What appears to be the thrust of the story -- the unraveling of a society -- loses out to a tame, romantic triangle subplot.

Just plain silly.

Brothers is a collection of strong moments that don't add up to anything. The movie is all build-up.

Melodramatic realism is the wrong genre to tell the tale of a figure whose life was already over-the-top melodramatic.

The whole of Prometheus - which was written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, and rips off everything from "2001: A Space Odyssey" to "Event Horizon" - feels derivative and passé: The film is a shiny, high-tech relic.

The Krays is painted with such broad strokes, and the characters are so full of hot air, that the movie sags in the middle, ending up a mildly entertaining mixture of psychobabble and rat-a-tat-tat. [09 Nov 1990, p.G10]

A lot of the charge, the pow and zap of Earl's life seems to be missing. The performance has but a single note, and after the novelty of Newman as cracker wears off, there's not much else there. [13 Dec 1989, p.D1]

This is an insignificant film with a passably entertaining premise that goes wildly to hell the instant it strays from its comic ideals with brief, unsatisfying detours into the realms of art and high-end lingerie.

Children will at least be diverted. Adults, after they tire of trying to detect the hidden strings, are likely to find Batteries Not Included too manipulative to tolerate, but predictable enough that they can safely nap for long stretches. [18 Dec 1987, p.D1]

The best stuff in Human Nature comes early, while the movie is still spry and daring --Then the film runs out of ideas, repetition sets in and so does boredom.

It's like a tantalizing CliffsNotes version of what could have been.

Ruby in Paradise, which is really about nothing more than a woman's quest to succeed as a cashier in a boardwalk gift shop, never rises about the nearly staggering banality of its plot line. [12 Nov 1993, p.G15]

Ultimately the story of someone who preys on other serial killers, but can't seem to come up with an original way in which to do it.

This period piece, directed by Richard Laxton, is shot in such a grim and grainy fashion you long to turn on the lights — which is fitting, because you also wish the filmmakers had illuminated the characters a bit more clearly.

The ending of The Forgotten leaves you feeling the same way, wondering just how much -- if anything -- of what came before actually happened.

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]

The plot and characters are simultaneously far-fetched and cliched, the dialogue has that jocular, slightly slower than sitcom ring, and the ending is a righteously cheesy letdown.

It's safe to say that without De Niro Analyze This and That couldn't even exist; or rather, if they did, they would be unwatchable. De Niro is that important to the mix.

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

Nostalgia is part of the modest charm of this disposable but inoffensive picture. Old Dogs makes old dogs out of all of us.

Hook is shot through with Big Theme, and it's splashy- looking and big of heart, as you'd figure a Steven Spielberg take on Peter Pan would be. But it's not the mega-movie that combination seemed likely to inspire, either. It isn't magic. [11 Dec. 1991, p.D1]

The bulk of Religulous is a passionate but misguided attempt by Maher to stimulate the 16 percent of the American population who deem themselves non-religious into standing up and being counted.

Evil Dead is just a well-made gross-out, and it's kind of a bummer.

One of the problems with director Mike Flanagan’s occasionally involving but ultimately dull thriller is that the whole movie hinges on a reflective piece of glass.

If you go in expecting a serious, no-nonsense chiller in the Alien vein, you'll come away disappointed. Despite its big-name cast and dead-serious tone, Species is a spiritual throwback to 1950s cheesy sci-fi flicks like It Came From Outer Space and It Conquered the World. [07 July 1995, p.4G]

The most timid in the series. There's no invention in it, no sense of discovery. Only the impressively orchestrated action sequences feel fresh.

Moore's Debbie is earnest but uninteresting, which is a problem when she is playing half of the movie's focal couple. [2 July 1986, p.D10]

The movie is practically incomprehensible.