The movie grows progressively more routine in quarter-hour increments, eventually collapsing under the weight of its own insignificance.

Despite the hype, this horror story can't shake its run-of-the-mill storytelling.

Silly as it was, the first movie had a more innocent and campy spirit than this calculated, if faithful, redo.

There's a lot to talk about but so much outrageousness that the end effect is wearying and not a little absurd.

Missing are well-choreographed action scenes, likable characters and involving plot twists.

Stone is competent, if not commanding; as neighbor lovers, she and Baldwin have less chemistry than the Taster's Choice coffee couple. [21 May 1993, p.1D]

Deception is not the cool, noirish thriller it tries to be. Despite a cast that includes double-crossers Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams caught in the middle, the film is a yawn.

Gets muddled in slapstick and crude humor.

But the best moments are in the trailer (the squirting skunk, the asparagus in the teeth), and they are funnier in short doses than lazily strung together. [10 Nov 1995 Pg. 01.D]

Teamed again after Midnight Cowboy, writer Waldo Salt and director John Schlesinger make a costly flop of Nathanael West's great novella about underbelly '30s Hollywood. Karen Black is just OK as craven screen wannabe Fay Greener, but, along with M*A*S*H, this is Donald Sutherland's greatest lead (as a dweeb named Homer Simpson). [08 Jun 2004]

The time might be right for the Scary movies to quit on top, even though, alas, there are no term limits for sequels.

Far-fetched is fine in most action flicks. And it would work here if Days were a straightforward police story.

The original was a Midol moment, this is a Prozac exercise. [12 March 1999, Life, p.8E]

Where once Waters was brilliantly polluted, now he comes off diluted.

Murphy's breathy, high voice as Kitten feels forced, but not nearly as much as the film's efforts to be both whimsical and weighty.

Two years after the release of “Orient Express,” “Knives Out” reinvented the all-star murder mystery in a fun and refreshing fashion, and Branagh’s latest just seems stale in comparison, with no new life in this “Death.”

Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled showcases good manners and bad deeds, though it lacks the necessary edge to make it a satisfying revenge thriller.

Funny how Madonna borrows Everett, Julia Roberts' gay pal from "My Best Friend's Wedding," and Bratt, Roberts' real-life beau, to be her co-stars. If only she could borrow her talent.

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.

But once the updated story - now about an unwed mom who sacrifices all for her child rather than a divorcee who married above her class - starts clinging to the original's plot machinations, Stella turns into one helluva maudlin mess. [2 Feb 1990, p.4D]

Yes is more of a maybe. Or even a hmmm.

After a tense, terrific, stomach-turning opening that may have moviegoing acrophobes recalling Vertigo, the film soon becomes the latest screen variation on cat-and-Mighty Mouse. [28May1993 Pg.04.D]

It's a hoary Chinatown knock-off wrapped in a seductively novel black-culture veneer, with a dash of Laura added for bad measure. [29 Sept 1995, p.01.D]

Good spirits are worth something, and the movie has them, as well as scattershot chuckles.

Rather than being a fascinating exploration of a much more constrained time in our social history, the film simply feels anachronistic.

It's Complicated is vacuous overall, although attractively packaged.

Melodramatic and laden with cop-thriller clichés, the story, set in one of New York's toughest precincts, is contrived and inauthentic -- and also grisly.

Evil's one strong presence is lead Milla Jovovich -- and not because the script gives her supercop/soldier anything interesting to say.

The much-publicized collaboration between producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg sets high expectations. But while the technical artistry is there, the film lacks a sense of magic, intrigue and mystery.

At times Dracula Untold flirts with dullness so much that it might as well just stick a stake in the heart of Bram Stoker's legacy.

What Atlantis gains in chills and thrills, it loses in pure emotion.

Once fresh, the story is now buried under a hoary coating.

Like Rami Malek’s Freddie Mercury in “Rhapsody,” Ackie’s own voice is heard at times though mainly she’s performing to Houston’s own signature vocals. And the actress does an exceptional job capturing the pop singer’s mannerisms and performance style in those moments. It’s everything else in between that’s the real problem.

