For a movie about the power of imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is not as clever as you would hope.

Despite overlength, this acceptable outing has its moments, most of them in the second half. [17 Nov 1989]

With its homages to "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," director David Gelb's The Lazarus Effect is at least smarter and tenser than last year's crop of tame horror films.

Predictable, but well-intentioned fun.

Worth seeing, not only because it shows how an ordinary man can do something extraordinary, but because it allows audiences the opportunity to watch an extraordinary actor in a performance that could have been rote, but instead is nuanced and intelligent.

Ramona and Beezus are undeniably cute, and the movie that bears their names tries to inject some timeliness, but what many of us will walk away from this movie thinking about are the hot father figures.

Bunny is fashioned as a bawdy comedy with heart, but its reliance on formula undercuts the amusing moments.

Even though Think Like a Man espouses something akin to the philosophy in Beyoncé's Single Ladies(Put a Ring on It), it makes manipulation more fun than it ought to be.

Though it doesn't fully resonate as a romance, it is effective as a character study.

Still, there are some funny surprises, from skewering overdone Christmas decorations to casting Chris Klein as a creep.

The payoff isn't worth the time invested, but at least the actor-turned-filmmaker underplays an inherently queasy project that could have been over the top.

Familiar B-movie fare, but it's also lively fun and presented with well-paced flair.

Jojo Moyes adapted her own best-selling book, which helps give Me Before You a singular inviting vibe instead of feeling like "The Fault in Our Stars 2."

Just earnest enough to blend its religious theme with a beer-chugging hero for a surprisingly contemporary look at faith.

Anwar is reasonably spunky, but she's not given much. The script fatally fumbles the exposition, serving up characters of zero rooting-interest. [09 Feb 1994, p.8D]

Though its romantic-comedy triangle borrows heavily from Cyrano de Bergerac, the film has more in common with Three's Company. A shame, since Dogs boasts more than a few stray pleasures. [26Apr1996, Pg. 04.D]

Leave it to a wimpy kid to show Hollywood how to make a family movie with live people in it.

Since a goodly portion of Jade is given over to the barbed banter lobbed by Allen and a solid Helen Hunt (in Stanwyck mode as a peevish efficiency expert who challenges his façade of male superiority), Woody the wordsmith is in full evidence, too.

A few crude verbal exchanges nearly got Clerks an NC-17 rating; some (not all) of these provide some of the funniest moments in a film that's funny about 30% of the time. [24 Oct 1994]

The tale was no doubt meant to convey Kemp/Thompson's boozy aimlessness, but the film feels disjointed and meandering as a result.

Superficially gritty yet soullessly slick melodrama.

Had Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch made a movie together, it might have looked something like The Signal.

In Time has about 50 minutes of good movie in it. Alas, the sci-fi thriller runs nearly twice that length, and despite a terrific concept that could make for an "Inception" for 2011, we get "Logan's Run" meets "Robin Hood." And not the good parts.

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]

The primary upside to The Upside of Anger is the presence of Joan Allen in the lead role.

Forget Lassie and Flicka. Two years before Richard Zanuck and David Brown gave us a new kind of animal picture with Jaws, they produced a ssssssickie that gave character actor Strother Martin a rare lead. [22 Aug 2006, p.4D]

The clichéd ghosts of James Bond past haunt Spectre, an action adventure whose biggest failure is looking back on 007’s own success.

Fans of HBO's comically explicit Tales From the Crypt will know what to expect. If not quite up to Crypt's snuff, Bags is still a gas. [06 Aug 1993, p.3D]

Saldana is in top form for the acrobatics required in the role, and she makes the gritty determination of her character believable.

It isn't the Bates Motel, but the Pinewood Motel has enough creepy visitors and creaky floors to make Vacancy worth checking into for 90 minutes.

One wishes producer Spike Lee had stepped in to give the dialogue some sass.

Despite many uproarious bits, it also must be called disappointing - but I'm still obliged to, uh, treat it tender. [28 Aug 1992, p.5D]

Mike Nichols may never direct another ground-breaking movie, but even with bit performers he is still Mike Midas. Leads and lesser players alike have pointed things to say in this solid, not great, entertainment; if you think this is a movie for you - it probably is. [12 Sep 1990, p.1D]

Sherlock Holmes has been reimagined with fighting skills as potent as his intellectual acumen.

