| S - ALL FILMS 2003 - 6/2009 |
| S.W.A.T. (d. Clark Johnson) Overly loud, violent, predictable L.A. police drama with enough originality & raging testosterone to be involving. ** 1/2 |
| SABAH (d. Ruba Nadda) Traditional Muslem woman falls for white guy in this Canadian film. It's an old story; but done well enough here to work for me. ** 3/4 |
| SACRED HEART (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) *** 1/4 |
| SACRED PLANET (d. Jon Long) IMAX doc with pretty images - an ecologic world tour; but derivitive and with nothing new to say. ** |
| SAD VACATION (d. Shinji Aoyama) * 3/4 |
| SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, THE (d. Guy Madden) Demented visual master's '30s retro fabulosity. *** 1/4 |
| SAFE PASSAGE (d. Robert Ackerman) V. A moving, if minor, '94 film dysfunctional family film with a wonderful Susan Sarandon perf. as mother of 7 boys. ** 3/4 |
| SAHARA (d. Breck Eisner) Big scope, empty calorie adventure film about skullduggery and treasure hunting in Africa. Mindless entertainment. ** |
| SAINT RALPH (d. Michael McGowan) Heartening, feel-good period film about a teenage boy in Catholic School who needs to make a miracle. *** |
| SA-KWA (d. Kang Yi-kwan) *** 1/4 |
| SALAWATI (d. Marc X. Grigoroff) *** |
| SALOME (d. Carlos Saura) Film about the creation of a Spanish ballet of Salome, mostly the performance. * 3/4 |
| SALT OF THIS SEA (d. Annemarie Jacir; Palestine) *** |
| SALTY AIR (d. Alessandro Angelini) *** 1/2 |
| SALVADOR (d. Manuel Huerga) *** |
| SALVATORE: THIS IS LIFE (d. Gian Paolo Cugno) *** |
| SANCTUARY: LISA GERRARD (d. Clive Collier) ** 3/4 |
| SAND AND SORROW (d. Paul Freedman) Darfur docu. Admirable subject, boring straightforward filmmaking. ** 1/2 |
| SANGRADOR (d. Leonardo Henriquez) B&W retelling of the Macbeth story with Andean bandits. Overwrought, badly acted, but visually interesting. * 3/4 |
| SANGRE (d. Arnat Escalante) ** 1/4 |
| SARABAND (d. Ingmar Bergman) Starts slow; but accumulates great strength with story of disaffected family. *** 1/4 |
| SATANAS (d. Andrés Baiz; Columbia) *** |
| SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS (d. David Buckley) 1974 groundbreaking film. Fair story, great history ** 3/4 |
| SATURN IN OPPOSITION (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) + *** 3/4 |
| SATURN IN OPPOSITION (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) Building evacuation with 10 minutes to go! So a provisional *** 3/4 |
| SAVAGE GRACE (d. Tom Kalin) *** 1/4 |
| SAVAGES, THE (d. Tamara Jenkins) So real, so personally identifying, great acting, just too much of a downer. *** 1/4 |
| SAVED! (d. Brian Dannelly) Comedy take off on a X-tian high school which is pretty well done, some good actors but uninspired direction. ** 1/2 |
| SAVING FACE (d. Alice Wu) Lesbian approx. of The Wedding Banquet...a feelgood comedy of a family & a girl coming to grips with being gay. ** 3/4 |
| SAY UNCLE (d. Peter Paige) Strangely discomforting film about a naive gay man whose innocent love for children is misunderstood. ** |
| SCANNER DARKLY, A (d. Richard Linklater) Phil Dick is well served, nice animation. But ultimately unsatisfying. ** 3/4 |
| SCHOOL DAYS WITH A PIG (d. Tetsu Maeda) *** |
| SCHOOL OF ROCK (d. Richard Linklater) Jolt of pure entertainment, probably Jack Black's ultimately defining performance. Everyone wins here. *** 3/4 |
| SCHOOL TIES (d. Robert Mandel, '92) V. Good, if predictable, drama, a prep school in mid '50s; Jewish student (Brendan Fraser) vs. rich snob (Matt Damon). ** 1/2 |
| SCIENCE OF SLEEP, THE (d. Michel Gondry) ** 1/2 |
| SCOOP (d. Woody Allen) Woody is in a clever caper story rut. Fun, but not nearly as good as similar Match Game. ** 3/4 |
| SCOTLAND, PA (d. Billy Morrissette) V. Silly, amiable retelling of the Macbeth story in a 60's small town. Points for originality and humor. ** 3/4 |
| SCRATCH (d. Michal Rosa) ** 3/4 |
| SCUSA MA TI CHIAMO AMORE (d. Federico Moccia) ** |
| SEA INSIDE, THE (d. Alejandro Amenábar) Spanish AFF, remarkably sentimental, but moving true story about non-state sanctioned euthenasia. *** |
| SEA OF SILENCE (d. Stijn Cominx) Belgium's so-so Academy nomination about a disfunctional farm family from the pov of the middle daughter. ** 1/2 |
| SEA WALL, THE (Un barrage contre le Pacifique) (d. Rithy Panh) *** 1/4 |
| SEA, THE (d. Baltasar Kormakur) Iceland AFF. Dysfunctional family drama...non Dogmatic Conversation. *** 1/2 |
