Tomato 5/5 |
The Sacrifice (1986) |
"For all its Swedish trimmings, the long, syrup-slow takes are unmistakably Tarkovsky’s, and it’s these that provide this arthouse disaster movie with its mesmerising power." |
|
Splat 2/5 |
Sakuran (2006) |
"But Ninagawa’s obsession with image-making saps the story until the movie, like its heroine, is merely handsomely mounted." |
Kate Stables |
Splat 2/5 |
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005) |
"By the end you'll feel like a bored parent trapped in the front row of the school play." |
Ellen E Jones |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Savages (2007) |
"Two fine performances, a subject close to all our hearts and a screenplay that manages to be both brilliantly witty and almost unbearably poignant add up to the best family comedy-drama since Little Miss Sunshine." |
Neil Smith |
Splat 1/5 |
Scar |
"The result is humourless, implausible and lacks a single original idea. There would be no reason for this film to exist, were it not the first live action feature shot entirely in HD3D." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Scarface (1983) |
"As overrated as it is overlong." |
|
Splat 2/5 |
School for Scoundrels (2006) |
"Ben Stiller cameo apart, something’s wrong when a proven comedic property and two well-matched stars can scarcely raise a titter." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Science of Sleep (2006) |
"Mischievous and magical, Gondry’s bizarro movie offers visual pearl after visual pearl but no string to tie them together. Où est Kaufman?" |
Jamie Graham |
Tomato 4/5 |
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (2008) |
"The proof of the pig is in the pounding: it sounds good." |
Kevin Harley |
Splat 2/5 |
The Secret Life of Bees (2008) |
"It’ll be way too cloying for most – but the, ahem, bee’s knees for sugar fiends. Probably best enjoyed with a glass of Chardonnay and your cynicism on hold." |
|
Splat 2/5 |
The Secret of Moonacre (2008) |
"The costumes are beautiful. The sets are impressive… But somehow the movie feels cheap and malnourished, as if the money ran out when they were only halfway there." |
Tom Charity |
Splat 2/5 |
The Seeker (2007) |
"Cheap-looking, mostly cheerless stuff." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
The September Issue (2009) |
"A frockumentary bound to end up on every fashionista’s must-see list." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
Seraphim Falls (2007) |
"An unremarkable revenge/chase western, bolstered by its name cast, matter-of-fact violence and Toll’s pristine photography. Eventually a little pretentious – with Anjelica Huston’s cameo the nadir – but if you love oaters, it’s just worth the time." |
Nev Pierce |
Tomato 4/5 |
A Serious Man (2009) |
"A complex, non-commercial Coen film that strips back the stars for an absorbing, affectionate look at the Bros’ youth." |
Jonathan Dean |
Tomato 3/5 |
Seven Pounds (2008) |
"Seven Pounds feels like having Love Story and Beaches burnt onto your retinas in the style of A Clockwork Orange. But hang on for the finale..." |
|
Tomato 5/5 |
The Seventh Seal (1957) |
"Guaranteed to thunder on the big screen." |
Jonathan Crocker |
Tomato 3/5 |
Sex Drive (2008) |
"Think of it as American Pie for a post-Apatow world: crude, yes, but with its heart exactly where it should be." |
|
Splat 2/5 |
Shadows in the Sun |
"A cosy Sunday-evening telly slot surely beckons." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Sharkwater (2007) |
"Planet Earth saturation and the bludgeoning political stance pull it down, but it’s still a consistently engaging, partly thrilling look at a misunderstood species." |
|
Tomato 4/5 |
Sheitan (2006) |
"Despite some pretentious touches – a night-spot named Club Styxx, a guard dog called Cerberus – Satan doesn’t take itself too seriously." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 4/5 |
Shifty (2008) |
"Mercifully free of Danny Dyer cameos or Guy Ritchie mockneyisms, this works as both an entertaining gangster thriller and a hard-hitting piece of social realism. Absorbing, moving and authentic, Shifty never once strikes a false note." |
Ellen E Jones |
Tomato 3/5 |
Shoot 'Em Up (2007) |
"A bold, brash blast of a movie that will fade from memory like a puff of gunsmoke but still has the cordite whiff of a future cult hit about it for the leathered-at-2am crowd. Just don’t expect plot or much depth." |
Tom Hawker |
Splat 2/5 |
Shorts (2009) |
"Gaudy, goofy and too busy for its own good. For every idea or sight gag that sticks, there’s 10 that don’t. Best for DVD, when you’ll be in control of the pause button." |
Richard Matthews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Shrek the Third (2007) |
"There’s no doubt Shrek The Third will make potloads of money. Pity it shortchanges the audience with an underwhelming plot and characters you sense are just going through the motions. When it’s good it’s great. Overall, though, the magic is lacking." |
Neil Smith |
Splat 2/5 |
Shrooms (2006) |
"A lo-fi shocker with a set-up so perfunctory, if you root around in your popcorn too long you’ll miss it." |
Matt Mueller |
Tomato 3/5 |
Shutter |
