We'd all like to live in an Italian movie. So says a character in Nine, and it's probably the best line in this musical misfire.

Hillbilly Elegy is a well-acted study of a white working-class family reaching for the American dream over three generations, though its disconnected story is what’s unfortunately lamentable.

Because Sarandon is such a good actress, she makes the movie watchable, and there are a couple of laughs to be had.

As a chronicle of the collapse of a marriage, the film is choppy, contrived and cloying.

The conclusion is a sweet bit of frosting on an otherwise unremarkable confection.

There's virtually nothing new in the dull Paranormal Activity 4 except for a modification in the method of documenting the spooky shenanigans.

Didn't work this time, David. Maybe next season.

For those in the audience, it's best to just sit back, drink in its virtual dazzle and not ask questions. The story is beside the point in this sleek-looking reboot. It's all about the whiz-bang special effects and the return of Jeff Bridges - always the coolest guy in any space, cyber or otherwise.

The Magnificent Seven is like a long-fused stick of dynamite: It takes forever to get interesting but does at least unleash an explosive finale.

Despite gripping chase sequences and a few awe-inspiring fiery explosions, gaping holes in the convoluted plot make Shooter heavier on style than substance.

What makes it slightly better than the others is an affable, low-key chemistry between James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan as star-crossed lovers.

The very rich are different from you and me. And much worse. That's basically the message of the disappointingly banal Nanny Diaries, a film that is even more lightweight and clichéd than the fluff that was the best-selling book.

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

It's good to see Polley back on screen, after her successful turn behind the camera directing 2006's "Away From Her." She brings a measure of intelligence to the one-dimensional role.

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.

As this year's literary adaptations go, Horses comes a lot closer to being a truly bad movie than "The Perfect Storm" did, yet it would be hard to argue that the two are not the year's most disappointing in terms of trampled hopes.

It's the crude humor that trips up the movie.

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

Diverting enough if you want to see plenty of fast-paced action sequences, some heart-stopping chase scenes and plenty of things blow up.

The movie is sure to appeal to fans of the show. But when quality family films, such as "Holes" and "Bend It Like Beckham," are also in theaters, why waste your time on this drivel? The answer, of course, is the kids will insist on it.

Isn't much, it's just lively enough to placate its limited audience to make it an easy choice over "Scooby-Doo's" stale Alpo.

Considering the controversy and chaos Sony Pictures Studios is undergoing because of it, The Interview fails to live up to the hype, floundering as a rowdy comedy as it grows duller by the minute.

Nichols usually can lure A-list casts to even C-grade projects, and this is no exception.

So stunningly photographed that the blood that spurts early and often in this grisly period piece is extra-vivid red. But that hardly makes the Prohibition-era story of a trio of bootlegging brothers feel authentic.

There's no creepiness here - only creeping ennui, as the movie slips away. [24 Mar 1994, p.4D]

As spent screen series go, Star Trek: Nemesis is even more suggestive of a 65th class reunion mixer where only eight surviving members show up -- and there's nothing to drink.

This Hellboy leans more into super-gory horror comedy than its predecessors, trading nuance for ripped-off limbs and boasting as much subtlety as a stone fist to the face.

2-1/4 hours of MTV-produced tough love, with a dance break and pool party to relieve -- momentarily -- a series of motivational rants from lead Samuel L. Jackson.