Zeroing in on Carr as the movie's "hero" was a smart move. He comes off as smart, confrontational and unconventional.

The better you remember 1963, the better your chances of liking Mermaids. It's not so much a movie as it is a time capsule. The fun is in seeing what gets pulled out next. [14 Dec 1990, p.8]

In a genre - the animated holiday film - already overflowing with the sentimental, the silly Arthur Christmas is a most welcome treat to find stuffed into the cinema's stockings this holiday season.

A low energy romance, a movie that rewards a filmgoer with the patience to let this affair play itself out. Sink or swim, Connie and Jack will come out of this changed. And so will we.

The first, and perhaps the best, of five Clark Gable-Jean Harlow vehicles. [08 Feb 1998, p.67]

Red Rock West is not, in any sense, groundbreaking. When you come right down to it, all Red Rock West really has going for it is its enormous entertainment value. But, hey, that's plenty. [14 Oct 1994, p.31]

In Mary, Leigh has found the polar opposite of Sally Hawkin's giggle-through-the-pain heroine of "Happy-Go-Lucky."

This compelling-acted film explains, better than any soundbite, why people have taken to the streets, "occupying" centers of finance. If their rage is unfocused, Margin Call suggests, that's with good reason. There are no real heroes or villains here, just human beings with human failings making BIG human mistakes.

Branagh and Williams are worth the price of admission, the former "wunderkind" of British stage and screen having a go at the pretentious, plummy Olivier.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer isn't entirely successful, but it's admirable nonetheless. The film is an honest and disturbing attempt to come to grips with the sort of modern horror that we must - more urgently every day - try to understand.

The film doesn't go deeply enough into Hawking's theories to really explain them, and it doesn't go deeply enough into Hawking's life to impart anything but a sketchy understanding of the man. Still, considering the almost impenetrable subject matter, it's remarkable that Morris has gotten as far as he has.

Restless is far more precious than profound. But that takes little away from this soulful teenage exploration of love, life and death.

The leads are charmingly mismatched, but adorable enough to root for, as a couple. Forestier is a wildly uninhibited actress, sexy as all get out. She makes this girl dangerous, seemingly capable of anything.

A stirring account of the submarine Copperfin's daring mission to penetrate Tokyo Bay to help set up the raid. The film was convincing enough to be used as a Navy instructional film. [31 May 2001, p.F1]

A simple equation, perhaps, but when it comes to comedy, simpler is frequently funnier. This formula has already worked beautifully in France, where the movie has broken all box-office records and has won three Cesars (the French equivalent of the Oscar) including one for best picture.

The film is a slugger that keeps hitting you with one obvious image after another. Funny thing, though: Obviousness is sometimes effective. If Rocky IV doesn't kill you, it'll conquer you.

This is dizzy diverting fun, from it's first Carell one-liner to the 3D gimmick gags stuffed into the closing credits.

For the most part, you can't go wrong praising the exceptional ensemble cast, either. [28 Aug 1992, p.19]

In Sister Act 2, these energized musical numbers and the sparkling comedy work together in ways that are very hard to resist. And considering how terribly resistible (to me, at least) last year's Sister Act was, the sequel seems like a movie miracle. [10 Dec 1993]

It is a well-acted and vivid re-creation of a dark, downbeat era when "girls don't play electric guitar," and you had to be someone pretty tough and pretty special to try it.

Ever since Charles Durning played the governor of Texas in Best Little Whorehouse and danced around the rotunda in a tutu, I've thought he might be my kinda guy. Now he's proved it in Stand Alone, or "Death Wish for Grandpas," the best movie ever made about Medicare patients that decide to bayonet all the South American cocaine dealers in town.

Working from a script she wrote with producer Andy Ruben, director Katt Shea gets some sexy vibes going, and the atmospherically lit production has an unexpected visual distinction.

Bertolucci's latest effort probably won't create much commotion of any kind. But on balance, it isn't a bad little picture. [27 May 1994, p.22]

Under the sweet, gooey surface of Avalon there's a more impressive movie yearning to break free - a finely textured movie about how an immigrant man's love of the performing arts produced a grandson who became an important American filmmaker. [22 Oct 1990, p.C1]

An often moving and always disturbing film. Little is explained, motivations aren't explored. We miss them, at times. It's still a film of power, wit and thought-provoking ideas, one well worth seeing.

Director Lesli Linka Glatter (NYPD Blue, Twin Peaks) gets nice performances from her young cast, which includes some of the best little actresses working today. Their adult counterparts are fine too. [20 Oct 1995, p.22]

Best taken as the perfect film to transition your kids from animation to live action fare – short, sweet, and educational.

Wonderland is equal parts Lewis Carroll and Grace Slick. It’s inspired by Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," but also, apparently, by Slick’s psychedelic ‘60s anthem, “White Rabbit.” It’s a trip, man.