San Francisco Chronicle's Scores

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For 9,302 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 Mansfield Park
Lowest review score: 0 Speed 2: Cruise Control
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,160 out of 9302
  2. Mixed: 2,656 out of 9302
  3. Negative: 1,486 out of 9302
9302 movie reviews
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  1. Galaxy Quest
    More than one joke or one idea. It's a thoroughly satisfying comedy --and a respectable space adventure, as well.
  2. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    This thriller is so expertly -- and perversely -- poised that audience members may find themselves secretly rooting for the duplicitous Ripley.
  3. Snow Falling on Cedars
    Ultimately there's something too measured, too controlled in his film.
  4. Angela's Ashes
    The effect of the 2 1/2-hour film is deadening.
  5. Any Given Sunday
    Features convincing, often soaring, performances by a savvy cast that must have gotten adrenaline shots administered by Stone himself.
  6. Man on the Moon
    Though Man on the Moon is lost when it comes to Kaufman's inner life and motivations, it offers a detailed account of his career.
  7. Girl, Interrupted
    A sappy, muddled production that misses the jarring tone of the autobiographical book by Susanna Kaysen on which it is based.
  8. Jing Ke ci Qin Wang
    The look of the film is first class, with muted colors but deep textures, the opposite of historical kitsch.
  9. Onegin
    Would have been a stronger movie if it didn't require a strong cup of coffee going in.
  10. Bicentennial Man
    Has a certain slow, mechanical quality.
  11. Simpatico
    A confounding and unsatisfying film.
  12. Stuart Little
    Doesn't quite measure up to the extraordinary sweetness of the classic children's book by E.B. White on which it is based. But then again, how could it?
  13. Topsy-Turvy
    Part of the appeal of Topsy-Turvy is its generosity about human folly and shortcomings. Its wistfulness is very touching.
  14. Anna and the King
    Before it runs off track--it does have some spectacular moments.
  15. Magnolia
    At times, Anderson may be too brilliant for his own good, and there is a risk that viewers will tire of the director's relentlessly prowling camera.
  16. The Cider House Rules
    Has that Dickensian spirit wherein simple acts of kindness can bring an audience close to tears.
  17. Cradle Will Rock
    Wildly ambitious, unwieldy epic.
  18. Miss Julie
    An arid, uninvolving film that suffers from Burrows' miscasting as the vain Julie.
  19. The War Zone
    One of the most impressive actor-to-filmmaker transitions in recent years.
  20. Diamonds
    Diamonds doesn't shine.
  21. Stir of Echoes
    Stir of Echoes is much more down and dirty (than "The Sixth Sense"), and the thrills are more visceral.
  22. The Green Mile
    Three hours of overstatement and schmaltz.
  23. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
    The lowdown on Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Rob Schneider's first starring role, is that it is. Lowdown, that is.
  24. Agnes Browne
    Floats along on the strength of its writing and supporting cast.
  25. Holy Smoke
    If this is an example of Australian live-and-let- live, it is very likable.
  26. The End of the Affair
    Its impression lingers in the mind, giving the film a longer half-life than it would otherwise deserve.
  27. Sweet and Lowdown
    The best reason in years to reconsider (Woody Allen).
  28. A Map of the World
    Sigourney Weaver is so daring and amazing, her veracity is at times painful to behold.
  29. Flawless
    Contrived and overly schematic, but De Niro and Hoffman are such good actors that it never slips into pat sentiment.
  30. Tumbleweeds
    Bound by mother-daughter ties that are complex, touching, ultimately so powerful they yield the kind of tearful joy rarely experienced at the movies.
  31. End of Days
    Not a campy film, but it revels in extremes, and has the same sort of appeal.
  32. Ride with the Devil
    For fans of Westerns, the film may have particular appeal. Its period gear and garb and galloping horses are major attractions
  33. Toy Story 2
    The most entertaining movie of the year. Funny and action-packed, it's also got that rare thing, heart.
  34. The World Is Not Enough
    A thoroughly satisfying, completely entertaining film that's also, rather surprisingly, an emotionally full experience.
  35. All About My Mother
    No one else makes movies like this Spanish director.
  36. Sleepy Hollow
    A film with no theatrical core and no integrity in the writing, acting or storytelling.
  37. 42: Forty Two Up
    This is an amazing record of a group of lives -- and probably more resonant than anyone could have imagined when the project began.
  38. Mansfield Park
    Intelligence and beauty -- and teasing romance -- shape Mansfield Park into a gorgeous, enchanting experience.
  39. Liberty Heights
    Has integrity, but the way he bends his tale to make a statement is overly deliberate.
  40. Anywhere But Here
    Sarandon and Portman work beautifully -- together, negotiating a range of emotional keys that blend comedy and drama in the same moment.
  41. Where's Marlowe?
    Quickly assumes an appealing mockumentary style.
  42. Felicia's Journey
    There's tremendous maturity and skill in Felicia's Journey but also a sense of impending horror that's bound to repel some audience members -- even though the violence is all implied.
  43. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
    Isn't some sober history lesson that bogs down in long speeches and tedious facts. It's about style, it's about fashion, it's about rock 'n' roll busting out in medieval France.
  44. Dogma
    Mature, thoughtful and occasionally dazzling.
  45. Light It Up
    At all times, the audience believes that it's watching something that really could happen.
  46. Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back!
    It isn't terrible. It's far from a milestone in Japanese animation, and not an especially memorable entertainment. Yet it doesn't try to be either of those things.
  47. A Moment of Innocence
    Muddled and endless.
  48. Rosetta
    The film's loose, scaled-down technique never turns gimmicky...but enhances the tension and intimacy of Rosetta's struggle.
