Timecop has its fleeting moments of fun; mostly when Van Damme finally starts ribbing himself, years after Stallone and Schwarzenegger poked a hole in their own musclebound images. But director Peter Hyams and screenwriter Mark Verheiden (who co-created the Timecop comic book character) aren't nearly as clever as they think they are. [16 Sep 1994, p.6]

The Next Karate Kid is equally pointless; a fourth installment of a series that stopped kicking and started creaking in round 2. [11 Sep 1994, p.18C]

Some prime stiff-upper-lip comedy surfaces above a messy morality tale. [09 Sep 1994, p.10]

Nelson's is one of the year's best performances in nothing less than one of the year's best films. [23 Sep 1994, p.2]

It's sad to see mercurial talent unused, and even more disheartening to see it completely wasted. Color of Night, the first film in 14 years from director Richard Rush, is a dreadful miscalculation of a comeback; a sexual thriller equally lewd and ludicrous. Rush has already disavowed the reworked version opening nationwide today, promising his original vision will be available later on video. [19 Aug 1994, p.7B]

Airheads is a rock 'n' roll radio comedy in which laughs come at a very low frequency. [5 Aug 1994, p.8]

The Little Rascals is marvelously quaint fun, proving that they can make 'em like they used to. Somewhere, Hal Roach is smiling, you betcha. [05 Aug 1994, p.16]

Eat Drink Man Woman cleverly leaps between the two generations, with a wise sense of humor that illuminates the security and restrictions of the ties that bind. [02 Sep 1994, p.6]

Buying a ticket to see It Could Happen to You is like purchasing a Lotto ticket with three matching numbers; you get back a little more than you paid for it, but the thrill is quickly replaced by nagging thoughts of what might have been.

The saga of North should appeal to anyone who was ever grounded or felt unappreciated by their parents. [22 Jul 1994, p.6]

With Grisham's high profile and higher paychecks, his novels-turned-movies always will be on trial by critics and readers. The only thing The Client is guilty of is being suspenseful, funny and worth an extra trip to the theater this summer. [20 July 1994, p.6B]

Angels in the Outfield has a lot going for it, beginning with the engaging performances of Glover and Gordon-Levitt in the lead roles. [15 July 1994, p.8]

The Shadow comes off as a gussied-up attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the recent Batman and Dick Tracy films, and unfortunately, it's closer to the latter. It should have stayed in the shadows. [01 Jul 1994, p.6B]

It's the Topps style of filmmaking; like most baseball trading cards, Little Big League is flatly two-dimensional, distinctly lacking action and with little value, unless its engaging young star, Luke Edwards, turns out to have a brilliant career. [24 Jun 1994, p.9]

It's genial entertainment, packed with the sort of nonsense kids love and a family-values message parents can respect, but it simply isn't focused or funny enough to convince anyone that Culkin - or co-star Ted Danson for that matter - has the chops for lasting stardom. [17 Jun 1994, p.8]

More than any other Disney delight, The Lion King involves our full emotions; we're biting fingernails one minute and laughing the next at characters who deserve their spots on toy store shelves. [24 June 1994, p.6]

If only City Slickers II possessed the heart of the original, a quality it might have recouped at its climax. Yet, instead of a gentle lesson on the true value of life, the screenwriters tack on a Las Vegas epilogue that exists to present one more Palance zinger and a set-up for another sequel. [10 June 1994, p.8]

The two disparate stories never gel, and Keanu Reeves doesn't fully capture the dignity of a deity. [27 May 1994, p.8]

Maverick has everything going for it except a sense of cinematic adventure and a stopwatch. [20 May 1994, p.6]

It only took one sequel for 3 Ninjas to learn what four mutant turtles discovered the third time around: The best way to liven a dull, repetitive premise is to take it on the road. [06 May 1994, p.6]

Energetic performances plug plot holes and the most interesting villains die first, but Surviving the Game is a decent fix for action junkies before the summer blockbusters arrive. [20 Apr 1994, p.6B]

Turner cuts a hilarious swath across the screen in a courageously over-the-top performance that perfectly fits Waters' twisted vision. [15 Apr 1994, p.6]

Good performances and flashes of goose-bump-raising wit, but one is left wondering what all the fuss was about. [16 Sep 1994, p.12]

Full of gratuitous sexual innuendoes and death-defying closeups of Playboy covergirl Anna Nicole Smith's anatomy, the film lacks most of the zest that made the original so tasty. [18 Mar 1994, p.6]

There are a few typos in The Paper, but they're honest - and honestly funny - mistakes. [25 March 1994, p.5]

What Sirens does have is a refreshingly uninhibited attitude toward sex and the human body, tastefully embodied by supermodel Elle MacPherson and others. Sirens is consistently enjoyable, but one-sided political views, live-action pictorials and feathery jokes make it no better than a decent issue of Playboy - eye-catching and ultimately disposable. [29 March 1994, p.6B]

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]

Many actors would focus their energies only on Arnie's tics, but DiCaprio aims for his soul. We could either laugh at Arnie or pity him, but DiCaprio makes us love him. [4 Mar 1994, p.5]