Director-writer Jarmusch's characters are insignificant antiheroes adrift in an America that is both sad and beautiful. Jarmusch has a powerful visual sense, but he is weaker in the realm of content. The jazzy relationship between Lurie and Waits never quite clicks. As a result Down By Law merely reiterates the ideas about people and American life that Jarmusch had already stated more richly in Stranger Than Paradise.

Director Peter Medak and screenwriter Leonard Michaels (working from his own novel) apparently tried to make a film like THE BIG CHILL for mature men, but the stagy result of their efforts will leave viewers cold. All of the characters are so broadly drawn that they become laughable, rather than interesting.

The strange thing about this film is that there are some interesting--albeit half-baked--ideas floating around in the script, and the direction shows some skill and style. However, the plot is ludicrous from start to finish, the characters one-dimensional, and the world-view simplistic.

While not very original or even very skillful, THRASHIN' (a skateboarding term for aggressive, gutsy skating) isn't nearly as bad as it sounds.

Penn and Madonna both do a fine job with their roles, the supporting roles are excellent, the direction is passable, the camera work and art direction are accomplished, and the script mindless and predictable. There's nothing to create outrage, and there's nothing to stimulate excitement, which is probably why there was no substantial interest in SHANGHAI SURPRISE.

Petersen is superb as the obsessive investigator who risks madness each time he takes on a case, and Tom Noonan is absolutely chilling as the psycho killer.

A sentimental film that works because of its unsentimental moments--in particular, its sometimes embarassingly honest portrayal of what interests boys and how they talk about it. Reiner elicits some excellent performances from his young cast (River Phoenix is a standout) and Kiefer Sutherland is memorable as a menacing teen hood.

Hooper took the easy path and went for out-and-out gore, rather than making a carefully constructed horror film. The film feels as if Hooper himself has nothing but contempt for the original and went out of his way to tear it down.

A clever debut film from writer-director Fred Dekker that combines science fiction, horror, and comedy into a fairly entertaining package.

Loaded with ridiculous scenes, silly dialog, and gratuitous violence and nudity, REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS tries very hard to exploit the genre while poking fun at it at the same time. The only problem here is that little is funny.

Originally an off-Broadway play, EXTREMITIES projects the powerful rancor of the play, but the film also retains some deadening theatricality that doesn't work on screen.

As a remake, The Fly transcends the original, taking it in new directions and exploring its underutilized potential.

The movie is flat, often pushy, and has none of the bubbling joy of the SCTV sketches that Candy and Levy illuminated with their presence. Set pieces are tossed in every few minutes in a vain reach for laughter; but under director Lester's sloppy hand, there is very little to laugh at.

This is a strikingly original story about human feelings.

Holland fills this film with so many throwaway gags that it is impossible to communicate the outright zaniness. Every scene contains dozens of jokes, some that work and some that don't, but they keep coming so fast and furious that the duds are easily forgotten. Strung together on the flimsiest of plots, Holland's film works as well as it does because he stocks it with several likably eccentric characters. While certainly not for all tastes, it's refreshing teenage fare, and underlying its cartoony insouciance is a welcome touch of innocence.

Although the film's small budget and tight shooting schedule (lensed in 15 days on Super 16mm) is betrayed by sloppy editing, unpolished sound and an occasional flat performance, particularly Johns in the lead role, She's Gotta Have It still bursts with the energy and technical command that have quickly established Lee as a major force in American cinema.

Director Edwards confused humor with speed; so the pace is 150 mph, but there is no time to laugh even if there were any reason to.

The film has some excellent sight gags, some old jokes, and two winning performances from Dreyfuss and Landsberg, who could very well be a comedy team to reckon with, if their next pictures are handled better by the distributor.

There are a couple of mildly amusing moments, but overall Howard the Duck is a monumental waste of time.

Not a particularly original or insightful film of its kind, and marred slightly by the whining of Cramer in the lead role, this is nevertheless enjoyable fare for kids.

Besides the humor and the technical savvy, the biggest difference between this film and the five before it is that the characters are actually allowed to live long enough for the audience to develop some sort of empathy with them. Some of these teenagers are downright likable, and we don't want to see them get killed. That element, more than any other, was the real breakthrough in the series.

STEWARDESS SCHOOL runs down the plot trail like a checklist, making sure each expected scene is in its proper slot. It's never funny, merely sophomoric and dull.

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE doesn't work on any level. As a comedy it's obvious and asinine, as a horror film it's simply not scary, and as an action film it's a bore.

The film is based on the Ephron novel detailing her marital break-up with journalist Carl Bernstein; but although the book had a distinctive bite, the film is a colorless adaptation.

The script gives Hall and the other cast members so many foolish things to say and do that the viewer is left wishing that they would all kill each other early on and save us the pain of having to watch the rest of the film.

An innocuous comedy chiller, HAUNTED HONEYMOON isn't very chilling and, worse yet, isn't very funny.

Like all of Leigh's films and plays, it was devised though improvisational exercises in which the actors created characters based on someone they knew. As such, it is a mixture of flawlessly played ensemble scenes and brief, often wordless moments.

A nonstop, high-tech, souped-up war movie, with gung ho marines blasting special-effects creatures, and a genuinely convincing, exciting action heroine.