" James Berardinelli also gave the film three stars out of four, saying that " the intelligence and subtlety of The Rainmaker took me by surprise " and that the film " stands above any other filmed Grisham adaptation ".

During its North American limited theatrical release in 2002, the critic James Berardinelli wrote, " The stories of these ... characters are told in a disgustingly graphic, obscenely offbeat, and caustically funny manner.

James Berardinelli, in his review of the film, argues against the dream or fantasy interpretation, stating :" Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader append the perfect conclusion to Taxi Driver.

" James Berardinelli praised it for " energy and tautness " and its " thought-provoking script and thematic richness.

" In the book Reel Views 2, James Berardinelli comments, " James Cameron's The Abyss may be the most extreme example of an available movie that demonstrates how the vision of a director, once fully realized on screen, can transform a good motion picture into a great one.

Film historian and reviewer James Berardinelli elaborated on the parallels between this film and the classic Dickens tale A Christmas Carol.

Film critics Dave Kehr and James Berardinelli have also praised the film in the years since.

In 2006, James Berardinelli wrote, “ Z was the third feature film from Greek-born Costa-Gavras, but it is the movie that captured him to the world's attention, winning a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

* Boxing Helena, A Film Review by James Berardinelli

James Berardinelli wrote that Mirkin " brings a lot of energy to the production, always keeping things moving ," while Jack Matthews of The Los Angeles Times says Mirkin " knew exactly what he had here and composed it like frames in a comic strip, ordering cheerful snow-cone colors for everything from the girls ' childlike outfits to the decor of a Laundromat.

" Web critic James Berardinelli praised the " superb performances by Fiennes ," and said " John Turturro is exceptional as the uncharismatic Herbie Stempel.

James Berardinelli felt " Close Encounters is still unquestionably a great movie.

Meanwhile, James Berardinelli wrote that the film " has inexplicably managed to eliminate almost everything that was worthwhile about Dial M for Murder, leaving behind the nearly-unwatchable wreckage of a would-be ' 90s thriller.

Though some critics found that Keaton was underused in the film, the actress was generally praised for performance, with James Berardinelli of ReelViews noting that " Diane Keaton is so good at her part that one can see her sliding effortlessly into an anchor's chair on a real morning show.

Prolific web reviewer James Berardinelli awarded the film three-and-one-half stars out of a possible four :" Like John Woo, Tsui Hark, and other directors who learned their craft in Hong Kong, Wong infuses his films with style and energy.

Conversely, online critic James Berardinelli spoke poorly of the film, giving it a mere two-and-a-half out of a possible four stars and stating, " At its best, Peter's Friends is warm, touching, and funny.

James Berardinelli liked the film's approach of " not being the casual summer blockbuster with special effects ," and he likened Carrey's ", understated and effective " performance to those of Tom Hanks and James Stewart.

James Berardinelli of the website ReelReviews wrote that the film was, “ As profound and intelligent as it is moving, and that makes this memorable motion picture one of 1996's best .” Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke positively of the film saying that while the ending “… lays on the emotion a little heavily ” the movie had been up until that point “… a fascinating emotional and logistical puzzle — almost a courtroom movie, with the desert as the courtroom .”

In his review in Reel Views, James Berardinelli gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it " a fragment of cinematic whimsy -- a genial dramatic comedy that defies both our expectations and those of the characters.

" James Berardinelli gave it 2½ out of 4 stars, saying it was " mostly a middling road picture that doesn't do a lot more than any average, forgettable entry into the tired genre.

" Film critic James Berardinelli also liked the film and the screenplay, writing, " It would have been easy to trivialize Selena's story, turning it into a sudsy, made-for-TV type motion picture.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that " fierce, funny, exasperating and deeply affecting portrayal commands attention "; James Berardinelli claimed, " There are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful ", while Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said " Leigh ’ s exceptional performance tears you apart ... we've never seen anything like it before.

Lori Hoffman of the Atlantic City Weekly felt Cruz put her " considerable skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas " and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz's performance as a " black hole ," that she " lacks screen presence.

Reviewer James Berardinelli, on his own ReelViews web site, praised Road to Perdition for its atmosphere and visuals, but he considered an emotional attachment to be lacking except for Sullivan's son.

Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald called it " another joyless, brain-numbing adventure through lackluster Indiana Jones territory "; James Berardinelli of ReelViews said " The first Tomb Raider was dumb fun ; Cradle of Life is just plain dumb [...] the worst action movie of the summer.

" James Berardinelli of ReelViews also gave Bad News Bears three stars out of four, calling it " an entertaining motion picture " that " won't make fans forget the original, but it's not so feeble that it disappears into the earlier movie's shadow.

He added, " it was impossible not to get swept up in it " and James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave it three out of four stars and claimed, " it was about the war for knowledge and the victory of hope through perseverance.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars ( out of four ), saying that movies " of this intelligence, audacity, and complexity come along so rarely that it's mandatory to cry out their arrival " and that " those who see it will not quickly forget the experience.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave What Dreams May Come three stars out of four, saying:

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two stars ( out of four ), saying: " It's possible to make an engaging action / adventure picture of this sort, but The Scorpion King isn't it.

James Berardinelli of website ReelViews wrote:

Web critic James Berardinelli wrote an affirmative review of the film on his site ReelViews, praising it as " something fresh and vibrant in an era when something as idiotic as Armageddon is the top-grossing movie of 1998 and films generally follow safe, comfortable patterns because that's what the studios ' research shows that audiences want ".

" James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave another positive review, calling it a " clever, often engaging, and always fast-paced motion picture " that " uses the visual medium to encourage its viewers to reach out with their imagination.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film one out of four stars and wrote: " This is a dreadful motion picture-a lowbrow example of period piece comedy with terrible production values and an exceptionally poor laughs-to-jokes ratio.

" ReelViews online film critic James Berardinelli's summary was that although the film " takes a worthwhile detour or two, it ultimately finds its way back to the well-worn track of its genre.

Critics such as Desson Thomson of the Washington Post, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle, and James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave negative reviews, with Berardinelli in particular, calling the movie ' an atmosphere study, lacking characters ', and Thompson calling it ' inscrutable '.

" James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave The Legend of Zorro two stars ( out of four ), saying that " the action is routine ", " the chemistry between the two leads, which was one of the highlights of The Mask of Zorro, has evaporated during the intervening years ", and that the movie " fails to recapture the pleasure offered by The Mask of Zorro.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film only one out of four stars and wrote: " Wrongfully Accused is a mind-numbingly awful motion picture that has a better chance of making a viewer physically ill than of provoking a genuine laugh.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews wrote: " Director Rick Friedberg [...] has crafted a dreadfully unfunny comedy that takes Naked Gun-like sketches and rehashes them without a whit of style or energy.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews said: " Fortress has [...] an impressive visual style, [...] the set design is excellent, and the action scenes are well-paced, it's hampered by a poorly-constructed story line never gets on track.

But ReelViews James Berardinelli and the Times Union of Albany found it misleading, hoping instead for the likes of Don Bluth.