Susan Wloszczyna

Basically, Cam is one of the most entertainingly inappropriate guardians for impressionable youths since Auntie Mame.

Cradle settles for saying ''boo'' when it could have said a lot more about parental fears. [10 Jan 1992, p.4D]

The ending is nicely wistful but let's get real. A couple of million doesn't go far these days, at least not at the rate of Perez's shopping sprees. Still, if you're willing to take a chance on romance, buy a ticket to It Could Happen to You. Just don't expect a huge payoff. [29 July 1994, p.7D]

Sheer power, moral and otherwise. It possesses a massively majestic hero. [10 Dec 1997, p.D1]

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]

With Serial Mom, the renegade director/writer kicks the nation smack in its collective groin, marvelously mocking the oh-so-current mania over crime figures and tabloid scandals. [13 Apr 1994, p.1D]

Once again, the anchor aboard this ship of fools is the drolly doltish Leslie Nielsen, who can deliver lines like "I like my sex the way I play basketball - one on one, with as little dribbling as possible" as if they were first-class mail. Let's hope Zucker and Co. quit while they are ahead. [18 Mar 1994, p.4D]

When we first see Meryl Streep's happy homemaker in One True Thing, she's a domestic dinosaur circa late '80s, a regular mommy monster. [18 September 1998, p.3E]

Young girls will enjoy Lohan's matchmaking antics. But nostalgia-craving oldsters should stick to fond memories of Hayley [Mills]'s heyday.

At the nasty center of the otherwise dutiful Denial is a slimy, self-aggrandizing upper-class blowhard of a bigot who believes he has every right to circulate hateful and hurtful falsehoods to his followers.

As for the a capella performances, there is something a little prefab and not as organic as those in the first film.

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]

Director Chuck Hanson, who did The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, provides many pretty-postcard shots of Oregon and Montana. But he should have been the hand that rocks the raft instead of holding off on most of the foamy feats until the final minutes. [30 Sep 1994, p.5D]

Spend 60 years in jail with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, and you'll understand why they call it the pokey. [16 April 1999, Life, p.5E]

Let others recharge that tired Die Hard formula. Cameron invents a new kind of family therapy that saves your marriage and the world. [15 Jul 1994 Pg. 01.D]

While entertaining with its swipes at everything from health food to the Latin pop craze, the semi-sweet story is about as deep and meaningful as a groupie grope.

There is a keen intellect behind this devoutly defiant fable.

Overlong, overdone and overwrought, the narratively challenged Set It Off gets off on exploitation shock and social-conscience schlock in equal measure. Yet it still manages to get it on entertainingly with a big assist from Latifah, blasting off the screen like human TNT, and Jada Pinkett (The Nutty Professor) in another firecracker performance. [06 Nov 1996]

Reeks of the kind of atmosphere that makes you reach for the Lysol.

Kiss is tasty-enough escape fare. Just don't expect anything more filling than Hershey's foiled variety. [10 Jul 1992, p.5D]

If you are hungry for dazzling eye candy and don’t mind a less-than-meaty narrative, this might please your palate.

Randal Kleiser (Grease) might not be everyone's first choice as director. But with the majesty of the Klondike landscape and a script packed with action, it would be hard to mess this up. [22 Jan 1991, p.5D]

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.

The film ultimately lets Mirabelle down and leaves the viewer dissatisfied. A "Lost in Translation" drained of its wryly observed humor, Shopgirl is worth a browse. But it isn't always easy to buy.

Somehow what comes close to dissolving into heartbreaking tragedy instead offers the merest whiff of hope for the future. As Neill’s seen-it-all Walter says when all hell begins to break loose, “Everyone’s got a story like this … it’s as old as the hills.” If only said tale were told with a bit more consistency.

Still, the funny lady is better at zinging quips than defining her Socialist agenda.

Well-intentioned even as it surrenders to commercialism, G.I. Jane comes on like the ultimate battle of the sexes. But it ends up being an unfulfilling exercise in pseudo-feminism. [22 August 1997, p. 7D]

The latest stab at a gangsta-fied This Is Spinal Rap, is more raggedly low-budget than last year's CB4, but avoids that film's awkward mix of satire and salute. [07 Jun 1994, p.6D]

Flaws and all, Men of Honor ultimately does its duty. It honors the feats of an incredible man.

The "nonsequel" that regathers the inspired loonies who scaled the heights of giddy anarchy in 1988's "A Fish Called Wanda," is a different comic species. [24 January 1997, p. 3D]

Kasdan hasn't lost his touch at gathering terrific ensemble casts, although the performances are uneven.

In her latest film Touched With Fire, she (Holmes) delivers a beautifully understated and moving performance.

The major flaw, the clash of acting styles, is at least fascinating to observe. [14 May 1999, Life, p.8E]

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

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

A certain sloppiness prevents The To Do List from entering the female coming-of-age pantheon of "Sixteen Candles," "Clueless" and "Mean Girls."

