Begins like a house afire and then fizzles out into a quasi-supernatural dead end.

Every time you start resisting, somehow the film makes the sale, again.

By filling in what the story lacks in originality with easy attractions like pretty faces, set to fluffy music, the filmmakers lose the outsider edge the Lizzie McGuire franchise was built on.

The direction by first-timer Mark Pellington is competent, as he pretty much allows Wakefield's script to play out without fanfare. [10 Oct 1997]

Crystal and Hines are immediately likable on the screen, so the fact that Running Scared isn`t all that we expect must be due to the script. The film`s ending does leave room for a sequel. If one is made, director Hyams should get Crystal and Hines a better story as well as that bar in Florida.

The landscapes and backgrounds of the Min Valley and the Nanking Road, not to mention the cuddly pandas themselves, are the big-ticket items here.

Unhappily, Manhattan Murder Mystery could use more comedy and less mystery. As the movie progresses, it gets sillier rather than wittier. Still, it is nice to get back to the old Woody Allen as a non-brooding director - nothing Bergmanesque here - and it is nice (never mind the off-screen circumstances) to see Diane Keaton up there in place of Mia Farrow. [20 Aug 1993, p.A]

Despite some moments of genuine tension, Dot the i walks (and occasionally hops right over) a very fine line between thriller/drama and parody.

A scenic, well-behaved account of Potter's life and times.

Pitch Perfect 3 is so breezy it's completely weightless, but it manages to deliver just enough of the goods.

The Kingdom has a heart and a viewpoint. It’s a thrill ride with a lingering thought or two in its wake. But the explosions, breakneck chases, daredevil escapes and predictability about which side will be victorious remain its foremost mission.

It all adds up to a better-than-average entertainment that sags terribly in the middle. [15 Apr 1985, p.4C]

At the heart of the “Has Fallen” franchise is the affection between men, and Butler has always shared the best chemistry with his male co-stars. That spark in “Angel” comes from Butler’s scenes with Nick Nolte, as his father, Clay, a veteran living off the grid.

With this script, Allen isn't working in farce mode. It's more an easygoing nod to W. Somerset Maugham or, in the plot's "Pygmalion"-like relationship between a cynical older man and his desired younger female charge, George Bernard Shaw.

The film wages an internal battle between its ripely sensual atmosphere and its often stilted pacing and plotting.

The best of Dolphin Tale takes it easy. Led by Connick and Judd, plus the crucially empathetic Gamble and Zuehlsdorff, the cast includes Kris Kristofferson as the seafaring old salt of a grandpa. The acting has a nice, low-pressure vibe, in contrast to the film's high-pressure peril.

So Close is a beautiful mess. I didn't really understand what was going on, but I loved every stylized minute of it.

This time around, the razors are a little duller, the clicks not as slick, the patter not as snappy.

A beautiful mixed bag, let’s say, all told. But I’ll see The Phoenician Scheme a second time sometime for Cera, who will surely return to the Anderson fold.

Ross' smooth, steady film is just interesting enough to make you wish it were a lot grittier, and better.

Captures a breathtaking exotic landscape cluttered only by the smugness of its characters.

For a film about deep water terror, Jaws 2 is really quite shallow. [16 June 1978, p.3-2]

"The Movie" is bigger, brighter and boomier on the big screen than the series is on cable, but is it any better? The short answer is no, but that's not necessarily bad.

More clever than coherent.

Wahlberg has the presence, the glower and the laconic line readings to guide us through a mess of pain, painlessly.

The movie begins with a tragedy and eases into a more interesting blend of drama and comedy than we've gotten in this genre lately.

Something that gets your motor racing briefly, but which you've seen all too often.

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, the co-stars of Out to Sea, keep fooling, beguiling and surprising us. Nothing can sink or ruffle them. Even with substandard scripts or dubious projects, they remain one of the greatest comedy actor teams the American movies have had: two longtime stars with formidable talents who complement each other perfectly. [02 July 1997, p.2]