Like its predecessors, Tokyo Drift suffers from a terminal lack of levity.

Its silly Snow White allusions aside, Sydney White is a simple but amiable modern fairy tale.

An involving, sweetly touching love story, buoyed by Crowe's natural, poetic dialogue and his knack for writing characters (especially women) who feel like real people instead of plot devices.

The film seems more an excuse to attack a target than an exercise in solid storytelling.

It's an uncommonly optimistic meditation on death and lament, befitting a filmmaker whose movies (Jerry Maguire, Singles, Say Anything), no matter their subject matter, always double as a celebration of life.

The Situation is written by Wendell Steavenson, a reporter who served in Iraq, as a work of fiction. Its best quality is that the situation in Iraq appears to be sadly realistic.

Director Matthew Robbins keeps the pace light, nonviolent, and more entertaining than a made-for-TV movie. The fashion show's the action. His film is really about a face, and a look, and a haircut. [19 July 1985, p.D4]

Turtles II is unabashedly a kids' movie -- lighter on the colors, freer with its wisecracks, less vicious in its violence. [22 Mar 1991, p.G5]

James and Riley might make an interesting Elizabeth and Darcy in a traditional Pride and Prejudice, but this version? It’s dead on arrival.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest, The Running Man, is a septic tank of a movie. This atrocious futuristic drama forms a dumping ground for bad acting, derivative writing and stomach-churning violence. The movie stinks. [13 Nov 1987, p.D1]

And once these two curiosities are addressed, with 90 of the film's 99 minutes left to go, the plodding, gimmicky She- Devil becomes sheer hell. It's a comedy sketch inflated into a movie, a clunkily directed idea that follows a predictable path to an unsurprising conclusion. [8 Dec 1989, p.G5]

There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, and better, in any given "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" sequel.

It's the summer's most avant-garde experiment, and those who hate it (and there will be plenty) will complain the movie doesn't have a point. Then again, neither did Seinfeld, and look how that turned out.

A funny and constantly surprising exercise in comic tension.

The characters are easy to overplay, but the ensemble keeps its feet on the ground.

Sluggish, uninspired drama.

Crushingly inept family comedy.

The hyper-stylized violence, for instance, isn't nearly as senseless as the narrative bits in between. And the ''twist'' employs the same sleight-of-hand as "The Usual Suspects."

Disappointingly straightforward remake.

To the extent that it has a serious theme, the film is about the tug of mortality and the demands it makes on simple humanity -- courage, selflessness, the sharing of wisdom. There's not enough of this, not by far. But it's something. The rest of Cocoon -- The Return is hash. [23 Nov 1988, p.D1]

What the movie is all about is Twin Peaks with the sex, violence and "colorful" language left in...Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is not David Lynch at his most challenged and hence most inventive. The rigid restraints of television, with its prudish codes and goofy winks at prurient-life-as-we-know-it, may now be seen as Lynch's real muse. The movie, lurid as it is, reads like a perverse set of CliffNotes to the series, the details recapitulated explicitly but without a dram of passion. [2 Sept 1992, p.E1]

There is more truth to the lives of people alone than Hiller and his writers have cared to admit, and, consequently, more humor. The Lonely Guy is short on both. [31 Jan 1984, p.B5]

Stella is another strong showing for Goodman, one of three great performances in a movie that might jumble its story a bit but mostly does justice to a classic. [2 Feb 1990, p.G5]

In Country Strong, the Oscar-winning Paltrow gets upstaged and outacted by the kid from "Tron" and the snotty brat from "Gossip Girl." Who'd have thought?

But whether even kids will be able to take The Outsiders seriously is a hard question. Whether by fidelity to his source or by director's embellishments, Coppola has come up with a story about tough kids who appreciate sunsets and recite Robert Frost from memory, about members of a mid-American urban underclass who ponder their situations with the dispassionate acumen of sociologists. The Outsiders is about "greasers" who are not greasy, and it seems likely that even kids will see through it. [29 March 1983, p.5]

Jason Statham gives the best performance. Dolph Lundgren gets the best character arc. Terry Crews gets the best gun. Jet Li gets the best kill (you'll know it when you see it).Arnold Schwarzenegger gets the best cameo. And Sylvester Stallone? He gets the blame.

Watching Adventures in Babysitting is like eating a carton of candy bars. The first bites are sweet, but after a while, you're gagging. This is one gooey confection. [07 July 1987, p.C7]

Deadly dull.

A compendium of missed opportunities, uninspired action and clichés so tired, you wish the screenwriters had called 911, too.

Eventually loses its cheerful goofiness and its momentum, climaxing with a lengthy and embarrassing showdown scene at a big party. But it gets worse.

For a stretch of 20 minutes or so, Like Father Like Son is as funny a film as you could hope to see. [02 Oct 1987, p.D1]

Worst of all, though, is Huppert. This fine actress, who has been so effective in European films, walks through her part. Her last American film was Heaven's Gate. For her own sake, she should stay away from Hollywood. [16 Jan 1987, p.D5]

Interesting. Not worth the trouble, but interesting. [22 Apr 1988, p.C5]

It's bottom-feeder entertainment wrapped up in high-minded airs.

The actors are their usual reliable selves; you can't really blame them for the unlikely mess Levity becomes.

The good news about The Scorpion King is that The Rock turns out to be a charismatic, ingratiating screen presence.

Necessary Roughness, a football comedy of unnecessary blandness, has the same problem as the Miami Dolphins: It dies in the second half. [3 Oct 1991, p.F4]

The Ice Pirates is a Star Wars knock-off tricked out with cheesy special effects and nonstop gags, and it's almost entertaining despite itself. It's as if someone wanted to try the Airplane! formula on space epics, and nearly got it right. [20 Mar 1984, p.C7]

Belushi, the only actor to get away with calling Arnold Schwarzenegger Gumby (in Red Heat), wisecracks his way through K-9 -- even in a sappy injured-dog sequence. But despite his efforts, a muddled story has his comic talents on a tight leash. [01 May 1989, p.C5]

In post-"Wedding Crashers" Hollywood, the entire exercise feels dated (just as the comedy's PG-13 rating -- this in spite of a recurring rape joke -- makes it feel neutered).

Mostly, by story's end, we're just glad they and their unfortunate clothing are out of our sight for good.

Oz the Great and Powerful is an oppressive, bloated bore.

Joyful Noise is too tone-deaf to put its few blessings to good use.

If "Casino Royale" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" represent the new breed of 21st century action, then Rush Hour 3 is Stone Age stuff. The movie aims for irreverent, but delivers irrelevant instead. Let's hope the Rush Hour series stalls here.

The things that stay with you are the dull, boilerplate love story, the laziest performance of Liam Neeson’s career as a murderous gunslinger and the distracting amount of makeup Seth MacFarlane sports in the film.

Director Coline Serreau has a deft touch with sugary material. Her Three Men and a Cradle is a slick, confident comedy that moves from point to predictable point without a surprise, but moves so gently and gracefully that it seems by the end something more than it is. [23 May 1986, p.D5]

This movie couldn’t be more fantastical if dragons swooped down and incinerated London, Paris and the south of France.

Last Man Standing is utterly bereft of humor -- Hill plays every scene perfectly straight -- and it's a drag. There's no cleverness to Smith's machinations, no joy in watching his plans come to fruition. [20 Sep 1996, p.6G]

A devilish little comedy whose urbane, satirical humor will probably sail right over the heads of audiences weaned on Scream.

Isn't riveting, but it's diverting enough.

With all the obvious work that went into this beautifully detailed, giant-scale movie, and considering the historical importance of the subject matter, was it too much to ask for a trace of intelligence, or maturity, or even insight?

It's pretty stupid, although it's never exactly boring.

In the sequel, Weitz lays on a pop song and slow-motion during a critical scene involving the sudden reappearance of a fearsome villain, giving everything an MTV-slick, teen-friendly gloss and reminding you this is just a movie -- a somewhat silly and hollow one.

The movie is quick and breezy for its first half-hour, then seems to grind down to a deadened pace: The actors' routines lose their freshness, and the nonexistent story line becomes apparent. The jokes get worse, too. Fortunately, at 80 minutes, the film is too brief to drag. [21 April 1992, p.E7]

The Legend of Tarzan doles out big beats of action at regular intervals to keep you awake, like a drunkard clashing trashcan lids in an alley late at night. But your eyelids grow heavy anyway.

Stomp the Yard hasn't an original bone in its fierce, sweaty body, but explosive choreography, high-energy moves and a generous helping of hot, frequently shirtless guys offer plenty of entertainment.

A large part of the movie's appeal can be attributed to Wilson, more dour than he's been in ages and yet more interesting, too.

No, it’s not all that sophisticated. But compared to glib junk like Zoolander 2, The Brothers Grimsby is practically high art. Unlike Ben Stiller, at least Cohen is trying.

The fact that Innocent Blood works so well comes as a surprise, since Landis (Oscar, Spies Like Us) hasn't made a satisfying movie in years. But this second foray into the comedy-horror genre seems to have revitalized him: At times, Blood rises to the level of some of Landis' funniest stuff, including Trading Places and Animal House. [25 Sept 1992, p.G5]

You know this supposedly risqué comedy is in trouble when the funniest gag involves a foot cramp during sex.

From the first strains of its overly dramatic, self-important score -- come on, this is not by any stretch of the imagination "Citizen Kane."

It's blunt, to the point, aggressively manipulative and, at 86 minutes, not a minute longer than it needs to be.

Amounts to little more than a downbeat soap opera as half a dozen squatters -- hustler, junkie, stripper, queer, fallen Madonna and skank, with a mentally challenged roomie thrown in for good measure -- try to hold their lives together in a grungy New York loft just days before Christmas. Think "Rent" without the music.

