Even though the special effects and action sequences are good, the monsters conjured up are rather humdrum.

We all love a good fairy tale, but the enchantment is missing in this predictable sequel.

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]

Scooby has quite a history to which “Scoob!” pays homage, though it seems to have missed the most basic lessons.

But even by the dull standards of movies so far this year, it seems mighty piffling.

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

Some books are not meant to be adapted to the big screen. Alice Sebold's best-selling The Lovely Bones falls into that category.

Especially strange: A gimmicky cameo by an actress who outclasses all previous goings-on.

If grossness gives you the giggles, at least a couple of the movie's effects indeed put a little "wow" in this cinematic bowwow.

Drab as it is, the movie is not impossible to endure -- in part because the concept has a timeless appeal.

Despite solid acting, it's a fantasy for those who don't know jack about what really makes for a wonderful life.

A minimally tolerable excuse to splice one or two perfunctory scenes between song cues.

The writing here is rarely funny, and often trite and predictable. A couple of scenes are downright disturbing:

It gets wackier as it goes, starting with Charlie Sheen cast against type as a guy who's getting no sex and turns down the chance. Bebe Neuwirth has some funny scenes as a lush.

A lot of this goes down surprisingly well, even if Panettiere, through no fault of her own, is saddled with phony precocious dialogue that makes her sound like an ancient sage.

This second installment, based on Veronica Roth's series of YA novels, feels cobbled together and less focused than 2014's Divergent, and lacks tension and excitement.

A documentary on the formation of stalagmites would have been more compelling.

Unless it becomes a camp classic, Cain will soon go the way of Abel. [07 Aug 1992, p.2D]

While there are moments where this drama, about a pair of mothers hellbent on improving their children's education, is compelling and deeply moving, the film gets mired in heavy-handed cliches.

The series has thankfully, found its way out of the doldrums of the Michael Bay era and discovered a satisfying groove of nostalgic bliss. It’s still a whole lot of earnest diatribes, hokey zingers and assorted nonsense but it’s at least crowd-pleasing, candy-in-your-popcorn nonsense.

Kevin Smith shows up briefly as a lab technician in the miserable Daredevil, and that's a pity. This is a movie that desperately needs the presence of Smith's trademark sidekicks Jay and Silent Bob, with Smith as Bob, ragging worse than ever on his old pal Ben Affleck.

The story soon devolves into a far-fetched, futuristic snooze-fest that often defies its own logic. Characters' motivations are rarely clear, and allegiances shift with no explanation.

Trade unflinchingly sheds light on a heinous crime. Yes, it's tough to sit through. But don't let that keep you away.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson may be the worst interns since Monica Lewinsky.

Can't stars attract better scripts than this?

Except for a nifty climactic biker attack on the Mississippi statehouse, you've seen the rest. You won't however, see Boz on screen for long. A Stone face, yes - but not a great one. [21 May 1991, p.4D]

Even with a wealth of talent involved, Inferno is missing some serious heat.

Irredeemably dull. [13 Aug 2004]