The performances are passable: Tandy and Cronyn are talented enough to avoid looking foolish. The special effects team has created some truly convincing sequences that give the saucers more personality than the human characters.

A film whose "TV movie" feel is at once incredibly appropriate and a notable drawback, Broadcast News is nevertheless worthy adult entertainment.

Overboard aspires to be a wacky, heart-warming screwball comedy, but it is neither memorable nor particularly funny. Hawn and Russell have both shown themselves capable of bringing this kind of light comedy to life, but even their likable screen presences aren't enough.

Stone intentionally set out to make a good old-fashioned liberal drama about the evils of unchecked capitalism. This approach results in a film with few shades of gray and lots of moralizing speeches, but Stone nearly pulls it off through his usual visual verve and keen casting instincts.

A surprisingly assured directorial debut that is hampered only by a weak script.

As Jim, Bale delivers a stunning performance; he appears in virtually every frame and truly seems to grow over the course of the film from a coddled rich child to a calculating, almost feral creature who will ally himself with whoever wields the most power in a given situation.

With a concept as thin as this, Planes, Trains and Automobiles could have easily become a repetitious bore. Instead, producer-director-writer Hughes infuses his film with an appealing sense of sentiment and humanity--not to mention many hilarious scenes.

The leads acquit themselves fairly well, but the biggest winner is Selleck, whose low-key charm and gift for light comedy are put to good use here.

Screenwriter/director Bloom has produced a bad script and his direction of young actors is even worse. Nothing very explicit survives in the final cut, leaving Andrews' grim ruminations on the horrors of a perverted family life obtuse and undeveloped.

Unfortunately, it only hints at the real fire the purple one brings to his shows.

With a wholly derivative concept, confused scripting, and incredibly sloppy direction, THE RUNNING MAN is a frustrating experience.

The film is talky and much of what is said is didactic, but it is never really preachy. Washington brings tremendous intelligence, dignity, and charisma to his Biko. Kline is also very good as the editor who goes from talking a good liberal game to living it, giving up virtually everything so that he can make the truth known about Biko.

No one was exactly clamoring for this one, and Bronson has vowed it will be the last Death Wish.

Cryer does an admirable job of pulling off both ages, and Coogan is even better just playing one. Director Bob Giraldi gives it all a good deal of energy, especially in the first part, shot in a gray and ominous New York that takes on new menace under Giraldi's slick visual style.

Loosely based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, LESS THAN ZERO refuses to take the risks necessary to capture the keen social observation of the book.

Though the action is competently staged, there's little else in this film to hold one's attention.

All the characters are cardboard, and the actors fail to bring anything extra to their roles. Simply put, this is just a bad film.

Matters become increasingly contrived as the film collapses in exhaustion from thematic overload. Still it's a fairly impressive achievement as a whole.

An exciting mix of science fiction, cop thriller, and buddy film, The Hidden is one of the most exciting and unique genre hybrids.

Sweeney's seduction by the good life and the friendship that develops between these two young men from opposite sides of the tracks and on opposite sides of the law has the makings of an intriguing story. However, director Peter Werner and scripter Dick Wolf treat their story conventionally, and there are few surprises. NO MAN'S LAND's saving grace are the performances by Sheen and Sweeney.

Despite some plausibility problems, the movie is well handled by director Peter Yates. There is no question that Suspect is capable of putting a lump in one's throat; the problem is that it's a little hard to swallow.

Not a film for everyone, but the unrelieved squalor of Barfly offers its own peculiar fascinations.

Ultimately it's all too predictable.

The rockabilly killer is probably the most entertaining slasher ever to grace the screen--sort of like Elvis Presley playing Norman Bates, complete with musical numbers. Usually it's no mystery why some films go straight to video without theatrical release, but this movie is far above the caliber of most straight-to-video releases.

Mamet has created a suspenseful, psychologically complex film that constantly plays tricks on the viewer as it draws him into its milieu of insightful deceit.

Obviously aware that he was hung out to dry with an awful script, director Phil Joanou tries to make up for this handicap with some startling camerawork. Much of it is overdone, but the result is one in which Joanou's visual style transcends the vapid script.

Much of the credit for what works in the film should go to the excellent cast. Berenger is superb, and Rogers proves here that she can handle a lead role with class and aplomb. Bracco, however, steals the picture with a refreshing energy and wit.

Bigelow, who codirected THE LOVELESS with Monty Montgomery in 1982, and coscreenwriter Eric Red (THE HITCHER) demonstrate a keen understanding of the history of American cinema and create a unique film that explores the conventions of the vampire movie while moving it from dank European castles to modern-day Southwestern America.