A solid sci-fi/horror hybrid, but this iceman doesn't deliver enough to chew on.

Raises more questions than it can answer in its travelogue format. It's because the premise is so intriguing and the drama is so compelling that the result is so confounding.

Maybe in his native language, Dujardin is no funnier than Steve Martin's "Pink Panther." But with subtitles, his deadpan delivery is hard to resist.

Trollhunter has a lot of down time as the crew treks to the fjords, but it's also got dryly subversive humor and, eventually, some impressive special effects.

Crowe is effectively restrained in his acting, but in his debut as a director, he overdoes the manipulative music and the pretty images from cinematographer Andrew Lesnie.

This is not a great, thought-provoking film, but following the young people from relationship to relationship is mostly fun, though it begins to sag in the latter parts as Crowe does some padding to flesh out a too-thin story. [18 Sept 1992, p.5G]

Araki does manage to make the movie interesting and somehow, believable. He taps so effectively into the culture of teens with nothing to do that the subsequent action - the hyper-violence and the gore - isn't so hard to accept. [22 Nov 1995, p.7E]

Tangled is lovely to look at, but if you're not a pre-teen girl, you may be distracted by the split ends.

Salt goes down easy, but it's lacking both nourishment and flavor.

Betsy's Wedding is what summer pictures used to be, light and sweet and brief as cotton candy. [25 Jun 1990, p.5D]

Delivers a story that feels more like a footnote to history than a neglected chapter. But the cast is first-rate, notably Neeson in the title role. “Mark Felt” benefits mightily from his very particular set of acting skills.

The word that sums up the essence of this movie is "frustrating."

Between the carefully trained animals and their computer-animated mouths, the movie doesn't have much room for realism; but the 3-D effects are surprisingly effective, and this playful pic earns a pat on the head.

There's an alliance of interesting stories fighting for dominance here, but instead of a clear victory, Hyde Park on Hudson is the site of a muddled truce.

This homey construct is warm, exactingly crafted and painted with pop-country tones, but it's lacking a deep foundation where the issues that it raises can resonate. For a movie like that, we may have to depend on the Danes.

The script could use a few more laughs, but all in all Doc Hollywood is a pleasant if unexceptional summer movie. [02 Aug 1991, p.3F]

Wahlberg is merely OK. Unfortunately, the film’s effectiveness turns on whether we buy into his angst. And Larson has very little to play. But Goodman and Williams are believably menacing, and Lange is perfect as Bennett’s mom of steel.

Fading Gigolo is like two different movies on an awkward blind date at a jazz club. While Allen charms us with a parody of “Broadway Danny Rose,” Turturro is off-key in his lounge-lizard riff on “The Piano.”

Yet notwithstanding its derivative dolefulness and PG-13 timidity, The Art of Getting By is smart and sweet enough to become the favorite film of some Midwestern adolescent who wrongly believes he's already seen the dark side.

Even as Bard, filmmaker Milos Forman and Ferrara himself bemoan the changes, the lobby is filled with fine art -- and guests who aren't likely to harm you.

The saving grace of Biutiful is Bardem.

Placed under the microscope, The Birth of a Nation lacks some originality of thought, but it nonetheless offers the opportunity for necessary discussion as we continue to wrestle with the racist history of this nation and its continuing effects.

The Hunger Games is dressed as a dark satire of soulless entertainment, but like Katniss' adversaries in the PG-13 hunting scenes, it doesn't have a distinctive identity or go-for-the-throat.

The film confirms it's hard to do brain surgery on a battlefield. But it doesn't take a brain surgeon to think it could go deeper.

Enjoy the sharp humor and the performances of the leads, but don't look for a great movie. [08 Sep 1995, p.E3]

Neither a comprehensive guide nor consistently good, but because the theme is romance, most of these small bites of the Big Apple are easy to digest.

Ultimately, however, the only real problem with the new version of "The Getaway" is that Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger just don't seem very believable as tough professional criminals. You just know they are only a shower and a manicure away from dinner at Spago. [11 Feb 1994, p.3E]

Notwithstanding some allusions to "Lady and the Tramp," the characters and their comic high jinks are nothing special, but the the getaway gives us spectacular 3-D images of the city.