Sharply written, superbly acted, funny and even occasionally touching.

From the bizarre opening (featuring a plethora of naked obese women) to the film’s parallel narratives conceit, there's no shortage of style, though incoherence butts in from time to time.

Bolt borrows amiably from a host of sources, including "The Incredible Journey," "Lilo and Stitch" and "Toy Story 2."

The film is uneven and about 15 minutes too long. But when it's funny, it's hilarious.

Jeff Bridges has enough demons in The Door in the Floor to jam a crowd scene, but the actor's sheer likability remains undiminished.

This clever, low-budget film kicks the concept up a few notches to mesmerizing.

The economical, fast-paced style and creepy mood are reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone."

The documentary's scathing attack on the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's presidency is informative, provocative, frightening, compelling, funny, manipulative and, most of all, entertaining.

For a film so antsy to start that it barely flashes its opening title, Die Hard 2 takes a curiously long time to get off the ground. Like many return trips, what was once exhilarating is now a bit flat. [3 July 1990]

Blaze is like an old-fashioned striptease - the juicy story line gets you all hot and bothered, but you end up wanting more. [13 Dec 1989, p.4D]

By staying true only to the initial narrative, this Halloween solidly ranks as the best chapter since the first – not exactly the highest bar – mostly by making Laurie (a remarkable Jamie Lee Curtis, whose last appearance in the series was 2002's "Halloween: Resurrection") anything but a victim.

The film disappoints terribly, too. The directorial debut of such an imaginative and clever screenwriter was a highly anticipated event. His "Being John Malkovich" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" are two of the most innovative and intriguing movies of the past decade. Synecdoche is one of the most maddening.

This is definitely the year of Philip Seymour Hoffman.In Charlie Wilson's War, he and Tom Hanks make a particularly sharp and engaging duo, bouncing clever lines off each other as if it were a verbal ping-pong match.

Even with some familiar faces, The Stanford Prison Experiment feels like an honest-to-goodness documentary — a high compliment for a movie based on an infamous college project.

He lies with such conviction it's terrifying. And his galling hubris is all there for audiences to watch, absorb and puzzle over in the fascinating The Armstrong Lie.

Delpy is clearly a gifted writer, especially of comic dialogue. But she and Goldberg don't quite work as an engaging pair.

This isn't a movie to be taken too literally, given that a camera crew keeps on rolling in situations that would make even combat photographers bolt; as a result, the movie plays like one of those self-referential stunts that sometimes wow film festival audiences (as this one did). [24 Sept 1993, p.3D]

The glacial pacing may put some people off, but it also has a hypnotic quality. And some viewers might find it fascinating to be a voyeur into someone's tortured psyche.

Well-crafted, Tarantino-esque story.

This movie is so much the opposite of uplifting that you think Gary Oldman ought to be in it. But it's honestly made, and its second half does linger in the memory.

The story is told gently and simply without excess sentimentality. It is a welcome departure from more contrived holiday fare.

Incorporates a range of genres -- black comedy, thriller, psychological drama -- and emerges more powerful for it.

It's Clooney's most poignant role in some time, and one he was bred, if not born, to play.

A vigorous spy thriller that consistently beckons the viewer to catch up with its narrative twists and turns. Bordering on convoluted, it works best when in combat mode.

Keaton doesn't stoop to bitter-spinster blather. Instead, the luminous vulnerability that served her well in such dramas as "Shoot the Moon" lights up this depressing, gallows-humored heart-tugger. [18 Dec 1996, Pg.01.D]

Annette attempts to be an avant-garde rock opera, a farce about modern star culture and a tragic family drama all in one bizarre, head-scratching concoction, and not even a revved-up Driver or songs by the cult art-pop group Sparks can lift the film to its lofty aims.

SpongeBob barely rates as OK when compared with "The Incredibles."

Compared with other films Costner has directed, Range isn't a folly like "The Postman," nor is it quite as over-elaborated as "Dances With Wolves."

Consistently fun, and even sporadically powerful. [08 Dec 1989, p.3D]

Political scandals are standard movie fare, and this one, which hinges on sex and power, doesn't offer a new take. But that's the point: The all-too-familiar blend of hubris and lust for power makes the machinations no less poisonous and perhaps more regrettable for their sad predictability.

The cumbersome wrap-up, which follows a four-year narrative gap, seems too fanciful and bogs down what has been a stronger second hour.

The picture is solidly crafted, performed to the hilt and full of humor.

