A confused mess of music video montages drowns out the rest of the action, depicting the foursome in a variety of sexy romps that clash with the plot.

Eclectic, grandly engaging documentary.

All in all it's a decent, well-put-together romantic drama to hold hands to on the weekend.

This is one of the silliest plots since Disney cast Gus the mule as the star place-kicker for a hapless football team. Although it sounds like a whimsical throwback to Gus and another classic of the genre, The Absent Minded Professor, Rookie of the Year fails to connect. [09 Jul 1993, p.G4]

Midler sweeps into scenes with divine force, and Tomlin plays off her co-star with a barrage of comic nuance. Tomlin is playing parts, Midler is plying shtick, and it's wonderful. [10 Jun 1988, p.D1]

It's a good, solid family film.

Delicacy bears a slight whiff of Anthony Minghella's fantastic "Truly Madly Deeply," but while Minghella's film is a romantic comedy classic, Delicacy hovers just this side of memorable.

No rose-colored memories can improve this tedious interpretation of the famous girl detective's adventures. Nancy Drew falls somewhere between "The Haunted Mansion" and the live-action "Scooby Doo" movies in terms of quality but is more irritating than either.

Based on a graphic novel, 30 Days of Night opens with a premise so promising it seems almost impossible to screw up.

A wobbly enterprise saddled by stilted dialogue and convenient contrivances. But view it as a Woody Allen film, and the plot thickens.

Keaton is funny when she's tough, and funny when she's soft; the Baby Boom combination, for all the film's calculations and shameless cooing (the baby's dubbed, for pity's sake), is quite appealing. [7 Oct 1987, p.D8]

There's enough outrageousness and ribald humor in Kika to please Almodovar fans, and though the movie is far from being his most accessible, even newcomers will find much to like, provided they can follow his eccentric, offbeat rhythms. [6 May 1994, p.G4]

Turns out to be a more disappointment than joyful reunion, a tedious and desperately drawn-out affair that tests your patience even as it brazenly courts (and often earns) your contempt.

An unknown commodity to anyone who doesn't follow telenovelas, Becker is sure to be a big star and has already signed on for two sequels. Apart from being scorching hot, he's enormously sympathetic in dramatic scenes.

Oshima, the director who was once celebrated for the elaborately scandalous eroticism of In the Realm of the Senses, is here merely impenetrable -- though whatever it is that Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is about, Oshima does seem to mean it. [30 Sep 1983, p.D2]

The several ideas whizzing about in this story are frankly fascinating, and though there are times when the film seems sadly out of date, the film has a real pull to it. [16 Mar 1990, p.G5]

Doesn't conclude so much as just stop, because Brooks, having come up with a great hook for a movie, didn't bother to come up with a satisfying story to go along with it.

Comes packed with so many plot twists and reversals, there's barely any room left over for a story: The movie is all clever gotchas and hoodwinks, without any substance to go along with them.

The movie's politics may miss their mark, but its thrills are dead-on.

Certainly a grand-looking picture. For a film that's filled with CGI effects, there wasn't a single shot that looked artificial, and the production design is tremendous. But it's a hollow, boring spectacle.

Simple, endearing entertainment for the little ones.

This movie demands that the viewer -- and even its own characters -- turn into thumb-sucking 3-year-olds with no need for plausibility or logic, as long as there are lots of flashing lights and whooshing noises emanating from the screen.

Although the characters are all cartoons, Ritchie still invests them with enough personality to make them stand out as real people, which is what makes RocknRolla much more involving than your typical Tarantino ripoff.

LL Cool J. plays God like a medieval king.

Has all the makings of another "Ice Storm" -- family tension, teen experimentation, friendly neighborhood wife-swapping and a death in the family -- but falls short in its execution.

How to quadruple your fun: stay home. [17 July 1996, p.2D]

In Keeping Mum, the writers poke gentle, broad fun at the absurdities of English country life and manners while creating a cozy malevolence that's all the more engaging because it lies so far from reality. We know we mustn't murder our loathsome neighbors. But how much fun it is to imagine that we might.

Despite its astronomical body count, John Dies at the End never takes itself seriously, and neither should you.

If you're in the proper frame of mind -- namely, forgiving -- there's some fun to be had here, but you'll respect Don't Be a Menace's daring more than you will its humor. [15 Jan 1996, p.8C]

Lost and Delirious doesn't need metaphors for the power of strength and healing. All the passion and pain it needs glows ferociously in the eyes of its young women.

There are not enough thrilling musical interludes, and few come close to capturing the sly joy in Porter's music.

With more time and a dash more cynicism, the film just might have achieved the thrilling allure of Becky Sharp's perfectly icy heart.

Though Rosenthal is slick enough to lure us into the big Rocky climax, his movie isn't serious enough, or good enough, not to leave a bad taste in the mouth after it's over. [27 Mar 1983, p.L4]

Mischief is captivating enough that its small failings are forgiveable. Its four principal actors -- McKeon, Stewart, Preston and Nash -- are fine-looking, but they don't rely on that surface characteristic to get them through. Under Mel Damski's direction, they seem to know their craft. And so, Mischief is a twinkle for the eye and a wash of nostalgia for the memory. [11 Feb 1985, p.D4]

Solondz's determinedly removed eye for the graphic and shocking is by now practically a cliche. If Solondz really wants to outrage anyone, he'll have to make a sweet and heartfelt drama.

