internal.

Mines a great deal of its humor from the can't-be-bothered attitude of British culture, but the jokes survive the trip across the Atlantic mostly intact.

The result is an unwieldy but still compelling look at the plight of immigrants wrapped in a thriller about black-market organ transplants.

It's only near the end, when Romanek sets out to release the tremendous tension he's built up, that One Hour Photo loses its bearings.

As much as I laughed throughout the movie, I cannot mount a cogent defense of the film as entertainment, or even performance art, although the movie does leave you marveling at these guys' superhuman capacity to withstand pain. Compared to these jackasses, Vin Diesel is a big, overpaid wuss.

The experience of watching Funny Games, be it the original or this version, is never forgotten, whatever your ultimate impression of the film.

If any of this screams "cheap Generation X marketing ploy," you're right on the money. [31 March 1995, p.5G]

No, it's the movie itself -- an unimaginative, generic affair memorable only for its incessant and flagrant plugging of Apple computers and iPods -- that should put a stake through the franchise for good.

It's surprising to see a three-hour movie about Chicanos being distributed by a major studio, and Hackford had an opportunity to do something special. Instead, he simply gives us more of the same. [30 Apr 1993, p.G5]

Across the Universe can't achieve the transcendence and exhilaration musicals strive for, but it often generates a singular kind of magic you've never experienced before.

An excellent legal thriller elevated to superb drama by the actor's (Clooney) central performance.

The best thing about this big, imaginatively detailed movie is its premise, which director Francis Lawrence, a music-video veteran, takes his time exploring.

A dreamy, ravishing ode to romantic longing, and it is bound to frustrate people who like their movies to get to the point, or at the very least have one.

Isolated moments in Color of Night hint at Rush's visual creativity. He can spin afresh the most perfunctory scenes -- watch the clever way he shoots a simple fender-bender, or his spectacular take on an opening-scene suicide. But as the story falls into place, the visual embellishments feel increasingly hollow, like fancy icing on a grocery-store sheet cake. [19 Aug 1994, p.G5]

What makes Wolf Creek so effective is not its originality (which, let's face it, is practically non-existent), or even its amount of gore (the violence is implied more often than it's shown), but the ways in which McLean tweaks the usual formulas, so what you think is going to happen next almost never does.

Shortbus is, first and foremost, an experiment -- an accessible, audience-friendly movie about love and sex in which the screen doesn't fade to black once the actors start taking off their clothes.

There's nothing in the utterly enchanting Raising Victor Vargas you haven't seen before; you'd just be hard-pressed to name another movie that did it as well.

The Frighteners never finds a satisfying groove -- comedy-horror hybrids are formidably challenging -- but moments in it reach giddy, frantic heights. [19 July 1996, p.5G]

What saves Fly Me to the Moon from being a total wash is the actual mission itself.

May not be so deep or richly imagined as J.K. Rowling's universe of magic and Muggles, but the film is populated by likable characters, great special effects and a neat premise.

Despite the movie's bouncy ebullience (courtesy of a terrific period soundtrack) and dashes of fantasy, the film quickly becomes an endurance test.

The real love affair in For Love of the Game is between Costner and himself.

Kitano's most enjoyable, flat-out fun movie, provided you can stomach the violence.

There is also a last-minute "Sixth Sense" twist, although it definitely won't make you sit through the movie again to see if the filmmakers cheated.

There is considerable fun in discovering the hows and whys the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together, and each member has at least one moment in the spotlight, including the esteemed helmsman Sulu.

Roberts inhabits the character with a gravity and poignancy that she had never even hinted at before.

This bleak, oh-so-dark comedy is one of the best movies you almost didn't get to see.

Mission: Impossible is full of red herrings and MacGuffins, but even if you can't keep track of who's doing what to whom, it's hugely enjoyable for its sheer kinetic power. It's a soulless trinket, and it never really grabs you the way good action films do. But it moves like a demon, and it's consistently dazzling. [22 May 1996, p.1D]

An exuberant, disarming entertainment.

Suffers from dialogue that often sounds like convenient exposition as well as from a climax that feels too pat and prosaic. But the film is peppered with small, explosive scenes that have a refreshing complexity.

Leoni's presence adds a jolt of energy to a movie that, while not necessarily worth going out of your way for, turns out to be a lot more clever than it initially appears.

