S.W.A.T. (2003)

"A big, near-incoherent action thriller best suited for audiences who don't mind being pummeled into submission."

Sacco & Vanzetti (2007)

"Nicola Sacco, Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and the incredible firestorm of outrage generated by their criminal trials have been largely neglected in recent years, but Peter Miller's absolutely engrossing documentary Sacco and Vanzetti brings it all back."

Sade (2002)

"This Sade is hardly a perverse, dangerous libertine and agitator -- which would have made for better drama. He's just a sad aristocrat in tattered finery, and the film seems as deflated as he does."

The Safety of Objects (2003)

"Presented with such confidence, such care, that we love all of the characters, even if we don't like them."

Saints And Soldiers

"It's the movie equivalent of singing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' to those already in the choir."

Salton Sea (2002)

"Sacrificing content for style, Caruso gives us a lot to look at but little to ponder."

Sangre de Mi Sangre (2008)

"[Director Christopher] Zalla keeps the tension high through a taut story rather than through manipulative, obtrusive thriller direction."

Santa vs. the Snowman (2002)

"The movie has an avalanche of eye-popping visual effects."

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005)

"Silverman throws her carefully crafted persona a proper, and hilarious, coming-out party."

Saudade do futuro (2000)

"Completely successful or not, films like Saudade do Futuro are needed. And we need people like the Nordestinos."

The Savages (2007)

"Assured and sharp, The Savages is only Jenkins' second feature-length film. You'd never know it."

Save the Last Dance (2001)

"This is a rare teen romance where the couple seems drawn together less by animal attraction than by a shared sense of openness and possibility."

Saving Face (2005)

"Unexpected pregnancy and family politics can be heavy, dramatically explosive issues, but Wu tempers her direction with empathy and her script with well-placed laughs, attempting to bridge both cultural and generation gaps without alienating either."

Saving Silverman (2001)

"The movie drags down everyone involved, regardless of their apparent talent."

Saw II (2005)

"No point in labeling this a horror film. This is a sadism film, and while all good and great horror films know what sadism tastes like, a sadism film settles for nothing of lasting, imaginative horror."

Say It Isn't So (2001)

"Say It Isn't So gives low humor a bad name."

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

"Wanders from joke to joke with not enough narrative -- or blood -- to make it all stick together."

School for Scoundrels (2006)

"This ultimately disappointing comedy starts reasonably strong, delivers a few good laughs, then rolls over and plays dead."

Schultze Gets the Blues (2005)

"Schorr steers clear of emotion and character development, content to just putter down the river to nowhere."

Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

"To call this a movie a dog would also be an insult to canines, so let's just say Scooby-Doo 2 is a Scooby-Don't."

Scoop (2006)

"Scoop isn't going for complexity. It's a trifle. Like its rootless vaudevillian magician, however, it feels neither here nor there."

The Scorpion King (2002)

"Another grandiose, hyperactive crock, full of lame jokes and gorgeous, stupefying images."

Scratch (2002)

"Pray's subjects can wander off into arcane Dennis Miller-esque rants, but he manages to hit the high points and most of the major personalities."

Scream 3 (2000)

"Despite the various surprise cameos and cute twists, it takes itself too seriously and adheres too strictly to its formula to avoid becoming what it parodies."

The Sea (2003)

"It's an invigorating hybrid of soap opera and tragedy -- a wild Cat on a Cold Tin Roof, a fiery Cherry Orchard, a tragicomic King Lear on ice."