| SEABISCUIT (d. Gary Ross) Excellent docu-drama with fine cast and a resonant, spellbinding script - left me wanting more (to read the book?) *** 1/4 |
| SEASIDE (France d. Julie Lopes-Curval) Multi-character, small-town drama of repressed yearnings for better things. *** 1/4 |
| SEAWARDS JOURNEY (d. Guillermo Casanova) Slight, but revelatory pastoral road picture about a group of men from the interior who journey to the sea. ** 1/2 |
| SECOND COMING, THE (d. Jack Walsh) V. 0* |
| SECONDHAND CHILD (d. Karola Hattop) German "tv afterschool special" about a troubled, fatherless 13 year old boy who bonds with a new neighbor. ** 3/4 |
| SECONDHAND LIONS (d. Tim McCanlies) 2 eccentric uncles raise teenage boy. Fine actors don't overcome shamelessly manipulative if amiable script. * 3/4 |
| SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR (d. Fritz Lang) ** 3/4 |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #2 Already seen this one, admittedly at L.A.'s worst big screen venue; but hated it and had no desire to see it again. W/O |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #2 *** 1/2 |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #3 ** 3/4 |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #3 *** |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #4 Redeemed the entire concept of Secret Festival for the year. *** 3/4 |
| SECRET FESTIVAL #4 *** 1/2 |
| SECRET LIFE OF BEES (d. Gina Bythewood) Color Purplish film with a fine cast. Dakota Fanning is great; but Paul Bettany surprises playing a Southern redneck. *** |
| SECRET LIFE OF DENTISTS, THE (U.S. d. Alan Rudolph) Beautifully written and acted drama about a marriage in trouble. *** 3/4 |
| SECRET LIFE OF HAPPY PEOPLE, THE (d. Stephane Lapointe) *** |
| SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, THE (d. Isabel Coixet) 2 wounded souls in another moving Coixet. Tim Robbins & Sarah Polley great. *** |
| SECRET OF THE GRAIN, THE (d. Abdellatif Kechiche) *** 1/4 |
| SECRET SUNSHINE (d. Lee Chang-dong; Korea) *** |
| SECRET THINGS (d. Jean-Claude Brisseau) + Re-saw in theater by accident (I forgot I'd seen it) a ridiculous, if sexy, film that is way over-the-top. ** |
| SECRET THINGS (France d. Jean-Claude Brisseau) Soft porn with a lesbian bent. Good looking bodies, but total trash and a ridiculous story. * |
| SECRET WINDOW (d. David Koepp) Depp is the only reason to watch this ridiculous Stephen King story which rings psychologically false. * 3/4 |
| SECRET, UN (d. Claude Miller) *** 1/2 |
| SECRETS OF A YOUNG GIRL (d. Magdi Ahmed Ali) Egypt AFF. Courageous family drama about 15 year old girl's pregnancy. *** |
| SECRETS OF STATE (Secret défence) (d. Philipe Haïm) *** |
| SEDUCING DR. LEWIS (d. Jean-François Pouliot) Small, eccentric, mediocre French Canadian town shaggy dog story à la Waking Ded Devine. ** 1/4 |
| SEED OF DISCORD, THE (Il seme della siscordia) (d. Pappi Corsicato) ** 1/4 |
| SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING, THE (d. David L. Cunningham) V.+ Adolescent fantasy with an interesting hero in Alex Ludwig. ** 1/2 |
| SENSE & SENSIBILITY (d. John Alexander) V. Andrew Davis' superb mini-series adaptation with a fine cast. *** 1/4 |
| SENTIMENTS, LES (d. Noémie Lvovsky) Two couples & the consequences of infidelity. Nice acting, but somehow unpleasant. *** |
| SENTINAL, THE (d. Clark Johnson) Good Secret Service thriller. Kiefer Sutherland will henceforth always be Jack Bauer in every role. *** |
| SEOUL TRAIN (d. Lubansky, Butterworth, Sleeth) Mainly talking heads docu about plight of N. Korean refugees in China. Bad sound. ** 1/4 |
| SEPARATE LIES (d. Julian Fellowes) *** |
| SEPARATE PEACE, A (d. Peter Yates) V. Nicely done TV movie from the novel. Well cast, well directed...but the script needed fleshing out. ** 3/4 |
| SEPTEMBER DAWN (d. Christopher Cain) Controversial gutwrenching true story of Morman slaughter of innocent wagon train in 1800s. *** |
| SEQUESTRO EXPRESS (d. Jonathan Jakubowicz) Caracas slum dwellers carjack & kidnap a priveleged couple. Frenetic, visceral, frightening film. ** 3/4 |
| SÉRAPHINE (d. Martin Provost) *** 1/4 |
| SERENITY (d. Joss Whedon) * 3/4 |
| SEUL CONTRE TOUS (d. Gaspar Noé) V. Noé is a great stylist. This film is hard to warch, but a fascinating character study of a loser. *** |
| SEVEN DAYS, THE (d. Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz) * 1/2 |
| SEVEN POUNDS (d. Gabriele Muccino) Terribly flawed script, obvious and predictable. ** 1/4 |
