Slater is monosyllabic and mostly expressionless. When Tomei and Perez speak, they have nothing to say, as contrasted with the rapid-fire lines they had in their earlier films, lines that kept them interested and enthusiastic, so that their performances just glowed. Here, they're as dull as the dishwater in the diner, and so is the entire movie, tragic ending and all. [12 Feb 1993, p.3F]

As the climactic scenes approach, the audience must find a way through a number of large plot holes and suspend disbelief, but The Vanishing remains a strong, entertaining movie. [05 Feb 1993, p.3G]

The rich performances from Foster and Gere and the steady direction from Jon Amiel ensure that love is all you need. [09 Feb 1993, p.4D]

There is a lot of sex along the way, but I found very little of it exciting, or even sensual. Madonna never seems to be having any fun, nor do her sexual partners, either in action or when they talk about it later. [15 Jan 1993, p.3E]

The acting is quite good, and Marshall keeps suspense as high as possible, considering we all know the eventual conclusion. [15 Jan 1993, p.3E]

Although viewing this movie leaves you raw emotionally, it is a powerful testimony to one family's unwavering love and willpower, captured splendidly by Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte and director and co-writer George Miller. [27 Jan 1993, p.5G]

If the story were only a little better, the characters and situations a little more believable, the very talented Hill could have turned this into a winner. As it is, the direction keeps things taut and rather tense, even as the dialogue sags into nonsense. [25 Dec 1992, p.3H]

Toys may be beautiful to look at, but it's hard to love. [18 Dec 1992, p.1G]

THE BODYGUARDS for the people who made The Bodyguard should be fired - because they should have thrown their clients to the ground and held them there until their desire to make this movie went away. [30 Nov 1992, p.3D]

WE ALL know we have to suspend disbelief when we go to the movies, but never has an audience been asked to suspend as much as it has been by director Alan J. Pakula in Consenting Adults, a dumb, unconvincing tale that features some of the poorest performances in history. [20 Oct 1992, p.9D]

A superficial glimpse at the man who symbolizes some of the most heroic and shameful aspects of Western heritage. Depardieu is fine as the explorer, and Weaver, Armand Assante and Fernando Rey are solid in support. But the writing never surpasses average and the exchanges on the above-mentioned issues come off sounding like a junior-high debate class or, worse yet, 15-second sound bites from political candidates. [09 Oct 1992, p.3G]

Sinise's direction is outstanding. The pacing is well-nigh perfect, and even though the story is familiar, it often seems new, and Malkovich obviously thrives on his direction. On second thought, Sinise thrives on it, too. [16 Oct 1992, p.3F]

The movie is enjoyable if it isn't taken too seriously. Geena Davis sparkles as a TV reporter who is among those rescued, Chevy Chase is amusing in an uncredited role as a TV executive and Garcia is, as usual, both charming and believable, in a movie-star kind of way. Hoffman is always interesting to watch, even when, as in this movie, he reminds us a little too much of some of the other roles on his resume. [04 Oct 1992, p.12C]

Parillaud is a pretty good actress, handling a comic line with aplomb and displaying a proper amount of je ne sais quoi. The movie, on the other hand, is overdone, overblown, overlong and last but certainly not least, over-gory. Michael Wolk's screenplay and John Landis' direction belabor the obvious and the bloody to the exclusion of all else. [25 Sept 1992, p.3F]

School Ties offers a moving and uncompromising look at religious intolerance, narrow-mindedness and hatred. And although this movie is set in a prep school, it has more in common with ''Gentlemen's Agreement'' than with ''Dead Poets Society.'' [19 Sept 1992, p.7D]

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]

The whining reaches new heights in Husbands and Wives, and it was one of the things that bothered me. Another was the over-jerky camera movement as he tried to give the film the look of a documentary but only made it look like a bad home movie. A third was his use of characters looking straight at the camera and talking to an off-screen person, perhaps a psychiatrist. I think that's a phony device. On the other hand, I found more Allen humor along the way than in several of his recent movies, and he kept it brighter than the depressing tone the subject matter would seem to allow. When he didn't whine, Allen was excellent, and so was Sydney Pollack as his friend Jack. [27 Sept 1992, p.6C]

The real disappointment is that director Carroll Ballard delivers such powerful racing scenes and seascapes that you wish he could have done better on dry land. But you can't argue that Ballard doesn't deliver an original, often breathtaking, view of nature. [17 Sep 1992, p.4E]

Bob Roberts is a triumph in every respect: The editing is glorious, the use of music dazzling, the nebulous ending very true to life. [18 Sep 1992, p.3G]

THE MAN who would trade his fiancee - but just for the weekend! - for a $65,000 gambling debt may be rather sleazy, but it probably wouldn't raise many eyebrows in Las Vegas, where sleaze and the concept of woman-as-object have marched hand-in-hand for many years. ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' continues those precepts, and does so woefully, with dumb writing, ordinary direction and performances by Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan that are so awful as to be mind-boggling. [28 Aug 1992, p.3F]

Lutz created more than just a mystery yarn, and Don Roos' screenplay and Schroeder's direction take the story even further and, of course, make it a lot more visual. [14 Aug 1992, p.3G]

Even after all the problems are discussed, a de Palma thriller at less than full speed is as good or better than most directors can turn out with their foot to the floor. [11 Aug 1992, p.4D]

The man is bound to special effects as if they were Siamese twins, and while fancy stuff helped a lot in Who Killed Roger Rabbit? and all the Back to the Future movies, it doesn't do much for Death Becomes Her. But Zemeckis insists on emphasizing them over script or cleverness or even acting, and he hammers a viewer into surrender, rather than excitement. [04 Aug 1992, p.4D]

Enchanted April, from von Arnim's novel, may be the most charming film I've seen all year. Not only is it charming, but also witty, literate and bitingly funny. Then, without losing those qualities, it becomes a warm and wonderful love story, about dreams coming true, and finding what was thought lost, both in oneself and in someone else. [28 Aug 1992]

The acting is solid, but the story sags from time to time, and it's very predictable, though when it's funny, it's very funny. [21 Nov 1992, p.7D]

It is one of those movies that seem to be meandering to no real purpose, and yet, very slowly, take hold of your emotions. By the end, you find yourself rather astonished at how much you care about what happens to the characters. [9 Oct 1992, p.3G]

Despite the melancholy background of Scandinavia, the repressive work ethic, the class struggle, this is a beautiful love story. [14 Aug 1992, p.3G]

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]