The sentiments here are thoroughly semper fi, but the result occasionally works at cross-purposes.

Only slightly more slick and slightly less edgy than past John Grisham adaptations.

It isn't good and it isn't bad – it is, to borrow a fitting adjective, "all right." But the film might as well be called “Matthew McConaughey: The Movie,” as it casts McConaughey in a role seemingly tailor-made for his famous style and yet, like the actor himself, also upends those same expectations.

One doesn't put Roberts and Clooney together on screen without conjuring at least a little magic. But dusting off an old copy of her "America's Sweethearts" or his "One Fine Day" is more likely to scratch that rom-com itch.

Stilted film squanders an intriguing premise.

Has nothing remotely new or comical in its arsenal. In fact, this vacuous farce has nothing original to say about marriage, working parenthood, child-rearing or corporate America.

Thomas' easygoing warmth helps to melt Stiles' icy veneer, and one of Dance's few pleasures is an extended musical segment where she tries to ape his homeboy posturings.

Were this movie a naval battle, it would be Lord Nelson vs. Judd Nelson, so decisively do the older actors knock the younger off the screen. [26Dec1997 Pg03.D]

A cameo by a well-known actor in the final scene suggests there will be a third ride on this familiar marriage go-round.

The only possible reasons to do this concept again is sheer laziness (it's easier to borrow an idea) and pure greed (it's cheaper to borrow an idea). [2 April 1999, Life, p.6E]

This is a joyless, frenetic film that is very rarely funny.

While it features three strong performance and the debut of a promising filmmaker, the story line is obvious and rather melodramatic.

Each story has its moments, but "Air" lacks an overarching vision.

By nature, the character (Rock) is as gentle and affable as this Amazonian adventure is -- a yarn complete with an oddball robber baron, pro football linemen, Type-A monkeys and hallucinogenic fruit.

Stretching what was a cute concept to the breaking point.

Top-flight cast.

If you drop the "c" in hockey you get a perfect description of Mystery, Alaska.

The usually peppy troupe is simply going through the show-biz motions rather than rocketing to where no Muppet caper has gone before. [14 July 1999, p.12D]

Trust-- and the genre itself -- needs to dump the stale formula and embrace reality and reinvention.

Plays a little like a pacifistic variation on Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon."

Directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun) with his usual testosterone-injected verve, Scout is never boring but hardly edifying. With a nod to the '90s, the formula does digress to allow the pals to expose their emotional wounds to each other. [13 Dec 1991, p.4D]

The film has its funny moments, but they are too few to make the holiday excursion worthwhile.

It has a few moments of fun and whimsy, but it lacks the joyous spirit and intelligent humor of the children's novel on which it's based.

The opposite of entertainment, a self-satisfied soap opera from hell. But anyone itchy to see Ricci in her fleshy glory will adore her femme fatale for the Jerry Springer age, a Stanwyck stoked on steroids and SweeTarts.

Snowden’s a polarizing whistleblower portrayed as an American hero here but in too pedestrian a fashion for such a hot-button topic, and the movie seems at times as awkward as its brainiac subject.

It's reduced to glorified refereeing of family squabbles discomfortingly magnified by his frequent use of close-ups.

Part horror film, part space thriller and all gore-fest, the movie ends up being a lot like its protagonist: a mess of a monster that stretches itself too thin to scare much.

Crowe's performance is the best thing about the ambitious historical drama, which takes some artistic liberties.

A befuddling mélange of superpowered showdowns, psychological gaslighting and self-important comic meanderings, it's a finale that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

Leaden, non-involving and filled with mind-numbing computer-generated effects.

It's far more annoying than frightening.

Instead of hip, though, Tank Girl is prefab and purified, a calculated cult attraction. It's Danger by Mattel, and Petty, in her ripped stockings and torpedo bra, is a cyber-Barbie. This is one chick flick that at least has bite. Too bad its teeth are false. [3 Apr 1995, p.4D]

The story feels like a less complicated companion to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Obvious logical questions are ignored. For instance, if she remains 29, does that make her immortal?

