Dark Territory is back to familiar territory, and the payoff is moronically comfy [17 July 1995, p.6D]

The film is funnier off court than sizzling on it, the preferred balance in a broad farce that's only in it for the laughs. Irrelevant to real life but performed with enough gusto to justify somebody's 91 minutes, it at least allows the actors to hold their heads up. Not with pride, but not with shame, either. [19 Apr 1996]

Fanning and Russell make this watchable family entertainment, if not necessarily at today's prices.

Enough is enough. Somebody should just stop remaking The Producers.

Of all unlikely possibilities, the team has finally made a movie that, for them, is on the tepid side.

Naked Lunch is so well-acted and so amusingly warped that it's a shoo-in to become a cult movie. [30 Dec 1991]

Rogue One is often undermined by its close ties to George Lucas’ original trilogy, and more emphasis is put on its central mission than its fresh-faced characters.

Isn't all that romantic and is only half as funny as it thinks it is.

Kiss is tasty-enough escape fare. Just don't expect anything more filling than Hershey's foiled variety. [10 Jul 1992, p.5D]

“Killing” clumsily flits between wry humor and serious drama for much of the runtime before finally finding its satirical bite.

While this decade-long look at the inner workings of the CIA is intriguing, the movie would have benefited by more character development and additional editing.

A hostage thriller, a campy satire of the 24/7 media culture and a takedown of Wall Street, though it never fully succeeds on any of those tracks.

When it focuses on the clash of cultures, laughs naturally flow. When it follows the familiar sports movie playbook too slavishly, it grows tedious.

But certainly this is a movie for fans of Willis-style action with a little James Bond and probable instant obsolescence thrown in.

As thrilling as the adventure sequences might be for kids, the better scenes take place on the high school campus.

With a screenplay by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins – who worked on the genius “Booksmart” – it has a fun energy, especially when the main characters are left to their own devices, but often pumps the brakes before it goes too overboard.

A curious but intriguing movie that leaves you bemused and more than a little confused.

Safe House has two powerful performances at its core, a hectic plot, a huge body count and a mild sense of déjà vu amid the pulse-quickening tension.

The affair may have raised eyebrows all over 18th century Paris, but it's not likely to elicit more than a shrug from 21st century moviegoers.

Tamer and what one could arguably call classier, this movie trades bromantic machismo and beefcake high jinks for female empowerment and character maturity, though still boasting hunky dudes and clothes being ripped off.

Country Strong feels powerfully familiar.

Geronimo: An American Legend offers both sides of the protracted battle between the U.S. Army and Chiricahua Apaches in 1885-86, which means that the film's most abject villains are Jason Patric's vacant performance and Matt Damon's droning voice-over. [10 Dec 1993, p.9D]

After laughing at crudely funny scenes in The Dictator, there's a cringing sensation of guilt.

An overlong guilty pleasure. [12 Oct 1990, Life, 4D]

The movie Weaver has to carry has so many nagging imperfections that Academy Award attention looks like a long shot.

The picture is all Lawrence and Zahn, whose dynamics get something going, though not enough (please!) to spark a buddy sequel.

A road movie that never really takes off.

Overall, this Dead is zippier than 1995's retake on "Village of the Damned" and somewhat less junky than the recent remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."