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Tampa Bay Times

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
B-
North (1994) Steve Persall North is the sort of hop-scotch fantasy a child might devise in a creative writing class, with all the innocence, exaggeration and cute charm that would suggest.
Posted Jan 23, 2026  Edit critic review
A
The American President (1995) Steve Persall After last year's vilified North, Reiner has shaped a comeback worthy of Richard Nixon. His deft hand, Sorkin's script and two magnetic stars should put The American President on the Oscar ballot when that "other" election rolls around next spring.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
3/5
Misery (1990) Hal Lipper Misery's plotline is fairly thin. Yet, the performances, the comedic elements in Goldman's script and Reiner's direction generate the requisite suspense with a minimum of flourish.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times Staff It is pure science-fiction with much thought-provoking material.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
The Magnificent Seven (1960) Robin Barrett It's an enjoyable, refreshing experience for moviegoers - especially in view of the recent overdose of sick stories about sick people of the for-adults-only type.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
A
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Steve Persall The Return of the King is the equal of its predecessors in visual marvels, yet surpasses both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in pure storytelling.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
4/5
Stand by Me (1986) Hal Lipper What Stand By Me lacks in subtlety, it make up with feeling. The strong, honest emotions coupled with long-buried memories makes this film a satisfying experience.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Gaslight (1944) Dorothy Moe With his usual dead-pan style, Boyer is completely hypnotic as the sinister husband, who seems to have a genius for suggestive psychology.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
A Place in the Sun (1951) Lillian Blackstone "A Place in the Sun" will definitely be nominated for an Academy Award and if anyone personally deserves an honor of this kind it is Elizabeth Taylor, who is not yet 20 years old.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
B
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Steve Persall While flesh-and-blood performers perfectly enunciate solemn warnings about the future of Middle-earth, a marvelous CGI creation called Gollum steals the show. Jar-Jar and Dobby: Eat your hearts out.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
B+
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Steve Persall Jackson's film rarely moves us beyond enthusiastic technical admiration and into emotional or spiritual surrender. When the sagging anti-climax arrives, a feeling lingers that parts two and three could be canceled and wouldn't be missed.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
Alice in Wonderland (1951) Lillian Blackstone When one... [imagines] just what must be done, and how many pictures made, to get the effects of Alice in Wonderland, it leaves him breathless. But even this is forgotten as the picture unwinds with a realism that is almost uncanny.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
3/5
A Few Good Men (1992) Hal Lipper A Few Good Men has a whole cast of good men - and one good woman - and it's this ensemble that makes director Rob Reiner's conventional courtroom drama so enthralling.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
The Sure Thing (1985) Kelly Scott The Sure Thing is not going to change American cinema as we know it, but it's very funny and very nicely done.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
4/5
The Princess Bride (1987) Hal Lipper A magical motion picture that can whisk viewers from reality to fantasy, and back again, with the greatest of ease.
Posted Jan 07, 2026  Edit critic review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) Marion Aitchison Pungent and thought-provoking seem but feeble words to describe this vivid document.
Posted Jan 03, 2026  Edit critic review
2/5
Hook (1991) Hal Lipper It is too calculated, too sprawling and emotionally bare when characters interact. Hook has dozens of sterling cameos, but only a few wondrous shared moments.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Christine (1983) Tom Sabulis A little scary, very funny, and thankfully free of gore. A quirky minor classic.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Christine (1983) Hal Lipper It's an extremely well-crafted thriller, but it never manages to shift into third gear.
Posted Dec 16, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Big Top Pee-wee (1988) Hal Lipper Gone are Pee-wee's innocence, his rouged cheeks, his glossy lips and a good deal of the twisted tongue-in-cheek humor that made Pee-wee's Big Adventure so appealing.
Posted Dec 11, 2025  Edit critic review
B
True Lies (1994) Steve Persall In its vest moments, True Lies is a bull's-eye send-up of the James Bond series.
Posted Dec 10, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Hal Lipper Terminator 2: Judgment Day is louder, flashier and deeper than its predecessor. But no better. What it gains in power and technical prowess it loses through its gargantuan size. Terminator 2 lumbers while the first movie sprints.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
The Abyss (1989) Thomas Harrison Years from now, The Abyss will be viewed as an object lesson in what happens when a modest premise gags on a monstrous budget.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
The Terminator (1984) Thomas French A pulsing trash epic that tears up two hours with more electricity and wit than anyone ever had a right to expect. Snicker and feel superior if you want, but this movie won't give a damn.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
The Wiz (1978) Roy Peter Clark The film never approaches the rainbow.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
The Running Man (1987) Hal Lipper While The Running Man feels rushed and never lives up to its promise -- except in terms of its body count -- it has enough style and action to satisfy most B-movie buffs.