Poison is better visually than verbally, though some dialogue in Episode 1 (a missing-kid parody called Hero) got hearty laughs from paying customers in my theater. What 'makes' this exercise, as far as it goes, is polished editing. [12 Apr 1991, p.2D]

A half-funny, half-ugly comedy about underworld ineptitude. [5 Mar 1999]

While there are humorous and poignant moments, this angst-filled story of tender kisses, awkward dances, friends drifting apart, kindly English teachers, unrequited crushes and drug-addled partying has a nagging sense of deja vu.

A young-Turk poker player challenges an old pro the way pool shooter Paul Newman took on Jackie Gleason in The Hustler, though the result lacks its predecessor's depth. Carrying Kid is one of the best casts ever. [03 Jun 2005, p.7E]

A potent combination of rousing music, appealing performances and an uplifting story renders this film-festival favorite nearly impossible to resist.

Though unlikely to have the lasting quality of "The Graduate," it feels a bit like that seminal film for today's generation.

The truly excellent Long Shot is both clever comedy and modern fairy tale that owes a lot to “Pretty Woman” and “The American President,” though it swaps gender stereotypes.

Furious 7 offers edge-of-the-seat excitement with outlandish action sequences, inventive stunts, hilarious cartoonish moments and even some touching emotion.

The lack of propriety and solemnity is precisely what makes this comic farce so uproariously funny.

A romantic comedy has to woo an audience into taking a chance on love. While You Were Sleeping is that kind of sneaky charmer, more riveting than ribbit-ing. [21 Apr 1995, Pg.01.D]

Just like the first one, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a winning and wonderfully relatable gem of crazy.

Deep Cover, directed unevenly by Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem), is yet another plunge into the seemingly bottomless urban pool of drugs, guns and money. [15 Apr 1992, p.7D]

If you want to go for the really scary stuff, there are plenty of other King movies for that. “Chuck” instead is something truly special, a moving fantasy of a life well lived and no dance step left untaken.

Bites may have a bit more on its mind, but it never equals even the weakest scene in Cameron Crowe's "Singles". [18 Feb 1994, p.5D]

Intricately plotted without being contrived and exhilarating in its eccentricity.

For a movie that generally delivers the goods while you're watching it, mild irritants abound. Arachnophobia is soft at the center, but at least it won't traumatize (and thus repel) the mass audience. [18 July 1990, p.1D]

These are hardly damsels, but the distress will be felt by audiences watching the collection of non sequiturs, twee remarks and tangential vignettes that is Damsels in Distress.

Final Reckoning offers some of the franchise’s tensest moments, to the point where you feel exhausted (mostly in a good way) after nearly three hard-charging hours.

The new “Black Panther” celebrates and honors its fallen hero, at the same time showing that this corner of the MCU remains in extremely capable hands.

It paints a complex picture of strained familial relations and a poignant look at the wounds inflicted on a sensitive soul by an unreliable parent.

Tim Robbins plays the working dad, and the movie misses him once he bails out early.

A spiritual quest can take many forms. One could argue that all of director Wes Anderson's movies focus on a sense of personal melancholy and directionlessness that often fuels such an odyssey. And they do so with a dark and offbeat wit.

Peanuts is all about simplicity, and what the plot lacks in nuance and complexity is made up for with relatable characters whom people have spent a lifetime watching.

Full-tilt Momoa and quietly powerful Bautista, with some gore and goofiness tossed in, is a satisfying improvement on the usual two-fisted formula.

Paul Giamatti brings just the right blend of irascible charm and caustic intelligence to the role of Barney.

The vividly animated film -- based on a comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis -- has an appealing balance of comic bits and exhilarating action sequences.

May not be a straightforward bio, nor does it offer much in the way of Barris' motivations, but the film is an oddly fascinating depiction of an architect of pop culture.

Though arguably not to the film's overall advantage, physical splendor is the overwhelming factor in this unintimidating film of John le Carre's best seller. [19 Dec 1990, p.4D]

Soderbergh does a fine job creating a moody atmosphere of pervasive anxiety. The ending can be interpreted a few different ways and should ignite debate about its meaning.

It's a case of actors and strong writing coming together, and it's uncommon in contemporary movies.

Rudo y Cursi (which roughly translates to tough and corny) is more raucous and slight than the contemplative "Y Tu Mama," but it is an undeniably entertaining rags-to-riches-to-rags comedy.

Drollness on screen can sometimes be had cheaply, but a perfect cast is tougher to bankroll. Hal Hartley's new comedy has both - enough to defuse the smugness that seems to linger in its soul. [15 Aug 1991]

It's fun to talk about...but the price you pay is enduring its excesses and pummeled-home thematic points.

