It throbs with innocence; like prom night itself, it's an instant good memory. And like its creator, the always surprising John Waters, it's sideshow weird. They don't make 'em like this anymore. They never did, either. [6 Apr 1990, p.G5]

Although there are some initial feints at using zombies as a metaphor for third-world issues and cultural differences, the picture forgets all that stuff by the final reel. World War Z opens with an undeniable bang. But if this is the way the world ends, we’re going out with a whimper.

It's more amusing than not, but some scenes outlast the humor in them.

Although the movie never so much as flirts with melodrama, there is still a bittersweet undercurrent.

The film is weighted down by a dour sensibility at odds with the book's insouciant charm.

Costner does things he hasn't done in years: He's funny and playful; he laughs and cracks jokes; and he doesn't look like he's carrying the weight of the universe on his shoulders.

The Dreamers argues that life must be lived, not dreamt. But it also remembers the confounding pleasures of dreaming with your eyes wide open.

A thoroughly satisfying and engaging children's picture that never forgets those kids probably didn't get to the theater by themselves.

This British-made story of an advertising executive and the boil on his neck begins as a marketable concept comedy and turns into a combination psychological horror flick and thought- provoking parable. [10 Jul 1989, p.C5]

Everyone in the movie is a buffoon or a dolt. No one is redeemable. The humor comes at the expense of the characters: You're always laughing at them, never with them. The Coens have never seemed this disdainful, this mocking, of their fellow man.

One gigantic pile of cornball clichés, but there's no denying the movie works you over anyway.

Boiler Room's behind-the-scenes veracity makes it highly compelling.

The tone and mood of Shutter Island are different on the screen from on the page -- the shadows darker than you imagined, the violence more ghastly, the blood redder.

Winkler isn't half-bad in a role that requires quiet reaction rather than the facile caricature we see in "The Fonz." Keaton is aggressively funny for awhile, though the lasting impression is of a cut-rate Bill Murray. [30 July 1982, p.D2]

We hear a lot about the great hunger for "wholesome" films, but it is rare that one is successful; wholesomeness and treacle seem to have become confused in the Hollywood mind. The Man From Snowy River is different. It's a lesson in how such films should be made. [26 Jan 1983, p.B8]

In their defense, it must be said that Dennis Quaid (as the chief dreamer) and Kate Capshaw (back again, this time in the time-honored woman's role of "assistant scientist") make an appealing couple. The presence of Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer is more problematic; someone paid these people a lot of money to sleepwalk. [16 Aug 1984, p.B6]

Simply too odd and unconventional to ever appeal to a broad audience, either at the multiplex or on home video.

Buoyed by a superlative soundtrack, ATL plays a familiar song about growing up, but hits notes that sound brand new.

The slight but enjoyable Youth in Revolt finds plenty of mayhem to take advantage of Cera's against-type performance. Oh, the things we do for love.

Charles Bukowski would have loved this foul-mouthed, fiery, reckless woman. Against all odds and common sense, you will, too.

These Fitzgeralds are loud, selfish and often maddening, but they're a loving group, and you wouldn't mind spending more time with them.

All the right elements for a rollicking farce, except one: The movie isn't funny.

Even if V for Vendetta isn't nearly as incendiary as it's been made out to be by some alarmist critics, there's still something enjoyably subversive about it, beginning with the way it tramples over the conventions of the contemporary action film.

The movie is funny and scary and touching in all the ways the best children's pictures are, but it is also fast and compact, running a perfectly paced 93 minutes (including credits).

The movie is more somber and less wondrous in tone than the first film, especially since the lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), who would have been instrumental in leading the Narnians to victory, has disappeared.

The movie is facile and manipulative, but it can't hide the gifts of Jackie Gleason in the role of Hanks' father. [30 July 1986, p.D6]

Marvel Studios will only be able to draw from this well only so many times, though, before fatigue sets in.

Ends up as colorless as Reeves' first Superman suit.