This superbly realized, clammy and unsettling movie doesn't hinge on plot. Claustrophobic and profoundly creepy, Spider isn't a pleasant viewing experience, and that's the point.

This is a slight and unessential picture, but its quirky, compassionate tone seems destined to attract a cult following, and members of high-school drama clubs everywhere will be riveted.

Fabulously perverted comedy.

The results, for the most part, aren't pretty. The newly expanded Balseros, which adds an hour of footage to the previous film, is an even more compelling, if grimmer, work than the original.

The Jungle Book won't replace memories of Disney's earlier version, but it's the perfect choice for action-hungry kids who won't sit still through Little Women. [23 Dec 1994, p.G3]

Because it's Pacino, though, Simone is never quite boring.

Snatch is admittedly superficial, if not downright disposable. More importantly, though, the movie is also fantastic, cheeky fun.

Charles Bukowski would have loved this foul-mouthed, fiery, reckless woman. Against all odds and common sense, you will, too.

Guaranteed to engage the decided and undecided alike, regardless of party affiliations.

Batman Begins is a mature take on material often relegated to the kiddie file, and it's simply the latest proof that, when treated properly, comic books are a viable art form for all ages. Bring on the sequel.

Children of Men is thrilling, both for its groundbreaking style (there are action sequences here unlike any filmed before) and its complex, vividly realized ideas.

For all its sweat and muscle, Gladiator packs a weak punch. [6 March 1992, p.G5]

What American Gangster does have -- what makes it such a commanding, exhilarating movie -- is a consummate love and understanding of story.

And although The Cooler doesn't do anything fresh with its Vegas milieu, the movie is refreshingly frank and astute when it comes to depicting sex.

At the very least, Corman would have remembered to make the movie fun.

Stops dead the second the monsters fall out of view. It doesn't help that the movie's post-apocalyptic future is of the unimaginative backlot variety, or that the movie takes itself so seriously.

For the most part, Tombstone is inept. Some of the performances are wincingly bad: Dana Delany, playing a touring actress with the hots for Wyatt, is particularly embarrassing. Director George P. Cosmatos (Leviathan) firmly cements his hack status: He takes nearly an hour to get things rolling, then fails to build any sort of momentum. [25 Dec 1993, p.F1]

The movie has an epic sweep but an intimate, personal feel. If Changeling lacks the knockout power of, say, "Million Dollar Baby," it proves that Eastwood continues to seek out stories that take him places he hasn't been before -- and the audience along with him.

Movies that demand to be seen by everyone -- not only for their entertainment value, but for what they say -- are precious rarities. Spike Lee's Get On the Bus is one of those films. You walk out of it feeling the world's axis has tilted ever so slightly: No matter who you are, or what your perspective was going in, the movie will make you look at last year's Million Man March -- and all of black America -- through different eyes. [16 Oct 1996, p.1D]

It's like watching "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" as remade by "Nightline."

The movie's hokey mysticism and heaving melancholy is closer in spirit to a solemn Hallmark greeting card.

Burton has found a vehicle sturdy enough to indulge every facet of his imagination: His great visual flair, his sense of whimsy and humor, his fondness for horror and his love of music.

Despite the actors' admirable efforts, everyone in The Door in the Floor is too affected, too fancifully written, to come off as anything other than conceits.

A devilish little comedy whose urbane, satirical humor will probably sail right over the heads of audiences weaned on Scream.

The most charming bad movie ever spun off a hit TV show.

The movie's attempts at zaniness are flat, almost embarrassing.

The Mummy was certainly no "Raiders," but as far as summer movies go, it was just good enough.

One False Move is by no means a "big" film. Its goals are admittedly modest, and that's the reason it works so well. If you're a fan of Jim Thompson novels (After Dark, My Sweet, The Killer Inside Me ) or Southern-style film noir, don't miss it. [26 June 1992, p.G5]

As suspenseful as a full-blown thriller.

Self-indulgent, overwrought, shallow and ridiculous. It is also brilliant, a blast of cinematic lunacy and as much of a guilty pleasure as the schlocky movies Tarantino adores, which was probably the point. Sometimes, only a Big Mac will do.

Lorna's Silence doesn't work, but it's a beautiful misfire.

Here, finally, is something you've really never seen before.

Feels like the shell of a wonderful story.

The movie isn't just hilarious: It's witty and inventive, too, and in hindsight, it isn't even all that dumb.

Never buys into Wuornos' bizarre claims or questions her guilt in the murders. It does, however, make a powerful argument against capital punishment, no matter which side of the debate you happen to take.

A surprisingly straightforward romp in slasher-flick cliches, Friday the 13th is replete with gee-whiz gore, gratuitous sex and nudity and party-loving teens with a penchant for ending up on the wrong end of a pick ax.

A treat to anyone who already cherishes Varda's films and a perfect primer for those who haven't yet discovered her work.

If this is magic, I'll take "Gigli."

Once in a while, A Good Man in Africa hits that elusive sweet spot between serious drama and lighthearted comedy, serving at once as a satire of political corruption, a drama about personal integrity and a comedy about carnal lust and culture clash. Most of the film, though, is a mishmash of conflicting tones, veering from one emotional extreme to another so clumsily, it's impossible to keep up. [09 Sep 1994, p.G5]

Unabashedly frank in its depiction of sex -- too frank, probably, for more discreet viewers -- but it's never exploitive or seedy.

Four Christmases is sour to the point of curdling, a satirical look at the holidays a la "Bad Santa" that does exactly what that film avoided: come off as both off-puttingly misanthropic and gloppily sentimental.

The strength of the performances, along with the good will generated by these flawed but likable characters, carry the movie through.

Medicine Man is an adventure story with a message: We must save the Amazon rain forest. It's certainly a noble cause, filmmakers forgot to make their movie any fun. [08 Feb 1992, p.E6]

If Treasure Planet falls short of "Lion King's" classic status, it still proves there is plenty of room in animation for movies that aren't geared exclusively to 8-year-olds.

It's crisp, efficient, well-made and strangely, vaguely dull.

Even though it unfolds almost entirely through a child's eyes, and contains no onscreen violence, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas packs as devastating a punch as an adult-oriented drama about the subject. Its concluding five minutes are almost impossible to watch.

Like most movies about death, the gentle, quirky Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself ultimately turns out to be a story about embracing life.

Even Ben Stiller looks bored out of his mind in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and he got paid several million dollars to star in it.

Michael Mann's extraordinary Public Enemies is an unusual sort of gangster picture, a near-impressionistic recreation of the last year in the life of one of American history's most notorious bank robbers.

Yes, it creaks. It creaks mightily. But The Net cheerfully plugs along, asking you to swallow one whopper after the next without burping. [28 July 1995, p.6G]

Never before has Egoyan made a picture this egregiously, relentlessly bad.

After the Wedding ends up feeling far weightier than it first appears, with its plot contrivances and unlikely coincidences generating such a messy range of emotions, they end up feeling a lot like real life.

Closer in spirit and tone to the comic books that spawned it.

Unapologetically slanted -- and often hilarious.

With its tongue planted so firmly in its cheek it threatens to poke through at any moment, Army of Darkness marches onto the screen, a whirlwind of madcap humor, gee-whiz special effects and nonstop action. This is the kind of movie a hyperactive 13-year-old with a $12-million budget would make...It's overdone, yes, but also irresistible. [22 Feb 1993, p.E4]

Wisely, Romper Stomper never preaches or moralizes: The subject matter does that well enough on its own. [03 Dec 1993, p.G4]

It's a dry, mundane title. It's also the only thing about the film that doesn't blow your mind right out of its comfortable, I've-seen-all-this-before rut.

With this gorgeously melodramatic ode to cinema, the filmmaker comes dangerously close to losing himself inside his celluloid dreams -- and leaving the audience behind.

You expect more from King. The man obviously knows a thing or two about terror, yet Sleepwalkers is a pastiche of old B- movies. Bad B-movies. [16 Apr 1992, p.F3]

Linklater's Bears are even scrappier, fouler and worse-behaved than their 1976 counterparts.

Eclectic, grandly engaging documentary.

What The Four Feathers lacks is genuine sweep or feeling or even a character worth caring about.

Easily the slightest and most frenetic entry in the trilogy. But it might also turn out to be the fan favorite, because the movie is nothing but eye candy and visual sensation.

The biggest compliment you can pay the much-anticipated film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that you can't imagine Stieg Larsson's corker of a story ever having existed in book form.

The movie is polished, well-acted and atmospheric, but still pure formula, and not very scary, either.

Unlike Pedro Almódovar's "What Have I Done To Deserve This?," which focused on a similarly harried wife and mother who reached her breaking point, Alice's House does not leaven its heroine's plight with dark humor. Nor does it offer any easy escape route.

See How They Fall is at its best when coasting on the chemistry between scheming Max and childlike Johnny, whose odd- couple relationship arises out of necessity and ends up as something closer to father and son. First-time director Jacques Audiard toys with the story's timeline and wraps things up with a subtly cold-blooded ending that earns the film its noir status with a wink and a bitter smile. [10 Feb 1995, p.19G]

The excellent performances by the three leads, and the filmmakers' refusal to sugarcoat reality, elevate the film far beyond after-school special territory into something far more lasting.

Gangs of New York is many things, but a masterpiece is not one of them. It is primarily, and somewhat surprisingly, a poky western, with a vengeful orphan.

An impeccably shot, studiously staged, passionately acted bore, one of those curious fizzles in which everyone seems to do everything right, but the film simply refuses to take off.

The Ugly Truth is insulting to women, men and even goldfish.

One of the many pleasures of this beautifully composed, measured movie is how it reminds you of the power of pure storytelling -- an art that's too often overlooked in contemporary films in the rush for sensation and excitement.

Watching these coolly precise, methodical actors spar with each other at the top of their game is half the show.

Shakespeare purists may scoff and wonder what the point is, but Morrissette would probably shrug and say ``Why not?''

Movies like Monsters, Inc. literally make you feel like a kid again, marveling at the joyously inventive sights before you, and that's a feat that should not be taken lightly.

Taken is nonsense, but it's terrifically entertaining nonsense.

You know a movie's not working when you see minotaurs, flying monkeys, "The Wizard of Oz's" Toto and Helen Mirren riding a unicorn -- all on the screen at the same time -- and you're still waiting for the thing to be over so you can go home and get on with your life.

If you don't have a dog waiting for you at home after seeing A Letter to True, you'll want one.

This movie demands that the viewer -- and even its own characters -- turn into thumb-sucking 3-year-olds with no need for plausibility or logic, as long as there are lots of flashing lights and whooshing noises emanating from the screen.

I can't imagine anyone seeing Once and not instantly falling in love with it.

With all the obvious work that went into this beautifully detailed, giant-scale movie, and considering the historical importance of the subject matter, was it too much to ask for a trace of intelligence, or maturity, or even insight?

By flaunting its own stupidity, The Ten practically dares you not to laugh at it, like a stand-up comic who sells an unfunny joke through the ferocity of his delivery.

There is some exhilarating wordplay in 8 Mile, and you don't have to be a fan of rap to appreciate its quicksilver energy and mischievous wit. For all its grit, 8 Mile ends up radiating a joyful, hopeful vibe. It's an old-school charmer.

The heist in Flawless comes at the film's midpoint, but although Radford wrings some nice suspense from the sequence, the theft isn't his primary focus here. It's what happens next.

Bridges brings his 50 years of acting experience to this one captivating, surprisingly moving performance.

Even the women in Festival in Cannes feel more like sketches than fully realized people -- the aging actress, the naive hopeful, the newly minted starlet -- leaving you nothing but the showbiz satire to chew on.

But there's nothing in this amateurish movie that the opening credits of last year's "Go" didn't do better.

It's an earnest, contemporary drama about adults -- OK, women -- that has no use for irony or cynicism, no room for cutting-edge, clever hipness.

Despite some admittedly intense sequences and a lean, spare script, The Hills Have Eyes hasn't aged all that well, particularly the business with the cannibals, who are more likely to inspire laughter from modern viewers than anything else. [31 Oct 2003, p.22G]

Decidedly minor Woody.

It's an action picture that's been distilled and compressed to its tightest, barest, almost abstract essence, and it's absolutely thrilling.

Superbad never forgets the lesson one learns when looking back on one's awkward youth: Cool isn't just where society dictates; it is also where you find it.

Most contemporary sci-fi movies come on with all CGI-guns blazing, trying to blow the roof off the theater. Moon settles for trying to blow your mind instead.

Whenever the film starts getting overly sticky, Perez swoops in to even things out. If there isn't a fat smile plastered on your face as It Could Happen to You comes to its whimsical, crowd-pleasing finale, consider yourself a cynic. [29 July 1994, p.G6]

Luminous, melancholy and ultimately heartbreaking.

Impossible to watch passively. It may be a work of pure fiction, with the requisite preposterous plot turns, but it still has the air of a ''what if?'' scenario, and it is perfectly, thoroughly chilling.

As a director, Woo never hesitates, and the result is exhilarating. [22 Oct 1993, p.G6]

If I were 8, I would want to see it 800 times.

As formidable as Kingsley is, Elegy wouldn't work if his object of obsession wasn't worthy of him.

It's a sign of just how much Coppola respects her characters that she doesn't make us privy to that final line: It is only meant for them to share. But like the rest of the ethereal Lost in Translation, you don't need to have it spelled out in order to feel it.

Little Ashes succumbs to the dreaded Masterpiece Theater syndrome as a talky historical drama weighed down by self-importance.

The best parts of It Might Get Loud, though, occur when Guggenheim visits with the musicians one on one.

My One and Only isn't exactly memorable, but this little, personable movie is a fine showcase for Zellweger's talents and a paean to the sort of mid-1950s America best remembered in Norman Rockwell paintings.

The Secret of Kells manages to feel simultaneously old-fashioned and mesmerizingly modern,and the slight story at its center has the emotional weight of a classic fable: A boy's wild, fantastical adventure, simply told.

Suggests that professional wrestling is more than a multibillion-dollar industry: It's also a way of life.

What really makes Hidden so involving is Haneke's sometimes maddening insistence on keeping things vague.

Even if you do believe the story, Fire in the Sky will bore you silly. [17 Mar 1993, p.E2]

The kind of movie that rockets so far beyond the line of credibility and so deeply into the realm of utter stupidity, you start to wonder if the filmmakers aren't putting you on.

It just requires an open mind, a love of film and a willingness to dream.

In Redbelt, David Mamet enters the realm of sports drama and Rocky-underdog clichés and discovers it's a surprisingly good fit.

As funny as a lot of the film is, Dogma remains as frustratingly uneven as the rest of Smith's work.

The lack of cynicism is refreshing, but someone needed to tell Redford pixie dust and a nine-iron will only get you so far.

The fight sequences are well handled, the three leads are pleasant (and quite good, it seems, at the martial arts) and the violence is bloodless and amusing, with all kinds of cartoon sound effects thrown in to soften the chop-socky violence. If the audience at a sold-out Saturday afternoon showing I attended is any indication, 3 Ninjas delivers the promised action-packed, empty-headed goods. As long as your age is still in the single digits, that is. [10 Aug 1992, p.C6]

If "The Sixth Sense" was Shyamalan's take on ghost stories and "Unbreakable" his ode to comic books, then Signs is the evil cousin to Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

For 2 1/2 hours, Strange Days swirls and blooms its way into your head, sounds and colors popping like fireworks, a stream of ideas flowing steadily beneath the dazzle. It's a light show for the mind, a kaleidoscope of exhilarating action, social commentary and post-modern science fiction -- yet when it's all over, you can't help but think, "Is that it?" [13 Oct 1995, p.5G]

Turns out to be something entirely different than it initially seemed, and while the conclusion brings everything to a logical close, it also renders the movie less interesting -- a stunt that didn't merit Bale's startling, and dangerous, transformation.

This genial, lyrical little movie seems guaranteed to broaden Kitano's fan base in the United States.

At least The Game Plan does have Johnson, whose innate charisma will make it easier for adult viewers to endure the film without ruing the decision to make a family outing to the multiplex.

By retelling Glass' pathetic tale, Shattered Glass reminds you how our culture's emphasis on success and stardom in any field -- and the betrayal of ethics to attain them -- has a cumulative, corrosive effect on society, no matter how small the stage may be.

More toy commercial than movie.

So beautifully directed, so pleasurable to watch and so thoughtfully put together, it's a disappointment when you realize, halfway through, that the movie is going to fall way short of a masterpiece.

An oddity, but a remarkably intriguing and original one, and in Buck ... it also has the most unforgettable movie character of the year.

Past the foreign mysticism and eccentricity of Tibetan Buddhism to portray its characters as unmistakably, identifiably human.

One of the many pleasures in Spellbound is watching the reactions of these young brainiacs, all under the age of 14, as they first hear the word they are being asked to spell (''Is that even a word?'' seems to be a common thought passing through their heads.)

It feels wholly artificial, and your eyes never tire of drinking it all in.

Universal Soldier, for all its sound and fury, isn't much fun. [15 July 1992, p.E5]

Has the feel of an instant classic, a melodrama with an exacting precision and a visceral, propulsive energy.

Avary suggests much more than he shows, but his style carries such urgency, you walk away convinced you saw every bullet hit its mark. On that level, Killing Zoe should get Avary noticed -- the long, disastrous and occasionally suspenseful heist is the best part of the movie -- but it's the stuff at the edges that shows this guy has genuine talent. [28 Oct 1994, p.G4]

Only devout Dylan fans will be able to derive much sense out of it. Dylan novices can only sit back and surrender to the ride Haynes offers: It's a strange, surreal trip.

Even after the plot has left you behind, you still watch The Brothers Bloom with a smile, because the actors are so engaging.

Lack of any real substance.

If you're in the proper frame of mind -- namely, forgiving -- there's some fun to be had here, but you'll respect Don't Be a Menace's daring more than you will its humor. [15 Jan 1996, p.8C]

Mistress is a black comedy about the trials and tribulations of a writer/director trying to get his film financed, and if it had been released last year, it might have seemed better. But memories of Robert Altman's The Player, which deftly covered similar ground, are still fresh, and Mistress suffers badly in comparison. [30 Sep 1992, p.E7]

Tadpole was shot on digital video, and the images often look smeary and blurry, to the point of distraction. Then again, in a better movie, you might not have noticed.

Delivers the heady, rib-tickling rush of an action picture, and it gradually builds to an emotional wallop that blindsides you.

The whole movie is at once formulaic, clichéd and predictable, yet surprising, engaging and filled with subtle, unexpected details.

A joyous, amazingly detailed paean to imagination and personal expression that dares -- and succeeds -- to illustrate one of the most mysterious enigmas of all: the creative process.

Next time Damon will have to find a worthier vehicle. As the intended start of a franchise, The Bourne Identity is a bit of a bust.

Here, finally, is a Harry Potter picture that lives up to its potential -- that, plainly, LIVES.

One of the most anticlimactic finales I've ever seen in a movie

Seems to vanish from memory even as you're watching it. The movie is an exercise in minimalist storytelling.

With the original Candyman, the filmmakers took chances in their efforts to scare you. With the sequel, they are simply chasing the quick and easy buck. [17 Mar 1995, p.4G]

An overly convoluted, tiresome mystery that exists primarily to antagonize the audience, Basic consists almost entirely of dense exposition, then concludes by laughing at anyone who tried to pay attention.

The movie is filled with wonderful music, memorable characters and rich, quotable dialogue. But what makes the picture really soar is the way it reminds you what it feels like to fall in love -- and the endless, countless possibilities a new romance brings.

It's the smartest stupid movie of the summer. [5 Aug 1994, p.G5]

What ensues is an uneasy mix of farcical slapstick and comedy of errors with a violent, blood-soaked tale of inner-city crime.

What Crush lacks in substance and originality, it makes up for with sheer likability.

The most intriguing thing about Lost Souls is how it managed to attract so much talent.

A remarkable movie that merits a place alongside "The Executioner's Song" and "In Cold Blood" as an unforgettable depiction of tragedy in the heartland.

The story falters only at the end, but it's the ride, not the destination, that you remember and savor the most.

The saddest part about this whole affair is that it took Bugs and Co. 60 years to make their feature debut -- and this is what they get. At one point, Daffy Duck is discussing merchandising royalties and says, "We gotta get new agents -- we're getting screwed." In Space Jam , even the cartoons are in it only for the money. [15 Nov 1996, p.5G]

Even within the context of the superhero universe, the Silver Surfer initially makes for -- let's face it -- a somewhat silly-looking creation.

None of the actors is able to do much with their characters, because they are all playing game pieces on a schematic board. Rendition has passion to spare, but it is saddled with a story designed exclusively to drive home the filmmakers' message.

Affleck's smooth, elegant directorial style is strong reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's: He takes his time establishing characters who are far more complex than they initially appear, then thrusts them into moral dilemmas with no easy outs.

Chain Reaction has the unenviable hurdle of following up a summer load of action flicks, but this one would have felt like a dog in May. When Lily sees Eddie wrestling with the controls of an airboat and asks "What are you doing?" he yells back "The best I can!" Keanu, you could have done a lot better. [2 Aug 1996, p.5G]

A whimsical and light-hearted spin on a serious story of corporate whistleblowing.

But this serious film feels strangely unfinished, as if it hadn't been fully thought out. [18 Feb 1994, p.G5]

Sicko occasionally returns to Bush, but it doles out the smacks equally on both sides of the political spectrum (Sen. Hillary Clinton gets hers, too).

All this has nothing to do with the movie's dragged-out and contrived plot, which unfolds predictably and much too slowly. Still, the performances are quite good, except for Jeanne Tripplehorn (Basic Instinct ) as Sam's girlfriend, an eccentric performance artist; she grates on your nerves the minute she's onscreen and grows more aggravating from there. [4 May 1993, p.E5]

Johnston fails to make a story set in 1891 England relevant to contemporary audiences.

Viewers who like their movies to adhere to some sort of reasonable logic, or to at least make sense, will not be pleased by Femme Fatale. For everyone else, it's playtime.

Dream Lover ends with a devious last-minute twist that will delight some and infuriate others into cries of "Is that all there is?" But the surprise ending fits the rest of Dream Lover perfectly, a movie that wholeheartedly embraces its genre's cliches -- yet still keeps you riveted. [20 May 1994, p.5]

An impressionistic portrait of the seductive nature of evil.

An earnest and well-meaning but disappointing failure.

Restrepo makes time to observe these men during brief off-duty stints -- at one point four use an iPod to form an impromptu, joyous dance party -- but the bulk of the film centers on their insanely dangerous and heroic work.

A drama about dysfunction, spelling bees, mental illness, Hare Krishnas and kaballah. The movie is just as unwieldy as it sounds, except that it also stars Richard Gere.

The fact that you might emerge from the theater eager to give their albums a listen is a testament to how effective this lively and stirring movie about freedom of speech really is.

For horror fans, Halloween came a little later than usual this year, but it was worth the wait.

He just wasn't the sort of hero the government pretended he was. This eye-opening, inspiring movie is a permanent corrective to that deception.

Isn't only the silliest, most ridiculous movie of the summer; it may also be the most flat-out fun.

Director Claudel makes you wait until film's end to discover why, exactly, Juliette committed her unspeakable crime, and it's the only disappointing aspect of the movie -- the only time I've Loved You So Long traipses into melodrama. But the rest of this utterly absorbing picture never strikes a false note.

The Vanishing hooks you and doesn't let go for a good while, but it settles into formulaic, stalk-and-slash antics in its last 15 minutes. Which makes its failure hurt even more. [05 Feb 1993, p.G5]

After an hour of being stranded among these restless soldiers and their increasingly aggressive locker-room antics, you, too, will be longing for combat -- for anything -- to happen.

Exuberant, often hilarious.

Occasionally feels a bit suffocating, like being trapped at a party by a drunkard who won't shut up until he tells you his entire life story.

The result is far funnier and much less annoying than you might expect.

Democrats will enjoy The War Room more than anyone: Other parties unavoidably receive short shrift here, and Bush barbs (some of them hilariously pointed) fly constantly. Regardless of your party ties, however, The War Room is riveting viewing -- proof once again that when it comes to politics, the movies have nothing over reality. [26 Feb 1994, p.G5]

There are so many romantic-comedy cliches crammed into Valentine's Day that watching it feels like surfing through the channels of an all-chick-flick cable service.

Cachorro's main flaw is in its ending, which seems somewhat abrupt and unfinished, but these characters have become so endearing by then that it hardly seems to matter.

The movie still feels strangely inert; it's an adventure in which nothing ever really seems to happen.

Dismayingly predictable and rote, a simple premise played out in the most obvious way possible.

300 is at its best when it settles for purely visceral thrills, such as Leonidas' battle against a hulking warrior twice the size of a normal man. The movie's broad strokes are all superlative: It's the details that keep 300 from being anything more than a striking curiosity.

By the time the film's climactic 15 minutes rolled around, viewers at a preview were laughing as if they were watching "Knocked Up." For a horror picture, such a reaction is the equivalent of a stake through the heart.

Kick-Ass reminds you of the great pleasures and thrills of superhero comics -- then turns everything you ever learned from comic books upside down.

A Jerry Bruckheimer production, which gives the movie a disquieting sense of stupidity.

Bordello of Blood isn't quite awful, but there's nothing in it better than its catchy title. [19 Aug 1996, p.2C]

The package is perfectly irresistible.

An uncommonly perceptive and finely shaded character drama.

Mr. Holland's Opus is compulsively watchable: Eager to please and never very challenging, it's the kind of movie you might stumble across while channel surfing and watch to the end. Almost despite itself, the movie also manages to celebrate the heroism of the teaching profession with surprisingly moving power. If only it had done it with more grace and less schmaltz. [19 Jan 1996, p.4G]

Combined with the sluggish story line, Daylight becomes a chore to sit through: The only people who want to get out of the tunnel more desperately than the characters in the movie are the ones stuck in the theater. [6 Dec 1996, p.5G]

A portrait of a family reeling with pain and resentment -- and rising to the challenge of dealing with it head-on.

Singleton's sloppiest, laziest movie to date, springing to life in fits and starts, risibly mawkish and occasionally gripping, and often feeling like it was made up on the set.

Gives romance a bad name.

A lightweight, formulaic piece of fluff, but you wouldn't know that by Meryl Streep's performance.

A triumph of technology over humanity, and if it falls short of a completely fulfilling experience, it also achieves the kind of primal emotion movies were invented for: wonder.

Feels so slight and trivial, like a cute but small idea blown up to proportions it does not merit. A surprisingly unfunny, belabored and unimaginative comedy, Bee Movie is a huge disappointment considering the extent of Seinfeld's participation.

Horton Hears a Who wisely preserves most of Seuss' verse in voiceover narration, but the main dialogue, while it doesn't rhyme, preserves the author's humanistic humor and whimsy.

Laughable, contrived banality. You won't believe a second of it. [17 Sept 1996, p.25G]

Sweet and moving, and occasionally irritating, but it's never embarrassing.

An hour after seeing it, you may not remember what The International was about. But you'll certainly remember that shootout. That is something to behold.

In Happy Tears, Posey lands a juicy starring role designed to showcase her eccentric energy, and she's so delighted by the opportunity that her happiness infuses the movie: She keeps the first half of Happy Tears aloft on a cloud of endearing tics and mannerisms.

Offers a ride worth taking -- an excursion through a fantastical pop universe that is pure, enchanting magic. Try it; you'll like it.

Energetic, nostalgic, occasionally troubling movie.

It would have taken another director (the late David Lean, for instance) and a better script to make this movie into the serious, full-blooded epic it wants to be. But Power of One succeeds in entertaining and getting audiences to think about the tragedy of apartheid; flaws and all, it's still worth seeing. [31 March 1992, p.E6]

With the insight and sensitivity of an insider, The Messenger illuminates the sometimes invisible victims of war -- the survivors -- and a pain that is tolerated but never quite healed.

The main problem with Iron Man 2 lies in the script.

Gas, Food, Lodging should send plenty of movie offers in Balk's direction. She's a perceptive and subtle actress, comfortable at playing both adolescent giddiness and terror in the same unmannered style. It is her performance, and the touching character she creates, that ultimately makes this movie worth seeing. [9 Nov 1982, p.E3]

Taxes the patience of even the most willing viewer with its sheer nonsense: It's distractingly illogical.

Gordon Gekko didn't disappear with the 1980s; he just became a lot more difficult to pick out from a crowd.

It's a clammy, depressing movie, but not a very illuminating one.

As good as it is depicting his career, Milk doesn't fare quite as well as a portrait of the man himself.

Even though Taking Lives is not very good, it does contain a) a cool car chase and b) a sex scene in which Jolie goes topless. For some, this will be enough entertainment.