An absorbing slice of a lost world that's actually very reminiscent of Kurosawa's underappreciated 1957 film, "The Lower Depths."

While Gainsbourg and Stamp are charming, Attal's husband is difficult to like, to say the least. Must a woman as gracious and intelligent as Charlotte really settle for domesticity with such a near-abusive boor?

Despite a few places where the air of déjà vu is a bit too thick, it's a class act, with a textured script, one of the series' more stunning title sequences.

It is purely and fearlessly a girl-and-her-horse movie that isn't trying to be all things for all audiences.

Indeed, it is a uniquely dreamlike, lushly romantic, highly erotic and prototypically Coppolaesque version of the story - a movie that does for the vampire genre what "The Godfather" did for the gangster saga, and what "Apocalypse Now" did for the war movie: raises it to the level of grand opera. [13 Nov 1992, p.5]

An edgy comedy with heart.

The nuttiest big-screen video game you'll ever have the pleasure of seeing somebody else play.

As good as it is in pieces, its protagonists are distancing, its story is tangled, its film-noir cynicism is oppressive and unglamorous, and it just doesn't leave us with the satisfying unity of the kind of great movie it wants to be.

Ball's snide humor and cynical arrogance undercut his message at every turn.

Director Mitchell Lichtenstein finds new ground in the over-tilled suburbia of David Lynch and John Waters.

The Groomsmen, while as corny as a Staten Island marriage proposal, rings true on many levels.

It's an ambitious, eye-filling and thought-provoking work, but it manages to be frustratingly uneven and doesn't really represent Bertolucci at his most fluent. [27 May 1994]

Much of the film is funny and alive.

A cheerful and stylish romantic comedy that's easy on the eyes and ears, and makes few demands on the intellect.

Garner's vulnerable, winning performance strikes emotional chords (not to mention nostalgia) in this fantasy comedy.

As fresh as a highlight reel of day-after replays, Mr. 3000 is a case of major-league talent stuck in a minor-league story.

Don't let the title trick you. The British comedy Kinky Boots is probably the most kinkless film featuring fetish wear ever to strut its stilettoed heels across the silver screen.

After its rough opening, Smart People settles down to be a funny, wryly enjoyable, effortlessly poignant parable of family life and a splendid showcase for its cast -- especially Page, who handily steals the movie and proves that her "Juno" success was no fluke.

Ledger mumbles his entire performance (some of it barely legible) as a fuzzy, friendly, happily passive heroin addict and sometime poet, as if he's too blissed out to even open his mouth as he simply drifts along with his addiction.

Dennis Quaid gives what may be his best performance in the stylish thriller Flesh and Bone, but the movie around him is so cold, quirky and ploddingly predictable that it's hard to recommend. [05 Nov 1993]

While not a grand-slam comedy, the offbeat humor and easy byplay gives The Grand a winning hand.

The result is joyous and exhilarating.

If Chadha never quite overcomes her cliches, her good-natured humor and familial faith gives it a warm, winsome dimension.

The best thing the movie has going for it is Kidman's performance.

It's the strength of the actresses and their nurturing community that makes this Eden so satisfying.

In many ways, a magical little movie in its own right, and a thoroughly pleasant experience.

Plays like a pilot for a situation comedy about a 40-year-old carpenter who decides to return to the boxing ring.

It could be more involving, but it's funny enough that you won't care.