"If some of the shocks come off feeling as dated as last summer’s Polaroids, it’s a small price to play for a picture that manages to be scary and unsettling without resorting to cheap thrills and gore." |
Neil Jeffries |
Tomato 4/5 |
Sicko (2007) |
"A bitter but bracing pill. Moore constructs a fiery but unfanatical argument that boils down to a simple truth: Americans need to stop helping themselves and start helping each other." |
Andy Lowe |
Tomato 4/5 |
Silent Night (2006) |
"The sound of silence… Indulging in few words and even fewer edits, Carlos Reygadas lets his luminous images do the talking as he ponders the human condition and more. Some viewers will cry with boredom; true believers will shed tears of pain and joy." |
Jamie Graham |
Splat 2/5 |
Silk (2007) |
"Sluggish storytelling enlivens neither Pitt’s infatuation with a local concubine nor the stubbornly feudal society it’s set against. Worst of all, though, you just never give a toss." |
Matt Mueller |
Tomato 4/5 |
Sin Nombre (2009) |
"It’s the scenes of immigrants heading north atop moving trains which resonate the most – a testament to Adriano Goldman’s brilliant, expansive cinematography." |
Neil Smith |
Splat 3/5 |
Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) |
"The questioning is skin-deep and Pollack’s handheld DV approach doesn’t show the buildings at their best." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Skin (2009) |
"Only the conventional storytelling detracts from a film that serves both as poignant family saga and potent allegory." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
Sleep Furiously (2008) |
"It’s unusually tender and eccentric, and Koppel’s personal sadness at the passing of this way of life is palpable." |
Sam Wigley |
Tomato 3/5 |
Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006) |
"A bestiality rom-com with unexpected charm. Not quite the dog’s bollocks, but certainly no dog’s dinner either." |
Jane Crowther |
Tomato 4/5 |
Slepe Lásky (2008) |
"Tender and moving, this offbeat gem isn’t afraid to swap its docu-realism for outlandish fantasy." |
Jamie Russell |
Tomato 3/5 |
Sleuth (2007) |
"Caine and Law rustle up a spicy chemistry which sustains a sizzle for an hour or so. But the second half panders to Pinter’s self-indulgence, unravelling Branagh’s high-tensile head-fuck as a hollow skirmish." |
Andy Lowe |
Tomato 4/5 |
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) |
"Vivid, moving and breathlessly exciting, this enthralling mingling of fable, travelogue and social commentary sees Danny Boyle at the top of his game. Phone a friend and tell them not to miss it." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Small Engine Repair (2006) |
"A poignant character study with a pleasing mid-Atlantic sensibility, Niall Heery’s debut feature is ultimately as inconsequential as one of Glen’s clichéd compositions." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
Smokin' Aces (2007) |
"Just accept it as a boorish, boy’s toys blast and you’ll find that where there's Smokin', there’s fire." |
|
Tomato 4/5 |
Soi Cowboy (2009) |
"Dislocation and desperation are the twin linchpins of Brit director Thomas Clay’s Thailand-set slowburner." |
Carmen Grey |
Splat 2/5 |
The Soloist (2009) |
"Thanks to heavy-handed treatment, this true story ultimately feels like a work of mannered fiction." |
Tony Horkins |
Tomato 4/5 |
Someone Else (2006) |
"Performances and script are both first-rate, but what really rivets is how scarily /familiar/ it all feels, from the listless rebound romances to the forced insularity of post-breakup bachelorhood. Superb stuff." |
David Jenkins |
Tomato 4/5 |
Somers Town (2009) |
"After the major triumph of This Is England, Shane scales things back with an unassuming rites-of-passage drama featuring another top turn from Turgoose. Even in miniature, Meadows makes magic." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
Soul Power (2009) |
"Busting with footage left in legal limbo for over three decades, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte’s documentary is uproarious and uplifting." |
Josh Winning |
Tomato 4/5 |
Sounds Like Teen Spirit |
"Gooey tunes and rampant primary colours can’t scupper the slick yet guileless crowdpleasing of Jamie J Johnson’s debut doc. We might giggle and gag on the garish Euro-pop, but Johnson gets us on-side with winning, grinning empathy." |
Kevin Harley |
Splat 2/5 |
Southland Tales (2007) |
"Southland Tales finally emerges as an admirably bold dud. Trying to sum up EVERYTHING that’s wrong in the world in one kaleidoscopic go, it’s messy, misshapen and curiously muffled. Seems the world does end with a whimper after all." |
Jamie Graham |
Splat 2/5 |
Space Chimps (2008) |
"Space Chimps tries to please both kids and parents with a queasy mix of rapid-fire, Looney Tunes-y slapstick and sly pop culture references, but the surprisingly flat animation and tired jokes keep it from ever leaving orbit." |
Ken McIntyre |
Tomato 3/5 |
Sparkle (2007) |
"Thank heavens for Hoskins, Manville and Channing, whose weathered sparkle is enough to satisfy none-too-demanding rom-com requirements." |
Kevin Harley |
Tomato 5/5 |
Spartacus (1960) |
"One of the last truly great Roman epics." |
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