Take the worst things about independent movies - the wallowing in an unpleasantness, the narrative unsteadiness, the next-to-no story. Then combine those with a hefty dose of light comedy. The result: the big, fat tonal mess that is Happy Tears, a charmless film about two sisters who come together to care for their demented father.

Loser is just as it sounds.

The jokes are sophomoric, stereotypes are sprinkled everywhere and the acting ranges from bad to bodacious.

Ghost Rider has everything you don't want from your superhero movie, including lack of logic, boring action scenes, bad acting in the supporting performances, a brutally slow 114-minute running time and cringe-worthy dialogue.

This is a cute movie, a kid's movie, and a rather good one.

If the writing and direction carry Sphere most of the way, the actors manage to bring it home.

Does its conclusion make up for the gluten overload that was most of “Rebel Moon”? Well, the series’ not-at-all-original theme is redemption, so that depends on whether you’re in a forgiving mood or sufficiently wowed.

It isn't terrible. It's far from a milestone in Japanese animation, and not an especially memorable entertainment. Yet it doesn't try to be either of those things.

A loose, lighthearted romp that's a notch above the usual buddy comedies.

Respect is not something viewers will find much of in The Wedding Ringer, nor propriety, nor any of those things that make for respectable family viewing. It’s just a funny, impolite, very not-for-kids romp that goes there.

Applegate gets by without a false moment in a role that's more serious and has more angles than the airhead she plays on television. I want to see the movies she'll be making in about five years. [07 June 1991, p.E6]

It's a gallant battle against flawed material, and Hirschbiegel fights it to a draw.

Hannibal Rising isn't a classic, but it's entertaining and a surprisingly fitting addition to the franchise.

Freejack is the kind of picture that you watch and scoff at, and then when it's over, you leave the theater having had a good time, only mildly aware that the good time had something to do with the quality of the movie. Freejack is convoluted, a meeting of bad writing and bad science fiction. And yet, taken as a whole, it's really not bad. [18 Jan 1982, p.C3]

In essence, everything good in Self/less was derived from “Seconds,” and everything bad the writers and the director came up with on their own.

There’s a weepy turn in the sentimental third act, and why not? Nothing else was working.

There still is no life on Mars. Red Planet is airless.

This is trash on a big budget, but trash nonetheless.

Something so sappy, no one would believe me if I told them. It has to be seen to be disbelieved.

It's funny, easily the funniest and least self-conscious movie that director Nora Ephron has made.

I laughed hysterically, but in the interest of balanced reporting, I should add that the guy parked next to me at the screening - a boyfriend who was there under duress - emitted a series of low guttural noises suggesting profound psychological anguish.

Neither funny nor exciting. It’s at best incongruous, the kind of incongruity that seems delightful on the page but not in practice.

As British comedy sometimes will, A Long Way Down has an occasional attack of the cutes, but the actors' commitment keeps the movie on the plus side.

For all it does right, there's something seriously wrong.

Extremely boring.

The only thing good to say for The Forest is that Dormer is interesting, that she creates a different vibe and essence for each sister, and that it would be nice to see her in a better movie.

Has some laughs - more than a few thanks to Michael Douglas as a dead swinger (the movie's Jacob Marley) - and some moments of tenderness, too.

It is a boilerplate action comedy.