Executive Decision is a gripping, though occasionally overcomplicated, thriller arranged like a Tom Clancy novel. [15 Mar 1996, p.7G]

As funny as a lot of the film is, Dogma remains as frustratingly uneven as the rest of Smith's work.

It's a gentle and wholly implausible comedy with an appealing character carrying the load -- no more. [27 Sept 1986, p.D3]

Stupid and exploitive, the movie is loaded with cartoonish gunplay, car chases and strange allusions to The Godfather. This is an offer you'll gladly refuse. [06 Nov 1996, p.5D]

And still 42 persists in entertaining you, even when you’re cringing, because the real story is so compelling.

Instead of leaving you lamenting the lack of creativity and originality in the film industry, this modest, playful thriller puts you in a forgiving mood.

Aggressively bland coming-of-age story.

An engaging and powerful portrayal of puberty gone awry.

Greystoke has its many pleasures, and despite its bobtailing at the hands of the bottom-line-watchers, it has the sweep of epic. [30 Mar 1984, p.D1]

Here, finally, is a giant monster movie made in the anything-goes CGI era still capable of making your jaw drop.

It's almost impossible not to respond emotionally to this fascinating, sobering and all-too-brief exploration of the politicized religious right and its hopes, dreams and power.

You end up feeling sorry for all the actors forced to humiliate themselves, except for McConaughey, whose portrayal of sadistic, manipulative evil is mesmerizing, in part because it was so unexpected. He continues to surprise. Friedkin, sadly, continues to coast.

Prelude To a Kiss, which has a lot to say about romantic illusion and reality, weds a writer's captivating imagination to an array of rich performances. And it is sometimes so moving that you might find Baldwin's aren't the only moist eyes in the house. [10 Jul 1992, p.G5]

It's an odd little movie, one directed with such a sure hand, you can't help but go along on its bumpy, mesmerizing ride. [29 Apr 1994, p.G4]

Even though this is a boy's adventure story with all the traits, White Fang reaches higher to deal with larger values -- loyalty, friendship, perseverance, love. It's my grudging suspicion that White Fang will still speak more strongly to the men and boys who see it, but it's nonetheless an enthralling enough film to engage the whole family, and indeed, that is a tribute to it. [24 Jan 1991, p.G1]

Begin Again manages to be romantic and cynical about the music industry, which Carney touches on but never allows to take center stage.

Where the book was preciously and carefully crafted, the movie just feels precious.

Screenwriter Shawn Slovo -- whose white parents were anti-apartheid activists in South Africa -- ends his finely tuned screenplay on a note not of violence and anger but of forgiveness. It's a breathtaking coda that reminds us of that undeniable human beauty: the ability to survive, to fight for right -- and then move peacefully on.

Vaughn and Favreau are a dynamite pair, and there's enough give-and-take between them to satisfy any diehard "Swingers" fan.

A glittering, beautifully made goof, and the bulk of its fun comes in watching so many talented people chasing after such trivial, disposable pleasures on such a large, big-budget scale.

Fans of period drama will find things to like about The Duchess; it's not as ludicrous as "The Other Boleyn Girl," for instance, and it's not overly long or ponderous.

Patty Hearst is a compelling piece of work, with the bogus immediacy of old newspaper clippings. And yet it plays at times almost as satire. It's a vaudevillian's account of the end of the '60s radicalism, a murderous skit. Schrader, who loves ambiguity, has outdone himself this time. [23 Sep 1988, p.E1]

The beauty of Huo Ji Anqi's film transcends China's lush Hunan province to focus on the peace that comes from within.

She (Blanchett) single-handedly forms the human heart of this engrossing, if ultimately preposterous, supernatural thriller.