The new “Girls” sticks to the script plotwise, to a slavish degree. Even Fey and Tim Meadows playing their old teacher roles seems forced and uninspired. It’s only when the movie remembers it’s a musical that it refreshingly breaks from the norm.

Zhao understands the larger assignment, as the epic sets the stage for future MCU intrigue. Her attention to detail and eye for design does wonders, even if by the end it all feels like an eternal chore.

The old seems old - but the result isn't unpleasant, and moviegoers just might go for it. [22 May 1992]

It's amusing, but also rather silly - offering still more evidence that Wenders seems to have seen a few hundred Hollywood genre pics too many. [30 Dec 1993, p.4D]

Randal Kleiser (Grease) might not be everyone's first choice as director. But with the majesty of the Klondike landscape and a script packed with action, it would be hard to mess this up. [22 Jan 1991, p.5D]

It's a sweetly strange yet uneven comedy, with a charming lead performance by Steve Zahn offset by a lackluster one from Jennifer Aniston.

Focus never quite comes into clear view. It's a muddled and twisting romantic caper that at times feels like Steven Soderbergh lite.

Some of the players are endearingly goofy in this good-natured comedy, particularly Rudd and Theroux. But Wanderlust trundles along unevenly, never reaching the cleverly raucous state it seeks.

Has strong performances and stirring football scenes.

What emerges is part screwball comedy, absurdist farce, social satire and earnest self-exploration. If it had the unwavering focus and clear-eyed vision of Russell's previous two features, I Heart Huckabees might have been brilliant.

The film grows on you, but more substance and less calculated quirks would have been a royal treat.

Well-acted, intermittently compelling, often incoherent but always offbeat, Inherent Vice is a twisting story about twisted California stoners. Think of it as a film that's meant to be experienced, more than fully understood.

Employing Navy troops as stars is a clever idea for an action thriller. But the soldiers' awkward line readings are glaring enough to distract from the potency of the story.

Cheesy, campy B-movie fun, thanks mostly to the cadre of cobras and their ilk and also to Jackson (probably the only actor alive who could pull off this save-the-day bad ass movie role).

Creation is a superbly creative exercise for its star, Paul Bettany, who plays Charles Darwin. But it's a subdued and meandering portrait of the conflicts underlying the development of the theory of evolution.

Visually impressive but woefully dumbed-down.

A pleasant, but forgettable, trifle.

Allen's connective scenes are slack and barely functional, and even his asides lack bite.

The Fifth Estate doesn't seem to be presenting the full story. Instead, it's a fairly dull thriller about a hugely influential Internet phenomenon.

For those who want to feel like they're 110 stories up and living in the clouds, Hollywood does its job conjuring movie magic with a breathtaking Walk to remember.

Part of the problem lies in the casting imbalance: Ferrell is so much more adept at this comedy style than Heder.

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.

The middling result, diverting while it lasts but too silly to recommend, is merely this week's funhouse action pic. [21 Jun 1996 Pg.01.D]

An uplifting but occasionally treacly tale of transcendent grief, opted to venture where angels go fearlessly.

Based on the days and especially nights of Venice's 16th century courtesan Veronica Franco, this alternately dull, lively, sexy and silly costumer lightens the locks of brunette Braveheart dish Catherine McCormack. [27 Feb 1998]

Unfortunately, Red Eye goes from being a powerful thriller to a far more predictable story of revenge.

With so much covered superficially here, little is covered well. But the film moves fast, with the cafe becoming a viable - even vital - character. [30 Dec 1991, p.4D]

In lieu of a toga party, one scene treats us to an octogenarian fraternity member wrestling two topless townie lookers slathered in KY Gel. Hey, there's no stopping progress.

Even when the movie works, it's so much like having Daffy Duck assault your face that you want to buy a box set of elevator music for the calming drive home.

Invincible doesn't offer any surprises. But it is a well-made, fairly exciting movie that, like its hero, has heart.

As the film ultimately deviates from its course, the entire undertaking suffers.

The movie falls short of achieving its apparent goal: being the "Raging Bull" of the art world.

The problem is the letdown you feel when these glorious morsels (film clips and soundtrack) end, and it's back to three morose schlumps.

