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.

The performances are good (some scarily realistic), and the movie is enjoyable to watch. But as a probing analysis of the 43rd president, it falls short.

The movie-calendar equivalent of last July's "Six Days, Seven Nights," this star-powered romance overcomes a shaky start to outpace that passable confection by several runaway laps.

His (Myers) affection for the era and its gaudy, bawdy movies inject this bit of fluff with giddy energy.

The story's presentation is easy to take. And lot of this is because of Lathan, who is funny by not trying to be.

It's probably the weakest Alfred Hitchcock of the '50s. But that may be the greatest decade any director ever had, so this isn't the slam it seems. [28 Sep 2004]

Melissa Mathison, who wrote E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial and co-authored The Black Stallion script, isn't one to louse up a modern classic with overkill. [14 July 1995, p.1D]

Director David Yates’ entertaining introduction of awkward hero and magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is a confident and surprisingly funny adventure that’s more charming than most of the eight Harry Potter films.

Atypical teen drama about opposites attracting that often (and happily) confounds expectations.

Given the high-profile backstory, Money is very much a Plummer showpiece — a Golden Globe probably isn't the only trophy he'll be nominated for this awards season — yet just as integral is Williams, whose character is Getty’s biggest foil.

“Lightyear” is a crowd-pleasing effort that doesn’t shoot for the moon but manages to be a nostalgic blast anyway.

A poignant look at the legacies of fathers who abdicate their responsibilities.

Thinking isn't going to do anyone a bit of good during Blue Streak. Turn off your brain instead and you might enjoy it.

This is economy of style that Americans get only in Woody Allen movies -- and even that's not a guarantee.

Richly layered, deliberately paced, dealing with difficult emotions and life decisions, it feels like a moody wintry afternoon.

A Quiet Place is essentially "Alien" on a farm: Even though there are cornfields and land for days, there's a constant state of panic and claustrophobia for a family stalked by monsters who attack anything that makes noise.

Introduces an endearing, guitar-strumming new star in British actor Himesh Patel.

Crystal is in top form, and if laughs are all you want, this movie has them.[7 June 1991, p.2D]

She has been compared to Lenny Bruce because of her incendiary topics, but Silverman's style, capitalizing on her innocent smile and good looks, is her own.

With its blend of taut action and profound revelations, The Debt is definitely worth an audience's investment.

It has an elusive, haunting quality, but it's too long at 133 minutes, and there aren't many movies these days that get more involving as they progress.

Gussied-up rodents and inane male antics come together in funny and inspired ways in this screwball farce.

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

A film that wins on 'Courage' of its convictions. {12 July 1996, p. D1]

The interwoven stories are haunting, but also darkly funny.

The look of the film is dazzling, even hallucinatory, and the concept is beyond quirky as conceived by Gondry, a talented visual stylist, in his first film based on his own script. The story is compelling, unconventional and diverting in its blurring of reality and fantasy.

It's the kind of feel-good movie whose resolution is evident from the start, being based as it is on a true story. But that doesn't make the journey any less interesting.

Emmerich might have had a masterpiece, but he'll have to settle for what comes close to being a must-see movie today.

No situation could be more human, and it's one the youth-dominated film industry rarely touches.

Johansson gives one of her best performances as the bossy, gum-chewing Jersey girl determined to change Jon into her image of a romantic hero. Tony Danza and Glenne Headly are hilarious as Jon's parents. Gordon-Levitt proves he can act, write and direct with equal dexterity.

Unlike so many big-studio films that pass off models in horn-rimmed glasses as nerds, this little New Zealand gem embraces the inner geek and, just as effectively, celebrates misfit love.

An enjoyable piece of vibrant world building that steps away from the musical bent of recent non-Pixar efforts like “Encanto” and the “Frozen” flicks.

Quaid's return to form is worth cheering. He helps make Flesh a watchable depressant. [05 Nov 1993, p.4D]

Shot in semidocumentary fashion, it builds to a more visceral climax than one initially expects. [26Nov1997 Pg.09.D]

Smith brings passion and stubbornness to Richard, a controversial figure in some corners and a devoted dad in others. The movie itself is a rousing if familiar sports drama that takes care of the surface-level narrative but doesn’t delve deeply enough into the meatier stuff, at times seeming to have the wrong focal point.

