Slowly, inexorably and fascinatingly, Jean de Florette glides to a seemingly inevitable ending -- and to scenes of the next installment. [14 Sep 1987, p.C05]

Rita, Sue and Bob Too, also adapted by a playwright (Andrea Dunbar) from her own work, is more an out-and-out raucous, raunchy comedy, although hardly a madcap, farcical romp. [03 Oct 1987, p.C08]

The film is funny, odd and real. [18 Sept 1987, p.E18]

Midler and Long are great together, and the dialogue is hilarious. [22 Nov 1987, p.11]

It's a safe bet that those who like the music will like the film, and those who don't would find it uncomfortable. But as a combination of historical homage, docudrama and concert film, it is well acted, well filmed and well mixed. [3 Dec 1987, p.E07]

In many respects, it's Kurosawa's most sumptuous film, a feast of color, motion and sound: Considering that its brethren include "Kagemusha," "The Seven Samurai" and "Dersu Uzala," the achievement is extraordinary. [01 Dec 2000, p.26]

Filled with wonderful performances, especially by Hedaya and Walsh, Blood Simple remains a tight, beautifully ugly, neo-noir classic.

The big-screen reissue offers a rare chance to admire the marvelous production details. [2002 Director's Cut]

The music is lively, loud, often powerful, sometimes raunchy, yet full of unexpected subtleties and nuances. The staging is frenetic but as perfect as the machines of the art can produce. This is first class music video.

Most memorable for its startling color scheme, all sepia-toned monochrome with occasional stabs of icy blue. [23 Mar 2001]

This 1983 film is well-staged, well-acted and backed by a suitably nervous Jerry Goldsmith score. [25 Sep 1998, p.36]

Starring Linda Blair and the late Tamara Dobson, it's the ultimate women-in-prison movie and a landmark of exploitation cinema. [02 Oct 2009]

It's a fascinating look into what Spielberg truly loves, but it's not so much a masterpiece as a nice milestone. [2002 re-release]

The film is so-so, but producer/writer Bob Kaufman, flush with the success of Love at First Bite said High Cost was the forerunner of a new way of life. [04 Aug 1991, p.34]

As far as a coherent, hilarious story line, as well as sheer blasphemous glee, you can't do much better than "Life of Brian."

One of the best political films of the last 20 years. [16 Oct 1988, p.06]

This edition -- clean and tight as Scott would have it -- presents a strong case for Alien as both the greatest horror film and the greatest science-fiction film ever made.

Now that cinema technology has made a live-action "The Lord of the Rings" possible, these versions are likely to be displaced. They'll retain a nostalgic charm, though, especially for those to whom they were the first peek into the fantastic world of Middle Earth. [24 Aug 2001]

With his customary sensitivity, director Bert I. Gordon ripped off Them! as well as his own Amazing Colossal Man. Nutty as it all is, it takes a sudden lurch into deeper nuttiness at the end. [09 Aug 1996, p.37]

Not only did surviving vets get to see their World War II exploits (in the September 1944 Arnhem debacle) played out spectacularly for all the world to see, but several got to coach the actors playing them. [28 Dec 2001]

The term “iconic” is often overused, but in the case of Brian De Palma’s 1976 horror film “Carrie,” it’s justified. The image of Sissy Spacek doused in blood at the prom is unmistakable and regularly referenced in other scary movies and parodies. [28 Feb 2014, p.R06]

There's an inherent contradiction at the film's core: this sexually explicit motion picture, seemingly made by and for altered consciousnesses, is all about how an innocent newcomer falls prey to gin, sex, and television.

The film is whimsical and satirical but not totally a comedy. Despite the occasional Monty Python-esque jab at romantic history, the story of the central lovers is also poignant, a chronicle of bad choices and missed opportunities. [25 Jun 1999]

The Killer Elite is possibly Bloody Sam's worst film, and the martial-arts-themed actioner is must-see material only for the director's completists, despite a cast that includes James Caan and Robert Duvall. [17 Jun 2005, p.43]

It is a colorful tale in an exotic location, with excitingly staged action scenes, exotic desert locale and a richly colorful musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. It is also rich in satirical cynicism about international relations and political expediency. [09 Oct 1991, p.D07]

Schlesinger's adaptation of Nathaniel West's classic novella, the Hollywood of the 1930s is decidedly as ruinous for its denizens as the Hollywood of the 1970s. [28 Jul 2000]

Sheer bliss for Monty Python freaks who either have never seen the anarchistic, absurdist and hilarious trials and tribulations of King Arthur and his knights depicted on the big screen or haven't for more than 20 years. From the Knights who say "Ni!" to the killer bunny, the picture stands the test of time. [17 Aug 2001]

This is Mel Brooks' finest hour. [28 Jan 2005, p.11]