  49. The Bachelor
    A pretty lame premise for a movie.
  50. Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski
    One of the great portraits of artists fighting, even with murderous rage, to reach the sublime.
  51. Train of Life
    A merry, wistful, tear-and-a-smile romp about the Holocaust, of all things.
  52. American Movie
    That's why American Movie cuts so deep: It's about the American dream, about not giving up, about being true to yourself.
  53. The Bone Collector
    Often falls flat.
  54. The Insider
    Pacino and Crowe are at their best, but the supporting cast also shines.
  55. Last Night
    Writer and first-time director Don McKellar, also one of the film's stars, makes the plot gimmick an inventive jumping-off point for an exploration of humanity in a state of quiet panic.
  56. Music of the Heart
    Feels more like an earnest commercial for music education than successful entertainment.
  57. The Legend of 1900
    The schmaltz is relentless in The Legend of 1900, the newest film from "Cinema Paradiso'' director Giuseppe Tornatore. It comes in waves, it leeches onto every surface and it turns decent actors into sticky-sweet fuzzballs.
  58. Speaking in Strings
    Holds our attention by dispensing information gradually, like a piece of fiction.
  59. Princess Mononoke
    A rare spectacle on the big screen.
  60. Being John Malkovich
    It's tremendously entertaining, and probably worthy of repeat viewings.
  61. House on Haunted Hill
    The kind of horror movie that's not a bit scary and quite a bit gross.
  62. Man of the Century
    Sharp and irresistible, and there's no other movie like it.
  63. The Best Man
    The glossy ensemble cast is consistently interesting.
  64. Three to Tango
    Perry is at his best playing frenetic confusion.
  65. Bats
    Falls apart immediately, then limps on for 45 minutes more.
  66. Body Shots
    One of the most quietly powerful endings in recent memory.
  67. La Ciudad (The City)
    Has its awkward and rough edges, but there's a purity here, a goodness of intention and a commitment to justice.
  68. Men Cry Bullets
    The race is on for worst film of the year honors. Among the top contenders: Men Cry Bullets.
  69. Crazy in Alabama
    It's troubling to watch it stray and ramble as first-time director Antonio Banderas struggles to pull disparate elements together.
  70. Bringing Out the Dead
    Potentially oppressive subject matter is redeemed by impeccable moral integrity and stunning artistry.
  71. That's the Way I Like It
    Light and innocuous.
  72. Julien Donkey-Boy
    A self-indulgent mess.
  73. The Story of Us
    The movie's most inexcusable failing is that, despite all the flashbacks, we never get a sense of what this relationship was like when it worked.
  74. L'ennui
    It's a movie about an idiot in the grip of something common place. He starts off as a garden-variety idiot and progresses to a big idiot.
  75. Joe the King
    This is a smart film, told in a minor key, that augurs well for Whaley's directing career.
  76. The Straight Story
    All the actors are good, but it's Farnsworth's brilliantly simple performance that brings The Straight Story so close to greatness.
  77. Fight Club
    Delivers a sucker punch to the audience and then pulls the rug out from under it. It is sensational. It is also grimly funny.
  78. Random Hearts
    Hollywood hit-making at its efficient, formulaic worst.
  79. The Grandfather
    The film's constrained style keeps the drama from reaching a full boil.
  80. Beyond the Clouds
    It's that compelling sense of mystery, of the endless search and its undercurrent of loneliness, that sets this great filmmaker apart.
  81. The Limey
    A first-rate crime thriller and further proof that Soderbergh is one of our great contemporary film stylists.
  82. Superstar
    Delivers plenty of laughs and succeeds on a level that recent ``SNL'' movies (``It's Pat!'' and ``A Night at the Roxbury'') didn't.
  83. Boys Don't Cry
    There may not be a better- acted film this year.
  84. Plunkett & Macleane
    A repellent, stupid film.
  85. Mystery, Alaska
    Scores big as a study of small-town life where characters collide and are forced to get along for the good of the community.
  86. The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
    Full of that wonderful junky, clunky, huggable smartness that has made "Sesame Street'' an enduring phenomenon.
  87. Happy, Texas
    Anybody with a soft spot for fakers, who either identifies with them or just admires their chutzpah, is going to get a kick out of Happy, Texas.
  88. Bandits
    Has a lot going for it -- but too much going against it to be a clear-cut winner.
  89. Drive Me Crazy
    Succeeds in its modest way because its stars, Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier, are pleasant to be around.
  90. Divorce Iranian Style
    Captures the emotions of spousal charges, countercharges, defenses and pleadings ranging from brutally sarcastic to despairing.
  91. Double Jeopardy
    There's something heartening about a film that aspires to do nothing but entertain -- and does.
  92. On the Ropes
    Exceptional, powerful new documentary.
  93. Out of Season
    A skillfully observed but never quite satisfying lesbian romantic drama.
  94. Mumford
    So wonderfully odd, even spiritual, that audiences won't be able to do anything but smile.
  95. Dog Park
    Half a good romantic comedy. Luke Wilson is the good half...The weak half is Natasha Henstridge.
  96. Guinevere
    Disarms with its sincerity and frankness.
  97. Het ondergrondse orkest
    Has an odd mix of quickly grabbed handheld shots and scenes of striking beauty.
  98. The Jaundiced Eye
    A terrific documentary.
  99. Splendor
    A menage a trois tale that aspires to the breezy screwball comedies of the 1930s -- but more often resembles a hip soap opera.
  100. Sugar Town
    Isn't vicious. It's just cheerfully mocking as it courses the canyons and flatlands of Los Angeles.
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