The plot is familiar from decades of earlier bank-robbing sagas - the classic "Bonnie and Clyde" seems to have been a particular inspiration for its overall tone - and neither the action nor the dialogue rings meaningful changes on the genre.

Striking an excellent balance between wry cultural critique and crisp entertainment value, the picture is as smart and funny as any comedy-drama in recent memory.

Contains extremely graphic sex and many twists that are unpredictable but not very compelling.

This highly challenging, deeply philosophical Iranian drama focuses on a man who has decided to end his life but first drives through the countryside in search of a compassionate stranger who'll agree to give him a proper burial. At once a compelling human story and an utterly fresh piece of moviemaking, the picture reconfirms Kiarostami's growing reputation as one of world film's most original talents. [20 March 1998, p.B2]

O'Donnell portrays a hip nun, but the movie is more ponderous than pop. [10 Apr 1998, p.B2]

Although it doesn't always live up to its ambitions, the film provides an offbeat portrait of universally relevant human issues. [27 Mar 1998, p.B2]

Viewers with a taste for bizarre, even surreal, humor will have a ball.

Hurt gives an astonishingly sensitive and funny performance as the bedazzled intellectual, and first-time filmmaker Kwietniowski unfolds the story with an unfailing blend of humor and compassion.

Like its precursor, U.S. Marshals has lots of action and the Jones groupies are likeable. Though the overall picture isn't as fine-tuned or character driven, it still delivers what moviegoers want to see - a fast-paced and entertaining chase.

Lange and Paltrow give it their all, but they can't save this one from plot holes, continuity mistakes, and heartlessness.

The movie raises more interesting issues - often connected with the hazy lines between appearance and reality - than it's prepared to coherently explore.

The story is dark and often violent, but it's told with a remarkable sense of visual energy and imagination.

It seems to have had the opposite effect on the director's taste, as she strives for new levels of raunchiness.

Harrelson hits just the right sardonic note in this self-mocking crime drama, but look out for grisly touches along the way.

The camera work is pretty, but the drama is flat and lifeless, more concerned with titillating its audience than illuminating its historical background. [20 Feb 1998, p.B2]

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

The result is a run-of-the-mill fantasy, competently produced but disappointingly familiar, from its "Forbidden Planet" premise to the digital-clock countdown near the end.

The story has more violence than brains, but Hong Kong action star Chow makes an interestingly moody impression in his first Hollywood role.

Raw, unsettling account of a working-class London family beset by poverty, drug abuse, and domestic violence. The screenplay by filmmaker Oldman is based on his own youthful experience in similarly distressed circumstances, and his directorial debut has the virtue of authenticity if not of understatement. [20 Feb 1998, p.B2]

Landmark musical performances from countless stars draw attention from a mediocre plot. [20 Feb 1998, p.B2]

The stars are appealing and the filmmaking is imaginative at times, but the picture never builds much dramatic momentum.

The acting is also solid, starting with Branagh's believable Georgia accent.

Paying homage to drug comedies of the '70s, Half Baked is high on getting high and low on laughs.

Salomon directed the silly but diverting action yarn, which benefits from the talents of Freeman, Quaid, Driver, and White.

Some of the action is as lurid as the title, but passionate performances and ingenious visuals make this the most absorbing movie by Spanish director Almodvar since his great comedy "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

Fallen will sell tickets on the strength of its appealing cast and high-impact camera work, but will probably fade from the scene more quickly than its demonic villain does in the story.

Nick Nolte gives a superb performance and Julie Christie is positively incandescent.

Its greatest assets are imaginative camera work and top-flight performances from Pam Grier as the heroine, Samuel L. Jackson as the deadly boyfriend, and Robert Forster as the bail-bondsman who falls battily in love with her.