Hocus Pocus (1993 film) impressive cast." "The Miami Herald" called it "a pretty lackluster affair", adding this comment: "Despite the triple-threat actress combo, "Hocus Pocus" won't be the "Sister Act" of 1993. There are a lot of gotta-sees this summer, and this isn't one of them." "The New York Times" Janet Maslin wrote that the film "has flashes of visual stylishness but virtually no grip on its story". Ty Burr of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a C-, calling it "acceptable scary-silly kid fodder that adults will find only mildly insulting. Unless they're Bette Midler fans. In which case it's depressing as hell"; and
Jessica Lange for her performance in the film. In 1998, she starred opposite Elisabeth Shue in a film adaptation of Balzac's "Cousin Bette", for which she received strong reviews. That same year, Lange also starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the somewhat cult classic, "Hush", which generally received negative reviews. Roger Ebert, however, praised Lange's performance, commenting, "The film's most intriguing element is the performance by Jessica Lange, who by not going over the top provides Martha with a little pathos to leaven the psychopathology." Lange received strong reviews for her performance in "Titus", Julie Taymor's 1999 adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus",