Though the movie trails off unsatisfyingly, it raises intriguing and candid, if unanswerable, questions about race relations and political correctness.

Some of the film's most illuminating scenes involve Aya's uncle, General Kajima (Toshiyuki Nishida), who schools Fellers on the sense of duty that is ingrained in Japanese culture.

Brisk, brutal and unconcerned with collateral damage, The Mechanic doesn't pave much of anything new in the assassin-for-hire genre. But when it kills, it does so with style.

Even with Burns' smoothest performance yet as a lead, Confidence is on a level with Steven Soderbergh's blah remake of "Ocean's Eleven." But because no one is expecting much, it seems a little better.

Frigid soul or not, it's the most unforgettable supernatural comedy since Brazil. Could be it's time for the Coens to drop the pretense, and embrace sci-fi head on. [11 Mar 1994, p.4D]

Engrossing up to a point, the movie ends up being another mild disappointment from a filmmaker who last put it all together with Passion Fish -- seven years and four movies ago. [04 Jun 1999]

Neeson is earnest, but this is a Foster we haven't seen before, a transformation that extends to her appearance. There's a showy aspect to her performance that raises my eyebrows, but it's a pretty good show. Better, to be sure, than the movie. [14 Dec 1994, p.1D]

Cantinflas is a nostalgic, occasionally schlocky, look at the Mexican icon. While a substantial number of scenes are heavy-handed, the actor who plays Cantinflas— Óscar Jaenada — is a standout.

Dead-on as entertaining eye candy, a bona fide guilty pleasure -- for the first hour. But the movie loses steam and the sequences that dazzled in the beginning get overshadowed by the excesses of later scenes.

Even if a lot of adults have problems following this picture 100%, look for computer-savvy teen-agers to guarantee this sometimes original but too often derivative time-killer a shelf life.

Falls flat, enlivened only by the performances of its two charismatic lead dogs. The story is heavy-handed, and the human performances are, at their worst, caricatured.

Wildly uneven collage of effects and live action is no Disney-bland vision of dreams gone bonkers. There's enough Freudian material to reupholster a thousand therapy couches.

Essentially, it boils down to familiar fare: a well-paced, entertaining, conventional action thriller where a reluctant hero saves the day.

Hollywoodland explores an intriguing bit of Hollywood history, and through the strength of its performances keeps us engaged and entertained.

It's a pleasant enough fantastical adventure, but it does feel naggingly derivative.

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

The powerful two-person drama gets watered down by documentary-style footage and voice-overs. But it's worth seeing just for Weaver and LaPaglia.

Writer/director Zach Helm, who wrote "Stranger Than Fiction," achieves bursts of charm and whimsy, but not quite enough magic to elicit a consistent sense of wonderment.

Though there must be a dozen U.S. presidents who have never had a documentary made about them, the late Tupac Shakur could rate his own section in video stores, placed between "music" and "action."

If Hairspray is clean and sweet, don't cry sellout. Taken as a pointed burlesque of a serious racial issue, this is what Spike Lee's School Daze should have been. It's also a PG (for "Pretty Darn Good'') simply on its own.

The highlight of this fantasy/horror hybrid is watching a pair of the best British character actors --- Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen -- shed their thespian respectability and unleash their inner beasts.

Longer on action than comedy. But with Chan's affable charm and stunning leaps, kicks and jumps, it's a good-natured and amusing spectacle.

Marvin leavened his sociopathy with a hint of little boy naivete or innocence -- Gibson is merely a frequently funny thug. {5 February 1999, Life, p. 11E]

While on sardonic turf, it's scathingly funny. Then it veers from biting wit to pitiful. At one juncture, the story threatens to spin off into "Fatal Attraction" territory.

The notion that children are raised on fairy tales and the question of how those early stories affect us all — even into adulthood — remains fascinating and is delivered here with visual panache and musical flair.

The movie is spotty. The short films, essentially comic sketches, were more consistently funny. The movie lags on occasion, but it also has quite a few laughs.

Elisabeth Shue has a strange role as a version of herself who has given up acting for nursing.

Simple and evocative, yet teeming with intriguing visual effects.