Forgiving its moments of melodrama, Philadelphia makes emotional power punches out of every smile, embrace and tear in its story of a regular guy contracting AIDS and getting booted out of the law firm that once lifted him to glory. [14 Jan 1994, p.C1]

By any measure, the horrifying yet powerfully uplifting Schindler's List from director Steven Spielberg is a milestone in the art of filmmaking. [15 Dec 1993]

The darker this visionary film gets -- and it gets very dark -- the less comic and the more chilling it becomes. At the same time, it grows more brilliant as a view of modern society poisoned by a battering incivility or cruel exploitation that, in Leigh's view, is played out most profoundly in gender conflict. When ''Naked'' isn't beaning your brain, it's twisting a screwdriver between the wires of your nerves. [28 Jan. 1994, p.C1]

Myers and Carvey bring a lot of goofy, adolescent charm to the party, but not enough to save an idea that's grown stale. [10 Dec 1993, p.C3]

Sister Act 2 doesn't challenge Goldberg, but it's a marvelous showcase, nonetheless, for one of the screen's most likable personalities. [10 Dec 1993, p.C1]

What we get with Geronimo, is very good action long on Western flavor and not especially compelling in the historical sense. [01 Apr 1994, p.C16]

Guare's play is austerely funny and cerebral, and the film stays true to it, neither warming it up nor dumbing it down. [22 Dec 1993, p.E1]

Gentler in tone than the English working-class comedies of Mike Leigh (Life Is Sweet and High Hopes), The Snapper manages to draw laughs from the cheerful vulgarity of its characters without ridiculing them. [17 Dec 1993, p.C3]

Costner and Lowther are a winning pair, and Eastwood, an elegant director, takes his time telling the story, seasoning it with frequent humor and avoiding the logistics of the manhunt. [24 Nov 1993, p.E1]

Addams Family Values is so much better than the first film -- partly because Sonnenfeld, who made his directing debut with the first film, has refined his directing chops, but mostly because Rudnick has contributed a delightful, mock- macabre script. [19 Nov 1993, p.C1]

The colorful, character-rich details of Carlito's Way provide the fire and fun in Brian De Palma's latest suspense opera, which dives into a Spanish Harlem swaggering and swaying with macho and meanness. But it's a bloated picture, full of itself in the name film art. [12 Nov 1993, p.C1]

RoboCop 3 ought to be a lot more mean and harrowing a sci- fi thriller than it is. Yet it still has a wicked humor underneath its prophetic grin. [05 Nov 1993, p.C3]

It's a sensational part for a young actress -- the film is told entirely from her point of view, using her journal entries as voice-over narration -- and Judd, in her first film, gives a subtle, delicate performance. [05 Nov 1993, p.C12]

Cmera work can't do anything about the barrenness of the screenplay, nor the sense of fundamental insincerity at the core of the film. [03 Sep 1993]

Magical and haunting, The Piano has the power and delicate mystery of a gothic fairy tale. [19 Nov 1993]

Fatal Instinct isn't funny, which in a comedy is a slight problem. The movie isn't funny for several reasons, but the most important reason is that the jokes aren't any good. [29 Oct 1993, p.C3]

In addition to being a visual treat, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a musical whose handful of songs delivers elements of the plot in the manner of a '40s MGM musical comedy. Songs by composer-lyricist Danny Elfman (founder of the rock band Oingo Boingo) are amusingly vital throughout, and even pretty. Andrew Lloyd Webber could take some tips from this guy. [22 Oct 1993, p.C1]

Some folks will have no trouble being inspired by Rudy's story; some will feel as though they boarded a sinking submarine. [13 Oct 1993, p.D2]

A surprisingly clever lunatic comedy that may prompt some sniping from liberal fussbudgets, but has undeniable comic vitality. [15 Oct 1993, p.C1]

Concubine demonstrates that Chinese films are growing by leaps and bounds in their technical sophistication, but also reveals how much they borrow from the energy and style of American cinema. [29 Oct 1993, p.C1]

Director Mike Figgis (''Internal Affairs'') adorns ''Mr. Jones'' with some unconventional touches, abrupt fade-outs that give a touch of poetry to the endings of scenes -- and keeps the audience believing that ''Mr. Jones'' is a class act long after it's obvious it's not. [8 Oct 1993, p.C3]

Deadfall is dreadful -- pretentious story, bad acting, off-kilter direction, disgusting violence and irrelevant sex. [06 Dec 1993, p.D2]

It's compelling, emotionally exhausting terrain, and Altman delivers it in cold, blunt strokes. [22 Oct 1993]

The film is a methodical and loving examination of two people constructing a fantasy for themselves. [08 Oct 1993]

It's the kind of movie you may approach with a show-me attitude, only to be won over to its hip sense of fun and a gentle humanity that lets you walk away with a glow. [1 Oct 1993, p.C1]

The film holds no surprises. It's strictly by the book, uninspired and only vaguely sincere. But Michael J. Fox is not by the book; he is always genuine. Fox's charm, his comic ease and his genuine good acting manage to keep this mediocre ''vehicle'' afloat, scene by scene, to the end. I believed he was in love with the girl, even though I couldn't figure out why. [1 Oct 1993, p.C3]

The movie's episodic view of a collection of interesting friends, sweethearts, and cliques often rings so true that it might be a documentary...It's so right, you might think Linklater has mastered time travel. [24 Sept 1993]

In its sober, nonassertive way, Bopha! takes on the tone and weight of a Greek tragedy. [24 Sept 1993, p.C1]