An interesting plot element or two and a stylish visual approach can't save James Foley's The Corruptor from coming across as a run-of-the-mill cop movie.

Frequently funny and occasionally hilarious.

No amount of youthful charisma can alter the fact that, in the light of "Dangerous Liaisons", Cruel Intentions is a feeble and dissatisfying shadow.

It's a superior thriller made with the guts and gusto that too many recycled entries into the genre fail to exhibit.

A tepid affair, distinguished by bland character development, uninspired and insipid dialogue, and a nonexistent plot.

Would probably have been more enjoyable if Berkowitz was less irritating. As a character, his only redeeming quality is his self-deprecating humor.

This is a film to be enjoyed on a psychological level for its keen understanding of the contradictory impulses that drive sexual and social intercourse.

The result, while not entirely devoid of entertainment value, doesn't work as a whole.

Two agonizing hours of lifeless, mind-numbing hogwash.

It fails to sustain its comic momentum or high energy level. The first half is fresh and funny, but it doesn't last.

With its lack of car chases, fist fights, and over-the-top melodrama, the film has to rely on solid acting, an intelligent script, and capable directing.

Like the candy from which it gets its name, Jawbreaker is fun at the start, but can turn into a chore to complete.

As a date movie or for a solo night out, Blast from the Past offers more than standard romantic comedy fare.

It's not a great film, but it succeeds in being both tender and cathartic.

The movie is pretty much what you might expect from a big-screen adaptation of a once-popular '60s TV series: good-natured, appealing, and sophomoric.

The result is sometimes enchanting, but, more often than not, it's frustrating, because the disparate elements of the plot never quite gel.

While there's quite a bit more graphic bloodshed and brutality here than in any of the late screen icon's vehicles, Payback is a worthy '90s successor to his kind of movie.

Despite being largely uninspired, the dialogue is peppered with enough profanity and salacious comments to keep the undiscriminating interested.

Just because it's not boring, that doesn't mean it's worth plunking down the price of admission.

The movie is consistently well-acted and features a gallery of characters so affable that it's difficult to actively dislike any of them, or, for that matter, the film as a whole.

Offers solid entertainment, it's too uneven to be considered memorable.

95 minutes of unrelieved tedium.

Unfortunately, Voight is not in every scene, and, when he's absent, Varsity Blues has a tendency to flounder, descending into the realm of formulaic sports movie melodrama.

The director is a poet of images.

Affliction is for anyone willing to take the journey into the heart and soul of a troubled man on the edge.

It is a triumph, and one of 1998's few "don't miss" motion pictures.

One could easily argue that, like many Ed Wood-type bad movies, The Faculty might be headed for the cult classic shelf in the video store. Unfortunately, it's not campy enough, and, worse, it seems to think it's being hip when it's just being dumb.

A courtroom drama which is sufficiently different and thought-provoking that I can recommend it with a clear conscience.

This is the kind of tearjerker that will cause audience members to cry, but only because they paid hard-earned money to see it.

The kind of film that will work for an audience that's just interested in having an emotional experience (with a happy ending) without caring how obviously or clumsily they are manipulated. I find this sort of sledgehammer film making to be offensive, but there are those who enjoy it.

Joe is a masterpiece of special effects wizardry, looking more real than any giant primate ever to walk across the silver screen. By combining animatronics, computer-generated images, and a man in a costume, Mighty Joe Young creates a compelling illusion.

The Theory of Flight is far from a perfect movie, but it offers enough highlights that, on balance, it's worth a recommendation. The solid acting camouflages a great many other deficiencies.

A feel-good movie that offers enough comedy and romance to warm the heart without risking a sentimental overdose.

Overall, it's a story of triumph and adventure - of oppression ended and freedom begun.

The characters are at the heart of A Simple Plan, and the gruesome complexity of their interaction elevates this film to the level of a midwinter treat.

Not a great film, but it's an excuse to have an evening of pure enjoyment with a little culture painlessly mixed in.

Rushmore is one of those films that's so inconsequential that its memory threatens to fade away before the end credits have finished rolling.

The best Star Trek stories are allegorical - in addition to telling an involving story, they're about something other than going into space and blowing up enemy ships. Insurrection continues that tradition.

Kids might think the snowman is cool, and some adults might be mildly amused by some of what transpires, but, on the whole, Jack Frost is far too superficial to be affecting, and its facile resolution to the loss of a parent borders on insulting. This is the kind of film that will leave most viewers cold.

By offering opportunities to laugh, cry, and cheer, Little Voice satisfies in a big way.

Redundant and unnecessary.

A Bug's Life, like “Toy Story,” develops protagonists we can root for, and places them in the midst of a fast-moving, energetic adventure.

The tone, which veers uncertainly between dark comedy and suspense, is uneven, and the characters are not vivid enough to stabilize the load of a shifting, runaway plot.

A fast-food type of movie - it looks good in the commercials and is easy to sit through, but it doesn't offer much in the way of satisfaction.

Pig in the City has been designed with the goal of recapturing the enchanting feel of the original while taking the story in new and different directions. It succeeds at both aims, standing as a worthy sequel to one of the decade's most innovative family features.

An unabashed excursion into feel good territory.

A touching, well-made motion picture whose only real flaw lies in the overfamiliar storyline.

It is a recognized truth of the movie industry that even the best film makers will have disappointments, and, for Woody Allen, Celebrity fits into that category.

I can recognize when a movie has been made for the sole purpose of generating a few cheap bucks, and that's exactly the case with The Rugrats Movie, an embarrassingly juvenile production that would seem more at home in the midst of Saturday morning cartoons than on a big screen.

It offers a solid two hours of pure, escapist entertainment.

Meet Joe Black has the dubious distinction of being the longest film to date of 1998. It is also one of the most tedious and bombastic.

If there's a blessing, it's that the sequel isn't appreciably worse than the original - but that's slim praise considering how bad the first one was.

It's a rousing adventure that keeps the audience involved for the entirety of the two hour running time while opening a window into the culture that gave birth to Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Francis Bacon, and William Shakespeare.

It's a thinking person's thriller, where pyrotechnics give way to plot, character development supplants fight scenes, and adrenaline does not short-circuit intelligence.

Director Todd Haynes' (Safe) much-anticipated look at the "glam rock" scene of two decades ago, is like a jigsaw puzzle with half of the pieces missing.

Arguably Sandler's most enjoyable motion picture to date, but it's still far from a masterpiece.

A rich, multi- layered portrait of a director from Hollywood's Golden Age whose own life was as interesting as any of his movies.

May be flawed, but it's not easily forgotten.

Living Out Loud is not a monumental motion picture. In fact, in many ways, it's quite the opposite - a quiet, unassuming story of friendship and love that uses richly-developed characters to charm its audience.

The essential problem with the movie isn't that it's loud, violent, and gory, but that, before Carpenter ratchets up the tension in the final 35 minutes, it's not especially interesting.

It's the depiction of the love and sacrifice of a father for a son that makes Life is Beautiful worthwhile.

Not only is Pleasantville a satire, a fantasy, and a visual marvel, but it's the best kind of feel-good movie.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about Apt Pupil is the lack of sustained tension generated by director Bryan Singer.

Best of all, it proves that there are still directors cut from the John Waters mold who aren't content just to push the envelope -- they rip right through it.

Because of the dominance of the central figure and the way in which The Cruise has been assembled, it functions more as a character study than a travelogue, and that makes for an engaging time in a darkened theater.

While much of the archival footage presented in The Last Days is new, the substance is familiar. These are the kinds of images that no Holocaust film can ignore, because they drive home the horror of what transpired five decades ago, half a world away.

Where Happiness shines, however, is in the series of extraordinary performances given by the members of the diverse ensemble cast. Leading the group is Dylan Baker, whose turn as Bill is astounding.

Beloved is for those who want substance from a movie, and don't mind facing uncomfortable truths in the process.

