A whimsical and light-hearted spin on a serious story of corporate whistleblowing.

Almost certain to polarize audiences, this bit of emotional agitprop plays like a watered-down "Short Cuts" or "Magnolia" with a shrill, one-note message: We're all a little bit racist.

Don Jon is nominally a love triangle between a woman, a man and his laptop, but the movie is much more thoughtful and substantial than that, and it takes a compassionate and humane approach to all of its characters, even when they’re at their most despicable.

White Palace is formula stuff, but it succeeds on the strength of performances, a clever script and thoughtful direction by Luis Mandoki. [19 Oct 1990, p.G11]

As the movie breathlessly cuts back and forth from a boisterous wedding celebration to a high-stakes soccer match, even the grumpy cynics will have been won over.

Nolan, who has become an assured, stylish filmmaker in the span of only a few films, keeps the complicated plot spinning.

The movie is at its best when Spurlock dives deep into his subject, interviewing directors such as J.J. Abrams and Quentin Tarantino.

Don't let your brain interfere with your heart, says Albert Einstein -- yes, that Albert Einstein -- in I.Q., neatly summing up the message of this sprightly romantic comedy. It's a movie with an inventive premise that works better than you'd think. [24 Dec 1994, p.J3]

Truth should have felt like a tragedy, a story about a monumental but fascinating failure of journalism, the flip side to the upcoming Spotlight, about the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of sexual abuse within the Catholic church. Instead, Truth wants to make your blood boil. It succeeds — but not in the way the filmmakers intended.

The filmmaker may not appeal to large numbers of filmgoers. But if you get his humor and delicate style, you'll enjoy his latest work.

When he means to be funny, Balaban has a wicked way about him. When he means to scare, he's just like the rest of the pack. Still, there's something wonderfully subversive at work in Parents. Be warned. [17 March 1989, p.11]

As formidable as Kingsley is, Elegy wouldn't work if his object of obsession wasn't worthy of him.

A joyful romp, devoid of the tiresome pop-culture references.

Director Pablo Trapero ( Lion's Den), like so many contemporary Argentine filmmakers, reserves the bulk of his wrath for a country whose authorities and judicial systems have been so grossly corrupt there appears to be no way of correcting them.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Stardust is that its most winning element is neither its delightful story nor its special effects but its sly sense of humor.

A slightly dull film by photographer Sam Jones.

Ferrell's shtick never grows tiresome, because it's constantly changing.

It is almost completely devoid of any trace of humor. It radiates a luxurious, all-encompassing mopeyness.

For 2 1/2 hours, Strange Days swirls and blooms its way into your head, sounds and colors popping like fireworks, a stream of ideas flowing steadily beneath the dazzle. It's a light show for the mind, a kaleidoscope of exhilarating action, social commentary and post-modern science fiction -- yet when it's all over, you can't help but think, "Is that it?" [13 Oct 1995, p.5G]

Carlito's Way reminds you a little of De Palma's remake of Scarface -- it has that jazzy, coke-frazzled bang and crash to it, the feeling of too many people chasing too many highs. But it's nowhere near as successful. It's not as shocking. It even feels . . . dated. [12 Nov 1993, p.G5]

The Edge was written by playwright/filmmaker David Mamet and directed by Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Mulholland Falls). Both excel at dissecting that complicated beast known as male angst, but both fall flat with this confused misfire that plays as a banal stranded-in-the-wild adventure for grown-ups. [26 Sep 1997, p.4G]

Imagine for a moment Lord of the Rings peformed by puppets and hydraulically operated monsters against a background of realistic fantasy, and you have an idea of The Dark Crystal. It's the kind of film that children may take for granted, but that adults are transfixed by; there is much oohing and aahing in the seats. [20 Dec 1982, p.B8]

Unapologetically appalling, more disgusting than anything you've ever seen and moronic enough to make you wonder about that theory on the depletion of the gene pool. It is also so funny it will make you choke.

Bogosian is at his best in the flashback scenes, when Barry's a jock-on-the-make who has a beginner's balance of humor and slice-and-dice commentary. But by his crucial weekend, Barry has become the worst of talk show sins, a boor. He's the human equivalent of dead air. [13 Jan 1989, p.5]

Bitter, brittle, condescending and petty, the titular character of Margot at the Wedding, fabulously played by Nicole Kidman, is a successful short story writer who resents other people's happiness.

Despite its stylistic flaws, the acting and the magic of the story make Maelstrom a different kind of film.

Kick-Ass reminds you of the great pleasures and thrills of superhero comics -- then turns everything you ever learned from comic books upside down.

Be warned: King of New York is trash, but it's trash with an attitude. [25 Oct 1990, p.11]