A clumsy, calculated attempt at warm-hearted, populist entertainment.

A movie whose best features are its lush tropical vistas has evident limitations.

An enthralling examination of the loaded cultural issues of sex, class and race as seen through the subculture of black and hispanic transvestites.

Trust is stylishly photographed and crammed with quirky, offbeat incidents and dialogue.

Often annoyingly vulgar and crude, Life Stinks is partly redeemed by Brooks's good intentions. He and his associates have attempted, sometimes with great success, sometimes not, to illustrate the difference between decency and deceit as well as the painfully thin line that separates pleasure and happiness from degradation and despair.

Inferior retread.

Positive figures--Furious, Tre, Brandi--are rendered perhaps too virtuous, and Singleton becomes a bit preachy in the closing scenes, but an overt "message" movie may be the only appropriate response to the ongoing social crisis addressed.

There's much amiss here, with a long catalog of contrived situations that make this film a tough act to swallow.

Trend-setting visuals compensate for a plot that lacks the imagination and edge of the 1984 original.

Not quite as fresh as the first NAKED GUN, but what can you expect from a film subtitled "The Smell of Fear"?

A movie that looks nice and moves along efficiently, but offers little reason for anyone to watch.

Director Kevin Reynolds has no flair for action: the climactic battle is so ineptly shot and edited that it is difficult to tell who is smiting whom. While Costner is lifeless and speaks strangely (he was said to have attempted a British accent, then abandoned it during shooting), Mastrantonio is an acceptably vivacious Marian.

CITY SLICKERS successfully skirts the chance for a cheapshot gag comedy and becomes a friendly, heartfelt celebration of friendship and community, greatly aided by a funny and moving script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandell (PARENTHOOD, VIBES, SPLASH). Ron Underwood's direction complements the script and, while evoking memories of old Western films and TV shows, never overshadows the acting of a uniformly capable cast.

Despite its preposterous storyline, Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is surprisingly entertaining and fun. While the film, directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, might have been sharper, wittier and cleverer, it nevertheless achieves on its own level by genuinely involving its young target audience.

JUNGLE FEVER offers a host of well-acted, thought-provoking dramatic situations, wrapped in one mess of a story.

The actors look like they're having a great time, playing exaggerated versions of their stereotyped neuroses, and the complex plot's fast movement keeps the audience's attention well. But with all this, something is very wrong with SOAPDISH: It isn't all that funny.

This one may be just excessive enough to develop a cult following. It also proved quite popular with German audiences, for reasons we've been unable to fathom.

A fun, breezy roadtrip across the Western landscape.

Not only do the firefighting scenes evoke a feeling of gritty authenticity, but the fire itself really does seem to be alive.

Labelled by many critics as a "thinking person's Ghost," Truly, Madly, Deeply is sensitively written and charmingly acted. Juliet Stevenson brings tremendous depth to a role that was created specifically for her, and Alan Rickman proves himself capable of something quite different from the bad-guy roles for which he's best known.

Children may delight in some of DROP DEAD FRED's fanciful effects sequences, but they're likely to be bored by Elizabeth's grown-up problems. And adults may identify with its self-help message, but the rest is squirm-inducing.

Keshishian's straightforward style allows a number of readings: he may flatter The Material Girl, but he also manages to do something much more complicated and engaging.

Actors Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss provide the frenzied fun that highlights What About Bob? a wacky slapstick comedy.

Stone Cold is a stupid, no-stakes movie, and no manner of high jinks can hide that fact.

MANNEQUIN TWO is breathlessly funny and blessedly unassuming comedic nonsense.

Blake Edwards's obssessive concern with cross-dressing and sexual role switching has hopefully been purged in SWITCH, an obvious, dim-witted rehash of GOODBYE CHARLIE, saved from total failure by Ellen Barkin's bright, energetic slapstick performance.

Europa Europa is a compelling story told with intelligence and wit. Holland's direction, and the acting by the ensemble cast, are superb.

Unfortunately, Petrie's idea of dramatic tension is to expose more boyish flesh as the movie progresses. And as more and more lumpy young pectorals are flashed, more and more people and objects are exploded. All this is accompanied by a persistently obnoxious soundtrack that features patriotic fanfares. And as the four different plots bump into each other like blinded laboratory animals, we begin to feel empathy if not pity for everyone involved.