A cautionary tale very well-told.

John Travolta may stand out as a plus-size laundress who is hesitant, drab and retiring, but Hairspray is a consistently flashy, rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle.

No-frills chills are what Paranormal Activity offers in unrelenting supply.

Costner and Russo show they're up to par. [16 August 1996, p.D1]

A satisfying look at young unrequited love, bromances, independence and letting go.

Proof that Allen, who many have dismissed with his last few forgettable films, is still a filmmaking force.

Lie is openhearted, earnest and well-intentioned.

Like a lava lamp turned on high, Joe Versus the Volcano glows with originality. Go bask in it. [9 Mar 1990, p.4D]

While Southpaw doesn’t do anything innovative with the punch-drunk formula — there’s even a rousing final match, leaving you exhausted by the end — Gyllenhaal and Whitaker are real heavyweights who give the feature a winning combo.

The dazzling animation, catchy songs and Broadway-worthy dance numbers give the film even broader appeal.

It all adds up to belly laughs aplenty and a rollicking good time.

Johnny Depp’s drunken Captain Jack Sparrow stumbles into yet another seafaring adventure, which has its rocky moments but also offers an engaging tale with family legacies, above-average swashbuckling and a fantastic new villain courtesy of Javier Bardem

Impressive yet always self-conscious, Perdition has more class and less sass than any movie in a while.

A breezy, mirthful caper enlivened by the comic talents of Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey.

Paranormal Activity 3 delivers similarly eerie moments, though long stretches go by where nothing truly ominous occurs.

At its best when sticking to a classic sci-fi-fantasy format. But when it tries to be a generic thrill ride, it loses its originality and peculiar charm.

Smith is looking more and more like a developing major talent, so it could be years until we get a handle on this movie's legacy. The film is not only defensible as a cute one-shot, but also as a positive sign for the future.

An artful examination of a small town and small-mindedness and the potential for full-blown, large-scale evil. But it's strangely bloodless.

Only a grouch wouldn't be a little tickled.

For the first time in years (even counting his excellent work in “Internal Affairs”), Richard Gere's acting gears aren't too obviously apparent; Julia Roberts, though the breadth of her emotional range remains in question, is beautiful and can act - a not-bad blueprint for continued employment. [23 Mar 1990, Life, p.4D]

JFK is provocative, a technical primer and an ensemble treat with unusually well- realized star cameos. [20 Dec 1991]

Look out for everything, and listen, too, because Suspects is one of the most densely plotted mysteries in memory.

Richard LaGravenese's flashback script craftily tones down Waller's wind, adds a germane subplot and strengthens the novella's framing device. [02 Jun 1995, p.D1]

It's breezy stuff, to be sure. And while English is far from becoming the Pink Panther for the Facebook generation, Atkinson has a breezy rapport with junior Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) that's reminiscent of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and his relationship with sidekick Kato.

The film, technically deft, is about as erotic as Mona Lisa on a hardwood floor or on a water bed. [23 Dec 1992, p.8D]

More a matter of chemistry than deadlines.

Gyllenhaal is excellent in the dual roles, though Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) is given too little to do to make much of an impression. Isabella Rossellini has a brief, thankless role as the mother of at least one of the two look-alikes.

He hasn't mastered the craft yet, but M. Night Shyamalan may be on to something with this action-movie thing.

Though Hour 2's heavy emphasis on physical and emotional confrontations stimulates dramatic momentum, this respectable superstar meeting is finally, of all things, ordinary. [26Mar1997 Pg04.D]

There is nothing objectionable in this family film, but it doesn't seem to appreciate the intelligence and savvy of its youthful audience. Kids can spot a silly stereotypical character as fast as the rest of us.

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."

Overall, though, the movie commands mild respect. Cinematographer Kenneth MacMillan, who also shot Rush, has an ability to keep squalid surroundings from turning into eyesores without polishing them too much. Casey Siemaszko puts his own spin on Curly, the sadistic malcontent who'd like George and Lenny fired from his father's ranch. And however futilely, Sinise and scripter Horton Foote even try to make Curly's doomed Mrs. (Sherilyn Fenn ) more than the one-dimensional sexpot she often is. Bottom line: More mouse than man - but occasionally, a mighty mouse. [2 Oct 1992, p.4D]

Red 2 is one of those sequels that's easier to follow if you've seen the original but more entertaining if you haven't.

