Yet another foray into unnecessary 3-D, is a rehashed mishmash of Jonathan Swift's 18th-century classic. Mostly, it's a vehicle for Jack Black's zany humor.

The ensemble cast, struggling with wanly written characters, hits more clunkers than high notes.

Snipes seems lost. A key player in the novel by virtue of his first-person narration, Snipes' character - now third-person - is all but a non-person. Mostly, he reacts Watson-style to Connery's Sherlock Holmes musings; an attempt to incorporate Snipes' street buddies into a car chase is the film's weakest scene. [30 July 1993, p.1D]

Intermittently funny. But the movie's first 20 minutes is devoted to tediously showing how his career has taken off around the world. That might be fine if this were a documentary, or if it were done more artfully, and with humor — since we go into the movie expecting a 75-minute laugh-fest.

Despite its ultra-formulaic premise and juvenile sense of humor, there are a few laughs, and the movie's heart is generally in the right place, with the notable exception of racist characterizations of an Arab prince and Japanese businessmen.

Earnest to the point of stultifying, “Red One” offers a busy landscape of plastic action figures come to life, visually appealing and plenty colorful, though as hard as it tries, the movie doesn’t deliver the joy and emotion you’d want in a seasonal treat.

Her (Garner) grace and mystical abilities make for a lonely burden, and we are supposed to feel her pain. Instead, we feel our own for having to sit through this silly movie.

Palo Alto marks one of those rare films that is so accurate in its portrayal of characters that the movie suffers for it.

It's nowhere near as funny or incisive as the South Park movies, and it has a much crazier style. Imagine Abraham Lincoln chatting up a giant milkshake and discussing slavery, and you get the picture.

Director Chuck Hanson, who did The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, provides many pretty-postcard shots of Oregon and Montana. But he should have been the hand that rocks the raft instead of holding off on most of the foamy feats until the final minutes. [30 Sep 1994, p.5D]

There are viable flashes of comedy in the franchise. But with each movie, they grow increasingly dim.

The movie itself IS dull, however. The characters never engage our interest, and the relentless violence grows monotonous.

The film is likable, with some funny moments and recognizable human conflicts. But the origin of the women's friendship is not explained, and the nature of Olivia's problems is not examined or taken very seriously, making her seem inexplicably lost and shallow.

Another 48 HRS. doesn't offer a whole lot beyond Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, and Walter Hill's action-scene flair, but are you telling me the first 48 HRS. did? Bottom line: Eddie-Nick enthusiasts and Paramount accountants won't cry 96 tears. [8 Jun 1990, p.1D]

Despite its patina of stylishness, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is sorely lacking in thrills.

Give Binder credit for addressing racial divides even if not as profoundly as one would hope.

Deep within Law Abiding Citizen lurks a thought-provoking movie. But most of what we see on the screen is implausible, superficial and only marginally involving.

It's hard to sustain that cheeky meta humor, and the film seems to just give in and join its slasher brethren, devolving into a string of gruesome, but unoriginal, slayings.

Hanks is a standout again, in a film that otherwise doesn't work. [24 March 1989, p.3D]

There's nothing terribly fantastic about this ho-hum futuristic foray.

The problem is the movie's comedians, who are, to the last, unfunny.

The character played by lead Paul Giamatti is a dead-on Shyamalan protagonist: emotionally distanced and something of a train wreck.

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

White Palace, ultimately conventional, doesn't play like any spring chicken, either. [19 Oct 1990, p.4D]

Women may appear a bit smarter here, but both sexes are portrayed as superficial and silly.

Happily, MacLaine (who can pull off these lovable eccentric dowagers while she's sleeping) and Fraser, showcasing a previously untapped flair for romantic comedy, keep Lake on her toes. [19 Apr 1996, p.1D]

It's serviceable, but certainly not much fun.

What do you call a filmmaker who thinks imitating a screen benchmark can make up for emotions that are evading her actors -- Clueless.