Splat C+ |
The Safety of Objects (2003) |
"Instead of being satisfying, it's stifling -- too neat, too planned out, too restrictive in its imagination." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Sahara (2005) |
"As action-adventures go, Sahara may not be as close to the tradition of Indiana Jones as it wants to be, but it is still slightly better than average." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Salton Sea (2002) |
"You find yourself unexpectedly drawn into the life of Danny Parker -- or whoever he is -- despite the fact that it's a thoroughly gloomy place to be." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato A |
The Savages (2007) |
"Jenkins couldn't have found actors more suited to straddle the delicate, subtle line between detestable and sympathetic." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Saved! (2004) |
"A charmer." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Saving Grace (2000) |
"Imagine a Friday when there are only three cars ahead of you at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, you go out to a long, delicious lunch with friends and then leave work early to go to a baseball game ... That's how I felt after seeing Saving Grace." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Saw II (2005) |
"For the tough-as-Leatherface horror crowd who want to be bruised and battered by their entertainment, Saw II represents a cut above in the genre." |
Randy Myers |
Splat |
Say It Isn't So (2001) |
"The Farrelly brothers have finally gone and done it. They've become ... soft." |
Vera H-C Chan |
Splat |
Scary Movie 2 (2001) |
"Another crude, barely-written hack job of a movie, even worse than its predecessor." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
School for Scoundrels (2006) |
"Heder comes from the real world. He looks like he could be bagging your groceries or getting stuck in the turnstile ahead of you at BART. He's got an inner sincerity that can't be faked." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Science of Sleep (2006) |
"That the film does not have a coherent narrative to sustain it is not as unforgivable as the fact that there is no emotional entry point." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2/4 |
Scooby-Doo - The Movie (2002) |
"The movie plays like an extended version of the Saturday cartoons, true to the original characters, but staying resolutely away from the subtext generations have attached to it." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato A- |
Scoop (2006) |
"Scoop is light as a feather and playful in that classic early-Allen style -- witty banter interwoven with magical elements and pure slapstick." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
The Score (2001) |
"Well-executed and satisfying." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Scream 3 (2000) |
"What we are witnessing here is a rather perfunctory conclusion to what was once an inspired burst of creativity." |
Karen Hershenson |
Tomato B+ |
Seabiscuit (2003) |
"Seabiscuit is the kick in the pants this weak cinematic summer so desperately needed." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Secretary (2002) |
"Secretary is weird, but it works." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Secuestro Express (2005) |
"What saves Secuestro Express from being an exercise in misery and degradation is its black comedy." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Sentinel (2006) |
"Unabashedly, the movie aims not to be original or daring, but to keep audiences plastered to their seats. Almost always, it whole-heartedly reaches that goal." |
Randy Myers |
Splat |
Serendipity (2001) |
"The movie is littered with inconsistencies and lapses in logic." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Series 7: The Contenders (2001) |
"A diabolically clever sendup of reality shows." |
Vera H-C Chan |
Tomato |
Session 9 (2001) |
"If they gave Oscars for best use of location, director Brad Anderson would be golden." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Sex and the City - The Movie (2008) |
"Isn't it encouraging to see that a big summer flick can be tethered to something other than a sweaty male action hero?" |
Chuck Barney |
Tomato 3/4 |
Sex With Strangers (2002) |
"You emerge dazed, confused as to whether you've seen pornography or documentary." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B- |
Shall We Dance? (2004) |
"More neatly wrapped up and packaged to sell, but it hasn't been destroyed. Indeed, it has its charms." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Shallow Hal (2001) |
"Oddly sweet, soulful and even, egads, well-intentioned." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Shanghai Knights (2003) |
"Weak and witless." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Shanghai Noon (2000) |
"Looked as thought it might be another chop-suey salad toss ... yet Shanghai Noon manages to stir this into a repast audiences won't be able to keep themselves from eating up." |
Vera H-C Chan |
Tomato B |
Shattered Glass (2003) |
"Might not increase enrollment at journalism schools the way All the President's Men did when it came out, but it's nonetheless a riveting true tale." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
Shaun of the Dead (2004) |
"The fact that Shaun of the Dead, a cross between 28 Days Later and Wayne's World, succeeds at all is probably the result of a special alchemy accessible only by its co-writers, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (who also directed)." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B+ |
Shelter (2008) |
"In the sweet and sexy romance Shelter, the chemistry between two surfer guys magnetically played by Brad Rowe and newcomer Trevor Wright is so electric, so palatable that even the most ardent nitpickers won't break a sweat over the small stuff." |
Randy Myers |
Tomato B+ |
Sherrybaby (2006) |
"Not only does Sherrybaby stir admiration for Gyllenhaal's flexibility as an actress, but it accomplishes one of those delicate feats of good fiction: It reminds us to be empathetic to others." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato A- |
Shine a Light (2008) |
"Mostly, this film works because it shines a light on the Stones in a way that few have had a privilege to witness." |
Jim Harrington |
Splat |
The Shipping News (2001) |
"It's the Cliffs Notes version of Proulx's novel, a tepid shadow of its literary source." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2/4 |
Showtime (2002) |
"Given that the new comedy Showtime stars Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro, it's disconcerting, discouraging and downright disorienting to realize halfway through it that what you'd really like is to see a bit more of William Shatner." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Shrek (2001) |
"The rendering of the displaced fairy-tale gang is wonderfully done." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Shrek the Third (2007) |
"Lacks freshness and has the air of contrivance. It's gone too far into its own self-referential head and the cast of favorite fairy tale characters feels overpopulated." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Sidewalks of New York (2001) |
"It helps that this batch of characters is so likable." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato A |
Sideways (2004) |
"Sideways is sublime." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Signs (2002) |
"It's the best scare you'll have this summer." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B- |
Silver City (2004) |
"Has [Sayles] ever been this cynical before, or is this simply even more vivid realism than usual? If the latter, many of his fans are likely to trudge out of Silver City feeling mighty blue." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
The Simpsons Movie (2007) |
"It lives up to its own fine standards -- but it doesn't exceed them." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Sin City (2005) |
"It's so visually exciting that you can't stop looking at it, even when all that's happening on screen is the relentless reduction of skull and brain matter into pulp. It's so cool, it could almost give you frostbite." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B+ |
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) |
"Not just another teen movie, nor just another chick flick." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Situation (2007) |
"It's a credit to the material and the basic plot that even as you're groaning over a clunky speech explaining it all, you're completely focused on what the situation in Iraq actually is." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato C+ |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) |
"[Law and Paltrow], not the gewgaws of the computer age, make Sky Captain fly." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Slither (2006) |
"A hysterically funny and always revolting spoof from the twisted mind of a creature feature fan." |
Randy Myers |
Tomato |
Snatch (2001) |
"The plotting is so tight, it turns on a dime, and it's very well-executed and played." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Solaris (2002) |
"It's seriously hampered by its focus on an oddly bloodless love story, but there's enough provocative, thoughtful 2001 style material about the human identity here to salvage the movie." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Someone Like You (2001) |
"Lacks the flair of its literary predecessor." |
Mary F. Pols |
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