Susan Wloszczyna

Memphis Belle (the title is the name of the plane) doesn't soar. But it does serve as an entertaining historical account similar to the baseball scandal of Eight Men Out or the Olympic glory of Chariots of Fire (no surprise, since co-producer David Puttnam also did Fire). [12 Oct 1990, p.4D]

DreamWorks' story of Moses raises the bar on the art of cartooning to the top of Mount Sinai and beyond.

Carrey's jolly green mug carries Mask. [29 July 1994, p. D1]

Any qualms that The Addams Family movie might be more creaky than kooky quickly evaporate, like mist over a still-toasty cadaver. [22 Nov 1991, p.1D]

If the boozy epic confrontations of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are your definition of a good time, then this is the place to be.

A coming-of-age tale that truly floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Clumsier hands could have planted this load of pungent sap and come up with sticky fingers. But the creators of this based-on-truth fable carefully cultivate the material so it comes off fresher than it sounds.

Truth be told, Joel and Ethan's game is a little off, inconsistent and at times just plain incoherent. But they roll enough solid laughs and eye-tickling camera tricks to satisfy. [6 March 1998]

To reveal too many details of this “Law & Order” meets “Jurassic Park” procedural, especially what eventually happens to Sue, sort of dilutes the thriller aspect of the story. I suggest resisting the urge to Google if you plan to see the doc. I did and was glad to be in the dark.

This is comfort comedy, pure and simple.

Back to the Future Part III wraps up the film series with a big high-tech lasso and ropes in one heck of a good time. [25 May 1990, p.01D]

Where the highly likable actress (Zellweger) proves most valuable is in making us adore this insecure, clumsy, contradictory creature.

Knight is a medieval festival for the eye and ear, with rich blue hues and stirring fanfares. [07 Jul 1995, p.1D]

Like most of Jarmusch’s films, the emphasis is not on action but interaction—especially the verbal kind. And atmosphere.

Most novel is Rounders' message that the real sin isn't giving into vice but denying your God-given talents and not risking it all.

The Sting-like ending with its crosses and double-crosses could have been better handled, but there are plenty of other payoffs in Hoodlum. [27Aug1995 Pg02.D]

Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin make Housesitter worth sitting through. While no Hepburn and Tracy, the pair still transform this overly contrived screwball romp into an inspired game of charades. [12 July 1992, p.4D]

Let the killjoys squawk. Lucas has proved he has the Naboos to pull it off again. And again. And again.

Keaton doesn't stoop to bitter-spinster blather. Instead, the luminous vulnerability that served her well in such dramas as "Shoot the Moon" lights up this depressing, gallows-humored heart-tugger. [18 Dec 1996, Pg.01.D]

It's one of the most emotionally draining climaxes of the year.

Dramatically moving and good-naturedly humorous, it transmits a sharp picture of humanity that inspires both awe and laughter.

A tidy and tension-filled exercise in terror that takes stage fright to literal extremes.

Note this in your Starlog: Tacky toupees are out. Chrome domes are in. And not only is the future in safe hands, so is the "Star Trek" franchise. [22 Nov 1996 Pg.05.D]

It's a rare movie that prefers a moral victory over a rah-rah one. [18 Sept 1992, p.5D]

The first all computer-animated feature, which brings a bedroom of playthings to bouncy life, is yummy eye candy spiked with 3-D-style tactile treats.

A well-done but all-too-woeful wallow of a documentary.

The special effects are pretty special for the most part, and the movie seems only about 10 minutes too long. [23 June 1989, p.1D]

Has the refined taste to crib from classics like "Double Indemnity."

Artful it's not. But it's awfully affable. [26 March 1999, Life, p.9E]

There's much mumbo-jumbo about past lives and symbolic tattoos, but who cares when you can gaze at a sight as lovely as a dirigible floating in the night sky?

Its makers know all too well how to fully exploit the power of a catchy pop song.

A family movie with a heart and a brain. And if you aren't moved to tears, you might need an organ transplant.

Nothing will break your heart as much as watching this man, desperate to keep this woman in his life, waltzing around the room with a laptop in his arms while staring into her faraway eyes.

It is a good thing these actors are charming enough that they aren’t too hampered by a long string of fish-out-of-water gags.

This fairly laugh-packed comedy aims to address the desire for intimate companionship in older adults, an increasingly topical issue as more Americans live into their nineties.

There is a welcome sense of familiarity in Bridget Jones's Baby — but also of the fresh and au courant.

A dinner-party-from-hell scenario best served as unspoiled as possible. After all, a psychological thriller built upon slow-simmering tension is only as good as its surprises.

As shallow as a shot glass.

It's as disturbing a movie as you are likely to witness this year. [21Feb1997 Pg.04.D]

The director was smart enough to take a trait that often caused an actor to be be typecast as a menacing figure and turn it into a strength.

