Io its credit, the film has a surprising and likely to be controversial ending. It creates moments of genuine tension that take us beyond the issue of who is more at fault and into the deeper question of what does a lifetime of commitment really require?

The film looks terrific and offers one spectacular chase, but its story and characters are less substantial than even a weak episode of "Miami Vice."

Death Wish 3 may be the first movie where the director and both costars have publicly denounced elements of the film. Director Winner has said he doesn't approve of the film's philosophy of taking the law into one's own hands. Bronson has been quoted as saying the film is too violent for his taste.

Petersen is to be congratulated for creating a solid character out of a film that likes its decor and soundtrack more than its actors. [1 Nov 1985, p.A]

A perennial problem with music-oriented movies is that the excitement of a live performance so seldom translates successsfully to the screen, and rap is no exception. There are plenty of big names involved in Krush Groove, but the music alone isn`t able to carry the film, and the plot certainly can`t.

And yet if Re-Animator offers only a few laughs, that still puts it smiles ahead of George Romero`s awful ''Return of the Dead,'' the third in his zombie series, which suffered from tired blood. At least director Gordon`s ghoulies drool on naked women and decapitate each other with shovels. Hoe, hoe, hoe.

Better Off Dead, a seemingly teenage comedy that wasn't good enough to be released during the prime summer play dates, is utterly devoid of appeal. [15 Oct 1985, p.C2]

A limp retelling of the werewolf legend that is about as frightening as a rubbery Richard Nixon mask.

The point is: When Sweet Dreams' as it is now constructed, is over, we remember and are intrigued more by Charlie Dick than by Patsy Cline, played by Jessica Lange in a performance that comes up short when necessarily compared with Sissy Spacek`s tour de force as Loretta Lynn in ''Coal Miner`s Daughter.''

Despite its rather arrogant title for a first film, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, a series could lurk inside this drawnout, but often spectacular and funny adventure film.

Fans of true-life crime stories should gain special pleasure from Jagged Edge, because the film does succeed in making its ending unpredictable--even though an unresolved ending would have been better.

Has a terrific premise but no script.

So if you're in the market for a "family" film, Natty Gann qualifies. But that doesn't mean it's a boring, namby-pamby entertainment. Rather, it's that Natty, in her cap and jacket and determined look, is a character with universal appeal. [15 Oct 1985, p.2C]

What`s lacking is a clear conception on Jewison`s part as to what this film is about.

One of the year`s boldest, most successful films, a film full of ideas that challenges us to examine how we conduct our lives, while at the same time dazzling us with extraordinary visuals.

From time to time, a movie comes along that is so unconventional, so weird, so flagrantly negligent of mainstream taste that it will develop a loyal cult following--"The Rocky Horror Picture Show," now celebrating its 10th profit-filled anniversary, being a good example. This is the kind of movie the makers of "Morons From Outer Space" set out to produce, but failed to deliver. But who knows? In Britain, they may eat this stuff up. [12 Nov 1985, p.C5]

In its execution, Stand Alone is no worse than other violent vigilante films in the ''Death Wish'' mold--its vision simply is more offensive.

A study in formula film making and a lousy movie. [03 Sep 1985, p.5C]

There's a good movie lurking somewhere in Susan Isaacs' script of her comic murder mystery novel "Compromising Positions" but neither Isaacs nor director Frank Perry has found it. [30 Aug 1985, p.A]

Teen Wolf is a clever and inventive film, a soft and contemporary retelling of the familiar werewolf tale.

Heavily laden with antinuclear messages, bad dubbing and worse dialogue, Godzilla 1985 is a pale imitation of the original film, a calculated bit of cinematic nostalgia that leaves one yawning. [20 Sep 1985, p.J]

It's a shame that this often cute script couldn't have better served, and been better served by, its actors.

What a letdown! The remake of the 1935 classic ''The Bride of Frankenstein'' with rock star Sting as the doctor and Jennifer Beals as the reconstructed bride is a complete failure in telling its principal story.

Though the racing action scenes are initially satisfying, one soon tires of the mountain scenery. And the obvious-from-the-start ending robs the race of whatever dramatic tension it ordinarily might have possessed.

It so often is a joy to look at and so often a pain to listen to.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, at either location is the slightest bit funny. [13 Sep 1985, p.C]

Director Carl Reiner, an old comedy pro, does well enough with the comedy's dumb but funny big-bust and jock-strap jokes. [09 Aug 1985, p.D]

Bereft of wit or charm, the film is forced to rely heavily on its special effects. These, however, have a tacky, homemade feel. The dinosaur, for instance, recalls those goofy Godzillas from the heyday of Japanese monster movies. A Stone Age man and some goons from after the apocalypse look like they came from a wax museum. [13 Aug 1985, p.5C]