I Want to Believe provides a welcome reminder of what made Carter's franchise a pop-culture gem.

Openly embraces its noir roots, right down to the femme fatale (Connie Nielsen) who strikes a Lauren Bacall-ish pose in an open doorway and whose eyes are lit by a horizontal slant of light.

A captivating documentary.

Basically a one-joke movie, and they take their sweet time -- too much of it, actually -- getting to the good stuff. But what excellent laughs they provide in the end.

Now that it has been set to film, it seems somehow dated as well. The greed of the 1980s, thematic backdrop for Mamet's original, is presumed gone. Glengarry Glen Ross looks almost . . . quaint. [02 Oct 1992, p.G5]

Move over donkey, it's Banderas' time to shine.

The movie's second half, which grows progressively sadder, also starts to feel a bit repetitive.

Greystoke has its many pleasures, and despite its bobtailing at the hands of the bottom-line-watchers, it has the sweep of epic. [30 Mar 1984, p.D1]

Its silly Snow White allusions aside, Sydney White is a simple but amiable modern fairy tale.

There are precious few moments in Elf when Ferrell doesn't manage to at least get a smile out of you. Considering how cloying the movie might have turned out without him, that's a huge gift all its own.

That rare biopic that’s shorter and swifter than it should be. This turns out to be both a blessing and a curse.

All about watching Jaa.

If its dark heart had won out to the very end, The Ref could have been a minor classic. But it's a hilarious antidote to heartwarming holiday films -- and has some of the cruelest humor of any comedy in quite some time. [11 Mar 1994, p.G5]

Hits the parallels between love and hip-hop a little too hard when the message is relatively easy to grasp: Don't sell out: not your art, not your heart. If only music business executives were listening.

Leatherheads goes on a good 20 minutes too long, and there's very little in it that makes a lasting impression, but it's easy to watch while it's unspooling -- much like, you know, a lot of Cary Grant comedies.

Tsui Hark, the director, is apparently one of those filmmakers to whom the screwball comedy is not only still alive, but worthy of an extended salute. [07 Feb 1986, p.D9]

Instead of leaving you lamenting the lack of creativity and originality in the film industry, this modest, playful thriller puts you in a forgiving mood.

Taylor is effective as a woman struggling to take control of her life, but Ambrose's work feels shallow in comparison.

The best moments in Matchstick Men belong to Cage and Lohman, who, in "Paper Moon" fashion, prove that the family that cons together, laughs together.

You don't need a Ouija board to suss out where all this is heading, but Is Anybody There? counteracts its deficiencies -- predictability, sentimentality -- with a healthy dose of dark humor.

Once you get past its intriguing title, What's Eating Gilbert Grape turns out to be a plain if beautifully photographed slice-of-life drama decked in eccentric garb. Beneath its veneer of oddball characters, it's a rather simple, essentially bloodless tale about life in Endora, Iowa, a tiny dead-end town. [4 March 1994, p.G4]

Unfortunately, Ghobadi doesn't trust his film to convey the message that has already been clearly and entertainingly spelled out, and No One Knows About Persian Cats ends on a sudden note of tragedy that almost ruins the exuberant spirit of everything that has preceded it.

It's a tomb-raiding adventure movie several notches below Indiana Jones status.

Wields some power, but it's hard to shake the feeling you've seen it all before.

Back to the Future Part III nicely concludes the threesome (calling this a "trilogy" confers just a bit too much honor on an extended, live-action cartoon). Unlike the second, III is quite satisfying -- often funny, and ultimately thrilling. [25 May 1990, p.G5]

Cars is certainly watchable, and there's always some amusing bit of business happening at the edges of the frame.

The film also plays to the strengths of the found-footage format, proving that sometimes the scariest things are the ones you can barely see. For horror hounds, this is required viewing.

A high tolerance for syrupy melodrama is required in order to enjoy Together.