Avary suggests much more than he shows, but his style carries such urgency, you walk away convinced you saw every bullet hit its mark. On that level, Killing Zoe should get Avary noticed -- the long, disastrous and occasionally suspenseful heist is the best part of the movie -- but it's the stuff at the edges that shows this guy has genuine talent. [28 Oct 1994, p.G4]

Only devout Dylan fans will be able to derive much sense out of it. Dylan novices can only sit back and surrender to the ride Haynes offers: It's a strange, surreal trip.

Even after the plot has left you behind, you still watch The Brothers Bloom with a smile, because the actors are so engaging.

If you can overlook that last little bit of sports fantasy, you just might like Just Wright.

The Ninth Day is far from perfect, but is still thought-provoking and intriguing, a film that can begin its own kind of debate.

It's really just a dance movie, interrupted sporadically for PG-13 romance, bad acting, ridiculous dialogue and earnest "let's put on a show to save our homes!" spirit.

Despite its slight and vaguely silly premise, Driving Lessons turns out to be sweet, never cloying, and amusing in an understated British way.

Fey is a good fit with the material, and her co-stars are all solid, including Billy Bob Thornton as a laconic general; Martin Freeman as a boozy, charming Scottish journalist; Alfred Molina as a local politician with a crush on Kim; and Christopher Abbott (Girls) as Kim’s fixer and translator (he tries to keep her out of trouble).

Unfortunately, the film is also at times dull, though the scale definitely tilts toward enjoyment. Quality balance aside, who doesn't want to enjoy a few hearty laughs? Only Human provides a few of those.

What Spielberg does is use the Lucas tricks to propel an old-fashioned fantasy, played broadly enough so that the laughs come as easily as the thrills. [23 May 1984, p.B1]

Mildly engaging.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan moves slowly, languidly; its art direction is often lovely, and despite their truncated screen time Lily and Snow Flower do make you care about their fates. But you would have cared more without all the distraction.

Disney's latest incarnation parries and feints somewhere between the "serious" melodramas of vintage Hollywood and the frisky cavortings of Richard Lester's mid-'70s send-ups. [13 Nov 1993, p.G3]

I Killed My Mother fares less well when Dolan gives in to some ill-conceived stylistic flourishes (understandable for a young, first-time filmmaker) or when his reach as a dramatist exceeds his grasp (an incident involving thugs who gay-bash Hubert, for example, feels superfluous). But the crux of the film is the furious, tempestuous bond between Hubert and Chantale, and through their volcanic fights, you can see Dolan's considerable talent at its least adorned. [23 Apr 2010, p.G7]

This is nothing that a good episode of NYPD Blue hasn't shown myriad times.

What Crush lacks in substance and originality, it makes up for with sheer likability.

Everyone in Hit and Run is clearly having a good time. It's the audience that gets left out of the fun.

The story falters only at the end, but it's the ride, not the destination, that you remember and savor the most.

Is it about a moment in history and how the life of a sexual predator fits into that moment? Or is it just about a director's sexual fantasy? The answers are somewhat fuzzy.

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.

Fasten your seat belts and prepare to kiss reality goodbye, folks, because from here the movie launches into silly mob vs. nun chase scenes, an appearance by a Pope John Paul II look- alike and gobs of sentimental, syrupy goo -- the signature of director Emile Ardolino (Three Men and a Little Lady, Dirty Dancing). But don't be ashamed to laugh -- it's still a rollicking good time. [29 May 1992, p.G5]

The script by Ben Ripley doesn't come up with enough obstacles to throw in the hero's path, and his budding romance with the doomed Christina feels more like a studio mandate than an organic development.

A sporadically hilarious, acid-tongued romp through the darker sides of romance that refuses to back down.

Viewers who like their movies to adhere to some sort of reasonable logic, or to at least make sense, will not be pleased by Femme Fatale. For everyone else, it's playtime.

Dream Lover ends with a devious last-minute twist that will delight some and infuriate others into cries of "Is that all there is?" But the surprise ending fits the rest of Dream Lover perfectly, a movie that wholeheartedly embraces its genre's cliches -- yet still keeps you riveted. [20 May 1994, p.5]

By the time it's over, Insidious is less scary than a mortgage payment.

Mildly entertaining but not terribly exciting. Agent 007 seems to have fallen victim to the foulest villainy he has yet encountered: mismanagement behind the camera. The movie cost $34 million, but you don't see it on the screen. [14 July 1989, p.4]

He never gets the material under control. But what he has, in 1492, is dazzling. [09 Oct 1992, p.G5]