The exhibits in this Night at the Museum may still come to life nightly. But their latest movie stays stubbornly inert.

Scratch the surface, and the movie's underpinnings are an insult to women everywhere -- the film is slick stupid propaganda for the myth of The One True Love that wastes the talents of fine actresses.

Now The Matrix Revolutions is here, and a verdict is justified. The death penalty seems a little strong, but can we lock this franchise up and forget where we put the key?

Solid acting, especially from the women, and a few good Colin Farrell jokes make this familiar tale better than it probably should be.

In the Heart of the Sea doesn't trust itself enough to be great.

Performances are for the most part strong, especially Seyfried's, and Kusama uses Fox well, making the most of the actress' blank-eyed arrogance. It's not a performance that suggests a lot of range, but it's fun to watch.

Talky, didactic and essentially free of any real narrative, it views Iraq through the lens of Vietnam, which is fair enough, but ends up making the whole polemic seem like a condescending effort from aging baby boomers to get the younger generation to step up to the plate.

Makes a fine primer on one of today's most intriguingly creative and surreptitiously popular acts.

A limp and annoying picture.

Though there are some funny moments, little in "Red, White and Blonde" is enjoyable.

Moves you with a couple of its grittier dramatic choices, but overall the film feels cheap, tugging a little too hard on the almost instinctual pride you feel when seeing a hero in fireman's outfit.

Ends up feeling like the sort of leisurely man's-man adventure movie you used to be able to catch on Sunday afternoon TV.

The drama is telegraphed and glossy and un-fascinating; the edges have been belt-sanded until any camp value is lost. And it's filmed in that "Moulin Rouge"/"Chicago" style where you see half a dance move before the shot cuts -- which somehow makes a lot of difficult, sexy work seem simultaneously frenetic and boring.

If the title hadn't already been taken by another equally strained recent comedy, the new Kevin Costner vehicle could have been dubbed "Idiocracy."

Rockwell is spectacular here, infusing Victor with a charm that makes you root for him despite the essentially sleazy con-man emptiness of his existence.

There are moments here so out of whack that you almost wonder if David Lynch isn't snickering somewhere at having fooled everyone into thinking someone else made the film.

What it plays like is a trifling story strung out to great length without much narrative drive, tinged with some disturbing racial undertones.

No matter your opinion on where we're headed, this film will give you some crucial information about where we've been.

Stays engaging, chiefly, through the textured, ambiguous performances of Spacey, Moore and Dench.

Overall, Luther does a satisfying job of restoring humanity to a woodcut icon.

It's an intelligent, funny, mature comedy that wears its heart on its sleeve and makes you care about the inner lives of ridiculously privileged human beings.

By film's end, you've enjoyed a middle-of-the-road episode of the series, basically. And as usual, Deputy Trudy and Lt. Dangle are getting the best lines while about one-third of the jokes hit their marks.

Delivers the expected thrills and groans.

Landis keep things moving smoothly as both a director and supervising editor. He too has an uncharacteristic light touch. The film is simply a happy surprise. [26 Apr 1991, p.R13]

Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are back, as is director Martin Campbell, but the result has the all-too-common feel of an expired equine redundantly abused.

The only bright spot is Marsden, a great actor who's always stuck playing the less-desirable romantic rival (see: "The Notebook," "X-Men," "Superman Returns"). He finally gets the fun-guy role for a change and does everything he can to rip it up. He can only do so much.

Too often monochromatic, programmatic and just plain lost.

The only thing unpredictable about The Prince and Me is the plot's basic logic. It's unfortunate, because the young leads are appealing and the issues Paige confronts are important. Why couldn't the movie be half as smart as she?