A film dealing fully with Hoffman's final years might have had a lot more punch.

There are some wise observations about parenting. Hunt draws some good performances from the cast and wisely chose a low-key personal story for her directorial debut.

A promising debut by young writer/director Jacob Estes, this story of a botched revenge plot still isn't likely to break out even in multiplex August dog days.

A Hollywood take on a Bollywood movie. But the Bollywood portions - echoing over-the-top Indian movie musicals - are far more entertaining than the Hollywood segments.

Though ultimately gratifying, the ambitious Okja struggles throughout with its pinballing tonal structure, beginning as a family-friendly adventure then shifting to screwball farce and later to an emotional drama involving animal cruelty and slaughterhouse horror.

Sayles is clearly aiming to construct a multilevel character study and sociological portrait, but too often the film lapses into a lecture.

Clearly far from the worst the franchise has offered (sorry, “Scream 3”) and not quite to the level of the late Wes Craven's innovative 1996 original, Ghostface’s latest slice-and-dice through Woodsboro checks all the appropriate boxes though lacks some of the quirky fun that marked previous entries.

It won't be a waste of time to watch these people — on cable, and probably not too far in the future.

This is the best Seagal yet - written by J.F. Lawton, who also did Pretty Woman, oddly enough. But let's not go overboard. The convoluted plot treads water far too long as the good guys on land discuss strategy in a Dr. Strangelove-style conference room. The violence is way too graphic as Seagal treats the hijackers as if they were cheap cuts of beef. And Erika Eleniak's centerfold bimbo may be played for laughs, but it's no joke when she's the token woman. Then again, it's too much to expect an action top dog to learn too many new tricks. [09 Oct 1992, p.8D]

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

Teacher's Pet is no "Finding Nemo," nor even "Lilo and Stitch," but it is an enjoyable family film -- particularly for younger kids -- during a time of year when such fare is lacking.

Vivid visuals are the key to this handsome and moderately entertaining adventure. And the tone is more fairy-tale appropriate than video-game friendly, though the effects-laden swashbuckling sometimes obscures efforts at light whimsy.

Zone feels anticlimactic now. It also pales in comparison to Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker," the most powerful film yet made about the Iraq war.

While just a jot less fun than its predecessor, Pitch Perfect 2 is a worthy sequel in tone, even if the story feels padded with a few too many montages.

It could be worse.

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

If it's conventional, it's also competent. Thanks to director Charles Stone III (of the famed "Whassuup?!" Budweiser spots), the clichés at least have a good beat.

A truthful ad for Crazy People? How about ''You already heard all the best jokes in the commercial.'' [11 Apr 1990, p.4D]

The film features too little about Berry (an engaging Mos Def), who crosses over to great fame.

The movie's success with viewers will depend on whether they think Vaughn is funny or tiresome.

While the rubber-limbed Carrey may not yet be in the hyper-manic league of Jerry Lewis or Robin Williams, his psychotic energy goes a long way to make this plot-anemic comedy palatable. [04Feb1994 Pg. 07.D]

Because we are left with so many questions, the film emerges as emotionally lacking and flat when it should be moving, or at least enlightening.

This is one Road whose gold apparently got paved over.

The film does what it can to dramatize the bond, but Richter has a disproportionate acting load because his co-star's emoting is below the water line. Happily, he carries it. [16 Jul 1993 Pg. 08.D]

Compelling enough, a sort of "Inception"-lite, but the plot holes take it off course.

At least a more satisfying basketball saga than last year's "Coach Carter."

Jumbo budget and the same talent notwithstanding, the element of surprise is missing. And ghostbusters, it seems, need that every bit as much as their targets. [16 Jun 1989, p.1D]

Its rewards may not be eternal, but Heart and Souls will likely satisfy those who love their chuckles choked with tears. [13 Aug 1993, p.4D]

Like it or not (it's hard to dislike), it's less a movie than a concept searching for one. [9 Dec 1988, p.6D]

In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry must walk a tricky line between poignancy and pathos. He occasionally slips into maudlin turf.