Though a tacked-on fisticuffs finale has its charms, it rather contradicts the preceding. Mere subtleties are beyond Stallone and returning Rocky I director John G. Avildsen. [16 Nov 1990, p.4D]

A Hollywood take on a Bollywood movie. But the Bollywood portions - echoing over-the-top Indian movie musicals - are far more entertaining than the Hollywood segments.

Great slabs of blarney are washed down with tears and Guinness in this yarn about a struggling Irish clan, and the resulting sentiment is blatant enough to wake Ned Devine.

It's all mind-numbingly dull, and critics have exhausted every electrical pun known to man in saying that "Current War" "lacks spark."

Generations feels like a flimsy device to ensure Trek's earnings continue to live long and prosper. [19 Nov. 1994, p.1D]

Redford methodically presents the injustices piled on Surratt and suggests what might have prompted her stoicism. But James D. Solomon's script is often flat, perhaps in a misguided effort to be stately.

Lego Ninjago sparkles with humor and kung fu style, yet it’s a few pieces short of greatness.

The Prom is an exuberant love letter to Broadway’s “Let’s put on a show!” ethos that will earworm you till the new year and proves how a great musical – armed with a heartfelt story – unites like nothing else can.

This Lion King is akin to a revival of an iconic Broadway musical, with an all-star cast and a few welcome improvements but lacking a certain magic and originality.

In most cases, doggedly pursuing a dream is laudable. But if it does nothing else, The Astronaut Farmer demonstrates that not every dream is worth pursuing. At least not the belabored one of a narcissistic crackpot masquerading as an admirable dreamer.

This portrait of the soldier as an old man is deeply moving.

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.

A simple, sentimental family drama for the holidays, Evelyn, alas, is also predictable and schematic.

Don't underestimate the appeal of a heart-tugger that's this well mounted.

All about macho my-weapon-is-bigger-than-your-weapon posturing and far-fetched coincidences that slam together in an entertaining rush.

Offers a compelling portrait of human tragedy and the journey to redemption.

Critics overpraised Stanley Kramer's doomsday drama in a year when they undervalued North by Northwest and Rio Bravo, and it's still dramatically mushy. [16 July 1993, p.3D]

This movie will remind a lot of people of John Ford's masterpiece, "The Searchers," without the rowdy humor and, yes, without the greatness. But it's an admirably solid effort that's as mean as it has to be, which is plenty.

An artful blend of tenderness and sharp, clear-eyed observations. Its characters talk like real people -- who also happen to be smart, appealing and thoughtful.

Never recovers from its failure to grip or engage in the early going.

Though the competition hasn't exactly been stiff, Fey and Poehler may well be the best female comedy duo since Lucy and Ethel.

Eccentric and generally entertaining.

Entertaining and surprisingly funny given the subject matter, the movie’s also an exquisitely acted affair paced by Chastain (who also produces), turning in a career-best effort as the complex Tammy Faye.

Worth seeing, not only because it shows how an ordinary man can do something extraordinary, but because it allows audiences the opportunity to watch an extraordinary actor in a performance that could have been rote, but instead is nuanced and intelligent.

The D Train is long on high-concept comedy, then runs out of steam and becomes a forced and far-fetched drama.

An easy movie to pick apart, but it lives, breathes and switches moods from humor to despair better than any American release this year.

Worth a look. It's easy to overrate -- but just as easy to undervalue.

Coach Torn adds to a palpably violent undertone by heaving wrenches at their heads and crotches, making The Three Stooges' poking and slapping look downright tame.