Stephen King's Graveyard Shift is the 19th Big Steve story to be made into a movie, and it's one of the more decent ones even though the gigantic mutant-slime octopus monster that lives in the basement doesn't really ever appear on screen where you can get a good look at him. [23 Nov 1990, p.15]

No breasts. Twenty-one dead bodies. Exploding pickup. Exploding supporting actors. Neck-crunching. Zombie corral. Zombie target practice. Zombie bonfire. Eighteen gallons of blood. A 74 on the Vomit Meter. Kung Fu. Zombie Fu. [2 Nov 1990, p.13]

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]

Issues of forced cuteness aside, the recent Pump Up the Volume did the alienated-youth bit more insightfully than this movie does. Pump Up the Volume was savvy enough to have its young hero make statements such as "I say down with all guidance counselors. Make them work for a living." In Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, the troubled teen's confidante is the school's guidance counselor.

Memphis Belle simply doesn't fly. [12 Oct 1990, p.4]

Even though the new film is an obvious rip-off of It's a Wonderful Life (by way of Back to the Future), and even though much of this material is familiar from Taking Care of Business, Mr. Destiny might have been watchable if director/co-writer James Orr (Tough Guys) had demonstrated any comic timing whatsoever. [12 Oct 1990, p.4]

By all fair standards, Marked for Death should be the worst film of the year. It has a lame plot, horrible acting and some of the worst dialogue to come off a scriptwriter's page. The strange thing is, well, darn it, the film is entertaining - its action scenes lifting it from the pathetic to the passable. [12 Oct 1990, p.12]

Henry & June is a difficult, uncompromising work whose best qualities are not likely to be appreciated by all filmgoers. But it is, quite simply, the most overwhelming film about ultimate freedom to reach us in years. [19 Oct 1990, p.12]

Despite its faults, however, Pacific Heights does the most important thing that any thriller can do. Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, it'll get you crazy. [28 Sept 1990, p.7]

Where The Last Picture Show was emotionally involving and dramatically episodic, Texasville is sprawling, badly paced and remote. [29 Oct 1990, p.C1]

The dialogue sounds irritatingly tough-clever, the premise is elaborately contrived, and the pacing is best described by the term "commercial-ready." But Narrow Margin has one element that lifts it above the all-too-obvious limitations of the material. That element is Gene Hackman. [21 Sep 1990, p.8]

All things considered, State of Grace is far from a must-see gangster film. But I guess it'll do until the next one comes along. [05 Oct 1990, p.8]

White Hunter, Black Heart is no African Queen (or even, really, an especially good movie), but it does manage to stay afloat. [12 Oct 1990, p.6]

Repossessed sounded like a great idea: Leslie Nielsen performs an exorcism on Linda Blair. But it's one of those flicks that can't decide whether it wants to be a pure-dee Naked Gun rip-off with 9,000 sight gags or have a real honest-to-God comedy plot. It's got some horse laughs in it, but you keep going "Shouldn't I be laughing again by now?" [19 Oct 1990, p.13]

Hardware is the best nuclear-radiation twisted-metal jubilee since Mad Max. [05 Oct 1990, p.11]

It's a fairly effective melodrama with an inventive visual design, swift pacing and convincing performances by Liam Neeson (as Westlake/Darkman), Frances McDormand (as Westlake's girlfriend) and Larry Drake (as the heavy). [24 Aug. 1990, p.4]

What really holds the movie together is Rachel Ward's exceptionally moving portrayal of Fay. [07 Sep 1990, p.7]

Estevez set out to make a movie about garbage and ended up with a movie that actually is garbage. [27 Aug 1990, p.C1]

The one really solid performance is turned in by Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. [15 Feb 1991, p.16]

This one's a thousand times better than the weenie Exorcist II: The Heretic they made in 1977. [28 Sep 1990, p.6]

Obviously, the premise is pretty implausible, but the moviemakers do a decent job of addressing (if not entirely satifying) our questions about the implausibilities. And the stars, especially Belushi, bring an amazing amount of conviction to this formulaic material. [17 Aug 1990, p.8]

Far-fetched as the premise is, I was willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt for the sake of the impressive cast. But as Flatliners rolled along, its pretentiousness became increasingly toxic.

The music becomes an aspect of Washington's performance - as does, in a satisfying way, everything else in the film. [03 Aug 1990, p.7]

Young Guns II shoots blanks. [02 Aug 1990, p.E1]

Presumed Innocent is a stylish, dark-toned movie with handsome photography (by Gordon Willis) and solid performances. Without exploiting the sensationalistic elements of the material, director Pakula creates a fascinating mood of impending disaster. If this movie isn't exactly exciting, it definitely holds the viewer's interest.

Brando's confusion is understandable. The Freshman is, as he said, a bit of a stinker. But it also contains those moments of high comedy he spoke of. Add Brando's statements together, divide the total by two and you have the right answer about this movie.

Navy Seals stands out among this summer's violence-oriented pictures as the only one that doesn't leave your brain feeling like mashed potatoes. There are plenty of exploding bombs in this picture, not to mention various other forms of destruction...But the action is orchestrated so sensitively that it's both aesthetically satisfying and emotionally resonant. There's a texture to the violence in Navy Seals that's completely absent in this summer's kaboom cartoons.

A fast-paced thriller with a wicked bite and a sure sense of humor, it traps you in a web of suspense and makes you squeal with pleasure. [18 July 1990, p.E1]