| SEVEN SWORDS (d. Tsui Hark) * 3/4 |
| SEVERANCE (d. Christopher Smith) *** |
| SEX & BREAKFAST (d. Miles Brandman) Reprises the least interesting thread of HBO's Tell Me You Love Me. ** 1/2 |
| SEX AND DEATH 101 (d. Daniel Waters) ** |
| SEX AND THE CITY (d. Michael Patrick King) Great fashions, sappy, predictable...but it kept getting better as it went on. ** 3/4 |
| SEX IS COMEDY (d. Catherine Breillat) Comedy about an annoying, talky female director making a sexy movie. Actually more fun than I expected. *** |
| SHADE (d. Damian Nieman) Interesting movie about crosses and double crosses among poker players, card mechanics & gangsters. Very entertaining. *** |
| SHADOWBOXER (d. Lee Daniels) No cops in sight in this hired assassin story. Mirren as usual is great. ** 3/4 |
| SHADOWS (d. Milcho Manchevski; Macedonia) *** |
| SHADOWS IN THE PALACE (Goong-Nyuh) (d. Kim Mee-jung) ** 3/4 |
| SHADOWS, THE (d. Guillermo Rodriguez) ** |
| SHAKE THE DEVIL OFF (d. Peter Entell) OK post Katrina docu: parish church & beloved reverend disbanded. ** 3/4 |
| SHALL WE KISS? (Un baiser s'il vous plait) (d. Emmanuel Mouret) *** 1/2 |
| SHANGHAI DREAMS (d. Wang Xiaoshuai) ** 3/4 |
| SHAPE OF THINGS, THE (d. Neil Labute) Clever reversal of Company of Men. Attractive ensemble; stagey line readings. Why isn't Fred Weller a star? *** |
| SHARK TALE (d. Bergeron, Jenson, Litterman) Predictable, clichéd, hip-hop animated comedy with star cast & lovely 3-D computer graphics but no heart. * 3/4 |
| SHATTERED GLASS (d. Billy Ray) True story: journalist faker Stephen Glass. Great acting & veracity, tho psychological insight is rather thin. *** 1/4 |
| SHE HATE ME (d. Spike Lee) Slick, but hateful & misogynist miscalculation. One of the worst films by a good filmmaker ever. * |
| SHELTER (d. Jonah Markowitz) *** |
| SHELTER ME (Riparo) (d. Marco Simon Puccioni) *** 1/4 |
| SHEM (d. Caroline Roboh) A bisexual English Everything is Illuminated. Ash Newman is a real find; the film doesn't pay off. ** 3/4 |
| SHERRYBABY (d. Laurie Collyer) Maggie Gyllenhaal is fine; but film about junkie mom is very hard to take. ** 1/4 |
| SHE'S THE MAN (d. Andy Fickman) A teener "12th Night"; but a mediocre script. Channing Tatum is worth watching. ** |
| SHINE A LIGHT (d. Martin Scorsese) Great, intimate concert film; an historical flawless production! **** |
| SHINER (d. Christian Calson) Horrendously directed but strangely erotic gay Fight Club imitator. Amateur boxers lovingly & boringly pummel each other. * |
| SHINOBI (d. Ten Shimoyaina) ** 3/4 |
| SHOOT 'EM UP (d. Michael Davis)V. Hyperviolent, imaginative, totally absurd film. Fine cast wasted. Clive Owen's BMW ads taken to extreme. ** 3/4 |
| SHOOTER (d. Antoine Fuqua) Better than average paranoid govt. out of control thriller - Mark Wahlberg is quite good. *** |
| SHOOTING GALLERY (d. Keoni Waxman) V. Mediocre crooked cop/poolhall hustle STV. Ving Rhames & Prinze Jr. ok. ** 1/4 |
| SHOP OF DREAMS (Stiilipidu) (d. Peeter Urbla; Estonia) ** 1/2 |
| SHOPGIRL (d. Anand Tucker) *** |
| SHORT CIRCUITS (Kratki Stiki) (d. Janez Lapajne) Slovenia's foreign film submission ** 3/4 |
| SHORTBUS (d. John Cameron Mitchell) *** 1/4 |
| SHOTGUN STORIES (d. Jeff Nichols) V. Quietly powerful, reflective Amer. indie pitting half-brothers against each other. *** |
| SHREK 2 (d. Adamson, Asbury, Vernon) V. Best animated film since Toy Story 2. Clever schtick, a story which holds together & real characters. *** 1/2 |
| SHREK THE THIRD (d. Chris Miller & Raman HuI) ** |
| SHRINK (d. Jonas Pate) *** 1/4 |
| SHUT UP AND SING (d. Barbara Kopple, Cecelia Peck) V. I'm not a Dixie Chicks fan; but this politically satisfying docu works. *** 1/4 |
| SHUTKA BOOK OF RECORDS, THE (d. Aleksandar Manió) V. * 1/4 |
| SHWAAS (d. Sandeep Sawant) Overamped heart tugger about 6 year old boy with cancer who must lose both his eyes. * 3/4 |
| SHY AMOL CHAYA (d. Humayun Ahmed; Bangladesh) * |
| SICKO (d. Michael Moore) The Cuba trick is overly cute; but docu is entertaining & useful. *** |
| SIDEWAYS (d. Alexander Payne) A Calif. subculture comedy, like Swingers. Note perfect performances, great wine lore, but 2nd act longeurs detracted. *** |
| SILENCE, THE (d. Cate Shortland) ** 3/4 |
| SILENT LIGHT (d. Carlos Reygadis; Mexico) *** 3/4 |
| SILK (d. François Gerard) Slow and reflective, but beautiful. ** 3/4 |
| SILLY AGE, THE (d. Pavel Giroud) Cuba Academy foreign film submission *** |
