Susan Wloszczyna

If the filmmakers were after a kind of Terms of Endearment for men, they didn't get it. Instead, revel in ''golden-agers'' Lemmon and Dukakis, and have a good cry. And shed an extra tear for a golden film opportunity lost. [27 Oct 1989, 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.

Soapdish is forever blowing comic bubbles. Most burst in mid-flight. But a few, thanks to the talents of stars Sally Field and Kevin Kline, work up into a laughable lather. [31 May 1991, p.4D]

Lane, still an incandescent knockout at 52, continues to pull off expressing sensuality and sexiness better than most actresses of any age.

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

The foot-stomping, hand-clapping, ear-electrifying soundtrack, courtesy of such pros as B.B. King and Eric Clapton plus newcomers like Erykah Badu, in Blues Brothers 2000 (# # 1/2 out of four) rectifies many a movie-making sin in this near-Xerox sequel to the 1980 Saturday Night Live-spun hit starring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. [06 Feb 1998]

Directed with care by Leon Ichaso and written by New Jack's Barry Michael Cooper, snazzy-looking Hill also covers familiar terrain. [25 Feb 1994, p.4D]

Director John Carpenter (Halloween) draws the best out of a Topper-esque script that's surprisingly sophisticated. [28 Feb 1992, p.8D]

Any movie with a cast that includes such live wires as Marisa Tomei, Sam Rockwell and Natasha Lyonne is bound to have something going for it. But the actual stars of this film, directed by playwright/novelist Adam Rapp, turn out to be two veteran second-tier players making their feature screenwriting debut.

The garden, an Edenic metaphor that gives the story its fertile power, should be as much of a living character as Maggie Smith's wonderfully brusque housekeeper - but isn't. As a result, everything that follows feels anti-climatic. Even if the plot plods a bit, there are pleasures to be plucked, especially in the performances of the children. [13 Aug 1993, p.4D]

So much water. Such a dramatic washout.

The musical score is a dud, and the film is one firebomb too long. But GoldenEye's vision is 20/20 when it comes to reviving a legend. [17Nov1995 Pg.01.D]

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.

Who knew such a seamy swim in the misogynistic swill of life could be so entertaining?

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

a painful though sadly humorous portrait of sisterhood deftly written by Leigh's mom, Barbara Turner, and directed with just-right spareness by Ulu Grosbard. [08 Dec 1995]

This is neither the most cinematically entertaining nor the sexiest topic ever examined by what amounts to a Code Red warning sign of a public service announcement. But Dick and producers Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy know the value of focusing on a compelling collection of human subjects who generously relive their first-hand agony.

Isn't all that romantic and is only half as funny as it thinks it is.

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

Seeing Noises Off the movie is better than waiting for it to arrive at the local dinner theater. But served in a setting devoid of spontaneity, Off just seems a little off. [20 March 1992, p.4D]

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.

Pacific Heights may not have a psychopath worthy of Psycho. But it has a timely moral: Never rush to buy in a sluggish housing market. [28 Sept 1990, p.9D]

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

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.

Unlike glossier renderings of twentysomething love, Eric Schaeffer's If Lucy Fell at least elicits the heartfelt goodwill of a messy homemade valentine. [8 March 1996]

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.

From morning traffic jams to passive-aggressive bosses who justify their existence by making yours miserable, Space gets it right. [19 Feb 1999]

Another one of those high-gloss treatments of domestic strife that want to have it both ways. Sitcom-slick, melodrama-edgy.