Although never boring and almost continually amusing, Extract doesn't work as a movie because you don't buy a minute of it, even as silly satire.

The genius of a feature film based on the 1980s TV series is that it can't help but exceed expectations that are so low to begin with.

As filler for the long, dry winter movie season, the movie is more than passable, and its sense of humor has a wicked, unforgiving spin that is decidedly pro-rodent.

The People Under the Stairs is about nooks, crannies and crevices, and there's allegory everywhere: comments on the horror of our cities, the Ron and Nancy-esque landlords. [07 Nov 1991, p.F7]

There is certainly nothing wrong with this; very young children, and the less discriminating among their elders, are likely to find The Care Bears Movie charming. [08 Apr 1985, p.C4]

Traitor is "Syriana" for dummies, a globe-hopping, multi-character look at the war between America and Islamic terrorists that keeps things as relatively simple as an episode of 24. Not that there's anything wrong with that: 24 is a really good show. But it doesn't pretend to be something it's not, either.

This might well have been a more exciting movie if it had been made as a flat-out potboiler with a tough guy in Selleck's role. But Selleck's very weakness -- he is so relaxed and easy- going that we never quite believe he could be in trouble -- makes the movie hard to hate, too. [14 Dec 1984, p.E18]

Its candid conversations about sexuality are what places Lawrence's protagonist in a class by herself.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High could have been the sleeper success of the summer, but uncertainty of tone and a lame, derivative ending reduce it to the status of a missed opportunity. [13 Aug 1982, p.D6]

The film has good actors and enough quirky moments to keep it interesting.

As far as its plot mechanics go, The Brave One belongs to the hallowed (if less-than-respectable) genre of exploitative revenge pictures.

It's pleasant, mildly uplifting entertainment, one of the few recent movies to use plants as its muse.

They're all too old to be considered a black brat pack, but you get a feeling The Best Man will lead to even better.

More than once during A Scanner Darkly, you find yourself wishing these characters would just shut up.

Its flimsy plot can’t quite support all the characters stuffed into the script, and the movie plays out in a weirdly static way that makes it feel improvised and uneven, leaving a few too much time during which nothing funny is happening.

Manages to be entertaining, largely because of the appealing Adam Brody.

Cheese is written with plenty of sophisticated wit, but it is not quite convincing as a movie.

A scream-out-loud movie, upsetting and deliriously effective. Problem is, Koepp relies almost entirely on the isolated shocking images, ignoring the human element at the center.

The whole point is excess, and O'Bannon's good at getting to that point. But the film is so clearly meant for giggles that it packs nowhere near the emotional punch of one of Romero's, which are truly dreadful. [19 Aug 1985, p.D5]

Wah-Wah's characters are wonderfully human and flawed and still capable of stirring empathy, which is appealing. But in the end, the film isn't saying much at all.

In the end, Roger Dodger doesn't really add up to much. Guys can be jerks when they're lonely, or even when they're not. It's not news. But Kidd's version of this truth shows he's a writer worth watching.

The movie doesn't make you care.

Doesn't feel quite so lengthy as its predecessor. And while it still falls short of becoming the classic fans so badly want it to be, the film is livelier and better overall than "The Sorcerer's Stone."

There may be little point in deploring Blade Runner's lack of entertainment value. The production values, a reported $30 million worth, are nearly the whole show. They are impressive, to be sure. [26 June 1982, p.D6]

This is a theme tailor-made for Burton, although there are times in the movie when it feels like he's not taking enough advantage of it.

More than just another feel-good teacher movie.

It's a handsome period piece and a decent character drama, and it has that Newman performance. But it never has enough bang for the buck, and that's too bad. [20 Oct 1989, p.G11]

Fallen may not scare you, but it'll certainly haunt you. [16 Jan 1998, p.4G]