| SILMIDO (d. Woo-suk Kang) S. Korea forms a platoon of convicted criminals to fight North, and then it goes wrong. Well directed with incredible cast. *** 1/4 |
| SILVER CITY (d. John Sayles) Boring, turgid political eco-thriller, great take-off on George W. by Chris Cooper...but otherwise too long and overly complicated. ** |
| SIMON (d. Eddy Terstall) Dutch AFF, remarkably un-sentimental story about a flamboyant dying man and state sanctioned euthenasia. *** 1/4 |
| SIMPSONS MOVIE, THE (d. David Silverman) *** |
| SIN NOMBRE (d. Cary Joji Fukunaga) Superbly executed drama of Central American gangs & the plight of immigrants with a believeable, moving romance. *** 1/2 . |
| SINCE OTAR LEFT (d. Julie Bertucelli) An old Georgian lady's triumph of the spirit when the death of her emmigré son is kept from her. *** 1/4 |
| SINGER, THE (Quand j'étais chanteur) (d. Xavier Giannoli) ** 1/4 |
| SINGING DETECTIVE, THE (d. Keith Gordon) First hour OK; but by end, good acting & direction didn't solve an offputting script. ** 1/4 |
| SINGING FOREST, THE (d. Jorge Ameer) Gay melodrama about a couple of Nazi victims reunited after reincarnation. Horrendously bad in every aspect. 1/2* |
| SINGING REVOLUTION, THE (d. James & Maureen Tusty) Moving, eloquent and vital docu of how Estonian freedom is due to the culture of singing. *** 1/2 |
| SISTERS IN LAW (d. Kim Longinotto) V. Slow but moving docu about justice for women & children in Camaroon. *** |
| SITA SINGS THE BLUES (d. Nina Paley) *** 1/4 |
| SIXTY SIX (d. Paul Weiland) Nicely evoked coming of age about a nerdy English boy's Bar Mitzvah in 1966. Builds to satisfying climax. *** |
| SKETCHES (d. Neil Israel) V. TiVo found this unfairly maligned (Ebert 0 stars?! WTF!) young man dying weeper road picture with a great Jason Bateman perf. ** 3/4 |
| SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY (d. Sydney Pollack) *** |
| SKI JUMPING PAIRS - ROAD TO TORINO 2006 (d. Mashima Riichiro, Kobayashi Masaki) *** 1/4 |
| SKIN (d. Anthony Fabian) ** 3/4 |
| SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (d. Kerry Conran) Stylized, retro futuristic thriller with great sound & design but otherwise predictable. ** 3/4 |
| SKY HIGH (d. Mike Mitchell) Fun, unpretentious kid's flick about a school for kids with super powers. Michael Angarano shines here...ditto Chris Wynne. ** 3/4 |
| SKYFIGHTERS (Les chevaliers du ciel) (d. Gérard Pirès) French airforce fighter pilots intrigue. Well acted, great f/x; but preposterous, elliptical plot. ** |
| SLAVE OF LOVE (Raba lyubvi) (d. Nikita Mikhalkov)V. Gorgeous, pastoral love story set in Russian revolution. *** |
| SLEEP DEALER (d. Alex Rivera) *** 1/2 |
| SLEEPER CELL (d. various) V. Extremely plausable & well made mini-series about Muslim terrorists in a terrifyingly real L.A. *** 1/2 |
| SLEEPER CELL 2 (d. various ) V. Similar, but inferior to 1st series. ** 1//2 |
| SLEEPING DOGS LIE (d. Bobcat Goldthwait) *** |
| SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (d. Hany Khalifa) 3 married and one unmarried yuppie couple have their marital troubles in this fluffy romantic comedy. ** 1/2 |
| SLIM SUSIE (d. Ulf Malmros) Wild, sometimes clever, often not film about crazy antics of a bunch of young people in a small Swedish town. ** 3/4 |
| SLINGSHOT (Tirador) (d. Brillante Mendoza) * 1/2 |
| SLIPSTREAM (d. David van Eyssen) V. Ridiculous time travel story mixed with a Guy Richie gang who couldn't shoot straight story. Sean Astin is good, however. * 1/4 |
| SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (d. Danny Boyle) Intense melodrama about boy from Mombai slums competing in TV game show. *** |
| SLUMMING (d. Michael Glawogger) *** 1/4 |
| SMALL CUTS (d. Pascal Bonitzer) Daniel Auteuil! Kristen Scott Thomas! No chemistry! Drama disguised as silly French farce. ** |
| SMALL ENGINE REPAIR (d. Niall Heery) *** 1/4 |
| SMALL TOWN GAY BAR (d. Malcolm Ingram) ** 3/4 |
| SMALL VOICES (d. Gil M. Portes) Philippines AFF. New teacher in rural village copes with problems. ** |
| SMALLPOX 2002: SILENT WEAPON (d. Daniel Percival) V. British tv movie, well done fake documentary with a frightening message. ** 3/4 |
| SMART PEOPLE (d. Noam Murro) 1st time I liked Ellen Page in a film! Fine cast, involving indie film. *** |
| SMILEY FACE (d. Gregg Araki) *** 1/4 |
| SMOKERS ONLY (d. Veronica Chen) Pretentious, artsy-fartsy Argentine film about vapid rock chick and male hustler. * |
