For those seeking an alternative to giant robots and flying wizards, there's an amusing Australian comedy that might be just the right panacea for blockbuster overload.

The 11th Hour is a bit like "An Inconvenient Truth" at Woodstock: a little spacey, a little preoccupied with self-love and prone to the occasional freakout.

Let Jason Statham wreck dudes with “The Beekeeper” and “A Working Man,” and let Affleck be a role model for empathetic masculinity – who can still wreck dudes if needed – with “The Accountant” movies.

Old Guard feels fresher as a high-minded treatise on mortality and loss than a superhero-y franchise-starter.

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

An intriguing, if meandering, escape from the summer blockbusters.

At 120 minutes, Colors is one of the longest cop dramas in movie history, and all the clichés are packed into the second hour. It fades in the stretch - and so may too many moviegoers. [15 Apr 1988]

The first half of Taken 2 is a serviceable action flick, but the second half descends into cliches.

Fans, at least, should enjoy the realistic touches. The cast is full of real players, announcer Dick Vitale is obnoxious here, too, and that's really coach Bobby Knight in the big game vs. Indiana (though his tan betrays Chips' summer filming schedule). And though O'Neal can barely grunt dialogue, it's fun to watch the Orlando Magic superstar make Nolte look like David Cassidy whenever they share a frame. [18 Feb 1994, p.5D]

More thought-provoking than frightening. Its stubbornly cynical attitude makes it worth watching, more than the monsters or the impenetrable mist (which looks spewed from a fog machine) engulfing a small town in Maine.

A half-funny, half-ugly comedy about underworld ineptitude. [5 Mar 1999]

Maintains the franchise's knack for getting kids right.

With its dark, wacky humor, some moments are reminiscent of last year's "Machete."

The sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice boasts a big heart and fleeting moments of inspired fun, often featuring Keaton’s moldy-faced menace. Compared to the brilliant original, however, the overstuffed follow-up lacks the same unhinged, kooky magic.

Overlong, overdone and overwrought, the narratively challenged Set It Off gets off on exploitation shock and social-conscience schlock in equal measure. Yet it still manages to get it on entertainingly with a big assist from Latifah, blasting off the screen like human TNT, and Jada Pinkett (The Nutty Professor) in another firecracker performance. [06 Nov 1996]

More animals don't necessarily translate to more fun and laughter, at least not when it comes to animated sequels.

With I.S.S., the talented songstress takes a giant leap forward as a solid action hero amid a decently gripping mix of human nature and atomic annihilation.

Without Zellweger’s remarkable Oscar-worthy performance, it’s standard-issue biopic fare – with her, the cultural icon comes to life again, warts and all.

It's a good actors' showcase, yet not a particularly satisfying movie. [22 Jan 1999]

While compellingly watchable, it's as overheated as Cage-the-actor's 1991 soft-core (and direct-to-video) "Zandalee," also set in New Orleans.

Inspired by Mark Obmascik's book, the tale focuses on universal themes of pursuing a dream and tapping into an adventurous spirit.

One sits through Ladder halfway engrossed, though always with a sense that its impending punchline will render the preceding an industrial- strength put-on. Then again, there are people out there who thought Ghost was profound. [2 Nov 1990, p.6D]

While the filmmaker conjures beautiful imagery and a subtle exploration of fathers and their children, the good stuff is too often caught up in a muddle of well-tread crime clichés.

The movie's story and cute characters are geared toward the younger crowd, per usual. But while it lacks the wonder and nuance of earlier Pandas, there are enough new faces and wowing, Asian-influenced style to also keep parents amused for an hour and a half.

Cruise and Blunt have a measure of chemistry, however their characters go undeveloped, given short shrift amid the spectacle. But the pulse-pounding action scenes are briskly directed by Doug Liman.

The action epic 300 is so overblown, overheated and over the top that on some level, it's fun to get caught up in the operatic dizziness of it.

A few mildly crude gags help PG-Jam avoid the dreaded G-rating, but this is a kids' pic all the way. Even at its least inspired, it reduces next week's video release of Shaquille O'Neal's Kazaam to even more of a non-event than it was. [15 Nov 1996, p.1D]

Within a certain narrow range, Hartnett shows some comic flair -- though not enough to carry the picture over its considerable rough spots.