The movie is so cheerfully, furiously relentless, its contagious silliness wears you down.

A brisk and lively cinematic Cliff's Notes of the 2005 nonfiction bestseller that made the lofty promise to reveal "the hidden side of everything."

"Ghost movies" have been a Hollywood staple at least since It's a Wonderful Night, and this is one of the better of them. It's a tearjerker, though. Go prepared. [13 Aug 1993, p.G5]

The movie leaves you feeling angry and frustrated anyway. And justice for all? Hardly.

Wild Reeds is a sublime melodrama about how the fortuitous choices we make in adolescence can affect us for years. [29 Sep 1995, p.7G]

Will Noah anger some rigid purists and scholars because of the liberties it takes? Perhaps. But the point to take home is the message the movie leaves you with, which works regardless of your faith (or lack thereof). Humans are inherently flawed. How we deal with those defects is what truly matters.

What ensues is a love story ringed by barbed wire and etched in blood with the jagged neck of a broken beer bottle.

By film’s end, everyone has been transformed for the worst. Heli is a troubling and upsetting picture, a portrait of a broken country that seems to be beyond repair and a depiction of how violence and corruption, when left unchecked, taints saints and sinners alike, sparing no one.

The film seems simple and facile at a glance, but these characters and their dilemmas stay with you. These days, any of us could suddenly be Larry Crowne.

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]

There's nothing wrong with remaking a classic, of course. But the movies aren't theater, where the relative economies of scale can mean countless versions of one good play. The movies are more rare -- so much money, so few chances. Sinise and Malkovich used this chance to remind us how good the story is, and in the process showed us how good they can be. I'm not sure we needed the reminder in the first case, and the second is hardly a revelation. [16 Oct 1992, p.G5]

This long, gorgeous, occasionally maddening movie is the work of a hopeless romantic who knows there is no pain as bittersweet -- or as haunting -- as the pain of a broken heart.

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

The film paints a fairly realistic portrait of four people bound by blood but -- like all of us -- all too capable of underestimating each other.

Nelson is immensely appealing, and Busey plays off him well. The two of them ride around, locked into the wacky feud and having a bit of fun with Old West mythology. The movie is sad, entertaining and often beautiful. [25 Mar 1983, p.C1]

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

The movie has an exhilarating energy that is never exhausting, and the filmmaker’s trademark excesses, although toned down, are still at play. The meek should be wary; for everyone else, it’s party time.

A savage, insane movie - in the best way possible.

What Sunshine State lacks in momentum, it makes up for with a Dickensian sprawl of characters -- 50 in all -- who possess the depth and humanity that has become a Sayles trademark.

Though Mermaids moves in familiar circles, it tells its story (which is as much about mom's coming of age as the kids') in a nice mix of daft comedy and dramatic set pieces. It's a kind of Terms of Endearment without the tearjerking. [14 Dec 1990, p.G5]

Even by Miyazaki standards, Ponyo makes less narrative sense than it should, and the pat ending is a bit of a letdown.

Carpenter creates an atmosphere in Thing; it's a weird one, an odd landscape and clearly alien territory, but it's entertaining nonetheless. And for those who have not been to a creep show in the last couple of years, The Thing has some very nasty surprises. [25 June 1982, p.D1]

Splash is funny and gentle and quite entertaining, and there isn't a cynical moment in it. And unlikely as this may sound, Splash suggests that we had better keep an eye on Ron Howard, director. He is something special, too. [12 Mar 1984, p.C6]

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

With Moore’s formidable, Oscar-bound performance, the picture transcends the usual cliches of the genre to become something far more moving and profound.

Co-written by Tony Gilroy, who penned the tricky "Michael Clayton" and the even trickier "Duplicity," State of Play displays its savvy without being quite so showy.

The most dangerous evil of all -- the kind fueled by plain human greed -- lurks behind every twist of Red Rock West, proving once again it's often the simplest stories, when told with intelligence and creativity, that work best. [16 Sep 1994, p.G4]

May disappoint those who expect a more traditional Chinese setting. But, despite its modern look, this is far from being a Western film.