| SNAPPER, THE (d. Stephen Frears) V. Another wonderful early Frears Irish family comedy. Humanistic, well acted, effortlessly entertaining. *** 1/4 |
| SNIPER, THE (d. Dante Lam) *** 1/4 |
| SNOW (Snijeg) (d. Aida Begic; Bosnia and Herzegovina) *** |
| SNOW ANGELS (d. David Gordon Green) Another remarkable, difficult drama by this artist. Great acting. *** 1/2 |
| SNOW CAKE (d. Marc Evans) *** 3/4 |
| SNOW WALKER (d. Charles Martin Smith) Clichéd and unlikely story of a pilot downed in N. Canada along with an ill Inuit woman. Still, effective storytelling. *** |
| SO CLOSE, SO FAR (d. Reza Mir Karimi, Iran) *** 1/4 |
| SO GOES THE NATION (d. del Dio & Stern) V. Fascinating, gutwrenching docu of both sides of political organizers in Ohio in 2004. *** 3/4 |
| SOAP, A (d. Pernille Fischer Christiansen) ** 3/4 |
| SOLDANOS DE SALAMINA (d. David Trueba) A writer gradually uncovers an enigmatic incident in the Spanish Civil War. Slow start but big pay-off. *** |
| SOLDIER'S GIRL, A (US d. Frank Pierson) True story: an American soldier falls for a transexual and how the dynamic plays out in his platoon. *** 1/4 |
| SOLO MIA (d. Javier Balaguer) Sergio Lopez plays abusive macho husband. Excellent portrait of a bad marriage. *** |
| SOLOIST, THE (d. Joe Wright) Wright throws every directorial trick in the book at this sappy script, and Downey & Foxx are fine; but I was bored. ** 1/2 |
| SOME GIRL (d. Rory Kelly) V. Ribisi siblings interest me. A charming, surprisingly involving romantic comedy...young Jeremy Sisto a revelation. *** |
| SOMEONE ELSE'S HAPPINESS (d. Fien Troch; Belgium) ** 3/4 |
| SOMEONE I LOVED (Je l'aimais) (d. Zabou Breitman) *** |
| SOMERSAULT (d. Cate Shortland) Well played slice of life about Australian runaway teenage girl. *** |
| SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS (Stestí) (d. Bohdan Sláma; Czech Republic) *** 1/4 |
| SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (d. Nancy Meyers) I wanted to hate this like every other Meyers film; but it struck a deep chord of truth. Bravo to all. *** 1/4 |
| SOMEWHERE OVER THE DREAMLAND (Taiwan d. Cheng Wen-tang) Inscrutable film about yearning and lost love...maybe. ** 3/4 |
| SON FRÈRE (d. Patrice Chéreau) Intimate drama of 2 estranged brothers, the straight one dying of rare blood disease. Eric Caravaca is great! *** 1/4 |
| SON OF A LION (d. Benjamin Gilmour) *** |
| SON OF RAMBOW (d. Garth Jennings) *** |
| SONETAULA (d. Salvatore Mereu) *** |
| SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY (Ireland/US d. Aisling Walsh) Drama/exposé about Catholic workhouse schools for wayward boys in 1939. *** 1/4 |
| SONG OF SPARROWS, THE (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha) (d. Majid Majidi) *** |
| SONS (Sonner) (d. Erik Richter Strand) *** 1/4 |
| SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS (d. Marc Rothemund; Germany) ** 1/2 |
| SORROW OF MRS. SCHNEIDER, THE (d. Piro & Eno Milkani; Albania) *** |
| SOUND OF THUNDER, A (d. Peter Hyams) * 1/4 |
| SOUNDLESS (d. Mennan Yapo) Excellent, moody thriller about a professional assassin & the cop who hunts him. Superbly written and directed. *** 1/2 |
| SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT: A POPUMENTARY (d. Jamie Jay Johnson) *** 1/2 |
| SOUTH (d. Martin Koolhoven) Well made, viscerally upsetting psychological drama about a sexually wounded woman who slips into insanity. *** |
| SOUTH DESERT (d. Shawn Garry) ** 3/4 |
| SOUTHLAND TALES (d. Richard Kelly) Scrambled script, good f/x, Fifth Element light. Was Donny Darko a fluke? ** 1/2 |
| SPANGLISH (d. James Brooks) I loved this observent dark family comedy. Téa Leoni was bravely over-the-top, Paz Vega is a star & Sandler and Leachman: wonderful. *** 1/4 |
| SPARE PARTS (d. Damjan Kozole) Slovenian version of Lichter, a bleak drama about smugglers who profit from driving 3rd world refugees into Europe. ** 1/2 |
| SPARROW (Man Jeuk) (d. Johnnie To) ** 1/2 |
| SPARTAN (d. David Mamet) Twisty and turny thriller about skullduggery in high places. I like Val Kilmer and this film appealed to my cynical nature. *** |
| SPEAK (d. Jessica Sharzer) Excellent, subtle, beautifully acted drama about a high school freshman traumatized by rape. *** 1/4 |
| SPEAK (d. Jessica Sharzer)V.+ ** 3/4 |
| SPECIAL (d. Haberman and Passmore) Michael Rappaport as pathetically needy meter man who goes psycho on an experimental drug. Minor stuff. ** 1/4 |
