Tedious "message movie" proves hunting war criminals amid right-wing Catholic conspirators can be plenty dull.

There are wonders here, but there are as many things that just plain make you wonder. By the end you're too addled to be truly moved.

Incomplete, shrill and smug.

I love that fanboys fought for Fanboys. Unfortunately, their passion was misplaced.

Portland's dreary climate is used to good effect, but it's not enough to make up for the director's needlessly convoluted approach.

To quote Dennis Hopper from the film "Search and Destroy": "Just because it happened to you doesn't make it interesting."

Feels like a tonic for its makers, a means of clearing the palate after a series of rich meals. For viewers who appreciate risks, it should be just as refreshing.

The film is weighed down by the decision of director David Atkins to throw too much into the mix. The result is a serious problem of consistency.

It's merely a by-the-numbers coming-of-age film

Quite possibly the single most artless gross-out comedy I have ever seen. It relentlessly slaps you with dead carp after dead carp of icky gags -- without any of the cleverness, cinematography or characterization that would give those gags even the slightest bit of juice.

It's passable, but in telling the tale of a man known to attempt the risky drive, it's a shame the filmmakers decided to shoot for par.

Oscar-winner Davis can maintain her dignity in just about anything, and she almost gives Lila enough depth to be a compelling character. Lopez gets points for trying something a bit more challenging than the hot-for-teacher dreck of "The Boy Next Door," but she inevitably struggles to hit more than one note.

The chief thing he (Susser) has going for him is Gordon-Levitt, whose intense immersion in his overwritten character is laudable if the result isn't exactly likeable.

There are movies that reach for the top. There are movies that go over the top. And then there is Smokin' Aces, a slick, shallow and sometimes quite enjoyable action film that is so far beyond over-the-top that it likely mistook the top for the bottom as it burst through it on its way to who knows where.

A by-the-numbers recipe that ought to have shot off at least a few sparks, is as drab as the inmates' prison blues.

The line between fearlessness and idiocy can be a thin one, especially in this sport, and the doc never gets too far under Way's skin. But when he soars -- on a skateboard! -- above the massive structure that kept invading armies at bay for centuries, it's pretty darn cool.

At times the movie feels like two Very Special Episodes of "Law & Order: SVU" stitched together, but on balance it's a smart, well-cast piece of grown-up entertainment.

Brainless, witless, inept, ugly and crude,

The few chuckles the film affords come early, and too often the script desperately tries to repeat them. By the end, it's not funny or happy -- just over. And you're glad for it, the one true emotion you feel in the whole two hours.

Peter Bogdanovich made a great screwball comedy. This isn't it.

Like Father, Like Son is amusing, occasionally funny, and swift. [02 Oct 1987, p.E13]

The surfing scenes are gorgeous and overwhelming. But the rest of the film...

Plays like an episode of "JAG," the naval courtroom TV series. A L-O-N-G episode.

Ponderous, pretentious and boring, Levity becomes ironic on top of itself. You won't pity these people. You'll start laughing at them. Like a clown.

Bang-bang, kiss-kiss, yawn-yawn. While dull death metal churns on the soundtrack, Johnson engages in one big brawl after another.

Roughness at least has a few good laughs in the formula. [30 Sept 1991, p.D08]

The acting is the strongest thing about the film. Pitt nicely balances the dashing and wounded sides of Tristan's character. [13 Jan 1995]

Jim Carrey kills it every time he shows up in his supporting role as street magician Steve Gray.