question: A hilarious satire of the business side of Hollywood, The Producers is one of Mel Brooks' finest, as well as funniest films, featuring standout performances by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel.

numbered reviews: 1. Scathingly hysterical.
2. If Mel Brooks is remembered for only three films, then he can rest easy knowing that they're three of the funniest ones ever made. And The Producers was the first.
3. Nobody does it like Brooks! The best interpretation of the tale to date.
4. A great introduction to Mel Brooks' humor.
5. Brooks' first feature, an absolutely hilarious and tasteless New York Jewish comedy about Broadway.
6. You don't need to be a WWII vet to feel the glee as the movie invites us to dance on Hitler's grave.
7. If you love and understand live theatre, or the old-school movie musicals of the 1940s, you will enjoy this much more than people who cannot transfer their minds to that world.
8. Wilder's like a baby monkey--you get the feeling he'd cling to your leg if you let him.
9. It's the ultimate punchline, the killer gag, that a proto-novel that turned into a proto-play that ended up as a movie about the worst musical in history, is now the most popular musical in town.
10. I suppose you could call it a time capsule. Then again, Brooks' Broadway blockbuster may prove that blustery bad taste is timeless ... Ferrell is so ferociously over the top, I hope the other cast members all got rabies shots.


question: A slimy, B-movie homage oozing with affection for low-budget horror films, Slither is creepy and funny -- if you've got the stomach for it.

numbered reviews: 1. The problem with making a smart horror parody -- and James Gunn's Slither is a smart horror parody -- is that it's kind of like doing a virtuoso performance of 'My Way.' The skill of execution tends to be eclipsed by the tedium of the material.
2. There's something winning about this grab bag of orally fixated invertebrates and mucus-covered Noids.
3. Cloying smart, gleefully mischievous and resplendently, stupendously gross.
4. If you're the type who appreciates the half-scary, half-silly comic book-y approach of titles like Gremlins, Tremors, and Eight Legged Freaks, I'd bet you $9.50 and a small popcorn that you'll enjoy Slither.
5. Slither's deadpan wit has its price -- it's hard to be scared by something this riotously entertaining. But for a piece of slimy horror this tasty, you should leave a little wiggle room.
6. Takes a stylish, back-to-basics approach to the material and doesn't hesitate to throw everything in but the kitchen sink.
7. I didn't have a date by my side, but I know a Bruised Forearm Movie when I see one, and I'm happy to report that Slither is the genuine article.
8. Actually makes good on the 'horror comedy' label by being both flat-out creepy and darkly funny.
9. Finally, we have a horror film that recaptures the schlocky spirit of the '80s
10. Gunn's directorial debut pays homage to so many classics with ample enough wit that most viewers won't care that Slither doesn't offer much originality of its own.


question: The Women is a toothless remake of the 1939 classic, lacking the charm, wit and compelling protagonists of the original.

numbered reviews: 1. Trite and boring portrait of rich and self-absorbed women.
2. 'The Women' entertained me much more than I expected it would, especially after seeing those dreadful previews.
3. [English] has reduced one of the wittiest women's comedies ever made to just another ho-hum chick flick.
4. Imperfect remake doesn't live up to the original.
5. You'll be looking at your watch for a merciful end.
6. Shame on English for wasting an opportunity to make a modern-day classic.
7. There is no need for this film.
8. As dull and maddening as a bad dose of PMT.
9. First time filmmaker Diane English (Murphy Brown) labored for over a decade to bring this project to the screen, but passion shouldn't be confused with vision.
10. This can't be what women want to watch. A film written, directed and starring all women completely misses the mark of embracing strong powerful independent women.


question: Though not without its pleasures, Never Back Down faithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché.

numbered reviews:
1. Pretty much all of Never Back Down is shot like an episode of Punk'd, with a soundtrack from an MTV2 playlist. Which is all perfectly appropriate and kinda fun.
2. I laughed so much at the litany of clichés that I finally had to admit I was entertained from start to finish by this cheesy knock-off.
3. You could call this "Fight Club Jr." blended with "Karate Kid Redux" and "The Fast and the Furious Again."
4. proves to be a bit of a guilty pleasure
5. When I think of tough fighters the first thing I think is Disney World. You can take so much of that place before you want to go and beat the heck out of someone.
6. Maybe it's just a genre picture, but scene after scene in Never Back Down displays vitality and wit. This is the year's first good-looking and fully enjoyable American movie.
7. Compulsively watchable...there's always something viscerally exciting about watching kung fu fighters whaling on each other.
8. If you thought the problem with Step Up 2: The Streets was that there weren't enough kicks to the head, this virtual remake is for you.
9. The story does have its moments, but for the most part it's a paint-by-the-numbers affair.
10. With its thin characters and derivative plot, the finished product seems more like a marketing concept than an actual film.