| SPEED RACER (d. Wachowski Bros.) Visually stunning and inventive. But script is so predictable. Interesting cast, though. ** 1/2 |
| SPELLBOUND (d. Jeffrey Blitz) Involving, well conceived documentary about 8 competitors in the National Spelling Bee. *** 1/2 |
| SPIDER-MAN 2 (d. Sam Raimi) Tobey Maguire shines, the f/x much improved over the original. Satisfying Hollywood tentpole, if ultimately trivial entertainment. *** |
| SPIDER-MAN 3 (d. Sam Raimi)V. Much better than #2; but too many villains spoil the plot. ** 1/2 |
| SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE (d. Mark Waters) Scary stuff; better than expected. Fine f/x, nicely acted. *** |
| SPIN (d. James Redford) A more than credible first feature...'50s coming of age story centered on flying. Ryan Merriman a young actor to watch! *** 1/4 |
| SPINNING BORIS (d. Roger Spottiswoode) American political spinsters go to Russia to work for Yeltsin in this ok Showtime tv movie. ** 3/4 |
| SPINNING INTO BUTTER (d. Mark Brokaw) Racism in a New England college has never been so banal or clichéd. * 3/4 |
| SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON, THE (d. Jon Dunham) Human interest docu about people who run Chicago marathon. Nicely shot, but of limited interest. ** 3/4 |
| SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON (d. Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook) Beautiful animated film which actually moved me. *** |
| SPRING 1941 (d. Uri Barbash) * 1/2 |
| SPRING BREAKDOWN (d. Ryan Shiraki) * 1/4 |
| SPRING SUBWAY (China d. Zhang Yibai) Gorgeous photography & production design in search of a story to give a damn about. ** 3/4 |
| SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...AND SPRING (d. Kim Ki-duk) Gorgeously photographed fable about the life of a very human Buddhist monk. *** 1/2 |
| SPUN (d. Jonas Akerlund) Requiem For a Dream wannabe. Tweaker farce. Transgressive and fun, but cheesy. ** |
| SPY KIDS 3D: GAME OVER (d. Richard Rodriguez) 3D gives me eye strain; but this kinetic film had a consistent script with miraculous digital f/x. *** |
| SQUARE, THE (d. Nash Edgerton) *** |
| SQUID AND THE WHALE, THE (d. Noah Baumbach) *** 1/2 |
| STAGE BEAUTY (d. Richard Eyer) Very disappointing...Shakespeare in Love lite. Poorly paced & directed, and Crudup miscast, though rest of the cast was superb. ** 1/4 |
| STALAG 17 (d. Billy Wilder)+ V. Still works as straighforward prison camp story, though plot and characters now seem pretty stock. Holden fine. *** |
| STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (d. Errol Morris) Docu of Abu Ghraib as you wished it weren't. *** 1/4 |
| STANDARD, THE (d. Jordan Albertsen) *** 3/4 |
| STANDER (d. Bronwen Hughes) Thomas Jane is remarkable in this involving, off-center crime spree tale from S. Africa. *** |
| STAR TREK (d. J.J. Abrams) Spectacular in IMAX, well cast, nothing special about the plot...but as a summer action flick it is about as good as they come. *** |
| STAR WARS EPISODE III: RETURN OF THE SITH (d. George Lucas) Kept my interest. ** 3/4 |
| STAR WARS: EPISODE 2 (d. George Lukas) Bombastic, effects heavy...not as bad as I'd heard. ** 1/4 |
| STARDUST (d. Matthew Vaughn) ** 1/2 |
| STARFISH HOTEL (d. John Williams) * 3/4 |
| STARSKY & HUTCH (d. Todd Phillips) Better than I expected...no Charlie's Angels, at least. Stiller & Wilson have chemistry; but Owen is not a '70s dude! ** 1/4 |
| STARTER FOR 10 (d. Tom Vaughan) *** 1/2 |
| STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING (d. Andrew Wagner) Understated, fine acting. A very adult script. *** 1/4 |
| STATE OF MIND (d. Christopher Menaul) V. Pretty good British tv forensic psych story...Andrew Lincoln wonderful, per usual. ** 3/4 |
| STATE OF PLAY (d. Kevin Macdonald) More focused than the BBC series, Good character driven thriller with fine acting. *** |
| STATEMENT, THE (d. Norman Jewison) Turgid thriller about a Nazi collaborator on the run 46 years later. Very disappointing. ** |
| STATION AGENT, THE (d. Tom McCarthy) David Green territory without his visual pinache, but real narrative. Fine performances by all 3 leads. *** 1/4 |
| STAY (d. Marc Forster) *** |
| STAY ALIVE (d. William Bell) Good cast can't save this computer death game Ringu like film. Weak dialog, reasonable f/x. ** |
| STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME (d. Michèle Ohayon) Holocaust docu: Dutch survivors on their 60th wedding aniv. *** 1/4 |
