Steve Persall

Whatever definition of "dope" you prefer, it applies to Rick Famuyiwa's movie of the same name.

Spider-Man: Homecoming does the improbable, successfully rebooting a reboot of a trilogy that did the job well enough only a decade ago. It's a movie that could be unnecessary but isn't.

Forbes' screenplay is fuller of humor than the topic might suggest, and Ruffalo as usual is imminently watchable, in a uniquely feel-good movie.

Even with its faults, The Fugitive is an uncommon joyride among this summer's movies: a thriller that doesn't depend on bombs, bimbos or blue-screen effects to scare a smile onto your face. [6 Aug 1993, p.14]

The man is a movie star, underline it twice. Cruise is this young century's personification of what it takes to earn that title, a perfect storm of personality, drive and talent on delivery, incapable of irrelevance.

It works because Timberlake and Kunis are totally in control of their damaged characters without winking at the audience, as if to say: "Aren't we cute, behaving so naughty?" Their sex is amusingly awkward, and their repressed longings more so. It's the kind of chemistry that comes along once in a generation.

2 Days in the Valley is a neatly folded piece of cinematic quirk.

Corbijn keeps the intrigue uncluttered, guided by Andrew Bovell's economical adapted screenplay.

Working for the first time with French cinematographer Jean-Claude Larrieu, the director retains his signature framing and crimson flourishes.

Jeff Nichols fashions three-quarters of a terrific movie with Midnight Special, a slow burn science fiction thriller. The rest is merely gripping, which isn't a bad problem to have.

Lynn takes a familiar premise and makes it a small gem for 94 minutes, if not beyond. [30 Mar 1996, p.2B]

The movie's first half is its funniest, as Moore sets up this alternate low-resolution universe.

It only took four years for New Jack Cinema to devolve into the same old cliches of the 'hood, and only 86 minutes for the first family of def comedy to blow them away. [14 Jan 1996, p.2B]

Wormald won't make anyone forget Bacon, but he dances better, and without a stand-in. Hough's dance ability is well-known, but she also displays flashes of acting skill.

The Kids in the Hall might be impossible to like if they didn't pursue their constitutional right to offend with such whimsy and joy. Even in their darkest moments, the comedy doesn't seem mean-spirited, and there is a righteous undercurrent that hints the guys care about their targets more than one might think. [19 Apr 1996, p.3]

Like Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon before, Patriots Day is a brawny procedural, more than the exploitation flick it could be. Berg and Wahlberg's commitment to details beyond death and destruction feels like a calling.

The choicest performance in Animal Kingdom is Weaver's sing-song sinister matriarch of the Cody clan, a cheery sort with the benign nickname "Mama Smurf."

War Dogs is cocked with an irreverent pedigree and loaded with the genius teaming of Jonah Hill and Miles Teller as high rolling gun runners making up everything as they go. It's a splendid mismatch, physically and tempermentally, folded into a screenplay that's only occasionally as razored as it might be.

This movie, saddle sores and all, is a lot of fun.

Finally, a horror film that doesn't turn on the gore machine nor confuse dread with decibels. One of the most convincing members of the cast is the gloriously creaky old house that sets up the spooky action. [23 July 1999, p.03]

Rudy and his wonderful story could make even an FSU fan genuflect before Touchdown Jesus. [13 Oct 1993, p.6B]

Outbreak is an expert what-if nightmare, albeit occasionally tempered by conventional distractions. [10 Mar 1995, p.2B]

The movie is as quietly assured as its heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, gracefully played by Carey Mulligan.

Nobody's Fool is an actors' showcase and a dramatist's doodle. But what an actor. Newman's eloquent, understated portrayal of a jovial heel ranks among his greatest. [13 Jan 1995, p.8]

Working in tandem they (Gordon-Levitt/Shannon) make Premium Rush a movie that's off the chain, as the kids say.

As viscerally exciting as Padilha's RoboCop can be, the movie is elevated by serious considerations of the ethics of using robots as guardians (shades of drones), commercialism, playing God with science, and what being human is about.

The triumph of Manhattan Murder Mystery is the return to form of Keaton, whose Annie Hall mannerisms have been smoothed by age, but can still erupt in the face of frustration. Watching her and Allen work together again is a joy; there are times when it seems that this couple is actually Annie and Alvy Singer, all grown up and no place else to go but New York City. Keaton's delightful performance is the re-emergence of a fine actor who was creatively sidetracked too long. [20 Aug 1993, p.8]

Hercules isn't likely to be revered 30 years from now like other Disney classics, but it's smart, safe family entertainment. [27 June 1997, p.3]