Pious, high-minded and bad history.

How does an embarrassment of riches turn into mere embarrassment?

To his (Snipes) credit, there are few other stars who could breathe a degree of credibility into a film like The Art of War.

This kind of fiasco turns movie critics into so many Night Stalkers.

Dramatically, it's a ghoul's parade of grieving folk finding solace and then danger through a tenuous connection to the after-life.

Congratulations, Renny Harlin. You've successfully exorcised all the horror out of The Exorcist.

The movie goes awry from the opening shots.

Surprisingly funny, a deep-down-good-hearted take on that oldest of comedy conventions, the ill-prepared rube caught up in a situation that somehow never gets the best of him.

So, here's the problem with The Butterfly Effect: It's silly.

Malkovich acts as if he's doing Shakespeare, pontificating, enunciating and generally overreaching.

The story of the triumphant underdog is irresistible, even when every single plot point comes marching down Main Street.

If it weren't for a few genuine Chan novelties and the presence of the goofy Jennifer Love Hewitt, this much-delayed and re-edited mess would be a total loss.

A mess, but it means well.

A film made by people with more heart than skill.

As scary Halloween movies go, Thirteen Ghosts' "Oh, please" factor is pretty darn high.

Even in a world where stupidity mixed with cliche is all too often mistaken for humor, this movie barely meets expectations.

Bullock is so good, working hard to pull off the transition from grief-stricken wife and mother to reluctant time traveler, you want to pull for her. So it's possible - not easy, but possible - to overlook the script's inconsistencies.

Sttrictly movie-of-the-week stuff. And not very good stuff, at that.

Lame.

As a comic fable for hard times, New in Town is irredeemably moronic.

Timeline lacks potency, drive, wit and personality -- all the things that make escapism worthwhile.

What we have here is a film where the first 20 minutes are repeated again and again until everything comes to an absolutely predictable end.

A hackneyed psycho-sexual thriller with enough awkwardly executed Hitchcock references to qualify as a bad DePalma knock-off.

Method Man and Redman just don't have the comic timing to pull off 90 minutes at front-and-center.

Turns into an amusing showcase for two of Hollywood's most appealing young actors.

Here's my nomination for future grindhouse double-bill from hell: Pathfinder and "Apocalypto."

The material has a definite "haven't-we-been over-this-before?" feel.

Engaging though flimsy, lively though occasionally tone-deaf, it's a movie that thrives on the strength of its affable co-stars and a sense of adventure that provides just enough brio to get audiences through some energy-sapping rough spots.