| STEAL ME (d. Melissa Painter) Gem of an Amer. indie about a wandering teenage boy klepto who gets adopted into a good Montana home. *** 1/4 |
| STEALING SINATRA (d. Ron Underwood) V. True gang-who-couldn't-shoot-straight story. I like Thomas Ian Nicholas as Sinatra Jr., but film is silly. ** |
| STEALTH (Comme des voleurs -A l'est) (d. Lionel Baier) *** 1/4 |
| STEALTH (d. Rob Cohen) Politically dubious, viscerally exciting war as video game. Surprisingly effective entertainment. Josh Lucas & EDI rule. ** 3/4 |
| STELLA (d. Sylvie Verheyde) *** |
| STEP BROTHERS (d. Adam McKay) 40ish guys playing kids is not funny. Still, watchable silliness with many groaners. * 1/2 |
| STEP UP (d. Anne Fletcher) Clichés abound. Channing Tatum can't act; but he sure can dance and he's a STAR. ** 1/2 |
| STEP UP 2 THE STREET (d. Jon Chu) Predictable script; great street dancing. Robert Hoffman a star? ** 1/2 |
| STEPFORD WIVES, THE (d. Frank Oz) Silly and unfunny satire, another wasted remake. Watchable for the sets and costumes at least. * 3/4 |
| STEPHANIE DALEY (d. Hilary Brougher) *** |
| STEVIE (d. Steve Jones) (V) Documentary about a troubled boy-man, abused as a kid, who faces prison for child sexual abuse himself. *** 1/4 |
| STILL ALIVE: A FILM ABOUT KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI (d. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz) ** 1/4 |
| STILL LIFE (Sanxia Haoren) (d. Jia Zhang-ke) ** 1/2 |
| STILL ORANGUTANS (d. Gustavo Spoldoro) *** 1/2 |
| STILL WALKING (d. Kore-ea Hirokazu) *** 1/2 |
| STOKED: THE RISE & FALL OF GATOR (d. Helen Stickler) Nicely constructed, fascinating docu about skateboarder/murderer Mark Rogowski. *** 1/2 |
| STOLEN CHILDREN (Certi Bambini) (d. Andrea and Antonio Frazzi) *** 1/4 |
| STOLEN EYES (Otkradnati ochi) (d. Radoslav Spassov; Bulgaria) |
| STONED (d. Stephen Woolley) Leo Gregory is ok, Paddy Considine better in this amalgam of Sid & Nancy and Last Days about Brian Jones. *** |
| STOP-LOSS (d. Kimberly Peirce) Extraordinarily affecting, difficult & appropos film; superb script & acting. *** 3/4 |
| STORM OF EMOTIONS (d. Yael Klopmann) V. Very powerful, apolitical docu of forced evacuation of Gaza settlers. *** 1/2 |
| STORY OF MY LIFE, THE (d. Laurent Tirard) Fun, well made French 4-character romantic comedy. Only flaw is too pat a resolution. ** 3/4 |
| STORY OF PAO, THE (d. Ng Quang Hai; Vietnam) *** |
| STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL, THE (d. Byambasuren Davaa) Realistic & involving saga of Mongolian herder family & little camel rejected by its mom. *** |
| STRACCIATELLA (d. Adnras Kern) Kern is the Roberto Benigni (or Ed Burns) of Hungary. Self-indulgant: about conductor having a nervous breakdown. ** 1/4 |
| STRAIGHT-JACKET (d. Richard Day) Horrendously banal and poorly directed gay romantic comedy about a Rock Hudson type gay '50s movie star. * |
| STRANDED: I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE MOUNTAINS (d. Gonzalo Arijon) *** 1/2 |
| STRANGE CULTURE (d. Lynn Hershman Leeson) **** |
| STRANGER THAN FICTION (d. Marc Forster) Charlie Kaufmanesque script with a stunning Emma Thompson perf. *** |
| STRANGERS (d. Erez Tadmor, Guy Nattiv) ** 1/2 |
| STRANGERS WITH CANDY (d. Paul Dinello) * |
| STRAWBERRY STATEMENT, THE (d. Stuart Haggman) V. '69 student tumult in this non-dated cult film. *** |
| STRAY GIRLFRIEND, A (Una novia errante) (d. Ana Katz) ** 1/4 |
| STRAYED (d. André Téchiné) Totally absorbing film about a family of refugees in 1940 France. Téchiné is a master of atmosphere & actors. *** 1/2 |
| STREET FIGHT (d. Marshall Curry; docu) V. *** 1/2 |
| STREET KINGS (d. David Ayer) Too many unbelieveable loose ends. Why is Chris Evans not a star? ** 1/2 |
| STRIKE (Volker Schlöndorff) *** 1/2 |
| STRINGLESS VIOLIN, THE (d. Sekar Ayu Asmara) An overamped melodrama mostly about a brain-damaged child and the woman who cares for him. ** |
| STUCK ON YOU (d. Bobby & Peter Farelly) Irresistably sweet, hip and funny. Farellys continue to play with characters' illusions & it works. *** |
| SUBURBAN MAYHEM (d. Paul Goldman) *** |
| SUDESTE (Argentina d. Sergio Diego Bellotti) Torpid drama of a young river fisherman and his encounter with an outlaw. ** 3/4 |
| SUERTE DORMIDA, LA (d. Angeles Sinde) Spanish Erin Brokovich with some fine acting by Adriana Ozores, Jose Soriano, and Felix Gomez (yum!) *** 1/4 |
| SUGAR (d. Anna Bodin, Ryan Fleck) Fine American indie about a young Dominican baseball player & his minor league tryout in Iowa. *** |