This little melodrama is nicely put together and thoroughly entertaining. Plus, the scenery's great. Remember when that was enough? [26 Sep 1990, p.D3]

Hysteria never gets too preachy or ponderous, and there's something in the film to educate even the most learned viewer.

Equally thrilling and wrenching, the film is an absolute must for anyone who loves sports and an eloquent explanation for those who don't understand what the fuss is about.

Sorry, folks, but he just looks too much like one of the Fruit-of-the-Loom guys. [7 June 1996, p.7G]

Only two characters are worth much notice; neither is a prince, and one is a really big mouse, which tells you something sad about Narnia's royal family.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 grows stronger and more engrossing as it unfolds.

Enemy at the Gates will pique your interest in the Battle of Stalingrad, but it leaves that interest sadly unsated.

This film and Miller's vision remind us of the danger of giving in to fear.

The biggest appeal of Passionada is Sofia Milos, a sexy actress who commands the screen in every scene she's in.

His flair for the visual thus cultivated, Besson turns the subway and its corridors into a futuristic, albeit hyperrealistic, setting of light, movement and sound (in Dolby stereo). On that level, the film works...Where it doesn't work so well is as a reverse-Cinderella story between a primal, apish Lambert, who seems to have sleepwalked from Greystoke, and an Adjani who, fed up with boring dinners and haute couture, wants to return to the poorhouse without knowing if the slipper will fit. [18 Jan 1986, p.C7]

Now a vastly larger audience has the chance to experience the masterwork of a prodigiously talented man who died far too young.

here are strange sensibilities at work here, yes. Just not working hard enough. [23 July 1993, p.G7]

The movie is full of holes, but there's never time to worry about them, and everyone's having too good a time ducking in and out of the subplots anyway. [23 Oct 1987, p.D5]

Penguins are intrinsically amusing. In general, Jim Carrey is amusing, too, provided you can overlook that whole "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" debacle. In Mr. Popper's Penguins, he and they add up to surprisingly fun family entertainment.

A witty and engaging bit of fluff about sex, scandal, idleness, gossip, blackmail, guilty secrets and, most surprisingly, redemption.

The film is also less bloated than "Bridesmaids" - a comedy is always more nimble at 90 minutes than two hours - and it's less maudlin, too. It's the aberrant, foul-mouthed child of "Superbad" and "Young Adult."

While not guaranteed to hold every adult's attention for the entire duration - though some could argue that a cat fight between Miss Piggy and MacDowell is alone worth the price of admission - Muppets From Space is what more movies designed for kids should aspire to be: a production made by people with respect for the intelligence and wit of the under-12 market. [14 July 1999, p.1E]

Wisely, this fast-paced movie has enough colorful characters and rollicking gags to keep the tykes from getting bored. [10 Apr 1995, p.5C]

This is a gorgeous, flashy, widescreen epic, like "Boogie Nights" or "Casino," about the most essential things in life: Family, friends and love. But most of all, love.

There's no real reason to see this movie. It's exhausting and pointless and not amusing enough to make up for its failings. You can do better. The filmmakers could have done better. Honestly, you're better off staying home and making hummus.

Though Breakin' follows the Flashdance formula as if it were blazed in concrete, working from a script that would make a 12-year-old snicker, it is so exuberant and lighthearted that it works. [09 May 1984, p.B5]

There is also a last-minute "Sixth Sense" twist, although it definitely won't make you sit through the movie again to see if the filmmakers cheated.

You know something's amiss when you're in the middle of a picture that runs under three hours and you're tempted to whip out your cellphone and send friends a text message that reads "Send food."

What O lacks is a sense of spontaneity: Despite its contemporary dialogue and manner, the movie can't overcome a nagging aura of artifice.

The quality writing, delivered by likable Hartnett and his talented co-stars, makes up for the sometimes flat production. A richly humorous background is provided by well-played eccentric minor characters.

It's not quite layered or weighty enough to fill the aching hole left in our psyches by the end of "The Sopranos," and most of the developments are as obvious as sauce on spaghetti. Still, Brooklyn Rules is a decent, if derivative, movie.

It's fun to wonder what Romero's realistic, no-frills cinematic style and jolting shocks would have brought to good King novels like Pet Sematary or The Stand. With The Dark Half, he tries hard -- it's his best directorial work in years -- but his reverence for the mediocre novel produces merely a serviceable thriller. [23 Apr 1993, p.G5]

Has nothing new to say, but it has a lot of fun covering the same old territory.

All of this, of course, has been done before and much better. Heartbreak Ridge isn't as interesting a training film as An Officer and a Gentleman nor as exciting as Top Gun. Watching paint dry might be less interesting than sitting through Heartbreak Ridge, but only slightly. [6 Dec 1986, p.D1]

The worst kind of sequel -- the kind that exists only to give you more-more-more of what you liked the first time around, without ever justifying its own existence. This lavish, superbly designed film goes on for an exhausting 2½ hours.