Unfortunately, like far too many films, this one gives up the ghost during the last fifteen minutes, saddling an otherwise-enjoyable film with a dumb ending.

It's openly silly and, by almost every traditional critical standard, it falls a little short of the mark. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Bride of Chucky enough to place it on my ever-growing list of "guilty pleasures," and I recommend it to those who enjoy horror films (although probably not to anyone else). The movie laughs at itself, and I laughed along with it.

The result is a poorly-focused motion picture characterized by limp satire and capped off by a final fifteen minutes that could send half of the audience into sugar shock.

he Celebration rips apart the placid facade of a familiar subject, leaving its audience stunned. As difficult as the film can at times be, the patient viewer will be rewarded.

The real reason to see Slam, however, isn't as much for the story as it is for the energy and tone. The moments when Slam soars makes the rest of it palatable.

Visually, it's more impressive than Disney's “Toy Story.”

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that is so boring and pointless, that those faithful movie-goers who never walk out on a film have to find some alternative to watching the mind- numbing stupidity unfolding on the screen.

What Dreams May Come has the sensibilities of an art film placed into a big-budget feature with an A-list cast.

The final half-hour contains enough contrivances and holes to challenge even the most generous movie-goer's suspension of disbelief.

Ronin manages to remain focused on the plot and the characters, even while staging increasingly complicated pyrotechnic set pieces and offering its share of white-knuckle moments.

With each death, the film becomes less interesting. By the end, it's just a routine slasher flick with a too-predictable final "twist."

The content is actually pretty bland -- it's not incisive, it's not daring, it's not uproarious, and it's not very good.

With fresh dialogue and a willingness to show his protagonists in a less-than-favorable light, Demme has found a way to make this entry memorable.

A somewhat lackluster cop buddy movie that goes wrong in two big ways: (1) it fails to utilize Chan's full range of skills, relegating him to the role of a kickboxing action hero and virtually ignoring his comedic aptitude, and (2) it saddles him with a partner, played by the irritating Chris Tucker.

Although the plot rarely excels, the actors bring enough to their roles to transform this motion picture into a satisfying weeper.

Not only was I touched by the characters and engrossed by their story during the 120 minutes they were on screen, but I could have easily spent another hour or two with them.

Although the storyline is predictable, the intelligent dialogue and top-drawer acting more than make up for the possible deficiency.

It's an excursion into a melodramatic morass that occasionally becomes difficult to sit through because it's so cloying.

An effective character study of a figure who has attained an almost-mythical status among track-and-field followers.

It's amazing how boring an action movie can be when there's absolutely no point to all of the sound and fury.

Too often, the film is more like a soundtrack with visuals than a well constructed, fully developed motion picture.

By the time the film is well into its second hour, we begin to wonder whether there's ever going to be a variation on the carnage and mayhem. As it turns out, there isn't.

There are times when, as diverting as it can be, Next Stop, Wonderland feels like a lengthy prologue to an as-yet unmade film.

As was true for "In the Company of Men," LaBute doesn't care if viewers are offended. Supported by a fine group of actors, he tells the story without compromises, and that gives us a refreshing alternative to multiplex fare.

Unfortunately for the poor viewer trapped into sitting through this 95 minute mess, the humor is both conventional and unfunny, the script never takes any chances, and the ending is a cop-out.

This film is an absolute mess.

Many times, films that combine comedy and drama do so in an uncomfortable and unwieldy manner. In Slums of Beverly Hills, the approach is natural and satisfying.

For once, with How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Hollywood offers a love story that concentrates on the simple nuances of the romance rather than smothering us in an overly- melodramatic narrative featuring old boyfriends, jealousy, and hard-to-swallow misunderstandings.

The film's ending is a little unanticipated, and, although there are a few too many surprise revelations in the last 20 minutes, they all work reasonably well to enhance, rather than diminish, the central theme.

Mixed together, all of this makes for a fascinating viewing experience, but the unfortunate ending diluted my enthusiasm for the film as a whole.