- |
S1m0ne (2002) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat |
S1m0ne (2002) |
"In the movie, fictional director Viktor Taransky has a CGI actress that he bills as flesh and blood; in real life, director Andrew Nichol has a flesh-and-blood actress that he bills as CGI." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Sabrina (1954) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
The Sacrifice (1986) |
"To awaken the spiritual hunger for something beyond materialistic, desacrilized modern existence was the burden of Tarkovsky, cinematic poet laureate of the Russian soul." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Sahara (1943) |
"One of the best WWII-era WWII movies… a thoroughly entertaining war actioner starring Humphrey Bogart as a tough American sergeant commanding a tank crew in the Libyan desert." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D |
Salton Sea (2002) |
"What the director can’t do is make either of Val Kilmer’s two personas interesting or worth caring about." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C- |
The Santa Clause 2 (2002) |
"Suggests that if Santa can't deliver presents, it means no Christmas. Didn't Dr. Seuss teach us a long time ago that even if you stop the presents, you don't stop Christmas?" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Saving Private Ryan (1998) |
No article available. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Say Amen, Somebody (1983) |
"Engaging, gospel-infused tribute to the black men and women who first began combining the heart and soul of Negro spirituals with the infectious rhythms of jazz and blues." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A+ |
Schindler's List (1993) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
- |
School of Rock (2003) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C |
School of Rock (2003) |
"Almost entertaining enough and harmless enough for a pass… More interesting than the film, perhaps, are the comparisons and contrasts to another current music-themed hit comedy: The Fighting Temptations." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D+ |
Scooby-Doo - The Movie (2002) |
"Scooby Dooby Doo / And Shaggy too / You both look and sound great. / But Daphne, you're too Buff / Fred thinks he's tough / And Velma - wow, you've lost weight!" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Seabiscuit (2003) |
"Seabiscuit canters handsomely around the track less like a scrappy race horse than a slightly overfed show horse, playing to the crowd, confident that there's no real competition breathing down its neck. It is right." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Secondhand Lions (2003) |
"Like Hub, [writer-director] McCanlies’s heart is in the right place, but his head could use a little straightening out… a decent but flawed film that had the potential to be a very good one." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII (2002) |
"Slesin records these difficult and ambiguous circumstances with clear-eyed sobriety, yet in the end her film remains a testimonial to human goodness." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Serenity (2005) |
"Even if you aren't one of the 'Firefly' faithful, Serenity will give you some insight into why other people are." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
The Seventh Seal (1957) |
"Starkly existential, boldly poetic, slow and grim… has haunted film aficionados, baffled and bored college students, inspired innumerable parodists, and challenged both believers and unbelievers for nearly half a century." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato C+ |
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) |
"It is, essentially, a goof. A meticulously crafted and exuberantly acted goof, but in the end no more than that." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Shadowlands (1993) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B- |
Shall We Dance? (2004) |
"A movie with no particular reason to exist, which is not to say that it's all bad… Couples looking for an enjoyable date-night flick could do worse." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A+ |
Shane (1953) |
"If the Western is the quintessential American mythology, Shane is its great knight-samurai archetype: stern in battle, mild with women and children, siding with the wronged." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato C+ |
Shanghai Knights (2003) |
"More inspired action nuttiness and brilliant slapstick than all of Jackie’s previous Hollywood buddy movies combined, framed in a story that’s lamer and less funny than almost any of these previous outings." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Shark Tale (2004) |
"While it's no Finding Nemo (and isn't trying to be), it's the wackiest, most energetic, and possibly most entertaining effort to date from DreamWorks' CGI animators." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Shattered Glass (2003) |
"Glass's pattern of deceit is queasily persuasive; adding Catch Me If You Can psychologizing would only diminish the film's truthfulness, not enhance it." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
- |
Shattered Glass (2003) |
"Click to view article" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) |
"A curious, at times almost prescient anticipation of the reign of John Paul II, filtered partly through the lens of the Silly Sixties." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A |
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) |
"Who but Lubitsch could have pulled off such a winning romantic comedy that dares to include, but is not marred by, such tragic undercurrents… adultery, attempted suicide?" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Shrek (2001) |
"Sort of like The Princess Bride, if André the Giant had been the hero, and had worn Lou Ferrigno body paint." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Shrek 2 (2004) |
"If Pixar's Toy Story movies connect with the inner child in all of us, DreamWorks' Shrek pictures are aimed squarely at our inner adolescent." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C |
Shrek the Third (2007) |
"Continues the deliberate bad taste that is the franchise’s hallmark, with the usual hit-and-miss results… What’s missing is the heart that leavened the first two films." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B- |
Signs (2002) |
"Signs has the heart that was lacking in Unbreakable, but stumbles badly in its treatment of the paranormal, in this case "X-Files" / "Twilight Zone" sci-fi." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
- |
Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
"Click to view article" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Silence of the Lambs (1991) |
"Lecter fascinates us because he embodies qualities that we associate with civilized, reasonable existence, yet he is murderously sociopathic." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A |
Silverado (1985) |
"By the time the credits roll, we’ve had a whirlwind tour of virtually everything you can do in a Western." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) |
"Handily outdoes [Treasure Planet], with bravura action set pieces, a surprisingly complex romantic triangle, and thoughtful exploration of moral issues and character." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A+ |
Singin' in the Rain (1952) |
"People who say they don’t like musicals should watch Singin’ in the Rain, and find out how sweet eating one’s words can be." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Sister Helen (2004) |
"God bless Sister Helen Travis, with her foul mouth, black wimple… and irascible, abrasive attitude. She might be a bit crazy… but she's also the best thing that's happened to [her charges] in a long time." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
The Sixth Sense (1999) |
"Much more than a one-trick puzzle movie… the logic holds emotionally and narratively, and Shyamalan brings satisfying closure to all his characters and their sorrows." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) |
"A beguilingly unreal excursion into the imaginative world of another age… must viewing for golden-age Hollywood buffs… impresses without becoming truly engaging." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B- |
Sky High (2005) |
"Carefully pitched to be watchable by the Breakfast Club generation and their young kids." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Slapstick Symposium - The Harold Lloyd Collection (1922) |
"Grandma's Boy is an apparently odd choice [for the series], since its somewhat tacked-on comedy makes it one of the least slapstick films in Lloyd's oeuvre." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Sleeping Beauty (1959) |
"Disney's last great fairy tale adaptation for more than thirty years, until Beauty and the Beast… a worthy successor to Snow White and Pinocchio." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D |
Solaris (2002) |
"Some viewers will find Solaris difficult or dull. My complaint is different: I think it’s dishonest." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B- |
The Soloist (2009) |
"The basic contours of the story do emerge from the ill-advised Hollywood stylings … Does Lopez help Ayers? Does Ayers help Lopez? It's messy." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) |
"Bradbury's tale connects fear and dread to concupiscent desire and disordered regret — fantasies of wealth or women, preoccupation with lost beauty or physical ability." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Sometimes in April |
"Opts for a broader canvas [than Hotel Rwanda] both in time and space, exchanging a strong dramatic center for increased depth of detail and insight." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A+ |
The Son (2003) |
"Actions, not words or feelings, are at the center of The Son, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's challenging, nearly religious parable of humanity, fallenness, and grace." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A+ |
The Song of Bernadette (1943) |
"Based on the historical novel by Jewish author Franz Werfel, the beloved classic The Song of Bernadette stands head and shoulders over most religiously themed fare from Hollywood’s golden age." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
RSS Feeds