Credit goes to Richard Lester, who is much more than an action director and whose erratic brilliance occasionally transcends this material, and to Reeve, who has manfully refused to let on that he is tired of the part (as opposed to the Jedi principals, who phoned theirs in). [17 June 1983, p.D1]

Looks exquisite, but don't bother digging deeper.

For the farce it so desperately wants to be, the film often feels slack and too reliant on so-so punch lines for laughs.

Killer Elite is too formulaic to overcome a been-there, done-that feel.

Wilson's plot compulsively leaps from paper-thin to near-incoherent.

In an era when cynicism so often passes for insight, a movie as decent, well-intentioned and good-hearted as A Piece of Eden can't easily be dismissed.

At least LaBeouf makes for a likable hero. He's got the same kind of easy, natural charisma as Will Smith -- who, come to think of it, starred in another techno-paranoia thriller, "Enemy of the State," that Eagle Eye strongly resembles.

The sequel is a shameless exercise in creative pilfering. Expect the same gags (more VCR-programming tips on horseback) and annoying catch phrases (Crystal's nasal "Hellloooooo") as in the original Western spoof. [10 June 1994, p.G5]

This is one of those what-were-they-thinking flicks, a movie so inane you can't imagine how anyone thought they'd created something watchable. [02 Nov 1996, p.5G]

It's really just a dance movie, interrupted sporadically for PG-13 romance, bad acting, ridiculous dialogue and earnest "let's put on a show to save our homes!" spirit.

While intimate scenes of male bonding among Kirk, Spock and "Bones" McCoy are particularly delightful, the film's overall themes -- God, creation, friendships as family -- are never tied together or amply explained. Star Trek V is a lot like a dinner party where the appetizers are delicious, the main course stale and cold. [9 June 1989, p.5]

This is pure Disaster 101 formula, although distilled to the minimum amount of dialogue and characters possible.

The Last American Virgin has been advertised with the tagline, "See it or be it." In this connection, maybe "the new celibacy" we keep reading about isn't such a bad idea. [14 Sept 1982, p.B4]

So superficial and formulaic that even Garner's mega-watt grin can't completely save it.

In a move reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho," some shots are lifted directly from the original and much of the screenplay is identical.

The director spends nearly two hours groping for a message, but never finds it, mostly because his conflicts rise and fall in 30-minute segments -- like a Family Ties episode. [27 Oct 1989, p.G5]

A good story, but its potential is never realized.

Surprisingly enjoyable.

It's an unabashedly square picture, and proud of it. It is also a warm, funny, earnest movie, a stand-up exercise in a kind of Hollywood melodrama -- the feel-good weepie -- that has long been out of fashion.

All its freewheeling makes for a really "moving" movie, one in which the big chase scene involves, predictably, a car and a bike. But there's not much else to it. [21 Feb 1986, p.6]

The filmmakers obviously had something to say, but Dogs in Space is wretched. The photography is fine, and some of the performers do well, but sitting through this film is headache- inducing. [4 Dec 1987, p.D5]

Considering the talent involved, Fathers' Day comes off as a whopping disappointment. Williams and Crystal are a good team: You just wouldn't know it by watching them here. [9 May 1997, p.4G]

The good news is, The Vow is not excruciating.

For connoisseurs of stupidity, Hot Rod is that perfect delicacy: A silly movie about ridiculous characters that's also actually funny. Hilarious, even.

Chain Reaction has the unenviable hurdle of following up a summer load of action flicks, but this one would have felt like a dog in May. When Lily sees Eddie wrestling with the controls of an airboat and asks "What are you doing?" he yells back "The best I can!" Keanu, you could have done a lot better. [2 Aug 1996, p.5G]

This is precisely the type of moviegoing experience engineered for those who still get a laugh when the Baha Men hit "Who Let the Dogs Out?" accompanies a doggie mayhem montage.

The protagonists of Light It Up seem strangely tender and vulnerable, and the movie, if heavy-handed at times, does a remarkable job of making their plight moving.

Doesn't make much sense on a story level, and it has a cheap, slapdash look that indicates no one behind the camera was interested in anything other than another fat payday.