| SUGAR (d. John Palmer) A Canadian NC-17 afterschool special about an 18 year old from the burbs who falls for a crack addict street hustler. Brendan Fehr shines. ** 3/4 |
| SUICIDALS (d. Juan Villegas) ** |
| SUITE HABANA (d. Fernando Pérez) Like Hukkle last year, a music & sound efx filled 24 hours in the lives of several ordinary people in present day Havana. *** |
| SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (d. Preston Sturges) I just don't find Sturges's rapid fire dialog, endless montages and liberal messaging all that interesting or amusing. ** 1/2 |
| SUMMER (d. Kenny Glenaan) ** 3/4 |
| SUMMER '04 (d. Stefan Krohmer) *** 1/4 |
| SUMMER DAY, A (d. Franck Guerin) *** |
| SUMMER HEAT (d. Monique van de Ven) ** 3/4 |
| SUMMER HOURS (L'heure d'été) (d. Olivier Assayas) + *** 3/4 |
| SUMMER IN BERLIN (Andreas Dresen) ** 1/2 |
| SUMMER RAIN (El Camino de los ingleses) (d. Antonio Bandaras) ** 3/4 |
| SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) Pleasant, sexy, gay German American Pie type film about youthful affairs at a summer rowing camp. *** |
| SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) Yes, for the first time ever I watched a film for the 2nd time at SIFF. Blame the fabu eye candy. *** |
| SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner)+++ Yikes! Third time the charm. Hollywood should only make a teen sex comedy this good! As if. *** |
| SUN ALSO RISES, THE (Tai Yang Zhao Chang Sheng Qi) (d. Jiang Wen) ** 1/4 |
| SUNSET STRIP (d. Adam Collis)V.+ *** |
| SUNSHINE (d. Danny Boyle) *** 1/4 |
| SUNSHINE CLEANING (d. Christine Jeffs) Enjoyable indie dramedy. Amy Adams better here than in Doubt. *** |
| SUPER SIZE ME (d. Morgan Spurlock ) Superb, entertaining, shocking doc about the physical effects of the director's immersion in McDonald's fast foods for a month. *** 3/4 |
| SUPERBAD (d. Greg Mattola) ** 1/2 |
| SUPERBAD (d. Greg Mattola) V.+ One of the rare cases of a film where the over-the-top raunch works better on video than in the theater. *** |
| SUPERMAN RETURNS (d. Brian Singer) Not a disappointment...Singer did everything just about right. *** |
| SUPERVOLCANO (d. Tony Mitchell)V. Scary, involving, high gloss fictionalized disaster docudrama about Yellowstone eruption. *** |
| SUR LA TRACE D'IGOR RIZZI (d. Noël Mitrani) ** 1/4 |
| SURF'S UP (d. Ash Brannon & Chris Buck) ** 3/4 |
| SURVEILLANCE (d. Paul Oremland) ** 1/4 |
| SUSPECT ZERO (d. Elias Merhige) Dour, complex SE7EN clone. Interesting visually; and Eckhart is good, as usual. But script is not up to snuff. ** 3/4 |
| SWAY (Yureru) (d. Miwa Nishikawa) *** 1/2 |
| SWEENEY TODD (d. Tim Burton) Well made; but even Sondheim's lyrics can't make me love this musical. *** |
| SWEET AND THE BITTER, THE (Il dolce a l'amaro) (d. Andrea Porporati) *** 1/4 |
| SWEET CRUDE (d. Sandy Cioffi) *** |
| SWEET LAND (d. Ali Selim) A 20th century immigrant woman's story; hardscrabble midwest farmland, slow paced but quite moving. *** |
| SWEET MUD (d. Dror Shaul; Israel) *** 1/2 |
| SWIMMERS (d. Doug Sadler) American indie with high production values, but a slow, trivial tv-movie plot which failed to go anyplace. * 3/4 |
| SWIMMING POOL (d. François Ozon) Somewhat disappointing film from this always interesting director. Sagnier has grown to a sexy young woman. ** 1/2 |
| SWIMMING UPSTREAM (d. Russell Mulcahy) Pedestrian bio of early '60s Australian swimmer (the magnetic Jesse Spenser) & his drunking & abusive father. ** 1/4 |
| SWIMSUIT ISSUE (d. Mans Herngren) ** 3/4 |
| SWINDLED (Incautos) (d. Miguel Bardem) *** |
| SWING VOTE (d. Joshua Michael Stern) Costner is ideal "everyman"; nicely acted (esp. Kelsey Grammar), predictable, timely. *** |
| SYLVIA (d. Christine Jeffs) Not as bad a biopic as Iris; but it doesn't go anywhere but the obvious with no insight. Good acting, nowhere script. ** |
| SYMMETRY (d. Konrad Niewolski) Slow, bleak, well made prison drama of an innocent convict's assimilation into prison culture. *** 1/4 |
| SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (d. Park Chan-wook) ** 1/4 |
| SYNECDOCHE, N.Y. (d. Charlie Kaufman) Excruciating exercise in self indulgence...but funny in an in-joke kind of way. ** |
| SYRIAN BRIDE, THE (d. Eran Riklis) Well made, emotionally satisfying film about a Druze family where the daughter must leave to wed in Syria. ** 3/4 |
| SYRIANA (d. Stephen Gaghan) ** 3/4 |