Foster's manipulation of Nell's strange language holds us in rapt attention and empathy until Apted falsely gooses his film. It's an excellent performance slightly cheapened by the filmmaker's dramatic framing. [23 Dec 1994, p.17]

If you prefer hipster romantic comedies that are unromantic and not too funny, Lee Toland Krieger's movie may be your grande half-caf caramel mocha frappe.

Woo directs Mission: Impossible 2 cautiously, as if still introducing himself to U.S. audiences despite Face-Off and Broken Arrow. Or maybe he has nothing left to say about the poetry of violence after such visual eloquence in his Chinese classics. [24 May 2000, p.1D]

There is a genuinely epic quality to Unbroken, cribbed from masters and capably traced. That's really all this inspiring story needs.

An efficiently preposterous thriller.

As far as sophisticated caper flicks go, Tower Heist is oceans away from George Clooney's crew. Compared to other recent comedies, it's pretty light on the laughs.

An offbeat romance as dysfunctional as its lovers. [17 Feb 1993, p.5B]

Turns out we were right to wonder. The first film based on The Hobbit was charming fun, the second pretty good, too. But The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is a film too far, tedious and overlong and short on most of the elements that made the first two work.

Surprisingly, though, Army of Darkness is slowest during its extended special effects sequences and best when human low-lifes are groveling in the squalor of the 13th century. [19 Feb 1993, p.8]

It's the only chance for small children to drag parents to the movies until November, so knock yourself out, kiddies.

There might be a great movie about any of Hoover's triumphs and secrets, but not all at once.

Before getting sucked into a what-the-wormhole ending that will scramble young brains, time-travel romp Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a fast, fun 3-D getaway.

It's more amusing than you might expect, and ultimately more touching than an eroding society around them deserves.

Alien is the most artful entry in the drool-beast series. It gets serious points for cinematography, editing and design. But it hardly generates the requisite shocks its predecessors have so skillfully delivered. [22 May 1992, p.8]

A moviegoer's reaction to Mr. Holland's Opus depends mightily on what personal baggage he/she takes into the theater. The right audience will discover that Herek's film can be a stirring, sentimental testament to educators. For more daring types, Mr. Holland's Opus may be the multiplex equivalent of a tough required class; easy to sleep through, and dismissed not a moment too soon. [19 Jan 1996, p.8]

There's a funny, healthy element of slapstick at play, as with all Bridget movies. A doctor played dryly by Emma Thompson is a biting, welcome addition.

Cars 3 is a better time at the movies than Cars 2 led me to expect. Not exactly ringing praise but we take amusement from sequels where we can get it these days.

An amoral mosaic of carnage and carnality.

Stealth is a key element of tension and, even though DePalma tosses his share of fireballs around, Mission: Impossible gets edgier when it gets quieter. The audience's rapt, empathetic silence while Hunt hangs there in peril proves how well the director does it. [24 May 1996, p.5]

Dawn of the Dead is very much its own movie, and a disturbing one at that. But it also realizes we're in the theater to have fun, either grotesquely or cleverly.

For two hours it's a fun head trip.

Trevorrow hits all the right, respectful beats, as a protege should; you can sense a desire to please his mentor, with several amusing references to Spielberg's 1993 original, and a climactic, triumphant nod to another of his works.

Not as funny as you might expect but, like Reitman's political comedy Dave, it has a genuine affection for its institutional subject. [23 Nov 1994, p.8C]

Whatever his motivations or deeds, Gordon Gekko is a classic screen character and Douglas is never better than when playing him.

Memphis Belle is the most superficial, jingoistic, stereotyped World War II movie in years. [12 Oct 1990, p.6]

With its flat acting and titillating format, The Lover is soft-core and mostly a bore. [14 May 1993, p.9]

Ultimately, the movie's energy rises and falls on the presence of Adam Driver as Wallace's libido-on-legs friend, who can make you believe sex can solve anything. Except this movie.

Director Ted Demme (Jonathan's nephew, Who's the Man?) guides this predictable action with a leaden hand. It's as if he, like everyone else in The Ref, is holding back, awaiting Leary's next inspired, caustic riff. That's a lot of pressure for a cult-level comic in his first lead role. He doesn't always measure up. [11 Mar 1994, p.8]