The problem -- aside from the fact that one of the best things about Foer's story is its irreverent, intricate, just-maybe-brilliant writing -- is what Schreiber has decided to cut.

Stone isn't the straightforward thriller it appears to be, but the alternative turns out to be dull and lifeless. At least the title is apt: Like a rock, Stone has no pulse.

Gervais' wickedly sly concept lingers quite awhile after the final chuckle. And that's the truth.

The only thing the movie lacks is a pulse.

Fails to capture the anguish and struggles of an ultra-Orthodox Jew adapting to a more secular world as did Amos Gitai's Kadosh, a film this one sometimes brings to mind.

There are some funny lines in The Pope of Greenwich Village. Once the eye knows the characters and the ear gets accustomed to the filthy (and somehow quaint) street slang, Rosenberg keeps the pace entertaining. [22 June 1984, p.D8]

Inside Benny and Joon, a love story that celebrates dysfunction and the cutes, though not necessarily in that order, there's a character drama whispering to be let out, but that's no help. Long before you get around to liking this little movie, you'll hate it. And that's always a problem. [16 Apr 1993, p.G5]

You watch it in stunned disbelief, wondering how a movie that started so strongly devolved into something so absurd.

Director Scott Marshall and screenwriter Mark Zakarin pander to Jewish viewers the way Andy Garcia's "The Lost City" panders to Cuban Americans.

The heist in Flawless comes at the film's midpoint, but although Radford wrings some nice suspense from the sequence, the theft isn't his primary focus here. It's what happens next.

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]

British satire loses something when it's handled by Americans: You miss the perspective that a foreign culture brings, so instead of wit and humor, you end up trafficking in self-congratulatory clichés and sentiment.

In a movie packed with broad humor, the best jokes are so small they're easy to overlook.

Classy voice work (intriguingly, the hero, heroine and villain are all voiced by black actors -- Chris Rock, Brandy and Laurence Fishburne)

It's an understatement to say that The Ring is not your ordinary horror film. And never forget to rewind.

Light as the film may be, My Wife Is An Actress is not devoid of charm. It's like a summer book: quick, enjoyable and, mostly, easily forgotten.

Carpenter creates an atmosphere in Thing; it's a weird one, an odd landscape and clearly alien territory, but it's entertaining nonetheless. And for those who have not been to a creep show in the last couple of years, The Thing has some very nasty surprises. [25 June 1982, p.D1]

You can't beat a Bond film for adventure on a grand scale.

You never really get the sense Zhang is taking the movie seriously, so you can't either. A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop proves that American filmmakers aren't the only ones who can bungle remakes of foreign movies.

The film paints a fairly realistic portrait of four people bound by blood but -- like all of us -- all too capable of underestimating each other.

Easily the slightest and most frenetic entry in the trilogy. But it might also turn out to be the fan favorite, because the movie is nothing but eye candy and visual sensation.

There is nothing in this surprisingly funny, exciting film that feels like homework, and Branagh even dares to end the film on, if not quite a cliffhanger, then a daring "To Be Continued" note.

The premise is marvelous, the music more than adequate (assuming you're a metal fan), the performances appropriately dumb. And it's seasonally funny. [28 Oct 1986, p.D5]

It's a generic, clunky title. The movie isn't quite as disposable, but it's not exactly memorable, either.

The movie puts Jasira -- and the audience -- through the wringer, but it also makes the ride worth it.

The saddest part about this whole affair is that it took Bugs and Co. 60 years to make their feature debut -- and this is what they get. At one point, Daffy Duck is discussing merchandising royalties and says, "We gotta get new agents -- we're getting screwed." In Space Jam , even the cartoons are in it only for the money. [15 Nov 1996, p.5G]

With Little Buddha, Bertolucci moves from political themes to religious phenomena. But despite his obvious care and moments of great visceral beauty, Little Buddha never quite captivates your imagination. It's a pretty but hollow bauble. [25 May 1994, p.E2]

For all its pretension, Powaqqatsi is a confused work -- both a compeling analysis of underdeveloped nations and a self-indulgent exercise in cinematic drudgery. [24 Jun 1988, p.C5]