If Clue falls a bit short of the mark, it remains a likeable artifact of talented people giving a ridiculous task the old college try...

You know, for kids! Best to repeat that mantra-style if you’re an adult sitting down to watch 1964’s kiddie flick The Incredible Mr. Limpet.

Kubrick again turns his unsparing eye to the dread of existence...of a godless universe...of moral frailty and civilization gone wrong...

'A boy and his dog' is a storytelling trope that goes back for centuries, but there's never been a 'boy and his dog' story quite like Wilfred.

The shakedown cruise of Star Trek: The Next Generation—may have been a bumpy one, but it got the newest incarnation of the U.S.S. Enterprise into action while winning over the 'Trekker' fanbase at large.

At its best delineating the absurdities of immigrant life lost in the London rat race.

The cast is impeccable from top to bottom, and the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat reliably go for the gut.

This bouncy Western musical-comedy adventure is long enough on charm, but wisely short and sweet at 76 minutes. It's also totally bereft of innovation...

The awkward trappings of this Disney adventure mechanize and blunt the tale's humanity. It pops and squeaks and rumbles, but Treasure Planet lacks the strength to transport audiences.

Boorman's interpretation of the material resulted in an American cinematic classic built not only on shock and awe, but emotional subtlety.

A pretty much ideal big-screen adaptation of the material, which becomes convincingly cinematic.

After a critically acclaimed first season, emboldened writer-director-star C.K. doesn't fix what ain't broke, and remains agreeably irreverent about his own creation.

The conflict between The Elite's way of doing things and Superman's sets up a 'might makes right' allegory wrestling with national and global politics as well as, on a more personal level, civilian tolerance of capital punishment.

With straits at least as dire as those in The Diary of Anne Frank (and moral dimensions far more murky), In Darkness deals with survival at whatever cost, including compromise of personal principles.

Just a cut above the typical, but it goes without saying: your mileage may vary.

Were it not for a horribly transparent bit of narration in those opening moments, Thin Ice would have a better shot at working on its audience the way the filmmakers obviously hoped it would.

If you can get past the naked exploitation of this mercenary sequel, U.S. Marshals is a sort of brain-rotting kind of fun (how's that for an endorsement?).

Tells the tale of an escaped convict and his eight-year-old hostage and, in the process, considers the cycles of disappointment wrought on sons by questionable fathers: abusive ones, absent ones, even a well-meaning 'daddy state.'

This vehicle—the cinematic equivalent of a supermarket paperback—plays like the best-ever episode of Matlock rather than a truly distinguished feature film.

Stands out as one of Wayne's best-remembered features, a smooth Western co-produced by Wayne and shot at the tail end of the '50s 3-D craze.

An undeniable disaster...of marketing. Join me on a tour of media headaches, and why they don't necessarily reflect the quality of the movie itself.

Considers what’s real between two people, and if it should bother us when reality becomes replaced with a copy.

No Deadwood. Still, AMC's drama series about the people surrounding the 1865 building of the transcontinental railroad proves surprisingly compelling on its own terms...

Their spy-prying...and displays of lunkheaded brawn...aren't endearing; they're horrifying, in ways there's no coming back from.

Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss can claim the classiest post-millennial take on Arthur Conan Doyle's enduring hero...The series' good-natured irreverence excuses those occasional liberties that may send eyeballs rolling.

Fun for the whole family, and—instead of the 2008 3-D version's Brendan Fraser—offers James freakin' Mason, who can pull off urbane and befuddled at the same time.

For those who take their film black...Moral rot gets full play in Lang's 1953 police drama.

Now the film can be more fully appreciated for what it is: an influential inspiration to Latino filmmakers and a powerful, non-politicized depiction of the wages of American immigration policy.

The work presses its consumer to share the struggle with the artist, to make the mysteries of time, human connection, life and death cohere.

Understands postpubescent psychology and even lightly traffics in philosophy...Here are newly born man and superman, both unprepared for the consequences of their sudden inheritance of the earth.

The strengths of these films are not so much laughs as sincerity and heart.

Its goal is humble: to walk the line between bubblegum pop that indulges trends, and a halfhearted critique of shallowness. I don't think this is what feminists mean by 'having it all'...

While The War at times leaves one yearning for more intellectually curious analysis, it remains a potent emotional montage...

That relaxed pace allows the story to breathe—forget the franticness of most American animation—and along with the gorgeously detailed art, lush color, and swoony music...the film is all but guaranteed to entrance children.

You'll empathize with Plowright's appropriation from Dorothy Parker: 'What fresh hell is this?'

Plenty fun: as per the Jackie Chan standard, it's total nonsense, but unpretentiously entertaining and occasionally ingenious.

A mood piece, as abstract and engrossing as the many Bach piano selections laid on the soundtrack.

The airy Novak makes a strong impression, Stewart's comic chops remain in fine fettle, and the distinctive supporting cast can't be beat...

This story framed as a historical account of the only woman to stand up to Napoleon doesn't quite conquer our interest, though it is itself an intriguing piece of Hollywood history due to the presence of Brando in an iconic role.

A reasonably entertaining miniseries...made with obvious attention to (if not always success in) pleasing genre fans.

'How Green Was My Valley, How Smart Was My Horse.'

Let me begin by saying something nice about Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo: kids will probably like it. Okay, that’s all I’ve got.

Though the jokes are strictly standard setup-punchline stuff, the cast brings a freshness to the material.

Williams is better than the picture, but within the screenplay's constraints, she nails every possible nuance of physical and emotional expression. It's dazzling work, and reason alone to spend ninety-nine minutes 'with Marilyn.'

'It brings out my happy.' For kids facing a potentially rough adulthood, it's probably a message worth hearing, maybe more than once.

Despite the odd sharp observation, somehow J. Edgar comes off like the Max Fischer Players' production of Serpico...

A Rod Serling-esque social allegory for these days of economic collapse, environmental sea change, and increasing talk of 'end times.'

Spike Lee called 1992's Malcolm X 'the picture I was born to make,' and star Denzel Washington referred to the titular civil-rights leader as 'the role of a lifetime.' They're both right...

If the mere mention of the blue-footed booby sends you into paroxysms, The Big Year is the film for you.