Director Edward Zwick tried to make a great movie, but somewhere in the process he forgot to make a good one.

Unfortunately, the inspired concept is coupled with weak screenwriting, and the movie turns out to be much more fun to think about than it is to watch.

Techine doesn't have much of a story to tell, so instead of moving the narrative forward, he expands it laterally.

Overall Freedom Writers is a noble effort. At a time when New Year's resolutions to change already are falling by the wayside, you can't help but be moved by a group of young people who followed through on their resolve.

This feast of fantasy is worth it.

A witty, energetic adaptation.

The film rarely matches Crudup's performance, appearing confused itself about whether it's farce or drama.

Disarmingly intelligent if scattered documentary.

A typical vehicle for Ferrell's atypical humor.

For a while, you can feel like a part of the golden circle.

“Meat’s meat and a man’s gotta eat” is the kind of line that makes this an offbeat horror treat. Some moments are satirical of other horror films, yet they carry a horrific impact, so you may not have much time to laugh before fright sets in.

The biggest betrayal of The Traitor is its crime against the usually compelling Mafia movie genre. This is an offer you can refuse.

The Anthrax Attacks conjures the terror and paranoia afresh and, with the hindsight of 21 years, asks the viewer to consider how effectively the crisis was handled.

Gladiator II coasts: never good, never terrible, always a little disappointing, with speeches that fall flat and gladiator battles that are like watching the World Series when your team isn’t in it.

Each time Something New touches on something controversial, it quickly retreats to some silliness.

In the Taken movies, the hilarity of mild-mannered Neeson going on a family vacation with hand grenades in his suitcase was never acknowledged, but it was there and part of the fun. Here, the comedy is closer to the surface, thanks to the wit of Kolstad’s screenplay and of Ilya Naishuller’s direction.

Best of all is Richard Harris as Paddy O'Neil, an IRA spokesman. With his deeply lined and very Irish face, Harris has a wonderful look for the part. [5 June 1992, p.D1]

The film is good enough to inspire viewers to learn more about Fela, but it should be better than that.

Provides a powerful look at the complex condition of autism and family dedication.

These scenes of raving nonsense might have seemed radical in, say, the 1970s. Now they’re just tiresome.

The best thing that can be said for “Kinds of Kindness” is that it’s never quite boring, despite being 164-minutes long and lacking much of a story.

Futuro Beach is part of a welcome wave of European and South American films that center on gay characters, yet deal with universal themes and offer a certain sensibility that would please any art-house enthusiast.

It’s good to see Spielberg, at 71, still finding new forms of cinematic language with which to express his humanism. It also should be said that though Ready Player One wears a cheerful face, there are none of the usual heartwarming, classic Spielberg moments. That’s because, second to “Munich,” this is his most pessimistic film.

Ideally It Could Happen to You should be fun all the way, with the audience confident things will turn out right. Instead it's mostly annoying, with an ending that feels tagged on.

A goopy Gwyneth Paltrow movie.

Star Trek: Insurrection is out there where the imagination collides with roaring spaceships, exotic planets, wonderfully nutty costumes, a few choice jokes and some fascinating ideas.

Spielberg uses a more conventional format than he did in the stripped-down black-and-white "Schindler's List,'' and delivers a film that veers between stoic political correctness and mushy pop-Hollywood platitudes.

A successful work of art. To see this movie is to feel that you've lived it.