Pixie-like Bridget Fonda turns in a powerhouse, Rambette performance. [19 March 1993, p.5]

In his debut, Alwyn comes off as a likable, sympathetic screen presence capable of handling more difficult material. He’ll have plenty more opportunities. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, though, will be forgotten in a month’s time.

Those opening minutes, in which Hawn plays a heavy, are some of her best work. The rest we've seen before, a lot. Overboard is overlong, and stale as can be. [18 Dec 1987, p.D6]

Benji the Hunted is better-than-average family entertainment with some flaws. An irritating musical score undercuts the beauty of the nature scenes. The human performances are regrettable and look downright amateurish next to the animal. Benji is good. Just look into his haunting eyes, and you know why this doggie is a star.

Limps along, spinning not a silken web but an extremely derivative, tattered one not likely to snare anybody's interest.

An inept comedy.

Marley & Me gets so many of the details right, particularly in its final act, when it turns into a five-hanky weeper.

The big trouble with John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China is its tone. This time out, the director of Halloween and Starman has concocted a cartoon with human characters -- or, as it is described in the movie's press materials, a mystical action-adventure comedy-kung-fu monster-ghost story. Any film that needs that many adjectives to explain itself is already in trouble. [03 July 1986, p.D9]

This Carrie becomes less involving as it goes along, ceding its emotional power to special effects and unconvincing gore, and culminating with a closing shot so lame and uninspired, it’s as if the filmmakers just gave up and called it a day.

It's hard to knock The Cutting Edge without feeling like a grouch. It aims to be nothing more than an old-fashioned love story with plenty of banter between its two leads and a straightforward plot about Olympic ice skating. The actors work hard...But the script rings false from the get-go; the dialogue is straight from the school of clever quips and snappy comebacks, and the romantic plotline has been done so many times before, it's beyond cliched. It's too flimsy to carry a whole movie. [27 March 1992, p.G13]

I'm not suggesting Costner and Kutcher should run out and remake "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" just yet, but in The Guardian, the two actors turn out to complement each other well enough to make a lot of this supremely derivative and formulaic picture go down better than it should.

If you can overlook the lack of logic inherent in its central conceit, In Time makes for a fun, stylish piece of speculative sci-fi.

There's nothing in Bounce you haven't seen before, but the movie is surprisingly unsentimental, the Paltrow factor cannot be denied.

The most charming bad movie ever spun off a hit TV show.

Will leave you taking sides, whether or not that was the film's intent.

From its explosive opening sequence at a terrorist arms bazaar on the Russian border to a knockout climax on a stealth ship on the South China seas, Tomorrow Never Dies delivers what 007 aficionados demand: dynamite action, sharp one-liners and edgy style. [19 Dec 1997, p.4G]

This is getting old.

A star rises in the east. A savior is born. Two thousand years later, a surprisingly dull film is made.

What we're left with is an unfocused, rambling concept that lumbers off the ground but never really soars to the level of lunacy it could, especially at the afterthought of an ending, which is nonsensical at best.

The movie is basically a love story between a man and his elephant, and if viewed as such, it's not nearly as ridiculous as the movie it first appears to be.

Reckless is weak, though teenagers may empathize with the fairy-tale fate of the improbable lovers. [11 Feb 1984, p.D4]

It's a nifty piece of work. The tension builds nicely, the convoluted plot doubles back on itself, and for once the music score doesn't give everything away. Nothing groundbreaking here, understand. But a lot of fun. [01 Oct 1993, p.G5]

It's the slum, the favela, that emerges as Orfeu's most compelling character -- criminally poor yet rich in life.

Explicitly invites us to mock its artificiality and giggly cluelessness, but beyond its attractive shell the film rings hollow. These days, even a comedy has got to have a heart.

Hardly the first of Woody Allen's love letters to the good old days, but it's a high-spirited, entertaining one, falling along the same lines as "Radio Days."

Penny Marshall proves deft at blending the silly stuff with enough action to generate a bit of suspense; the mix is that of Beverly Hills Cop. And the script, though the work of a whole crowd -- almost always a bad sign -- has marvelous moments. [10 Oct 1986, p.D1]

This melding of comedic minds is one of the better holiday gifts we've received, cinematically speaking.

Agnes of God may not seem half so profound on the screen as it did on stage, but if that is the case, it is so because Jewison's direction illuminates rather than conceals the story's essence. And this Agnes is not just a filmed play; it's a real movie, and a fine piece of work. [27 Sept 1985, p.D1]

It's easy to work up a good head of feminist steam over the misogyny and downright idiocy of a story that suggests that the tyranny of a righteous man can prevent an abused girl from making poor and whorish fashion choices. But it's hard to dismiss completely this atmospheric and persistently intriguing film.

It's all speed, movement and blood -- lots and lots of blood.

Excruciatingly unamusing.

Better than its trailers indicate. Forget the seemingly silly Chapstick moment: Any film that sends a cold shock to your system is doing something right.

You have to overlook a whole lot of guff in order to enjoy the slight but pleasurable entertainment of The Switch.