The plot in Angels in the Outfield plods some, enough to make younger kids fidget. Once the premise is established, the movie relies on a noisome reporter threatening to expose the celestial help to add suspense. The humor is aimed squarely at kiddies and is of the nerdy-guy-sits-on-a-tray-of-nachos variety. [15 July 1994, p.G4]

Satisfaction, an adolescent saga about a teeny-bopper rock band hoping to make it big, has Bateman trying to be hip and heavy at once. She comes off like Mallory, the mall-hopping phone monger from the sitcom. [17 Feb 1988, p.D6]

If not for some of Candy's inspired bits, Who's Harry Crumb? would have been nothing more than a watered down Ruthless People. [06 Feb 1989, p.C5]

The movie, while no big deal, makes for much more entertaining viewing than other highly touted vehicles currently fighting for your moviegoing dollars. [25 Apr 1994, p.C2]

It's like an afternoon at the quarter slots -- lots of effort, small payoff. [11 Oct 1982, p.B6]

Director Moshe Mizrahi, who did the Academy Award-winning Madame Rosa, cannot decide whether he has a light comedy or a heavy drama, and the film wavers between the two. [26 Nov 1986, p.D5]

This genial, lyrical little movie seems guaranteed to broaden Kitano's fan base in the United States.

A tad too raunchy for its own good.

Manages to sidestep the potential overload of cheap sentimentality -- an intimate dance between an elderly couple registers with heartbreaking sweetness -- and evokes a lingering sense of loss.

Far from perfect, but for those willing to laugh at the darker side of life, especially Latin American life, it is fun.

Pryor is so lacking in energy that Wilder steals most of the movie from him. For the first time in his career, Wilder actually seems robust, but it's only because he's performing opposite a ghost. It's quite sad. [12 May 1989, p.DW5]

Parts of House are certainly meant to be funny, and other parts draw laughs the way the tools move, without the apparent intent of their creators. As haunted-house tales go, House is something of a bust. [4 March 1986, p.B5]

The experience of watching Funny Games, be it the original or this version, is never forgotten, whatever your ultimate impression of the film.

The Ruins is, with one major caveat, about as good an adaptation of Scott Smith's bestselling novel as Hollywood was ever going to make.

Unlike Uncle Nino's garden, the film never blooms into anything special.

Right now, this goofy film is the best candidate for mindless, enjoyable laughs.

I could tell you what Double Team is about, but life is short. Instead, I'll tell you that Van Damme and Rodman play the good guys, and that they trade lines like "You're crazier than my hairstylist!" and "You look like a carrot with earrings!" [5 Apr 1997, p.1G]

For a good hour or so, The Raven is gruesome, ludicrous fun. Then it's just ludicrous.

Mel Brooks has never been a finesse comic, and no one expects him to hit with every gag. But this film reminds you how far his films have slipped behind the shotgun comedies of the Zucker brothers (David and Jerry) and Jim Abrahams, collectively and singly, who have built on Airplane! to a broad- gag frenzy. [28 July 1993, p.E2]

It was pretty interesting a couple of years ago, too, when a variation of it was the premise for The Final Countdown. The big difference is that the earler film wasn't bad, and this one is. [03 Aug 1984, p.C9]

A severe bout of sequelitis afflicts this eagerly awaited but only sporadically amusing follow-up.

At least The Game Plan does have Johnson, whose innate charisma will make it easier for adult viewers to endure the film without ruing the decision to make a family outing to the multiplex.

Something we've all seen before, far too many times, not only in its premise but also in its lame parade of scatological jokes and its sad, tired pratfalls.

Terrifyingly dull movie.

Barney's Great Adventure makes for fun watching. And you might actually be able to convince your older kids to tag along. [03 Apr 1998, p.6G]

Firefox is no masterpiece, and it's not even a startling picture within its genre -- Cold War mischief. But it's briskly entertaining and, until the nyet-effect of all those stereotyped Russians catches up with us, even believeable. [21 June 1982, p.B4]

This huge, unwieldy movie is busy and overcrowded.

Vardalos may not have been the best possible Connie. But as Billy Wilder could have told you, nobody's perfect.

I will tell you what The Village is not: It is not scary. It is not all that interesting. It isn't even much of a movie.

An uninspired, sporadically funny adaptation that falls short of the book's winsome, frisky chaos.

Largely devoted to whatever laughs may be coaxed from the sound of a freshman belching and the sight of some mighty mature-looking coeds removing their blouses. There's some nose-picking, too, but not enough to save the picture. [20 July 1984, p.D6]

The Prophecy suffers from an overall dreariness, a surprising lack of suspense and sloppy, rapid-fire editing. Despite Walken's alternately amusing and frightening performance, the low-budget movie becomes so tedious that, by the end, even a cameo by the Prince of Darkness fails to impress. [05 Sep 1995, p.5D]

Craven packs routine teen-confrontation material into the plot as filler, and still has trouble getting to 90 minutes. His ending is contrived and nonsensical even by the standards of the form. [14 Oct 1986, p.B7]

It helps that Raw Deal works, for a time at least, as a first-rate cop movie. It is violent to excess -- more graphic by far than Stallone's films, and bloodier, too -- but it's a real movie. [07 June 1986, p.D1]

Jobs works much better as a history of Apple than it does as a portrait of the genius who dreamed it up.