At least a few good things are found in this small package.

Flawed but not fatally, this ambitious epic's strength lies not just with its haunting melodies, pretty pictures, star voices and kid-friendly sidekicks - the usual shtick that makes Disney tick. [14 Nov 1997, p.D6]

If Sunlight Jr. does anything, it is to shine a light on the fact that the American dream is a dormant notion for far too many.

Cusack's distinctive handling of his sullen poet offers an opportunity for Adult World to make a statement about youthful ambition and middle-age disillusionment beyond Billings dubbing Amy and her peers as "Generation Mundane." But the film just stops short of truly achieving that goal.

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

Too bad Boys has more gas than wind beneath its wings. [03 Feb 1995, Pg.04.D]

In its third go-round, the Lethal Weapon arsenal is running out of ammunition. [15 May 1992]

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

The same weakness that has plagued a goodly portion of major releases this year that rely on past successes for their reason to exist rears up again: the lack of the new and fresh.

Isn't smart enough to cut it as the ultimate blond joke. [25 April 1997, p. 4D]

As a date-night viewing option for this weekend, this nearly all-sung autopsy of a failed marriage would pretty much qualify as a Valentine’s Day massacre.

For Plummer’s plum of a performance alone, you might want to make an exception for The Exception.

The stars at least keep Wong Foo watchable. [08 Sep 1995, p.7D]

At Middleton is the just the sort of trite if inoffensive diversion that barely tiptoes into theaters before landing in the cable and video-on-demand listings.

A somber and derivative relationship drama.

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]

This is a noisy, sadistic and just plain dull rendering of a too-often-told tale about a mysterious drifter who rides into a lawless outpost and pits rival gangs against each other. The plot, based on Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Yojimbo, isn't so much dusted off by writer/director Walter Hill (Wild Bill) as propped up. [20 Sep 1996]

Unfortunately, someone said "party on" to Wayne's World 2 and forgot to invite any new ideas to rival those that made WWI such a pinhead's delight. [10 Dec 1993, p.9D]

These gun-crazy, lust-loopy kids on the run are irresistible in the best crime rush since “GoodFellas.” [10 Sept 1993]

Simply falls short.

Just like the popular (and more graphically violent) video game it's spun from, kung-fooy and kartoony Kombat shoves plot and personality aside to focus on action cloaked in mystic mumbo-jumbo and gloomy mock-gothic graphics. [21 Aug 1995 Pg. 03.D]

Still a one-of-a-kind mind-blower.

So much water. Such a dramatic washout.

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

As a piece of filmmaking, Torn is slightly above TV-movie quality.

It's terrific to see such well-matched actresses of opposing generations duke it out.

Any movie that can bring to mind a Joni Mitchell song as the credits roll — “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone” — has earned its keep.

Neither as funny and scary as the first, nor as campy and breathless as the second, Alien 3 can only settle for third best. Considering the state of sci-fi movies, that may be enough. [22 May 1992, p.12D]

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

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

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

Guilty of inciting a near-laugh riot thanks to an irresistible leading lady whose comic instincts are as impeccable as her manicure.

No need to say hasta la vista to this baby. It's a keeper. [23 Nov 1994, p.1D]

If a well-intentioned, occasionally funny, often moving yet nonetheless flawed "womance."

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]

Only a grouch wouldn't be a little tickled.

Everything about the romantic comedy What If is cute. Utterly cute. Undeniably cute. Uber–duber cute.

High-grade B flick about illegal street racing among gangs in Los Angeles applies the brakes only for the bare minimum of plot injection.

I applaud whoever thought of casting Jennifer Beals as Sam’s mother, the lone grown-up who has any real impact.

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.

This sturdy regal period piece provides a perfect opportunity to properly adore the 82-year-old legend as she revisits the role of Queen Victoria two decades after first playing the indomitable monarch in “Mrs. Brown.”

Both David-Stahl and Bell are appealing actors but unfortunately their easy-to-relate-to storyline is pretty much upstaged by the rowdy air-sex scenes.

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]

The Keeping Room does exceed “The Beguiled” with its progressive gender politics and morose minimalist approach. But when it comes to presenting a more watchable story, the older film would be the one that stops you from clicking to another channel if it pops up on TV. A little bit of pulp does help the message go down.

Is Wheeler filled with twangy clichés? Yes, but this attempt at pseudo cinema verite basically rests on Dorff’s slim, plaid-shirted shoulders—and dang if he doesn’t make this simple yet sincere saga hit more than a few high notes.

It might not always gracefully connect its plot dots, but “Tomorrow” is almost always watchable.

What Messina lacks in substance in his storytelling, he mostly makes up with raw feelings. We come to care through our own powers of observation, and that might be enough.