I can think of bad slasher sequels from the ‘80s that were more engaging than this one.

The movie starts cheating the audience early, and never lets up.

See Mr. Jones at your own risk. Those who enjoy excruciatingly manipulative melodrama will probably come out of this movie spouting words of praise. Those who don't find fulfillment in that sort of "experience" would do better looking someplace where the first name of the title character is revealed.

As it is, it's a passable diversion.

A gripping, powerful motion picture -- arguably the most forceful depiction of Jesus' death ever to be committed to film. It leaves an indelible imprint on the psyche; viewers of this movie may never look at a crucifix in quite the same way.

There are bad movies and annoying movies, and this one contains elements of both.

An effective period piece thriller that incorporates love, lust, desperation, and madness into a stew thickened by a gothic atmosphere.

Aside from the likable performers, Forces of Nature's greatest strength is that it flouts several established conventions of the genre.

For a movie intended to explore the conflicts and difficulties inherent in any kind of love (be it humans for each other or for their music), The Thing Called Love is largely unsuccessful. More than anything else, it ultimately appears to be little more than a predictable melodrama. Country fans will probably find in this motion picture an appropriate expression of their music. Everyone else is likely to view The Thing Called Love with about as much enthusiasm as they would reserve for the latest Randy Travis release.

It's a bit of a throwback and a solid family film and, at the time, represented a well-intentioned leap of faith of the sort that studios rarely take.

The Dilemma downshifts from slapstick to melodrama and back so abruptly that it is at times jarring.

The narrative contains some clever moments but the resolution somehow feels like a cop-out, perhaps because we’ve seen it so many times before.

Wonder Wheel seems more like a cobbled-together afterthought than the romantic melodrama it seeks to be.

This time around, however, the magic has fizzled. Based solely on merit, Now You See Me 2 is a sequel that should never have been made.

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.

It's a cloying, humorless motion picture whose only assets are the work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop and a couple of good one-liners by a pair of rodents.

Sadly, the result is a disappointment. Sure, the aerial battles are technically adept and occasionally exhilarating, but it's almost painful to sit through some of the "drama" that occurs on the ground.

Most of the time, it's just repetitive.

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

Deliver us from directors who think that asking cast members to overact is the only way he can cover us the numerous ludicrous weaknesses of his screenplay.

Weak dramatically, and that limits its overall effectiveness.

The book tore at my heart; the movie left me strangely unmoved.

Unfortunately, Picture Perfect uses embarrassing contrivances to sabotage what should have been a pleasant excursion down a familiar road.

The result is solidly entertaining - not quite as good as "Horton Hears a Who" or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - but unquestionably better than "The Cat in the Hat."

We’ve seen this kind of thing before but it’s done with sufficient schmaltz to work on its own terms. Damning with faint praise? You betcha, but that’s all I have.

In many ways, the concept underlying Lolita is more provocative than the actual material, which tends to be a bit long-winded. This is more the fault of the book than of Lyne's approach.

By sticking so close to the look and feel of the source material, The Super Mario Bros Movie comes across as something more desirous of being played than watched. I could see this adventure being great fun if approached with game controller in hand. Sitting in a movie theater, however, I found myself wanting more, as if I was only getting part of the experience.

The musical sequences throb with energy and this allows We Are Your Friends to maintain its trajectory when its momentum flags.