Occasionally, this Bounty seems about to soar; the scene in which the ship first makes land at Tahiti, all throbbing drums, bare breasts and hooting sailors, is wonderfully rich if no less cliched. At other times, as when the Bounty leaves calm water for a gale in a split-second cut, the film seems almost amateurish. The rest of it occupies the middle ground between ho-hum and grand -- sure to disappoint those knowledgeable about the early films, still likely to engage those with two hours to kill. [05 May 1984, p.C5]

One thing it's not, despite the several lesbian love scenes that earned the film its NC-17, nee X, is "steamy." Nor is it provocative or even, Kaufman's best intentions notwithstanding, particularly erotic. It's a handsome bore. [05 Oct 1990, p.G5]

Kong: Skull Island is fast, playful and ridiculous, a big-budget extravaganza with the soul of a spirited B-movie.

City Hall is a labyrinth of a drama about big-city government that goes through many intricate plot machinations to reach its stunning conclusion: Politics is a very dirty business...It's not much of a revelation, and City Hall is not much of a movie. Sure, its backroom maneuverings and power ploys feel authentic (one of the screenwriters, Ken Lipper, was Ed Koch's deputy mayor), and there's undeniable momentum as the movie reveals, layer by layer, the depth of the corruption at the center of its mystery. But you can see City Hall's big "twist" coming a mile away, and the movie ends limply, without much payoff for patiently sticking with its convoluted storyline. [16 Feb 1996, p.5G]

The rare sort of movie that gives predictability a good name.

Where it succeeds smashingly is in the sound department.

The uneven Goldmember seems to take a big step toward the extremely juvenile, with more scatological and fewer sex jokes

The only positive thing about the aimless film The Yellow Handkerchief is the idea that William Hurt may be ready for his Jeff Bridges moment.

Prostitution is hardly a new topic for film, of course, but Working Girls was directed by a woman, working with a largely female crew, and that is unusual. So is Borden's technique, which is almost anti-technique. It's the film's strength, and its weakness. [27 Mar 1987, p.D5]

My One and Only isn't exactly memorable, but this little, personable movie is a fine showcase for Zellweger's talents and a paean to the sort of mid-1950s America best remembered in Norman Rockwell paintings.

Unlike much of Roberts' previous work, it's a movie about characters, not high concept, and it requires her to do more than make cute faces and flash her dazzling grin. [4 Aug 1995, p.4G]

What makes The Rugrats Movie such satisfying family entertainment is that it knows how to please everyone. [20 Nov 1998, p.4G]

The movie is not without its pleasures. Chief among them is Sean Connery's robust performance.

Shows Jerry Seinfeld as you've never seen him before: being unfunny.

A work of wonderfully sinister fantasy. Director Brad Silberling is always mindful of his kiddie audience -- the movie is never even remotely scary.

If Blake Edwards had gotten this one back when he was still fresh (say, around 10), this would have been a physical as well as verbal comedy, and it would have had some kicks. As it is, Chances Are is dreamy, amiable and utterly unmemorable. See it for Cybill. [10 March 1989, p.1]

Though Wise Guys isn't a big movie, its gentle parody of gangster mythology, which adopts the pace and tone of a European caper movie from its opening titles, makes Prizzi's Honor seem naive by contrast. [13 May 1986, p.B6]

Cats Don't Dance, though perfectly wholesome and clearly aimed at young kids, is a movie packed with references that only the most nostalgia-savvy child could get -- cartoon cameos by Mae West, Laurel and Hardy, Bette Davis, Max the scary Sunset Boulevard butler, and so on. [28 Mar 1997, p.7G]

By the halfway mark, even the most devoted Gibson and Foster fans will start wondering when the movie will do something beyond superficially showing off its stars. It's not until the end that you realize that's all Maverick has to offer -- and it's not enough. [20 May 1994, p.G4]

For everyone? Clearly not. Greenaway is an acquired taste. Once acquired, he's a pure original, not to be forgotten. X marks the spot. [6 Apr 1990, p.G5]

This cold, generally soulless movie does feel like it was made by people who are taking themselves way too seriously. Remember the delicious anticipation you felt when The Empire Strikes Back was over? You won't feel that way when The Matrix Reloaded reaches its cliffhanger finale. You'll just feel relief.

