question: Some filmgoers may be surprised by the Farrellys' defense of traditional domestic values in Hall Pass -- unfortunately, they'll probably also be dismayed by the absence of laughs.

numbered reviews: 1. The simple jokes ... work best here, and the screenplay struggles as the pair completely loses focus on their goal.
2. It's a comedy that's chosen to build itself on some pretty heavy issues, issues which it's all for addressing with some pretty horrible ideas about the way relationships work.
3. Haphazardly conceived, phlegmatically paced, lazily filmed and punctuated with gratuitous moments of sexual and scatological slapstick..
4. An occasionally funny comedy with slow stretches that has directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly returning to their trademark gross-out humor.
5. Why do the Farrellys huff and puff and hem and haw and meander through a full third of the picture before the premise even clicks into low gear? At least the answer isn't long in coming: They don't have clue one where to go with it.
6. Avoid Hall Pass at all costs.
7. Like the middle-aged dads in this flaccid fiasco, "Hall Pass" is a decade behind the curve of what's happening.
8. A problem with "Hall Pass," I think, is that both Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis are affable, and the movie wants us to like them.
9. Ever catch yourself thinking, "Man, I wish beer commercials lasted just 104 minutes longer"?
10. ... feels like a major step in the right direction for the Farrellys


question: The Fox and the Hound is a likeable, charming, unassuming effort that manages to transcend its thin, predictable plot.

numbered reviews: 1. Accomplished and sometimes exciting ... but by and large unsatisfying.
2. Too long given the dearth of ideas in the script.
3. One of the weaker Disney animated films.
4. This is a pretty, relentlessly cheery, old-fashioned sort of Disney cartoon feature, chock-full of bouncy songs of an upbeatness that is stickier than Krazy-Glue and played by animals more anthropomorphic than the humans that occasionally appear.
5. Importantly, the story relies on plot to carry it along and serves as a welcome reminder that audiences don't require a popular reference or in-joke every five minutes to sustain their interest.
6. It was a self-contained story that didn't try to change the world, and that was part of its charm.
7. Cloying and cutesy, a helpless callback to a number of truly classic movies that it couldn't hope to equal, let alone better.
8. All charmingness aside, this cute but rather thinly plotted yarn exposes the cracks that were present in the pre-renaissance Disney empire.
9. Wonderful entertainment for both kids and their parents.
10. Against all odds, a tear or two is effectively jerked, and there was enough skill on display to encourage some hope for the new generation of Disney animators, who made their debut here.


question: Bridge to Terabithia is a faithful adaptation of a beloved children's novel and a powerful portrayal of love, loss, and imagination through children's eyes.

numbered reviews: 1. Bridge to Terabithia is the most moving, intelligent drama with children for a decade.
2. A movie that shows kids the value of imagination and gets them talking with their parents is good, even if it's tough.
3. An understated, touching and largely faithful version of Katherine Paterson's pre-teen novel.
4. I ended up being slightly disappointed by it.
5. Bridge to Terabithia is a brave film but a disturbing one, and even though it is inspired by real-life events, it feels like a cheat.
6. Thanks to its subtle touches and strong character development, Bridge to Terabithia is not only entertaining for the family but for anyone who wants to leave reality behind for a little while.
7. Bridge To Terabithia's scope is surprisingly broad for a family film: it deals with identity, family, the nature of courage, the difficulty of being an outsider and even God. But its main thrust is friendship.
8. The characters, especially those of the two ten-year-old protagonists, ring true and when, just past the midway point, tragedy strikes it's quite devastating.
9. This screen adaptation of Katherine Paterson's now-classic novel for young readers tells its story with agreeable simplicity in between computer-generated monsters.
10. Bridge to Terabithia is not only faithful to the novel but also stands to become a beloved family movie.


question: A curious, not always seamless, amalgamation of Kubrick's chilly bleakness and Spielberg's warm-hearted optimism, A.I. is, in a word, fascinating.

numbered reviews:
1. The best fairy tale -- the most disturbing, complex and intellectually challenging boy's adventure story -- Mr. Spielberg has made.
2. The first really strange, risk-taking, Hollywood movie I've seen in 2001.
3. Jude Law's Gigolo Joe [is] a Jiminy Cricket with a libido, even if it is mechanical.
4. An often disjointed melange drawn from classic stories and old movies.
5. Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law make this into a must-see experience.
6. It's the kind of screwup you get only from a master filmmaker.
7. A haunting and wondrous story about the thin and rapidly blurring line between reality and illusion.
8. Aside from the tantalizing moral questions, A.I. is a delight visually.
9. You're encouraged to ponder complex questions while enjoying an amazing ride.
10. At best it's brilliant, but lukewarm -- lacking Spielberg's emotional heat and Kubrick's icy intellect.