San Francisco Chronicle's Scores

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For 9,306 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 2.1 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: 5,162 out of 9306
  2. Mixed: 2,658 out of 9306
  3. Negative: 1,486 out of 9306
9306 movie reviews
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    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    The Fabulous Filipino Brothers
    Romance and comedy are part and parcel, and both are done with aplomb. But what gives the work its distinction are its intersections. To be Filipino in America is to have an ever-changing relationship with otherness. The otherness of being one ethnicity among many in a national melting pot. The otherness even among other Asian Americans. And the otherness of being American in nationality but of another culture and history at heart.
  2. Thumbsucker
    Often amusing but lacks the necessary bite.
  3. The Cruise
    The movie's strength is that it makes us want to know more about Levitch, and we pay attention as the tidbits are dropped -- that he's from a middle-class Jewish family in upstate New York, and that he did time in prison. The movie's flaw is that, having gained our attention, it fails to tell us what we want to know.
  4. Kicks
    It doesn’t really add up, either as a psychological portrait or moral commentary.
  5. Inglourious Basterds
    It's not enough to say that Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino's best movie. It's the first movie of his artistic maturity, the film his talent has been promising for more than 15 years.
  6. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
    In the end, the best thing about The Dragon is that it will make people want to go out and rent ''Enter the Dragon.'' [7 May 1993, p.C1]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  7. Never Let Me Go
    Never Let Me Go is gorgeous. And depressing. It's exquisitely acted. And depressing. It's romantic, profound and superbly crafted, shot with the self-contained radiance of a snow globe. And it's depressing.
  8. Batman
    It's a rare, beautifully made movie that offers you another world. [23 June 1989, Daily Datebook, p.E1]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  9. In Another Country
    If you stare at it too hard, In Another Country, an exercise in drollery from South Korea's Hong Sang-soo, simply evaporates. But if you take the film as the bauble it is, you'll be entertained by its lighthearted wit, social observations and resolute sidestepping of profundity.
  10. Babel
    It's a film of unquestioned visual artistry, and the filmmakers' empathy and human understanding are apparent moment to moment, scene by scene. But despite sensitive performances, it's an experiment that fizzles.
  11. Man from Reno
    Long before the finish, Man From Reno has flat-lined.
  12. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
    It's that constant weirdness, coupled with Nicolas Cage's best performance in pretty much forever, that makes this depraved, sexually charged, over-the-top drama so much fun to watch.
  13. Unstoppable
    Once it gets rolling, Unstoppable doesn't pause for breath.
  14. Brave
    In terms of story and emotional power, Brave comes up short.
  15. Viva
    The lively setting helps, but the main attration here is the familiar story, which has been around forever and yet never gets old.
  16. Undercover Brother
    The picture is crammed with shameless satire, engaging moments of pure silliness and jokes that border on the outrageous. It combines relentless energy with an aura of good nature for a formula that works.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Dung che sai duk
    Elliptical, sweeping, lovely and thoroughly confusing.
  18. Enter the Void
    An unbearable exercise in provocation.
  19. Eating Animals
    Word of warning: Don’t go to the theater with a full stomach. Some of the images of animal abuse are graphic and hard to watch, although this is rather tame compared with other documentaries on the same subject.
  20. Revolutionary Road
    The best American film of 2008.
  21. Live Free or Die Hard
    Either Live Free or Die Hard will go down as the summer's best action blockbuster, or it's going to be one exceptional summer.
  22. Up for Grabs
    At times hilarious and occasionally very sad, it's a cautionary tale about the lure of instant fame.
  23. Palo Alto
    Nothing in the story feels specific to that California city, or emblematic of it.
  24. The Opposite of Sex
    The best scenes are of people talking -- and that's not just because the lines are so good. Roos doesn't seem to know what to do with his characters when they aren't blabbing.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
    Kempner once again educates and entertains with unexpected tidbits and just plain good old-fashioned filmmaking.
  26. Lion
    Where the first half of the film had power and sweep, the second half is a bunch of Post-it notes.
  27. The September Issue
    A crisp and entertaining documentary.
  28. Beeswax
    Bujalski has a serious talent for finding resonance in the mundane.
  29. Cinderella Man
    An unflinching and historically rich rendering of an amazing story. He has made what is easily the best American film so far this year.
  30. The Last Lions
    It's all very melodramatic, but the Jouberts accompany this story with incredible visuals, with an exceptional level of access. Considering how close they get to the animals, it's a wonder none of the filmmakers got mauled.
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