Ted is more of an idea than a movie, a string of jokes and homages starring a cartoon and some game actors whose performances are destined to be enjoyed in chunks, rarely from start to finish, during momentary breaks of channel surfing on late-night TV.

Baghead will disappoint gore hounds or anyone looking for an extreme horror experience -- this is more of a comedy-drama than anything else.

In his first starring role post-Harry Potter, Radcliffe must carry the movie with little dialogue and practically nothing to play other than fear, constantly reacting to creepy toys that suddenly spring to life and reflections in windows that shriek unexpectedly at him.

Certainly diverting and, in Thurman, it also has a knockout of a performance.

It''s loud and flashy and fun to look at, but you''ll grow tired of it very quickly.

The problem with Saved!, which is often bright and likable, is that its central point -- extremism, religious or otherwise, is bad -- is too obvious for a satire.

It makes you laugh and eagerly wish for a happy ending without any preachy soul-searching. As a bonus, it's got a Van Morrison-friendly soundtrack, and the trailers haven't revealed the best parts.

Empire of the Sun seems to end a half-dozen times -- always a bad sign. Its merits notwithstanding -- and Spielberg probably can't make a bad film -- in its own way this movie is as ego-heavy and ponderous as Ishtar. It's literary, all right. Empire of the Sun is a weighty tome indeed. [11 Dec 1987, p.D1]

Micmacs is a wan fizzle of a fantasy, a spirited, imaginative spectacle that never quite takes flight.

It's not that Fear of a Black Hat isn't funny: It is, on occasion. It's just that much of this rap music spoof, done in the style of a mock Spinal Tap documentary, feels woefully out of date. Two years ago, it might have been a hip, must-see comedy: Today, it plays like a warmed-over rerun. [24 Jun 1994, p.G6]

The movie is bloody and gruesome and quite harmless, just the way they made them "in the good old days." [02 Aug 1985, p.C7]

The Help will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation.

It's more fun than you'd figure, this sendup aimed at two distinct generations, only one of which ever took Annette or Frankie seriously. You wind up, by the end, thinking of them both as awful good sports. [08 Aug 1987, p.B1]

It's all in the telling, and Loggerheads practically aches with its own heal-the-world earnestness.

Neurotic New Yorkers, messed up relationships, inept analysts, infidelity -- Ira & Abby has them all, and it's anything but refreshing to trudge through this well-worn territory again.

Suffers from an episodic script and an overly long running time plagued by too many dull, laugh-free patches.

Don't try to figure Emilia's family out. Just sit back and let this family scrapbook move along.

Hanks is pleasant doing his standard playboy schtick. Aykroyd is even better, showing his ability for mimicry while revealing true feeling as an actor. He can't help it, though, that Friday's stridency grows tiresome. And that's Dragnet's main problem. As funny as the movie is, the excesses weigh it down the longer it runs. [26 June 1987, p.D1]

Bug has an uncompromising, anything-goes daring: Friedkin, 71, has nothing to lose at this point, and he has made this low-budget, brazenly over-the-top picture strictly on his own terms.

Dream Lover ends with a devious last-minute twist that will delight some and infuriate others into cries of "Is that all there is?" But the surprise ending fits the rest of Dream Lover perfectly, a movie that wholeheartedly embraces its genre's cliches -- yet still keeps you riveted. [20 May 1994, p.5]

A little like a secular, more sophisticated "Touched by an Angel" episode.

As absorbing as much of it is, Unbreakable winds up as a mild disappointment. But it leaves no question the hype around Shyamalan is well-deserved: This guy has a huge career ahead of him.

Vardalos made the Portokaloses so funny they'll make your own family seem tame.

The movie still feels strangely inert; it's an adventure in which nothing ever really seems to happen.

Schepisi and his writers don't get what they should have from the business of traumatic culture shock; they spend too much time on twaddle. [13 Apr 1984, p.D1]