Anyone expecting a movie dominated by figure skating will be disappointed. The Cutting Edge concentrates on its characters, with the skating limited to a supporting role. This is not a movie for cynics, nor for those who don't occasionally like to sit back and enjoy an undemanding, "comfortable" film. For unadulterated fun, The Cutting Edge may not earn a gold medal, but it's worth at least a bronze.

Joe Eszterhas' screenplay doesn't make sense, and he doesn't bother to hide this fact. In the end, Basic Instinct teases and screws us with the same efficiency that the film's femme fatale handles the protagonist.

Gut-wrenching, brutal, and powerful, American Me is not enjoyable in the conventional sense, but nevertheless stands out as one of the year's most impressive purely dramatic offerings.

Star Trek VI is an improvement over its immediate predecessor, but it lacks the energy and thrills supplied by some of the lower-numbered sequels. The original crew of the Enterprise is apparently fated to fade away rather than going out in a proverbial "blaze of glory."

Beauty and the Beast attains a nearly-perfect mix of romance, music, invention, and animation.

Dead Again does not come across as a Hitchcock knock-off, but as a motion picture that incorporates familiar themes and approaches while maintaining its own integrity and identity. Not once during the entire production is there an obviously stolen scene or camera angle replication.

T2 features bigger, bolder, more energetic action sequences than its predecessor.

The Rocketeer may not be perfect, but it's an excellent example of how to adapt a comic book to the screen.

Chilling and creepy, and there's no denying that the most celebrated aspect of the film -- the Clarice/Hannibal connection -- could not have been accomplished with greater skill.

One of the most obvious problems with The Godfather Part III is that it covers little new territory. The plot is highly derivative of the original.

While no one is going to place Costner alongside Laurence Olivier in the acting department, he brings a likability to Dunbar that many better performers might not have been able to match.

I wouldn't go so far as to classify Jacob's Ladder as a masterpiece, but it is smart and compelling and unquestionably worth a first or second look.

With patience, care, and strict attention to detail, Scorsese has staked out an impregnable position in the history of motion pictures.

The Witches feels like a throwaway feature rather than a fully-realized fantasy adventure.

Pump Up the Volume, in addition to presenting an engaging story, has tapped into a universal truth about rebels with causes.

It's not as crisply directed, and the plot holes are easier to find, but Die Hard 2 is filled with the same sense of good-natured, wisecracking fun that infused the original.

An "intelligent" action film, because it presents the viewer with an opportunity to puzzle things out rather than sit mindlessly and watch people get blown to pieces.

Q & A is testimony to the validity of the old adage: a good story, when well told, can never be told too many times.

If there's anything disgusting or grotesque that The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover doesn't dabble in, I'm at a loss to figure out what it is. This film, a wildly exuberant, bitingly satirical examination of excess, bad taste, and great acting, is the kind of over-the-top experience that will have timid movie-goers running (not just walking) for the exits. Taboos? If director Peter Greenaway has any, you can't tell by this film.

Joe Versus the Volcano is difficult to review because some parts are fresh, inventive, and entertaining, while others are near-misses or even complete failures. On balance, however, I readily admit liking this movie, although the second half pales in comparison to the first.

This film is sometimes funny, sometimes joyful, and sometimes poignant, but it's always warm, wonderful, and satisfying. Cinema Paradiso affects us on many levels, but its strongest connection is with our memories.

Glory is, without question, one of the best movies ever made about the American Civil War.

Horror/comedies often tread too far to one side or the other of that fine line; Tremors walks it like a tightrope.

One of the great unanswered questions in Hollywood is how Chevy Chase still gets work. Although his appeal is not as incomprehensible as that of, say, Pauly Shore, it's not obvious, either; "range" is one word no one will ever use in conjunction with Chase's acting ability.

What the film does expertly is to weave together music, likable protagonists, thoroughly nasty villains, and a fun plot into a cohesive whole, with a result that is nothing short of magical.

Halloween 5 is the movie that pushed the Halloween franchise into the generic slasher film category.

While a child might be affected by the film, it takes the weight of a certain number of years to fully absorb what director Isao Takahata has put up on the screen.

Not since Dr. No has 007 been so cool and ruthless, and never has a plot been this close to realistic plausibility.