The movie doesn't reach any deep insights, but its mixture of psychology, philosophy, and realpolitik is downright riveting.

Unusual and imaginative drama.

Redford gives one of his best performances ever in this taut, emotionally engrossing thriller.

The influence of Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier looms heavily over the whole film.

The most powerful sequences in the movie are the linked vignettes involving Margaret and the various grown-up children whom she attempts to help in their search for – what, exactly? Closure? Catharsis?

In real life, Mary and Elizabeth never met, but this film, directed by Josie Rourke and written by Beau Willimon, stages numerous interactions, many of them accompanied by flaring nostrils.

Directed by Michael Apted, who keeps the action hopping at least for the first hour, and treats most of his Russian characters as reasonably whole human beings. [05 Jan 1984, p.23]

Bernardo Bertolucci's romantic drama has great visual beauty but little new to say about life or love.

Some of his theories seem cockamamie compared with current intellectual norms, though, so it's too bad the filmmakers don't give him time to make a coherent case.

If the head of the bureau is God, then why is he played by Terence Stamp and not Morgan Freeman?

Fiennes's performance, tricky and impassioned, is the showpiece.

The filmmaker keeps things lively by roaming far and wide with her camera, returning to the statesmanship side of the documentary often enough to let us follow relevant events as they unfold.

Norton gives the comedy unexpected sparkle in his directorial debut.

Straightforward and informative, but overlong and repetitious.

The fact that it's based on a true story doesn't alter the fact that, like most such Hollywood movies, it seems fabricated.

Switching between the 1950s, the '60s, and the present, it's compelling in a middling miniseries kind of way – expansive but not terribly deep.

Suicides are proliferating in the city -- is the song to blame, or is it the tenor of the times?

The movie is surprisingly strong despite its potentially flaky plot, combining '80s-style humor with a sincere romantic story.

The film is directed by Dallas Jenkins, the creator of “The Chosen,” a long-running TV series about Jesus’ life. His tonally perfect adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s book boasts a gentle wit. He deftly conveys the movie’s message without a heavy hand.

It takes awhile to get going but, still, it’s rather sweet.

The plot, based on a Phillip K. Dick story, is ingenious; and Arnold Schwarzenegger brings an effective blend of machismo and innocence to his role. Too bad director Paul Verhoeven lets brainless violence and tricky special effects swamp the cleverness of the tale itself. [22 June 1990, Arts, p.10]

It’s not really such a great achievement to have women cops in the movies acting as boorish and rowdy as their male counterparts, especially since the movie seems designed for a sequel. But then again, what movie these days – or at least this summer – isn’t?

The film's touches of unconventional style interfere with its emotional effectiveness at times.

Lively acting and good-natured feminism lift this lightweight comedy a notch above the norm.

No great claims should be made for In Her Shoes. If the aim here was to show how chick lit can become just plain lit, the effort failed. But there is something to be said for froth when it's expertly whipped.

Driver gives a winning performance in a human-scaled story that avoids romantic clichs and gender stereotypes, although a few of both creep in from time to time.

Tomorrowland is a rather sweet excursion into speculative sci-fi, and, wonder of wonders, it doesn’t even seemed primed for a sequel. But this movie about the thrill of the visionary is, alas, mostly earthbound.

Days of Thunder wants to be an action drama, but it's really just a star vehicle of the most rudimentary sort, with nothing to offer Cruise except a chance to look pretty and chant time-tested punchlines. Ditto for the rest of the cast, which may be talented but gets little chance to show it here. [3 Jul 1990, p.13]