All about macho my-weapon-is-bigger-than-your-weapon posturing and far-fetched coincidences that slam together in an entertaining rush.

A decidedly sentimental American version, with much comedy (by mistake, Bob Cratchit actually knocks Scrooge's hat off with a snowball) and fortified with a Scrooge who is not so much a born-to-be-cruel wretch but a tortured soul who lost the meaning of Christmas along the way. [15 Dec 1992, p.6D]

The smart script is brave enough to venture beyond yesterday’s fleeting Twitter fodder for its pop-cultural references. As a result, Paper Towns might be the only movie to ever pay tribute to Walt Whitman’s poetry, Woody Guthrie’s music and the empowering theme song from the “Pokemon” cartoon series.

Nothing too fancy or ambitious. Instead, writer-director George Tillman Jr. serves up down-home fare that enriches the heart and leaves you satisfied if stuffed. [26Sep1997 Pg.06.D]

The film bobs along like a designer balloon, pumped with wry observations on Marky Mark and Mentos ads. But none of the other cartoonish characters command like twinkly Silverstone.

With the astonishingly assured newcomer Jason Schwartzman to bounce off of, Murray has his best comic foil since those feisty rodents in Groundhog Day and Caddyshack. [5 February 1999, Life, p.11E]

With near-Swiss precision, director/producer Jay Roach and his writers make sure familiarity breeds hilarity.

Arnie is Arnie. He has all the cute lines ("No problemo," "Hasta la vista, baby''). And he does more with a squint than anyone since Popeye. [3 July 1991, Life, p.1D]

Cézanne et Moi is at its most intoxicating whenever it looks and acts like a landscape painted by its title 19th-century French artist.

The Drop is just how I like my Tom Hardy – in nearly every scene.

The kind of quirky, character-driven comedy they don't make much anymore.

The best romantic comedies intoxicate like vintage champagne. Picture Perfect, on the other hand, is like a wine spritzer. Insubstantial and oversweet, it still refreshes as a midsummer brain cooler. [1 August 1997, p. 3D]

Darkly comic 2 Days in the Valley is Tarantino lite and low-fat Altman. And that's not bad. It leaves you filled but without that bloated feeling. [27 Sept 1996]

The pitch of the script, written by director Mark Herman, isn't perfect. But these earthy blokes are an engaging lot, the soot of the earth, with an admirably wry view of their bleak situations. [23May1997 Pg 03.D]

If it's a spirit-lifter you want, Rudy is the perfect pep rally for your soul. [13 Oct 1993, p.8D]

There's also a nice cheekiness to the material written by Robert Towne ("Chinatown"), and the usual cool high-tech toys are deployed.

Yummy yet empty.

Think "Animal Farm" redone as Ant Farm. [2 October 1998, p. 11E]

For anyone who adores Smith—which is pretty much everyone these days—they will have quite a satisfying ride with this crusty grand dame behind the wheel.

Blaze is like an old-fashioned striptease - the juicy story line gets you all hot and bothered, but you end up wanting more. [13 Dec 1989, p.4D]

Documentaries that rely on a steady stream of talking heads—interspersed here with fleeting film clips—usually are not my favorite. However, when those heads belong to talented and perceptive women who rarely get a chance to speak their minds let alone get hired to make a movie, I can definitely make an exception.

It's a case of bad guys who want to use an invader for nefarious purposes - in this case, germ warfare - and good guys who want to save humanity. The formula is still potent, especially when stirred by director Wolfgang Petersen. [10 Mar 1995, p.1D]

By the time the prey turns hunter, however, the tale becomes overly predictable. And it never taps Kingsley's potential as a ruthless father figure to the beauteous, almost-sympathetic creature. Still, Species is a kick to the finish, groaner ending and all. If anyone could make E.T. forget all about phoning home, it's Sil. [07 July 1995, p.12D]

The Wedding Plan feels less like “My Big Fat Jewish Nuptials” and more of a faith-based variation on a Disney princess fantasy. Instead of a fairy godmother, God himself will find her Mr. Right.

As entertainment, such dark material can only stretch so far, and Series 7 comes awfully close to being as numbing as the genre it mocks. But its power can't be denied.

An Innocent Man is no White Heat, and Selleck is no James Cagney. But this kind of fast-paced entertainment is almost top of the world, ma. [06 Oct 1989, p.5D]

The special effects are scream-worthy, the gore is minimal and the humor has a folksy zing to it. [19 Jan 1990, p.1D]

Girls Trip is the ladies-on-the-loose comedy that everyone needs right now, even if they don’t know it yet.

With each on-screen chapter, the poor girl from District 12 continues to fulfill her destiny as an inspiration and a rebel fighter. She is but one female, but she's the perfect antidote to the surplus of male superheroes out there.

