Visually stunning and narratively stunted, this IMAX documentary is the family version of 2006's "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary on global warming.

It's hard not to wish the same wholesome message could be conveyed with a bit more finesse and originality.

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 really not much fun to be had with Dick and Jane - or anyone else in this anemic comedy.

Director Jonathan Lynn has had his hits (My Cousin Vinny) and stinkeroos (Greedy). This falls in between. [29 Mar 1996, p.4D]

Mostly, it wallows in partying with a capital P.

Yummy yet empty.

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

The concept is so hypocritical, it's like Britney Spears calling Christina Aguilera underdressed and overexposed.

Director Richard Attenborough's Chaplin is catastrophic only partly because it tries to squeeze in topics, subtopics and more. [24 Dec 1992, p.3D]

An OK mood piece but story-hungry murder mystery that flubs its whodunit fundamentals.

The film is fine, familiar fare for gamers and children: Sonic sprints, Carrey mugs, but the creative juices run out quickly.

The third installment of director David Yates’ “Harry Potter” period prequel series still is overstuffed with characters and subplots, yet polishes a few missteps from previous films. There’s a renewed emphasis on magical creatures and another decidedly political bent to the franchise as it digs into dark themes and offers a bewitching goofy side.

Regard it also as a well-intentioned clunker. [10 July 1991, p.4D]

Russell Crowe may find himself discovering the simple joys of life in A Good Year, but audiences will be checking their watches during this joyless attempt at comedy.

The characters in The Box are like cardboard cutouts: Some have "foolish victim" labeled on them, and others fall into the category of absurdly creepy villain.

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 comedy without much zing but with an occasional zing-er that enables the film to pick up . . . well, if not nine yards, maybe an inch or two on the gridiron.

The premise is misbegotten, the chemistry non-existent and the dialogue leaden. Did we mention how tediously the plot unfolds?

A mildly satirical but essentially sweet, benign comedy.

The third installment of the Night at the Museum franchise, Secret of the Tomb, is better than its predecessors, funnier and more adventurous, thanks to a visit across the pond to the British Museum.

The movie has a few too many story threads, but it also has some very funny lines and offers sharp-eyed commentary on the state of relationships in the era of instant messages and MySpace.

This come-down of a series capper is so arch and pompous amid its clanks and collisions that you can only snicker at the verbal wind that obscures the din of marauding machinery.

What gives In the Land of Women its singular charm is the charismatic Adam Brody, the star of TV's "The OC."

In the Heart of the Sea really gives Hemsworth a chance to shine. He’s not just the hammer-slinging Thor: The Aussie continues to make the most of his dramatic work — as in Howard’s 2013 Formula 1 film "Rush" — and showcases a considerable amount of gravitas.

Jennifer's Body is not as hot as you hope it would be.

Misanthropic to the extreme, Bad Teacher fails across the board.

Though characters make some strong points, the film feels preachy and falls flat as entertainment.

The nasty, overlong and undisciplined sourball of a sex farce about a mother-daughter con team will nonetheless satisfy bigenerational libidinous fantasies.

The first one was silly fun, amusing and oddly inventive; the second is plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy.

There has been a need for a big-screen feature about firefighter heroics since Sept. 11, but as drama, Ladder 49 falls short of even the second rung.

There's nothing like dumbing down a movie grown-ups love so it can be "sold" to teens who aren't going to go anyway. The savvy flyer will proceed to the gate marked The "Aviator" instead.

It bristles with exuberant numbers that strain beneath the weight of cliché.

Restless is a self-consciously quirky coming-of-age tale that's essentially a teenage hipster "Love Story."

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is a major step backward with an A-list actor in a C-grade military thriller.

Flyboys doesn't succeed as a wartime adventure story or as a period romance. Even the special effects, set in a historical context, are too ho-hum to save this over-long and tedious film.

Top-flight cast.

This reasonably entertaining movie falters by trying to be both a dark comedy and a sentimental treatise on family and country.

Yes, it's not for the squeamish or easily offended, but its sordidness is more superficially shocking than wickedly satirical.

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.

It’s a denouement that ventures too far afield from familiarity, a good-vs.-evil slugfest more complicated than it needs to be, and a “Halloween” flick that should go out with a roar but instead closes with a masked wheeze.

Even for hardcore fans, Wish comes close to overdoing it with the, well, Disney-ness. That’s when Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) becomes the movie’s saving grace, as a likable, idealistic teen heroine with plucky verve and powerhouse vocals.

There are some laughs, Murphy is appealing and the ancient theme of love conquering all is beguiling. But America's mean-spiritedness lingers after its pastel-pretty ending.

One thrilling shot of land's discovery - so good it's reprised at the end - hints at what might have been. But despite production values that advertise a first-class journey, 1492 is a long haul in steerage. [09 Oct 1992, p.8D]

Stilted film squanders an intriguing premise.

Molasses-paced fable.

Watching the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx on the big screen is like being on an ocean liner stuck on a glacier.

Do yourself a favor and rent the 1996 original from Japan instead.

The combination of the two showcases fun chemistry and antics, although surrounded by a formulaic narrative that action junkies have all seen before.

Just be the most wildly derivative animated movie in ages.

As a forum for its actors and for the big-screen directorial debut of multi-Emmy winner Gregory Hoblit, the film is up to the job.

Packed with digs at Bush-Cheney that even Democrats could find heavy-handed, the movie's lumbering approach reminds us that, OK, Emmerich did "Independence Day" -- but also 1998's "Godzilla," which began sinking back into the sea in week two.

