The best thing about Black Snake Moan, a song title, is the blues soundtrack. The movie is an absurdly jarring collection of archetypal characters in miserable circumstances with a resolution that feels forced and tacked on.

A broad comedy and sometimes charming character study that takes a strange turn in tone and becomes a disappointing drama.

Yet it would be wrong, or at least simplistic, to dismiss Celine as a globe-spanning ego trip. Directed by Stephane Laporte, the movie offers something we seldom see anymore from public figures: grandiosity without either apology or arrogance.

Blackhat is a tedious, preposterous and incoherent cyberthriller that is anything but thrilling.

The movie opens with wit and dash, then devolves into a rather generic spy thriller.

Snipes gives a looser, cooler performance this time around, though emotionally, it's closer to dead than undead. Blade II is for the horror faithful only; others will be grasping their crucifixes.

Compellingly watchable horror-spectacle.

The follow-up is a toothless, fleetingly funny revisit with some moments of greatness yet too much of the same old story to feel fresh.

This is a romantic comedy, not a sci-fi adventure tale. But the actions, choices and general behavior of the characters are oddly removed from what goes in the real world.

The best thing about Gridiron Gang is the performance of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He is engaging, affable and wholly believable as a former football star turned officer in a juvenile detention center.

One of the more befuddling movies of recent years. The premise makes no sense, no matter how you turn it around in your head.

Two years after the release of “Orient Express,” “Knives Out” reinvented the all-star murder mystery in a fun and refreshing fashion, and Branagh’s latest just seems stale in comparison, with no new life in this “Death.”

At a certain point, Bean goes beyond awful to surreally awful, like the rug Burt Reynolds sports in a cameo. The last-ditch plunge into pathos does nothing to redeem the feeling. Let's hope no sequel is in the offing. The only thing worse than Bean would be a hill of Beans. [07Nov1997 Pg08.D]

Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.

A further dose of "been there/done that."

A poetic and lovely tale, told as a silent picture with music and narration.

Zhao understands the larger assignment, as the epic sets the stage for future MCU intrigue. Her attention to detail and eye for design does wonders, even if by the end it all feels like an eternal chore.

Even with its imperfections, “Billie Holiday” tells a needed story and along the way introduces a bright new Hollywood star to watch.

Far-fetched is fine in most action flicks. And it would work here if Days were a straightforward police story.

Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin make Housesitter worth sitting through. While no Hepburn and Tracy, the pair still transform this overly contrived screwball romp into an inspired game of charades. [12 July 1992, p.4D]

The chief delight is Kasdan. “Body Heat” was appropriately slick, but “The Big Chill” and “Silverado” too much so. Tourist is edgier - also the work of a genuine craftsman. Frankly, I didn't think Kasdan had it in him. [23 Dec 1988, Life, p.1D]

Downbeat but humanistic, Maggie is the rare zombie tale that's less about the appetites of the walking dead and more about their complicated emotions.

Nothing is right about this ridiculous horror schlockfest.

The detective is aces aboard Murder on the Orient Express. It’s the crime — and the ensuing whodunit — that doesn’t play.

The end result, while entertaining, is the kind of unruly mess you can't imagine the indomitable Nanny McPhee tolerating.

Goldberg has her best role in a while, especially when she twitches and grunts her way into phony trances. Poor Demi, though, cries enough tears to drench a small drought-stricken state. [13 July 1990, Life, p.4D]

It could be worse.

It's so predictable, you can set your watch to when the bulimic will sneak away to the bathroom.