It's a compelling tale of surf and survival.

In the Mouth of Madness is not a bad movie, and it maintains a fair amount of suspense for an hour or so. Then it sags, mainly because it has no real payoff, neither dramatic or visual. [03 Feb 1995, p.3F]

This is the kind of film that makes moviegoers long for good, old-fashioned storytelling.

Phoenix is perfectly cast as the ethically problematic Abe, whose novel approach to lifting himself out of an existential funk lends the story its suspense.

As usual, Ridley is immensely appealing as a born warrior with an indestructible sense of right and wrong. Her expressive face lends the fantastical goings-on an emotional resonance.

What the movie crucially lacks is the clockwork complications that produce a payoff.

The overall direction of the movie may be strongly polemical, but its real strength comes from the resonance of a hundred subtle moments. [04 May 1990, p.3F]

He might be guilty of showboating, but De Niro's knockout performance is a declaration that the star of "Raging Bull" isn't ready to hang up his gloves.

A lot of care went into crafting the handsome production but not enough into making the handsome hero come alive.

A turgid, overlong comedy. [19 July 1996, p.3E]

Some of the themes and the hallucinatory special effects are reminiscent of Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch,” and there are cheeky allusions to “Dawn of the Dead” and even “Eyes Wide Shut,” but a viewer with an open mind might say that this midnight-style movie is more enjoyable than any of them.

Unfortunately, not enough sequences work well enough to sustain interest. At its best, "Menace" is a searing parody of both stereotypical filmmaking and American race relations. [18 Jan 1996, p.7F]

As a sex-education comedy, Hysteria is flaccid, forced and unfunny.

An utter shipwreck, a would-be adventure with meager rations of magic and a listless crew.

Strives to be entertaining, but for much of its run time it is so emotionally uninvolving that even the smallest children might find themselves bored.

Easy to watch but hard to pin down, like a creature with eight legs going in different directions.

A rousingly funny sequel. [25 July 1993, p.7D]

Aspires to greatness but fumbles badly.

The moral lesson that this movie feeds us smells fishy - because it's not in the book. But the backbone story about a guy who inherits some penguins is enough to tickle the kids.

Like black coffee that's flung in our face, The Killer Inside Me silences the question of whether it's good or bad. But for darn sure, it's strong.

It's not that anything is terribly wrong with Muppets From Space. It just could have been better had the humans been funnier or the story more sharply conceived. Suffice it to say, Jim Henson, you are deeply missed. [14 July 1999, p.E3]

Stays too low to the ground to become an animated classic, but if there's a fairer midwinter's tale, wherefore art thou?

Washington is surprisingly persuasive as a world-weary blade-wielder, and Oldman makes the most of a not particularly interesting villain. But the film's breakout star may be Kunis, who brings to Solara a blend of sassiness and sexiness that's reminiscent of Michelle Pfeiffer.

As the movie gets longer, Romero's hand gets heavier and heavier, and by the climax he can barely lift it to hurl another cliche. The movie ends in the usual way, with lots of blood and Satanic special effects. [23 Apr 1993, p.3G]

The film is flat and lazy, and the audio mix is so low it sounds as if the audience is barely laughing. His cable comedy specials have better production values.

It's zippy, and the movie version has both a computerized sheen and handcrafted detailing. Because the details are cribbed from classics, parents can enjoy this 'toon as much as their kids.

This halftime walk is more like a long slog.

Working from a screenplay by Justin Haythe (“Revolutionary Road”), director Francis Lawrence — who worked with Lawrence on three of the “Hunger Games” films — fails to establish much of a momentum.