Director and co-writer So Yong Kim achieves a delicate, naturalistic tone both visually (many scenic outdoor settings involving rain, bodies of water or both) and melodically (a mostly soothing heart-fluttery soundtrack) that is underlined by handheld camera close-ups.

Most filmmakers barely know how to capitalize on Dawson’s talents other than to fill up the screen with her goddess-like beauty. But Rock treats her single mom who boasts a checkered romantic past along with strong opinions as an equal sparring partner.

Not for kids, silly. The little devils will devour this deviously delicious assault on abusive authority figures like the cake gobbled by the story's gluttonous schoolboy. [02 Aug 1996, p.1D]

Needless to say, the shapely Aniston pulls it off without a hitch — even if she never actually appears without a stitch. If this gutsy performance leads to better opportunities—a remake of Demi Moore's ill-conceived "Striptease," perhaps — I might sleep better at night.

Hello, My Name is Doris is like a beacon of beckoning human warmth just waiting to be cherished.

Little ones may squirm during the more literary parts, but the sappy tunes by Paul Williams make fine potty breaks. Adults will enjoy the gently mocking tone - Rizzo asks whether the ghostly goings-on will scare kids. ''Nah,'' replies Gonzo. ''This is culture.'' As for the Muppets, it's great to see them together again on the big screen. God bless them, every one. [11 Dec 1992, p.4D]

Engagingly offbeat. [4 December 1998, Life, p.13E]

Isn't always perfect. But it fills an empty spot in the hearts of girls of all ages who have been pining all summer for a movie like this.

This is first and foremost Eastwood’s movie and if he wants to feature his incongruous tinkling piano-bar jazz on the soundtrack, that is his prerogative.

Much like the way that Stubby was often underestimated before he found his calling, I came into this film not expecting how much I would appreciate a more thoughtful use of animation to tell an engaging story.

(Craven) and his Scream dream team have done a frightfully good job of killing off and wrapping up the popular horror series.

A forlornly funny and emotionally bruising dramedy that rarely misses an opportunity to reveal humans as the flawed and occasionally awful beings that they are.

Yearning for an old-fashioned movie with a well-told, uplifting message? Music of the Heart is playing your song.

His (Myers) affection for the era and its gaudy, bawdy movies inject this bit of fluff with giddy energy.

With its cast of extremely likable performers, the perfect summer-in-the-city backdrop—in this case, New York — and a soundtrack stuffed with catchy, well-produced hits, Begin Again makes for easy-breezy entertainment.

Atypical teen drama about opposites attracting that often (and happily) confounds expectations.

A good Woody Allen flick is a thing of joy these days and, at times, Blue Jasmine is even a great one, close to being an equal to 2005's "Match Point."

Witherspoon tries, even doing her first-ever nude scenes, to convince us she has hit the skids. Yet no matter how greasy her hair or how dead her eyes, I just can’t buy her as a self-destructive junkie.

A film that wins on 'Courage' of its convictions. {12 July 1996, p. D1]

The result might be less fulfilling this time, but “Dory” is ultimately worth the voyage.

Quaid's return to form is worth cheering. He helps make Flesh a watchable depressant. [05 Nov 1993, p.4D]

An intoxicating kiddie cocktail for young-at-heart adults, inspired by a Disney fairy tale based on fact: the making of "Mary Poppins."

Costner and Russo show they're up to par. [16 August 1996, p.D1]

Like a lava lamp turned on high, Joe Versus the Volcano glows with originality. Go bask in it. [9 Mar 1990, p.4D]

If all I saw was the first half, I would have given it a shrug and left in a semi-foul mood. But the whole is greater for being two parts in this case, making me glad that I have finally lost my Hong Sang-soo virginity.

Only a grouch wouldn't be a little tickled.

All it takes is one breathtaking shot near the conclusion of A Tale of Love and Darkness, when the aged Amos stares helplessly at his troubled mother through a pane of glass coated with teary rivulets of rain, to know Portman has an artistic vision worth sharing and developing.

Once this self-consciously campy fairy tale stops trying so hard to emulate every high-school comedy and TV show from the past 30 years and relaxes into a stream of clever repartee and amusing situations, it eventually offers enough LOL opportunities to deserve a passing grade.

This is the best Seagal yet - written by J.F. Lawton, who also did Pretty Woman, oddly enough. But let's not go overboard. The convoluted plot treads water far too long as the good guys on land discuss strategy in a Dr. Strangelove-style conference room. The violence is way too graphic as Seagal treats the hijackers as if they were cheap cuts of beef. And Erika Eleniak's centerfold bimbo may be played for laughs, but it's no joke when she's the token woman. Then again, it's too much to expect an action top dog to learn too many new tricks. [09 Oct 1992, p.8D]