Posted Nov 06, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Predator (1987) Hal Lipper Although the genre may be new and its special effects impressive, Predator's story is predictable summer fare.
Posted Oct 31, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Predator 2 (1990) Tom Zucco The characters are never developed, the laughs are cheap, and the dialogue is right out of a comic book.
Posted Oct 30, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Dracula (1979) Robert Alan Ross A sly movie that works at multiple levels in the space between scare and satire.
Posted Oct 23, 2025  Edit critic review
Born Yesterday (1950) St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times Staff The picture was well directed, the settings were excellent, and there were some interesting views of Washington.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Desert Hearts (1985) Bob Ross Desert Hearts avoids becoming a single-minded tale of forbidden desires.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Desert Hearts (1985) Hal Lipper Deitch demonstrates enough style and sense of character to turn Desert Hearts into a satisfying, though flawed, romance. Her frankness concerning homosexuality is to be lauded.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Bob Ross Provides insight and entertainment.
Posted Oct 10, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Hal Lipper While My Beautiful Laundrette is involving and compassionate, it doesn't take enough chances.
Posted Oct 10, 2025  Edit critic review
B
The Celluloid Closet (1995) Steve Persall Good research and nostalgic moments, but more likely to be embraced as a solid research project than [a] banner of gay pride.
Posted Oct 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2/5
Tron (1982) Tom Sabulis It's one example of a movie overdosing on special effects and losing sight of the story.
Posted Oct 06, 2025  Edit critic review
B
Casper (1995) Steve Persall Casper often resembles a blueprint for the next Universal theme park ride, but it serves well as the summer's first family treat.
Posted Oct 03, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
To Sleep With Anger (1990) Jean Carey Burnett knows that social commentary can play well with a light touch. His intimate direction and superb dialogue go down easy.
Posted Sep 25, 2025  Edit critic review
A
Boogie Nights (1997) Steve Persall It's a blessing blessing all its own: bold and uncompromising in the way it treats pornography as a profession and a smutty joke, yet so genial and thrilling in its execution that you're transfixed by the genius of a new member of the filmmaking elite.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Night of the Living Dead (1990) Jean Carey Director Tom Savini has a derivative yet originally weird energy.
Posted Sep 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Toy Story (1995) Sherry Robinson The 3-D is fantastic.
Posted Sep 10, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Thomas French McKean, Guest and Shearer mock the pretensions and inanities of heavy metal with uncanny accuracy.
Posted Sep 09, 2025  Edit critic review
A+
Toy Story (1995) Steve Persall Just when you're certain that the movies can't show us anything new or stir emotions with sheer artistic creativity, along comes Toy Story, a film event so perfectly realized that it immediately ranks as an industry milestone.
Posted Sep 09, 2025  Edit critic review
1/5
Darkman (1990) Hal Lipper Neeson overacts, trying to suppress his Irish accent and compensate for the bandages shrouding his face.
Posted Aug 25, 2025  Edit critic review
A
Requiem for a Dream (2000) Steve Persall Requiem for a Dream is masterfully repellent, making shocked viewers recoil while simultaneously daring us not to look.
Posted Aug 22, 2025  Edit critic review
C+
Mortal Kombat (1995) Steve Persall It's loud, it's brutal, senseless and fairly fun, but it leaves one with a nagging wish that this sort of entertainment might become as obsolete as pinball.
Posted Aug 19, 2025  Edit critic review
A
Babe (1995) Steve Persall Director Chris Noonan's airy tale of a pig who refuses to accept "the way things are" is positive proof that movies don't have to be innocuous or rude to cater to a child's taste.
Posted Jul 30, 2025  Edit critic review
3/5
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Kelly Scott It has a gentle strength and a warm inclusiveness.
Posted Jul 30, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Waterworld (1995) Bob Ross As it is, it's merely overlong and disappointing.
Posted Jul 28, 2025  Edit critic review
B
Waterworld (1995) Steve Persall Sets are spectacularly decrepit, and the costumes by John Bloomfield are marvels of imagination.
Posted Jul 28, 2025  Edit critic review
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