Gene Siskel

Select another critic »
Chicago Tribune
For 511 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 63% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 36% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 0.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Gene Siskel's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 65
Highest review score: 100 A Clockwork Orange
Lowest review score: 0 UHF
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 339 out of 511
  2. Mixed: 68 out of 511
  3. Negative: 104 out of 511
511 movie reviews
view
per page
    • 57 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Legal Eagles
    Novie lovers will want more of Winger and more Redford, both separately and together. If they had more scenes, their romance might seem more credible, rather than being simply the movie convention of ''star loves star.'' It`s a close call on Legal Eagles. It`s not a total waste of time.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Fame
    A high school version of A Chorus Line, following a half-dozen talented students at New York High School for the performing arts as they try to become show-biz stars. When the kids perform, the movie sings, but their fictionalized personal stories are melodramatic drivel. [11 July 1980, p.8]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 41 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Clue
    There's a movie here, and there's a gimmick. The gimmick undermines the movie and the gimmick is attached to the wrong part of the movie. Other than that, Clue offers a few big laughs early on followed by a lot of characters running around on a treadmill to nowhere. [13 Dec 1985, p.38]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 46 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Mighty Ducks
    An okay kids' picture about a bunch of misfit hockey players who are brought together to play in the Big Game by a cynical, Yuppie coach (Emilio Estevez) doing community service. [02 Oct 1992, p.C]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 59 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Black Cauldron
    The essential problem with The Black Cauldron is that the central human character in the story is a complete drip, making it difficult to root for his success at saving the world from ruination.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Skin Deep
    There is one hilarious sight gag involving prophylactics, and one can't argue with the film's sobering message, but otherwise Ritter's character is mostly a bore. [3 March 1989, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 52 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Betsy's Wedding
    As it is, Betsy's Wedding is pleasant fluff when Alda isn't on the screen. [22 Jun 1990, p.C2]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Rock
    [Cage] cracks wise throughout the third act and is almost entertaining enough to make this absurdly energetic movie recommendable.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    True Stories
    Byrne is a major musical artist, as he was shown to be in his rock concert film Stop Making Sense, but as a filmmaker he has barely stretched his muscles. [31 Oct 1986, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 73 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Commitments
    It looks like director Parker, who can be quite ambitious (Mississippi Burning, Come See the Paradise), is coasting this time, merely reworking his big hit, Fame.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Silverado
    Silverado is a completely successful physical attempt at reviving the western, but its script would need a complete rewrite for it to become more than just a small step in a full-scale western revival. [10 Jul 1985, p.5]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 61 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Project X
    The drama is predictable, and the confrontations lack rational dialogue. In other words, this is just of the sort of movie that a 9-year-old would probably enjoy. [1 May 1987, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Lady Jane
    There`s nothing really seriously wrong with the movie, save for the casting of Elwes. Lady Jane simply states and restates its premise, and then it`s over in a predictable manner.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Unforgiven
    Individual scenes work, but the movie seems overstuffed-why is the Harris character necessary-and halting.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Matewan
    John Sayles has directed an authentic looking and sounding film, featuring cinematography by the great Haskell Wexler. [02 Oct 1987, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 92 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Chinatown
    As much as I admire the work of both (Roman) Polanski and (Jack) Nicholson, I found Chinatown tedious from beginning to just before the end. [15 July 1974]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 44 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Last Action Hero
    The stunt work and special effects are top flight; Schwarzenegger and the kid are just fine, but we can't help but want this film to stop kidding around and thrill us. [18 Jun 1993, p.C]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 80 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Much Ado About Nothing
    Kenneth Branagh's earnest adaptation of Shakespeare's serious comedy about love is undone by, of all things, Branagh's enthusiasm for this material to be joyful. He practically busts through the screen in an effort to please. His wife, Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, is more restrained as his dueling lover and creates a more credible character. [21 May 1993, p.C]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Oliver & Company
    The musical voices belong to Billy Joel and Bette Midler, respectively, but this material is far afield of their best work. As a result, a Chihuahua (voice by Cheech Marin) steals the movie with wisecracks. [18 Nov 1988, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 76 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Reds
    Ambitious but hokey melodrama...It's a beautiful looking film, but only the supporting characters are believable. Beatty and Diane Keaton are miscast and never disappear into their characters. [25 Dec 1981]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 58 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    9 to 5
    Nine to Five is a film full or surprises - some pleasant, other disappointing. The most pleasant surprise is the appearance of Dolly Parton, who with this one film establishes herself as a thoroughly engaging movie star. The biggest disappointment is that this Jane Fonda comedy about a trio of secretaries out to get their boss doesn't have more bite. [19 Dec 1980, p.2-1]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 44 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Renaissance Man
    We know exactly where this picture is going at all times. Holding our attention, however, is a cast of fresh talent among the trainees. [03 Jun 1994]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 50 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Fat Man and Little Boy
    Fat Man and Little Boy tries to cover too much territory by introducing corny romantic subplots involving Oppenheimer's mistress and a relationship between a young scientist (John Cusack) and a nurse (Laura Dern). These awkwardly written sequences remind us that we are watching a conventional movie and destroy any documentarylike reality. [20 Oct 1989, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 55 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Crossroads
    Crossroads doesn't contain most of the common sins of today's youth films: cheap sex, fast cars and food fights. But you can't reward a film very much for what isn't there, if what is there leaves you wishing that its lead characters would break free from a tired story and sing and play with abandon. [14 March 1986, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 77 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Color of Money
    The problem may be that Scorsese, arguably America's most gifted and gritty director, is working from a script not written by one of his veteran collaborators, and so the grit is gone. All of the performances are fine. Newman is particularly effective, but he is forced to run a familiar treadmill. And so The Color of Money joins Heartburn as one of the biggest disappointments of 1986.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Man Without a Face
    The story is full of good feelings, but as one sits there it all seems so predictable that you can't help but ask the point of it all. [27 Aug 1993, p.C]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 55 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    The Karate Kid Part II
    There are scattered pleasures throughout the film due to its two lead performances, which are the equal of the work done in the original. It's just that with a few exceptions, the characters Miyagi and Daniel are forced into conflict with aren't worthy of their time.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Cheech and Chong's Next Movie
    A sometimes-funny, dope related comedy with the team of Cheech and Chong trying to survive in the city while having a very high time. [1 Aug 1980, p.4-10]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 44 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Twilight Zone: The Movie
    A mixed bag of four short films done in the style of famous '60s TV show. Two work; two don't. [July 22, 1983]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 79 Metascore
    • 63 Gene Siskel
    Time Bandits
    An uneven special effects extravaganza about a little boy who winds up traveling through world history along with five midgets. Together they meet and frustrate the great and the near-great. Including Napoleon, Robin Hood, and the devil. Unfortunately, there are just too many visits to famous people. The film was created by some of the people responsible for the Monty Python comedies. [25 Dec 1981, p.12]
    • Chicago Tribune
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »