Sid Smith

The style and acting of Laundrette is triumphant, and its substance a true but altogether pedestrian cliche.

Teenagers, who may not have seen this picture's many hero/outlaw predecessors, might like its the pop soundtrack, better-than-average acting and modest punk attire. Everyone else is likely to find Billie Jean the very thing that becomes a legend least. [22July 1985, p.3C]

The real trouble with Psycho III is that it's one sequel too many. Norman and his Gothic manse have already been drained of creative resources. [03 July 1986, p.A]

Fright Night is pleasantly, if effortlessly, well-acted and gently scripted. And when the ghoulish special effects and wry comedy aren't on screen, there's the occasional in-joke for viewer distraction. [06 Aug 1985, p.4C]

Criminal is an exercise where viewers are likely to ponder not "How did the characters do it?" but "Who cares?"

Director Tobe Hooper seems to want his homage and his "Saturday Night Live," too. One minute he's reveling in hair-raising terror; in the next, he's dishing up naughty, nasty camp. [9 June 1986, p.5C]

Vision Quest survives by means of a few powerhouse weapons. One of them is Darryl Ponicsan's screenplay, adapted from the novel by Terry Davis, that tells the story with restraint, tenderness and a solid respect for theme. Another is director Harold Becker, who succeeds, most of the time, in touching the sensitive nerves of this tale without fraying them. Best of all are a couple of winning performances: Matthew Modine as a high school wrestler intent on beating an unbeatable state champ and Linda Fiorentino as the hard-as-nails drifter who wanders into his life. [15 Feb 1985, p.J]

Eventually, Blatty's cat-and-mouse game with the viewer gets a little tiresome, and his own story, by definition, leads to a corner: an all-out, free-for-all exorcism finish that seems a bit dated now.

A packed convention of contemporary cliches. [31 Jan 1986, p.J]

A monstrously crude, blatantly tasteless film reminiscent of the now bygone drive-in movies. It's also sterling evidence of why they haven't been missed.

Throughout, Williams seems hampered, hand-tied and almost mind-controlled, as if afraid of letting his hyperkinetic style take off. That`s too bad, because without it, Club Paradise is amiable, amusing and effortless, words that are good news when the subject is bittersweet comedy and disaster when the intention was clearly slapstick.

They graduated but didn't really grow up. Most of the less than lovable troupe from the first movie are back, including Steve Guttenberg, and so is the low level of comedy. This time, at least, director Jerry Paris from the old Dick Van Dyke show is on hand to improve the timing and pace. [05 Apr 1985, p.C]

The truth is that, for all his comic ability, Wilder has not turned out to be a very adept filmmaker. [28 Jul 1986, p.5C]