Walter Matthau has a field day with the title character: a crop duster/bank robber who bills himself as "the last of the independents" - and runs circles around a Mafia killer (Joe Don Baker). [07 Mar 1996, p.F3]

Byrne, a recent Oscar nominee for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” holds it together.

It’s a horrifying tale, and Maras, a Greek-Australian filmmaker, does not shy away from showing the carnage.

It’s a quick, funny movie.

Mile 22 is one nasty piece of work. It’s an action picture that’s hard-core to the core, populated entirely by killers with nary a truly sympathetic figure among them. But it does deliver.

It’s all undeniably silly, but satisfying in an overstuffed blockbuster sort of way.

Hail, Caesar! isn’t the great film you might like it to be, but it’s very, very good fun.

There are no safe places in his pictures. And Eddington is dense with multiple levels that stoke the ever-present unease.

The unusual but revealing documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A., a hodgepodge of old video diaries, music videos, performances and interviews spanning decades, reflects M.I.A.’s passionate efforts to enlighten fans about victims of government oppression — while also getting people around the world dancing to her music.

Throughout, the fragility of the native cultures and of the rain-forest environment that is their home is underscored by Guerra in this fascinating, melancholy movie.

So compelling is writer-director Joel Potrykus’ unnerving scenario — with its largely ambiguous tone of horror dramatically offset at times by explicit frights — that a viewer isn’t necessarily bothered by a lack of basic story information about who, what, when, where and why.

[A] warmly revealing documentary.

Critically, the film’s many revelations aren’t neat and tidy, but they are revealing in all the ways that matter.

By the time the real Tina Turner is seen performing the title hit at film's end, director Brian Gibson has achieved his overall goal: What's Love Got To Do With It may not bring anything new to the biopic genre, but it inspires renewed respect and appreciation for a woman who has earned every break in her amazing career.

First-time writer Tom Sierchio occasionally lapses into Love Story-style sentiment, and surprisingly Bill is willing to go along, but Untamed Heart (wisely retitled from its original Baboon Heart) is strong enough to hold up against its cornier inclinations. [12 Feb 1993, p.23]

Along the way, we learn that all four actors are not only charmingly believable as friends but also brilliant at physical comedy.

What’s fun here is both the easy charm of the four women (two of whom have a long screen history together; watch for Smith and Latifah in a shout-out to 1996’s “Set It Off”), and the range of comedy styles they display.

Neeson’s Felt is deeply conflicted about being a turncoat. He’s also deeply flawed, a man who authorized illegal activities to track down members of the terrorist Weather Underground.

What follows is a post-setup hour of imaginative action and dazzling stunt work, all taking place on one of cinema’s great self-metaphors: a speeding train changing scenes every few seconds and heading toward an unknown destination.

Schrader's dialogue ranks among his best, and Sarandon chews up her delightful role with infectious, boldly confrontational relish. And for a director whose films have often been bleak and almost clinically detached, Light Sleeper presents Schrader in a new and philosophically redemptive light.

Connery's Robin and Audrey Hepburn's Marian are so appealing - and physically and temperamentally so right - that they gloss over the fact that Goldman's script tends to be coy and anachronistic. [09 Aug 1991, p.23]

Hunnam speaks in low tones, practically murmuring his lines in many scenes, which seem at odds with the underlying fierceness of Fawcett’s resolve. His manner is almost diffident, yet he’s steadfast in his purposefulness.

For vast swaths of this movie, despite excellent, unsettlingly comic performances from Brie and Franco, all I could see was the Big Idea, rather than two people on a horrifying journey. But the more gruesome the story gets . . . the stronger it is, as the over-the-top ick kept my brain present.

There is fun to be had here. Adults can appreciate the verbal byplay. For the kids, there’s frenzied noise, and those toys.

Jane Campion's screen adaptation of New Zealand writer Janet Frame's memoirs is sometimes brilliant, and never less than good. [21 Jun 1991, p.21]

The visuals are gorgeous. The mood is unsettling from start to finish. Annihilation is a strong sophomore effort from a very talented filmmaker.

Despite the twee being occasionally laid on too thick, Goodbye Christopher Robin is ultimately a pleasant enough wallow in British childhood.

Thankfully, To Wong Foo . . . has a heart. It leaves us optimistic. Kidron and neophyte script writer Douglas Carter Beane seem to think that regardless of environment and situation, our differences are key to our survival. They celebrate the fundamental need for acceptance and integration. [08 Sep 1995, p.F5]