Writer/director Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) delivers his usual slapstick and sap shtick, but the sitcom-slick results fall flat. (It's also based on a French farce - bad sign.) [12 July 1995, p.1D]

Oscar is a marathon of running gags, but few cross the finish line. [26 Apr 1991, p.4D]

Of all things, this movie has the same problem "Ghostbusters 2" had, which is this: You can't take bigger-than-life screen types and toss them into everyday, regular-folk situations.

Irresistible lives up to its title with an enchanting twist on a well-trod narrative and thankfully brings back the gifted satirical mind that our crazy world has sorely missed.

27 Dresses is like one of the many bridesmaid dresses featured in the film: frothy, predictable and over the top.

A slog rather than the sweeping romance it aspires to be.

What was once fresh and innovative now is tired and overdone.

Director Stephen Norrington is more keen on finding new ways to explode the fiends... than developing a credible story. So the movie flits from one gore-laden assault to another with little suspense.

Sometimes laughably incoherent.

Even its pre-teen audience could use a bit more quirkiness and a little less formula.

Not too many R-rated revenge pics depend on "Uptown Girls'" Dakota Fanning for the stronger scenes. Yet once the 10-year-old star exits the picture, Man on Fire starts blowing a lot of smoke.

Though there's nothing wrong with moral outrage, it doesn't always aid the telling of a complex story. More subtlety might have worked better.

Though not much of a movie, Loaded probably will bring fleeting satisfaction to audiences who don't know Dean Jones from Spike Jones.

But Game really isn't a performer's movie. And the climactic contest (in which the Americans amazingly eked out a 1-0 win against England, considered by many to be the world's finest team at the time) is only serviceably staged.

A wide-eyed 4-year-old makes a fairly convincing case for the existence of an afterlife in Heaven is for Real. But it's Greg Kinnear — with his characteristic affability — that just about seals the deal.

While the adult performances are strong, especially Jeff Bridges in the title role, youthful characterizations are not nearly as illuminating as they were on the page.

Borderline ponderous in hour one, Wyatt Earp picks up once it reaches Dodge, thanks in part to drolly delivered guffaw lines from sunken-cheeked Dennis Quaid, who lost 43 pounds to play tubercular Doc Holliday. [24 Jun 1994, p.1D]

Director Iain Softley employs intriguing camera angles to heighten some of the suspense. It's too bad the movie goes over the top and falls apart in the last third.

While it's an energetic romp, there is more slapstick humor than wit at work here, and a good deal of borrowing from the far more clever "Monsters, Inc."

Don't stop believing. Just avoid clichéd musicals that try to capture the anarchic spirit of rock with trite commercial re-treads.

It feels like a wan version of the show -- one that has lost its otherworldly edge.

Pleasant but not more than recycled jock piffle.

The script is consistently humorous, even if a few punch lines are predictable and the wit is neither highbrow nor split-a-gut funny.

Somewhere within all of this there really is a homicide -- a hip-hop industry rub-out that may someday make this movie half of a passable DVD double feature with Nick Broomfield's documentary Biggie and Tupac.

This family entertainment hard sell lags far behind even "Dr. Dolittle 2."

Thornton is excellent and now seems genetically incapable of being anything less than great in any role he takes.

You don't get the sense that too many enthusiasts are hanging up wanted posters for the ho-hum-ish U.S. Marshals. [6 March 1998, pg. 04.D]

Untantalizingly reverent remake. [7 December 1998, p.4D]

Drama/comedy fables such as "Big" and "13 Going on 30" effectively transported viewers to their whimsical alternate reality. But Timothy Green feels more predictable than other-worldly.

Definitely more than semi-funny.

The worst of '88's major Christmas pics has scientist Dan Aykroyd inadvertently beaming Kim Basinger to Earth in a bum experiment; the result is as tired as its title, though Basinger gives another smooth comic performance. [09 Jun 1989, p.3D]

Anyone who has ever had an annoying neighbor will see their worst nightmares fulfilled in the overheated but entertaining Lakeview Terrace.

Only the Lonely comes close enough to being halfway watchable that some may call it a Candy triumph. [24 May 1991, p.7D]

It's a syrupy, downbeat film.

“Fury” piles on the mythos, monsters and magic, a smidge too heavily at times, but stays grounded, thanks to its earnestly goofy main man.

The sad truth is that Cadillac is still another of the amiably lazy efforts that Eastwood and his band of production regulars have been mass-producing for too many years. (And by now, it's decades.) [26 May 1989, p.4D]

Garnering a chuckle or two, but no more, are Donal Logue from "The Tao of Steve" (now there's a comedy) -- and, as a desperate magnet for both the slacker and "dude" demographics, Jon Heder from Napoleon Dynamite.

It really would take a love potion to fall for this lifeless comedy. [16 Nov 1992]

There's nothing exciting about this awful, over-the-top reboot.

There is enlightenment -- even stark poetry -- in The Passion.

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

The movie feels like a long-form version of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series on which it's based, which probably won't bother Arnold fans.

Predator 2 won't be the worst turkey at theaters this Thanksgiving. But it certainly gobbles loud and often enough. Its makers - whose previous smash-crash hash includes 48 HRS., Die Hard and both Lethal Weapons - go to great lengths to camouflage this bird with ultra-violent dressing. The plot is one bloody showdown after another, on rooftops or in subway cars. [21 Nov 1990, p.2D]

This isn't art, it's commerce. [20 Nov 1992, p.1D]

Works best as a ponderous metaphor for life's uncertainties. As a lighthearted comedy, the force, alas, is not with it. [19 March 1999, Life, p.13E]

A bittersweet relationship drama with enough honest emotion and gentle humor to move even the steeliest heart.