The music video tendency to make everything literal binds Prince's third film effort too tightly, and in all the wrong places. Rather than allowing the spacious set and the music and the interaction to communicate his boiling-energy concert persona, Prince spells out every little meaning, often plopping his songs into unnatural contexts just to make the grand statement. [20 Nov 1987, p.D5]

There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film.

There are other filmmakers who might have been drawn to a comic book as enchantingly ridiculous as Hellboy. But there are none who would have turned in a sleek $60 million picture as daringly silly, playful and imaginative as this one.

The Coens feel out of step this time; they’ve lost their rhythm the way they did in The Hudsucker Proxy, where the style consumed the entire picture, turning what should have been humorous and snappy into a grating chore.

Film students may enjoy watching Candy Mountain for the continuity goofs -- snow that vanishes and reappears between shots, a guitarist who either is or isn't playing, depending on whether you believe your eyes or your ears. But music fans drawn by the names on the marquee would do better to spend their money on an album.[26 Aug 1988, p.C5]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the movie equivalent of a tired stand-up comic's air-travel routine. It strikes some resonant chords indeed, but it never quite leaves the ground, either. And given the stars here, that's a real bungle. [25 Nov 1987, p.D1]

More sour than sweet, but Steers knows that, even in a cruel, unsentimental world, there is room for forgiveness and hope. Just don't expect a hug.

She's such a fascinating, faceted character that halfway through "Christine" you almost forget about what's coming.

Star Trek Into Darkness gives you an exhilarating, tingle-inducing rush — that rare feeling that comes when a gigantic entertainment is firing on all fronts, exceeding your expectations.

Saring, often funny comedy.

It's a troubling movie, and there's something old-fashioned about its mechanics as drama, but Spottiswoode forces us to look at the humanity under duress behind all those back-of-the-book war stories. That in itself is enough. [22 Oct 1983, p.D7]

50/50 is crude and funny, and it demands that you laugh. And you will.

The actors are talented enough to carry the movie, but they fade into the background once things grow dire, and the special effects take over. There's no sense of wonder or awe.

There isn't a moment in the movie where you don't feel Spielberg's passion, and this time, the film is worthy of his enthusiasm. It's a knockout.

For anyone interested in the art of comedy, it's a veritable primer on the vagaries of humor.

Easy A is unnecessarily hard on the religious kids. Unlike "Saved," it uses broad caricatures of gospel-singing fanatics to get laughs, and the bug-eyed, over-the-top performance by Bynes (who apparently really should have retired after making this film) doesn't help matters.

You feel terribly sad and angry at May's foolishness. Yet with so many emotions at hand, The Mother never fails to engage.

Unlike so many Hollywood thrillers, which too often rely on implausible or telegraphed twists, Transsiberian is carefully structured and designed to make sense when you replay the events in your head.

Sometimes engaging, sometimes amusing and ultimately surprising.

It's too civilized by half and never quite funny enough. [31 Jan 1986, p.D1]

It's a funny, even whimsical film about a man who survives tragic times, complete with Nazis, pratfalls and plenty of mugging.

You will not necessarily know any more about life after the film is done, but you'll have killed a couple of hours painlessly, and you will have laughed a lot. [18 Apr 1984, p.C6]

Gangs of New York is many things, but a masterpiece is not one of them. It is primarily, and somewhat surprisingly, a poky western, with a vengeful orphan.

Carries an undeniable follow-your-field-of-dreams appeal.

All of Egoyan's movies have revolved around characters with damaged, fragile psyches, but rarely have they been illustrated as deftly -- and as gracefully -- as in Felicia's Journey.

A long overdue look at the man's art and an unself-pitying and unsparing exploration of her (his daughter's) relationship with him.

It has everything Oscar voters fall in love with: sweep, romance, accessibility and social conscience.

It's genuinely terrifying, as scary as it is unexpected. [22 May 1987, p.D5]