There are no false Hollywood dramatics, no musical cues telling us how we should feel about this boy's battle for dignity and a place in the world. The director lets complex emotions flow naturally out of believable action and dialogue in this very faithful adaptation of a fascinating memoir. [20 August 1993, p.3F]

Holland, working with a largely English cast, brings a different - European, perhaps - sensibility to the film, and I think it works. [13 Aug 1993, p.3F]

Hearts and Souls is an only intermittently entertaining reworking of an ancient Hollywood formula. [13 Aug 1993, p.5F]

The first 10 or 15 minutes of The Fugitive are so skillfully assembled they should be taught in film school. [6 Aug 1993, p.3E]

The Wedding Banquet is sweet and touching and, at times, very funny. [27 Aug 1993, p.3F]

It's a pretty good movie. Ironically, the more even-handed treatment of the Japanese, although probably fairer, may have robbed the tale of some of the single-minded xenophobic nastiness that probably gave the book its trashy energy. [30 July 1993, p.3F]

The problem with Mel Brooks these days is the same one Woody Allen would have if he kept making Bananas over and over. [30 July 1993, p.3F]

Helped by dozens of throw-away sight gags, and almost every minor comedian who has ever appeared on the seminal television comedy series, Coneheads is surprisingly funny. [23 July 1993, p.3F]

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

Calling it "idiotic" would be unfair to all other idiotic movies. Find a word that combines moronic and malevolent. [14 July 1993, p.3F]

Rookie of year strikes out in the laughs department. [09 Jul 1993, p.3D]

Since the movie never really gets very far beneath the skin of these immensely talented people, their battles and her final victory seldom rise above the level of moderately entertaining melodrama. [11 Jun 1993, p.3G]

Arau gives the northern Mexican landscape a strange beauty, and the acting is sensual and effective, though there are periods when the dialogue becomes heavy-handed and the pace too slow. [07 May 1993, p.3G]

Made in America is at its best when the one-liners are thick and fast, and when comedy rules. There's a lot of staring into space that substitutes for acting when the going gets tougher, and while the ending milks all possible emotion out of an audience, there still is something heartwarming about it. [28 May 1993, p.3E]

In this year's stupid sexy screamer, Sliver, [Stone] tries to reveal some of her character's mind. But there's nothing in there but cotton candy and foggy images from old soap operas. [23 May 1993, p.12C]

HOW FUNNY CAN a movie be when it consists of stupid jokes, dreadful puns and stale sight gags? Pretty funny, actually. [21 May 1993, p.3G]

Map of the Human Heart is a lyrical, gorgeously photographed epic as well as a captivating story of love. Occasionally, its reach exceeds its grasp, but how exciting and rare to see a movie that takes too many chances in an era when most take none at all.

Posse is an exciting, action-packed Western, and almost all of its social commentary is skillfully embedded in the gripping drama itself. [14 May 1993, p.3G]

Reitman's movie is triumphant and actually deserves being mentioned in the same breath with those great comedies of 50 years ago. [07 May 1993, p.3G]

An entertaining and sometimes exceptional look at the short life of the man who singlehandedly brought about the boom of martial arts in this country. Starring Jason Scott Lee (no relation), "Dragon" covers Lee's life from his early days in Hong Kong to his final scene from "Enter The Dragon," Lee's only big-budget American movie. [12 May 1993, p.6F]

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]

Writers Barry Berman and Leslie McNeil and director Jeremiah Chechik tell the story with tenderness and humor. And - miracle of miracles, in this day of endless endings - when the story is over, the movie is over, too. [16 Apr 1993, p.3G]

This convoluted tale of a U.S. Treasury agent (Wesley Snipes) looking for the rats who killed one of his partners simmers along fairly well for about 45 minutes and then gets all lukewarm and fuzzy. [21 Apr 1993, p.6F]

THANKS to the boys of summer - nine wonderful child actors - and a sweetly nostalgic story well told by writer-director David Mickey Evans, The Sandlot is a winner. [9 Apr 1993, p.3F]

Is there really a need to make a 14-year-old the sexual object of adults' attention? A coming-of-age movie that tries to sympathize with a teen-ager can be enlightening. A movie that tries to tantalize us with a child is shameful. Second, the stereotype of the treacherous Lolita taking advantage of a man twice her age is not only sexist, it's misogynistic. Take The Crush and can it. [9 Apr 1993, p.3F]

Obviously this movie is too dense for most kids under the age of about 8 to follow. Even if you're over 8, way over, the plot still seems overly complicated. [23 Mar 1993, p.3D]

Unfortunately, as the characters change, Harris cannot keep up with them, and as the film becomes more and more melodramatic, it becomes less exciting. A good movie, but Harris had potential for a great one and let it get away. [02 Apr 1993, p.3G]

The movie has some outstanding moments. Rock's performance and writing show that he appreciates rap music and its place in the culture, but he is not so respectful that he is incapable of skewering it. The movie's failings show up in the last half hour. Tamra Davis, known for directing many top music videos, lapses into predictability. The edge in the first part of the film goes dull by picture's end. And the story, written by Rock, Nelson George and Robert LoCash, becomes needlessly complicated, then meanders to a conclusion. [17 Mar 1993, p.3F]