The movie still manages to unearth laughs, some of them pretty big, especially once Shanté's program is under way.

It’s the cinematic equivalent of a kid playing with his toys and smashing action figures together, except del Toro does it with more grace and imagination than most. There are long sequences in this movie that merit that most overused of terms, “awesome.”

What sets it slightly apart is a willingness to deal with a potentially tricky subject -- race -- in the context of light-hearted fluff.

White Palace is formula stuff, but it succeeds on the strength of performances, a clever script and thoughtful direction by Luis Mandoki. [19 Oct 1990, p.G11]

What's lacking is the simplicity that made the original.

If you can overlook the lack of logic inherent in its central conceit, In Time makes for a fun, stylish piece of speculative sci-fi.

Once you get past the intriguing fact that although Whip's job puts hundreds of lives into his hands on a daily basis yet he's cavalier about protecting them, the movie doesn't feel much different than any other exploration of addiction.

If you do decide to take in Q & A, prepare to leave it with many questions unanswered. [27 Apr 1990, p.G5]

A crowd-pleasing comedy that makes up for its formulaic, sitcom-ready premise with likable performances and an inviting sense of humor.

Though it's entertaining when the tone is light, The Joneses can't quite keep up with this sort of complexity.

The tug of war for Caterina's political soul is left open-ended, and her relationship with her difficult father is resolved with a plot twist that feels completely out of character. Caterina deserved better.

Doggone funny.

Has an even amount of hilarious individual ideas and moments as well as stretches that just seem gratuitously out-there.

Mischief is captivating enough that its small failings are forgiveable. Its four principal actors -- McKeon, Stewart, Preston and Nash -- are fine-looking, but they don't rely on that surface characteristic to get them through. Under Mel Damski's direction, they seem to know their craft. And so, Mischief is a twinkle for the eye and a wash of nostalgia for the memory. [11 Feb 1985, p.D4]

The movie - which caused walkouts and an uproar at Sundance - rewards your endurance with an utterly insane 30-minute climax of violence, audacious gore and all-around bad behavior (how this picture got an R rating is baffling).

Fails to offer a single moment you don't see coming but its cast is appealing, and it provides a welcome respite from young wizards, talking robots that turn into trucks and other staples of this long, hot, boy-focused summer.

The latest Christmas-tree movie from director Wes Anderson, who makes pictures so carefully appointed and decorated, they sometimes feel like they're made to be looked at instead of watched.

The result is initially exhilarating, ultimately exhausting.

Kleiser seems to know something about style and pace after all, and he seems to know something about having fun with a movie. These are minor revelations, and they make Grandview U.S.A. almost unique among its class of film over the past five years: It's worth seeing. [03 Aug 1984, p.C9]

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]

The Iron Lady never delves deeply enough into the politics or the people, preferring instead to make us feel bad about the unfortunate way in which old age levels us all.

Not a bad movie - everybody wants dreams to come true - but its platitudes sound awfully hollow sometimes.

Realistic, it's not. But Max Keeble's Big Move, predictable though it may be, makes most of the right moves for the older elementary/younger middle school market.

A mess, but an energetic, convivial mess.

Tender and sentimental, a little schmaltzy, and ultimately too slight.

Even though The Business of Strangers loses its nerve in the third act -- you'll wish Stettner had dared to push things further.

Steeped in pitch-perfect nostalgia and propelled by equal doses of comedy and tragedy.

Too easily, and predictably, resolves itself.