If This Is It doesn't miraculously restore the middle-aged Jackson to his past glory, it at least offers glimpses of his bygone greatness, and poignant suggestions of what might have been.

Some could find the story verging on self-indulgence, and indeed there are patches that teeter perilously close. But we care about the two main characters, and we root for them to reconnect as father and daughter.

This surprisingly sentimental science-fiction thriller boasts enough fresh twists to satisfy time-travel junkies.

While the story is not as mythic or fanciful as it seeks to be, its predictability is trumped by the film's beauty.

With its vibrant sparkle and enchanting visuals, Cinderella almost makes you believe in magic.

When it isn't funny, it's embarrassingly obvious - and it's almost never funny. [24 Dec 1990, p.1D]

The fictional premise is used cleverly to illuminate the creative process and explore romantic minefields, and the appealing Ruby Sparks has a low-key, polished charm.

Those who appreciated "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" will probably enjoy this documentary.

Though there must be a dozen U.S. presidents who have never had a documentary made about them, the late Tupac Shakur could rate his own section in video stores, placed between "music" and "action."

The movie's story and cute characters are geared toward the younger crowd, per usual. But while it lacks the wonder and nuance of earlier Pandas, there are enough new faces and wowing, Asian-influenced style to also keep parents amused for an hour and a half.

Where "United 93" was a superb example of masterful storytelling, World Trade Center is a more conventional rendering.

The villains are so extreme that they come off like sleazy caricatures. This accentuates the nuanced skill of the two lead performances, but it undercuts the overall effect of this well-constructed, if occasionally flat, pulp thriller.

By showing the struggles and efforts of about half a dozen people, it puts a human face on the tragedy.

Don't be put off by the title. This is no sequel, but a surprisingly charming British comedy that is only tangentially associated with "Rambo."

Gives Dennis Quaid one of his best screen showcases.

Begins promisingly and entertains for a stretch because you think it's leading to something more than one of the movie year's flattest conclusions.

The story doesn't exactly startle with surprises and has a tendency to hammer and rehammer its points.

Spiced with plenty of humor and affection.

Emma is the peak of the recent Austen pack and a star-maker, too -- an antidote to a summer in which even good movies have subordinated writing and characters to special effects. [02 Aug 1996, Pg.01.D]

Director Joss Whedon knows how to make a wryly funny, action-packed extravaganza, as he proved with 2012's "The Avengers." So why did he overstuff the 2½-hour sequel?

While the story is preposterous and most of the cast standard-issue, it's hard not to like a comic-book movie that features both Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and high-tech vaporizing weaponry.

The ensemble cast is strong. At its silliest comic moments it has a sitcom flavor, but the overall effect is gently amusing.

But let's not mislead about acting gold: Without Nicholson and Keaton, the movie would be fair. With them, it's one of the few good romantic comedies this year. What we gotta give is thanks.

It's hampered by a listless quality and a one-note performance by porn-star-turned-actress Sasha Grey.

Packed with surprising depth as it utilizes complete lunacy and clever bites to cobble together something wholly different in the cartoon space, even though at times the wacky film does itself a disservice by aiming for shocks rather than smarts.

Despite one of Eastwood's more respectable directing jobs, we never sense the method to his madness - or even if it is madness. Nor can Jeff Fahey lick his own character's novelistic origins: the first-person narrator (and Trader script doctor) who by himself isn't too compelling. [14 Sep 1990, p.4D]

Not for the faint-hearted.

Cold and cut to the bone, the film is a primer in screen virtuosity. Standard action film clichés, like a face getting hit with a chair, get turned inside out; both film and actors somehow manage to seem realistic and stylized at the same time. [21 Sept 1990, Life, p.6D]

The plot is predictable and the dialogue often sticky sweet, but at least kids will identify with Stuart's desire for adventure and exploration.

It's fun to see somebody revive the amnesia genre - how long has it been? - but the conceit quickly grows irksome. Only Thompson, who manages to be appealing in both of her roles, will likely reap much from this DOA folly. [23 Aug 1991, Life, p.4D]

If the original “Creed” was a straight-up knockout from bell to bell, the sequel takes its time with body blows – from all directions – to ultimately get you right in the feels.

Victoria Tennant's iciness has been well-utilized on screen occasionally, but not this time. [8 Feb 1991, p.D4]

Too much talk, not enough wooing. In the end, Ever After's spell is only half cast. [31 Jul 1998, Pg. 07.E]