IF you loved ''Hairspray,'' you'll probably like ''Cry-Baby.'' John Waters' latest teen-age musical spoof is entertaining. But it lacks some of the satiric edge that made ''Hairspray'' rather outrageous, although it was quite tame compared to some of Waters' earlier movies. [6 Apr 1990, p.3F]

World War Z, based on a novel by Max Brooks and directed by Marc Forster ("Quantum of Solace"), has a relatively plausible perspective on mass catastrophe. It deserves comparisons to Steven Soderbergh’s brainy “Contagion.”

An engaging but problematic film. Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Laura Terruso, director Michael Showalter (“The Baxter”) seems a bit uncertain in his approach.

L'amour fou means "crazy love," but we don't learn anything crazy about these devoted lovers.

Pretty good entertainment, but not an outstanding time at the movies. [17 Aug 1989, p.6E]

Laggies is the kind of indie film that gives the genre a bad name.

A slight step down from the first two, but still very good. [02 Aug 2005, p.E1]

The film is a criminal waste of an ensemble cast that should have found something better to do than lend their names to such a pointless exercise. Free Fire is a misfire.

Keanu is an uneven but frequently hilarious comedy that relies heavily on the appeal of Key and Peele.

Megamind falls flat.

This quasi-horror film has the great director's usual craftsmanship and a stellar cast, but ultimately it's an infuriating trick that makes its most provocative ideas disappear.

Bursting with smart dialogue, surprising situations and humor that springs from richly imagined characters.

It's as if there's a missing reel of film that could tie the story together and give it the emotional impact it takes for granted.

After a rough start, the film achieves escape velocity to generate escapist thrills.

Judged solely in comparison to its corporate cousins, Iron Man 3 is a defective model. It’s lightweight but slow, padded with cheap jokes to disguise how hollow it is.

Executive Decision sticks to the action at hand, and except for some rather long and claustrophobic moments, offers up the required amount of impossible-to-believe but satisfyingly tense moments. [15 Mar 1996, p.3E]

The inspirational movie named for Robinson’s number is too dignified to throw audiences a curveball, let alone a knockdown pitch, but its solid fundamentals make it a winner.

The latest Hollywood version of the Godzilla story is neither fun nor fearsome. It’s an empty spectacle in which the humans are as meaningless as the monster.

Killer Joe is one of the most repugnant parodies of small-town stupidity that you will ever see, and Friedkin amplifies the shrill obscenities with blaring cartoon and kung-fu footage from his art director's fever dreams.

For the screen version, Baldwin is back, along with Meg Ryan, and there's less chemistry than in a high-school laboratory in July. [10 Jul 1992, p.3G]

The photography is gorgeous, the action is predictable but fairly exciting and young Ethan Hawke is winning in the lead role [26 Jan 1991, p.3D]

Doggedly indie but unpretentious, Begin Again is one of the best movies I’ve seen about the music industry and the ways it changes people whose paths diverge.

Squeezes plenty of color and noise from a thin concept, then runs with it until non-fanatics can’t keep up.

Because we don't know or care much about the characters, this Israeli film never fulfills its potential as either an absurdist comedy or a humane drama.

Throughout his career, Burton has always been capable of surprising audiences. Big Eyes is no exception.

A beautiful movie, probably more erotic than any mainstream film ever made and yet never remotely pornographic, at other times hilariously funny. [05 Oct 1990, p.3F]

If you’re looking for a film that offers pure escapism, Kong: Skull Island should definitely meet expectations.

FOR about an hour, this movie is like a smooth ride with a good cabbie through the winding streets of deepest lower Manhattan. It's a fascinating, disturbing, at times exhilarating look at the way politics work in a big city, and you better pay attention or you'll miss something...Then, something happens, and it's like being lost on some triple-decker expressway interchange with no idea of how to get home. I think the problem is that there were too many writers with too many different ideas of what they wanted to tell, and the result is it eventually takes a wrong turn into an emotional and intellectual muddle...That first hour is so terrific, with minor exceptions, and the cast is so good, that "City Hall" is still well worth seeing, but ultimately it may leave you with the empty feeling of lost opportunities. [16 Feb 1996, p.3E]