The Undiscovered Country looks and feels more like a movie and less like a TV-family reunion. Still, the allegory is labored to say the least. [6 Dec. 1991, p.G5]

The movie is oddly impersonal - you remember the concept more than the story - and feels like something that was made simply for the opportunity to pair Streep and Jones for the first time.

There are no "Crying Game" switcharoos or "Sixth Sense" plot twists in store here. But knowing too much about Catfish beforehand ruins the experience.

For horror fans, Halloween came a little later than usual this year, but it was worth the wait.

The charm of Jimmy Neutron is that it's both futuristic enough to intrigue kids and retro enough to hook their parents.

Quite simply, Les Miserables is a messy classic -- difficult to condense, contrived and highly melodramatic, which made it fine fodder for a pop opera. To counter the antiquated excess, Danish director Bille August ( Pelle The Conqueror ) keeps the mood as cool as an autumn night in Copenhagen, which also creates an emotional distance. [01 May 1998, p.6G]

The good news about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first in a planned series of stand-alone movies set in the “Star Wars” universe, is that the last half-hour of the film is a sustained stretch of rousing action, indelible images and cliffhanger thrills. It’s pop sci-fi bliss...The bad news about Rogue One is that getting to the good stuff is a slog — and the movie is pretty long.

It refuses to take itself seriously. And that is its underlying strength. [19 Jan 1990, p.G9]

The great film that The Accused could have been is in there. So is Foster's lovely, measured work, the work of an actress at the top of her art, and this in a supposed "comeback." Yes, darker and more sadistic passages have burdened many lesser movies. But this one has ambition, and this one has this performance. It's a hard movie to like; it's an impossible one to ignore. [14 Oct 1988, p.E1]

White Men Can't Jump clocks in at just under two hours of court-stomping, in-your-face, anything-goes street basketball. And that's all, folks. [31 Mar 1992, p.E6]

This is a movie best seen cold.

Befitting a story about marriage, adultery and murder, all the characters in Married Life are constantly lying to each other. Sometimes they even lie to the audience.

The film isn’t overlong. But it tries to fit so many themes into its brief running time — that it merely touches on most conflicts instead of exploring them in depth or with any delicacy.

Ferrara displays a surprising lack of imagination throughout, sticking to the original film's predictable Who'll be next? progression. [21 Feb 1994, p.C6]

Holds enough interest throughout to keep you entertained -- unless you're afraid of mice.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler is creaky and sentimental and schmaltzy. The movie lacks any of the unhinged qualities of Daniels’ previous films (The Paperboy, Precious, Shadowboxer).

The movie tends to lapse into soapy melodrama and heavy-handed preaching whenever possible, and the feel-good ending that appears out of nowhere essentially negates a lot of what has preceded it, adding one more moral to a movie already weighed down by life lessons.

It's a very busy movie, designed to appeal to short attention spans, and it leaves you feeling full, but not satisfied, because it's missing the most important ingredient of all: genuine magic.

The star is the coming together of East and West, and how art provides the medium.

One of the most pessimistic movies about love Hollywood has ever made, a star-studded, glossy anti-date movie.

But like Burton's films, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm also has a distinctly dark, lurid feel to it. Consider a love scene in which a playful wrestling match between Bruce and Andrea turns to open-mouthed smooching and then cuts to a satisfied- looking Andrea, wearing Bruce's shirt and little else. We've seen this gimmick before, although here it seems even more desperate.Could Batmania have finally run its course? [31 Dec 1993, p.G5]

Great actors can do more than carry a movie on the strength of their performances: They can also elevate it to a height it does not necessarily merit, and for much of In the Valley of Elah, Tommy Lee Jones does exactly that.

Although Leconte allows for a certain warmth to run through the film, he thankfully stays away from sentimentality. Therein lays the charm.

Owing to a supremely engaging cast, The Client turns out to be stand-up Hollywood entertainment. Grisham's uninspired storyline can't ruin the efforts of two of the industry's best actors at the top of their form. [20 July 1994, p.E2]

There is no greater significance to these skits than the ones you can see in reruns on Comedy Central. Still, for diehard MiSTies, these shortcomings won't matter. The lure of trashy cinema will prevail along with the strangely gratifying thrill of hearing the traditionally G-rated 'bots indulge in racier, foul-mouthed comments. [10 May 1996, p.6G]

The Great Debaters keeps things on the surface and pushes the obvious buttons, hoping you won't notice its distinct lack of depth.

Some scenes drag, but Seagull's Laughter is still delightful.

Being Julia is really about the fear of aging and the battle to remain relevant professionally and sexually.