Adam is a cut above most romances and boasts a intriguing conclusion. One comes away with a sense of hope, leavened by realism.

Donkey continues to be lovable, and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has one of the funnier character arcs.

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, “Twisters” is a monster truck of a summer movie, an often-enjoyable ride rocking a “Hell yeah, science rules!” bumper sticker that gets stuck in muddy subplots and looking at the original in its rear-view mirror.

Although it's a vast improvement from its early aughts predecessor (not exactly a high bar to cross), this ghoulish gathering is a family-friendly affair that's awfully vanilla when it comes to both humor and scares.

There's at least one plot element too many here; let your own taste determine which one. Yet until it dissolves into conventional melodrama during a climactic fracas, this fast-paced story is never less than watchable.

While it takes stabs at realism, mostly in its use of cellular and computer technology, disbelief must be suspended for full immersion in this twisty airborne thriller.

It's the kind of material that is either going to make your day or not.

This gritty examination of physical and psychological wounds offers a superb performance by Marion Cotillard, who speaks volumes with her eyes, and a less convincing one by her lead co-star.

Watts has proven herself a Lady of the Rings, but twice is enough. No burning need for a trilogy.

Two constants: good acting and an old-fashioned preachiness that backfires.

Agreeable and slipshod in equal fashion, The Guru illustrates the subtle distinction between stupidity and goofiness.

If you were holding out hope that Frozen 2 could equal or surpass the original phenomenon, it’s time to let it go.

But this isn't Diceman's feat of clay. Instead, Ford Fairlane runs fairly well on high-octane silliness. [11 Jul 1990, p.4D]

Moviegoers will come up empty with Mad Money. This lifeless comedy and uninventive caper feels as if it were cobbled together at a studio's obligatory consciousness-raising diversity seminar.

From “Freaky” to the upcoming “Abigail,” Newton is quickly becoming one of horror’s freshest faces, and “Riverdale” veteran Sprouse showcases a gift for physical comedy with what amounts to a silent-movie role. His Creature alone is worth the watch, though the movie’s breakout gem is Soberano, who brings scene-stealing verve as the protective Taffy gets caught up in her sibling’s shady business.

We all know grossly moronic behavior can, in the right situation, generate hearty guilty-pleasure guffaws - at least until overkill wears out the welcome.

This dispensable comedy has a few unexpectedly loopy surprises, including an outlandishly gay detective (played by versatile actor William Fichtner), who loves the Ice Capades but loathes insurance fraud.

While entertaining with its swipes at everything from health food to the Latin pop craze, the semi-sweet story is about as deep and meaningful as a groupie grope.

James Franco is a gorgeous, smoldering lover in Tristan & Isolde, but you can't help being reminded of Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" character.

Splinter is no exploitative blood bath or torture horror like the "Saw" movies. It's more of a thriller along the lines of "The Thing" or "Alien." The scares are equal parts psychological jolts and gore. This is classic Halloween fun, with plenty of thrills and chills, surprisingly believable performances, and healthy doses of humor.

Bogged down by speechifying and a plodding pace, Miral is well-intentioned but doesn't achieve the searing emotional resonance suggested by the story.

The satire is surprisingly tepid.

Motivations are murky, the dialogue is flat. But the movie never lets too much plot get between the dance numbers. [21 Aug 1987]

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]

Too many threads are left dangling and the movie ultimately proves too implausible to put alongside those horror classics.

One can excuse the movie's missteps and melodramatic moments in the greater interest of the strong statement it makes about our health care system.

Allison Janney is tacky incarnate as Barkin's good-time gal pal. When she shows up, Drop Dead Gorgeous comes most to life. [23 July 1999, Life, p.12E]

Poor Ben Stiller can't distill the darkness, slapstick and fantasy into a consistent directorial tone, but the leads' expert give-and-take make the movie far from unbearable. [14 June 1996, p.1D]

The movie has more on its mind than its delicate frame can handle, but Finney remains an actor of importance and prodigious charm. [27 Dec 1994]

Like a padded "Saturday Night Live" sketch. What would have been very funny for 15 minutes, and pretty funny for 45, doesn't maintain the standard over the course of a feature-length film.

Cheri, like the character, is an entertaining bauble without much on its mind.