To me, an ordinary - but often exciting - adventure tale became a sordid look at American society and the American military, with a sickening defense of the-end-justifies-the-means philosophy. [20 July 1990, p.3F]

The few Jewish characters are cartoonishly evil, but even the Palestinians are sketchily dramatized or, in the case of a terrorist, clumsily legitimized.

Except for the dynamite finale, The Long Ranger feels like a long, slow ride to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump.

Although The November Man shows us some attractive people in motion, the cumulative effect leaves us neither shaken nor stirred.

The diabolical sadist of the team was director Joe Carnahan.

It's a worthy cause and an honorable film, the first full-length Disney cartoon with an African-American heroine. But without a strong story, it's a case of one step forward and two steps back.

It’s unashamedly of the B-movie variety — a quick and easy time-killer.

Even by the standards of light entertainment, This Means War is meaningless.

Manages to waste the talents of its strong supporting cast, which includes Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell and Stanley Tucci.

Twenty or 25 minutes of good air-action sequences, otherwise dull. [17 Jun 1990, p.7F]

In Hollywood, it’s all about the concept, and some studio executive must have thought it would be fun to watch Adams slogging around in the Irish mud. Unfortunately, there’s no accounting for taste.

In a way, Stonewall is proof that the gay community has fully made the transition to the mainstream. It’s now subject to the kind of Hollywood nonsense that was previously reserved for heterosexuals.

The result is a movie with a lot of hysterically funny lines (including a nod to St. Louis) shooting through the banal, timeworn plot, relieved occasionally by a well-wrought sketch. Director Steven Spielberg tries to stir this mixture, but it's just too flour-y. [22 Dec. 1989, p3F]

Once we've quickly digested the fortune-cookie message that modern women are as bound by obligations as their grandmothers were, all we can savor is the scenery.

Spurlock teases the baby sitter contingent with a brief scene where a scientist discusses the neuro-chemical appeal of pop music, but thereafter the film is aimed squarely at face-value fans of the Pre-Fab Five.

It would have been nice if Cowboys & Aliens had come come up with the right equation to balance originality and homage. But in the end, it all turned into trigonometry.

There are some laughs in The Bronze, but more time in which we might wish it would end already. When it does, just like on Hallmark, lessons are learned. Perhaps for Rauch, the lesson is to write herself a better movie next time.

One Day fails to make us care about the young couple at its center.

Colin Firth is an Academy Award winner, so perhaps his lack of chemistry with fellow honoree Nicole Kidman is a carefully laid clue that his middle-aged newlywed Eric Lomax is damaged goods. Yet to the drama’s detriment, Lomax is about as poisonous as a week-old crumpet.

The more suitably antic Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp were considered for the part before Franco wandered into the picture with his stoner grin.

Toy Soldiers is strictly formula writing, and rather ordinary formula at that, director Daniel Petrie Jr. gets generally good acting from the cast, and the script is guaranteed not to test them too much. [26 Apr 1991, p.3F]

We're the Millers is nothing but stems and seeds, with less buzz than a bag of oregano.

Moves along quite entertainingly for a while and then begins to get swallowed up by its own high (and high-tech) concepts. By the end, what had been a rather amusing, zany chase comedy starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn has turned into a bizarre and totally ridiculous free-for-all in a zoo, with crocodiles slithering and tigers roaring and piranhas chewing up people. [18 May 1990, p.3F]

A would-be light thriller that's so deficient in the genre's essentials - such as witty dialogue, intriguing characters and surprising yet credible plot turns - that you're embarrassed for everyone involved.

Despite the oddly literate title, Vincent Wants to Sea never deviates from the predictable bonding-through-misadventure script, and it has little to teach us about the nature and treatment of the traveler's respective maladies.

Twilight fans who have followed the series will want to see "Breaking Dawn," and like Bella and Edward may find brief moments of pleasure.

Weaver is a natural as the imperious Ramona, but the rest of the cast is flattened by the script, particularly White, who is just window-dressing in a movie that could use the rude humor she's displayed elsewhere.