The lesson of the lovely-looking, but disappointing, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is avoid tinkering too much with a novelist's work.

Pulpy, fairly speedy but just the same old urban thing by its wrap-up.

Stunningly shot and stupidly written.

The dialogue, delivered mostly in Southern accents, is intended to be funny and fresh, but much of this Western-influenced sci-fi adventure story feels reheated.

It's not nearly as enjoyable as one of his rambling, meditative songs, though perhaps it is aspiring to be the cinematic equivalent. Give me "Tangled Up in Blue" any day over this incoherent, tangled trip.

Poor, no-respect ABBA gets tweaked repeatedly in this unexpectedly handsome widescreen import - though, in keeping with the movie's soft tone, the gooning isn't mean-spirited or even all that catty. [10 Aug 1994]

Despite questionable casting, wooden acting, laughable dialogue and truly awful makeup, nothing is likely to stop young girls from swarming to this kitschy adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's popular novel.

I entered the screening for The X-Files: Fight the Future with myriad questions... I left with disappointing answers. [19 June 1998, p. 7E]

At least director Dwight Little (Free Willy 2) gives us enough B-movie speed to keep Orchid from becoming a fountain of aging.

Too bad Boys has more gas than wind beneath its wings. [03 Feb 1995, Pg.04.D]

This John Candy vehicle (he was even executive producer) has a wry appeal, but it leaves fingerprints on a lot of familiar schtick, and it's not the big laugh-getter he's aiming for. His performance is no match for his rich work in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. [03 Feb 1989, p.4D]

Well-acted and involving.

Lurching back and forth through time, Winter's Tale tries to blend the supernatural and the sentimental, with a synchronous nod to elements of New York history. But this would-be magical romance flounders, hitting only dissonant chords.

There are laughs here, but easily as many groans.

When it aims for humor, it feels overwrought and clichéd.

Amazingly, amidst the smutty silliness, there are some laughs.

The characters and plot lack even a shred of credibility.

If you'd like to know about the famously eccentric psyche of surrealist artist Salvador Dali, whom Pattinson plays, you're better off consulting written biographies. Little Ashes does nothing to illuminate the iconic Spanish artist.

It's a maudlin, superficial exercise in obsession masquerading as a heartfelt romance and study of grief, and character development is sorely lacking.

The Chamber merits some respect for daring to be gloomy, for facing the capital punishment issue head-on and for the quality of Gene Hackman's performance. [11 October 1996, p.1D]

Dark Fate ultimately blows up any chance for innovative storytelling with rehashed plot points and reheated signature moments.

Don't look for any belly laughs, but Quick Change will help you put on a happy face. [13 Jul 1990, p. 4D]

It's a story that feels familiar at best, hackneyed at worst, which is surprising and disappointing, as director Tom Vaughan also made last year's "Starter for 10," a charming British coming-of-age comedy.

Alien Trespass is good-natured, but it's a wan send-up. When it comes to paying homage to classic "B" horror movies, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is the more clever alternative.

Tested my own love of the game more than anything since the time Roseanne screeched the national anthem.

The tepid result is like "Courage Under Fire" without the compelling Meg Ryan angle, or Travolta's 1999 "The General's Daughter" without the sexual squalor. It all feels a little moldy.

Here's how it goes down: 4 is better than 3, about the same as 2 and worse than 1.

Mediocre terrorist melodrama turned even punier by real-life events, and that's before we scratch our heads at its lead-actor choice.

Though this saga would be terrific to read about, it is dicey screen material that only a genius should touch. With no genius in sight, K-19 might be headed for meltdown.

Saoirse Ronan's talents are wasted on a foolish dual part in this dull sci-fi fantasy.

Except for one good recurring gag with a brakeless Cadillac, Fletch Lives is best when it's most offensive. What an unprecedented thing to say about a Chevy Chase movie - but it's true. Compared to much of the rest here, Chase's airplane nose-picking is pretty funny. [17 March 1989, p.4D]

Allen Daviau's cinematography is so striking that the movie would probably play better with the sound off.