Splat |
S.W.A.T. (2003) |
"S.W.A.T. is like a chauvinist on a first date." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
S1m0ne (2002) |
"Some movies need a suspension of disbelief. Simone requires a suspension bridge." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Sahara (2005) |
"The movie, first preposterously entertaining and then just preposterous, makes James Bond films look as logical as Euclidean geometry." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Santa Clause 2 (2002) |
"The movie is as padded as Allen's jelly belly." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005) |
"She's like a child who's discovered that adults can be disturbed by dirty words and runs through her repertoire at Mommy's cocktail party." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Savage Grace (2008) |
"Director Tom Kalin, who's making his second feature after 1992's Swoon, tells the real-life story of the Baekeland family in a subdued whisper, like a servant muttering backstairs about a rich master's failings." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Savages (2007) |
"Two wry, sad, occasionally funny but always unflinching hours." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Saving Grace (2000) |
"Modestly funny all the way through but too cozy." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Saving Silverman (2001) |
"This is Farrelly brothers territory without timing or humor." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Scary Movie (2000) |
"Might have been funnier if it had been put together with more care." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
School for Scoundrels (2006) |
"Thornton and Heder perform at about half their maximum wattage, which isn't enough to power the inert script." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
School of Rock (2003) |
"This movie feels about as liberating as a whalebone corset." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Scooby-Doo - The Movie (2002) |
"Not good enough to pass for a litmus test of the generation gap and not bad enough to repulse any generation of its fans." |
Mark Washburn |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Scoop (2006) |
"Allen revives his plodding Manhattan Murder Mystery as the even duller Scoop." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
The Score (2001) |
"Good acting defeats lame writing." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Scorpion King (2002) |
"Plot, characters, drama, emotions, ideas -- all are irrelevant to the experience of seeing The Scorpion King." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Scotland, PA (2002) |
"Morrisette occasionally has a clever idea but finds nowhere to take it." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Scream 3 (2000) |
"Is Scream 3 better or worse than Scream 2? Hmmmmm. Is a greasy plate of week-old grits better or worse than a slimy bowl of week-old Brussels sprouts?" |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Seabiscuit (2003) |
"Represents the best middle- of-the -road, inspirational filmmaking Hollywood can provide." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Secondhand Lions (2003) |
"[Caine and Duvall] lift this button-pushing blob of faux folksiness to a higher plane than it deserves." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003) |
"Davis ... quietly enriches any movie lucky enough to have her." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Secret Window (2004) |
"Not scary, not suspenseful, not complex, not atmospheric." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Secretary (2002) |
"Silliness pervades the movie, even in small details." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Seeker (2007) |
"That seventh-son-of-a-seventh-son business sounds like Muddy Waters singing, 'Got my Mojo Workin'.'" |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Semi-Pro (2008) |
"Semi-Pro is just Will Ferrell doing the same man-boy shtick he usually does." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Sentinel (2006) |
"I worry about the U.S. Secret Service, if The Sentinel is any indicator of its collective ability." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Serenity (2005) |
"He's [Joss Whedon] interested in relationships, and he makes the smart choice to create drama through character development rather than action." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
Serving Sara (2002) |
"It's probably the worst Matthew Perry movie ever." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Seven Pounds (2008) |
"[Smith] gets my thanks for embarking on projects, however flawed, that take emotional risks." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Sex and Lucia (2002) |
"None of his actors stand out, but that's less of a problem here than it would be in another film: Characterization matters less than atmosphere." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Sex and the City - The Movie (2008) |
"It was like attending a party where all the guests have known each other for years, exert no effort to make a newcomer feel at home and chatter endlessly -- yes, for two-and-a-half draggy hours -- about their romantic problems." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) |
"But for all the frivolity, Katz and Merhige use the world of moviemaking to explore the ways in which artists 'control' or shape life to make art." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 1/4 |
Shadowboxer (2006) |
"I'd sooner sit through 32 hours of Congressional committee testimony about imported yarn than watch Shadowboxer again." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shaft (2000) |
"Samuel L. Jackson's performance as John Shaft is hard as a diamond, wicked as a pointed goatee, cool as a martini in a chilled glass and polished as his own shaven skull." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Shaggy Dog (2006) |
"Five credited writers undercharacterize everyone including the dogs, and Allen turns in his typical good-natured, superficial performance." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shakespeare in Love (1998) |
"Exhilarating!" |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Shall We Dance? (2004) |
"A doubly tired remake: first of the infinitely better 1997 film from Japan, and second of virtually any cliche you can imagine from situation comedies." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shallow Hal (2001) |
"Sweetness, not grossness, should be the way these brothers go in the future." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Shanghai Knights (2003) |
"Resembles one of those giddy road pictures of the '40s that starred Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, where the stars would look straight at the camera and crack wise about real people." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shanghai Noon (2000) |
"Funny, cinematically attractive and endearing." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
The Shape of Things (2003) |
"[LaBute's] observation of human nature is keener than before, his dialogue more attuned to ambiguities." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Shark Tale (2004) |
"A timely film that still deals with timeless children's themes." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Shine a Light (2008) |
"Those of us who'd hoped Scorsese would make a film closer in spirit to No Direction Home, his Bob Dylan profile, will consider Light a wasted effort." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
The Shipping News (2001) |
"We gain pleasure from watching the actors, including Judi Dench as Quoyle's starchy aunt and Julianne Moore as his friend and potential lover." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Shooter (2007) |
"An intermittently preposterous, drawn-out but sometimes entertaining story about an unstoppable ex-Marine." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat |
A Shot at Glory (2002) |
"Denis O'Neill's script avoids the prime sports cliche, a last-second goal to win the championship, but it neglects few others." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Showtime (2002) |
"Intentionally or not, the writers and director Tom Dey have made about as unreal a cop movie as you'll see." |
|
Tomato |
Shrek (2001) |
"It's possible to groan, chuckle, wince and be moist-eyed, sometimes in a span of seven or eight minutes." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Tomato |
Shrek 2 (2004) |
"Has the charm, irony and saucy wit of the original." |
Lawrence Toppman |
Splat 2/4 |
Shrek the Third (2007) |
"Reasons not to make Shrek the Third: Played-out characters. Bland villain. Novice directors. Slipshod plotting. No compelling story or emotional depth." |
Lawrence Toppman |
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