Overall, it's a seriously flawed but impressive and promising debut.

The story wears thin long before it's over, but Machado draws strong performances from his leads and makes excellent use of its rundown locations.

This unlikely love story never really pays off, largely due to Lawrence Kasdan's contrived script. To their credit, a very subdued Belushi and an appealing Brown do their best to add a patina of light charm to this minor effort, and largely they succeed.

Siegel develops some interesting themes that he would later explore in John Wayne's outstanding final film, The Shootist.

But the soundtrack will delight anyone whose blood stirs at the strains of "I'm Coming Out," "Le Freak" or "Doctor's Orders."

The aroma of hagiography is unavoidable.

It seems that with Part 4, Freddy Krueger has just about run out of gas. Getting further and further away from creator Wes Craven's original concept, the series has declined into a plotless series of special-effects set pieces featuring Freddy slicing and dicing a variety of teenagers in their dreams. What the films lack in narrative, however, they make up for with pure cinematic panache, and the latest installment is no exception.

A privileged peek into the glitzy world of Texas's ultra-rich, minus the melodrama.

Braff and Bateman have a good, darkly comic chemistry, but there aren't nearly enough moments like the brutally funny, "Murderball"-style wheelchair basketball game to sustain the entire film.

The camerawork and cutting during the intense racing scenes are particularly strong, but racing fans will probably find the film more enjoyable than those looking for an involving plot.

For a slick pop entertainment, more than the usual quotient of timely ideas rattle around between the relentless product placements and futuristic geegaws.

The plot soon dwindles down to little more than a flimsy, Austen-esque comedy of circumstance.

Though conceptually clever, the results look stagy and schematic and recall nothing more than a pale imitation of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" (1985).

It's mostly forced humor all the way, a movie that rarely measures up to adequate kitsch. Aimed at younger audiences, Spaceballs misses its mark.

The very sentimental Charly has not dated well, but still remains intriguing for its premise and for Cliff Robertson's Oscar-winning performance.

Oddly, the most appealing thing about the movie is that in an age of ever-escalating special effects, it's refreshingly low-tech, more like a '70s action movie than a modern-day one.

Without the gloss of novelty, the film's underdeveloped characters and thin -- though busy -- story are forced into the foreground, and its 88-minute running time feels far longer.

8-year-olds of all ages, prepare to storm the multiplex!

This violent action is stylish but painfully formulaic, even by the undemanding standards of video-game narratives.

Never boring, often excruciating and occasionally transcendent.

Unfortunately, Hu and her army of co-writers saddle the story with a tired romantic subplot and fail to develop meaningful characters.

Considering the standards set by the first two Superman films, Superman III is a disappointment. The story's mythic qualities had worn thin by the time this film was made, so the makers had to rely on Richard Pryor as their audience grabber.

Offers substantial food for thought on the subject of prison reform, and Ariel and Menahami close by noting that Bedi's example has been followed in Thai and -- surprisingly -- U.S. prisons with encouraging results.

Thank God for Brooke Shields: Spitting spite with every remark she hurls at her long-suffering mother, she's a revelation.

Bindler's slice of the American pie is a slim one, but it's fascinating none the less.

The story is formulaic, but this brutal, fast-paced thriller makes excellent use of Li's martial arts prowess.

An intriguing genre hybrid boasting a stronger than usual cast and excellent, atmospheric direction from Finnish newcomer Renny Harlin, Prison is an impressive piece of low-budget genre work.

Raimi is a master at pacing this kind of material, however, and never allows it to become redundant.