San Francisco Chronicle's Scores

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For 9,303 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: 5,160 out of 9303
  2. Mixed: 2,657 out of 9303
  3. Negative: 1,486 out of 9303
9303 movie reviews
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  1. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
    It's a meandering and rather aimless movie that would be considered trite if made by another filmmaker, and yet it has such a family resemblance to other, better Woody Allen movies that it's easy to stick with it and enjoy it.
  2. Jack Goes Boating
    A successful work of art. To see this movie is to feel that you've lived it.
  3. Easy A
    Gluck also directed "Fired Up!," another teen charade with lots of quick-witted verbal raunch. Easy A does a few things better.
  4. Alpha and Omega
    The sexual tension is thick between the woodland creatures in Alpha and Omega, an animated children's film with a plot that has more in common with "The Blue Lagoon" than "Bambi."
  5. The Town
    A first-class genre entry stacked with dandy performances and some crackerjack action to boot.
  6. Catfish
    Unlike "Exit Through the Gift Shop," Catfish isn't able to make the leap from odd incident to an indictment of our times.
  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. Bran Nue Dae
    A very slightly plotted, over-the-top film with hammy acting suitable for an old "Benny Hill" episode. If that sounds like fun, go see it, mate.
  9. Heartbreaker
    It turns out to be just as bad as any routine French romantic comedy - illogical, inconsistent and sloppily written, a charmless, tasteless, witless waste of time.
  10. I'm Still Here
    If there was ever a human being who needed a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, this is the guy.
  11. The Romantics
    The Romantics can be charming, and Holmes tackles her meatiest role since the superb "Pieces of April." But the script fails to establish the likability of any of the main characters, which dulls the sense of urgency during the dramatic moments.
  12. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1
    The films never lose sight of Mesrine the man, a fascinating character in that he's brutal yet extremely intelligent, has a skewed but discernible conscience, and, under the right circumstances, can be warm and generous.
  13. Going the Distance
    The film captures the harshness and the sweetness of our time.
  14. Machete
    The whole thing is monumentally gruesome and just as monumentally cynical, a riot of grisly cliches designed to titillate and amuse.
  15. Last Train Home
    Fan has visual panache - Last Train Home has some gorgeously composed shots - but he also has something that can't be taught: The patience and understanding to allow a family to tell their heartbreaking story in their own way.
  16. A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
    A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop has to be the loopiest, most unexpected remake ever.
  17. White Wedding
    Some scenes are mild fun, but the mishaps that befall our hero aren't especially inventive, and although the South African setting provides a bit of interest, it's never really used incisively.
  18. The American
    It does for hit men what "Up in the Air" did for frequent-flying corporate terminators, minus the comic tang.
  19. Takers
    After sitting through Takers with my stomach rearranged by hyperactive camera spazzing, I hereby formally request all directors and cinematographers to just get a grip already and STOP. WIGGLING. THE CAMERA.
  20. Mesrine: Killer Instinct
    The films never lose sight of Mesrine the man, a fascinating character in that he's brutal yet extremely intelligent, has a skewed but discernible conscience, and, under the right circumstances, can be warm and generous.
  21. The Last Exorcism
    Satan is optional in The Last Exorcism. This is the rare horror film that would have been entertaining even if nothing scary happened.
  22. Centurion
    There are six standard types of violence in film these days: Tarantino, comic book, Scorsese, martial arts, horror and stupid. For stupid, look no further than Centurion.
  23. Change of Plans (Le code a changé)
    This film isn't boring - it's not scintillating or spellbinding, either, just pleasantly honest and moderately interesting throughout.
  24. Highwater
    Ultimately, that's all Highwater offers - barely explored concepts and short profiles.
  25. Lottery Ticket
    Lottery Ticket is likable, and that goes a long way.
  26. Mao's Last Dancer
    This is a handsome, conventional biopic, as fluent and polished as its subject matter.
  27. Nanny McPhee Returns
    Has a lighter spirit than its predecessor, but it arrives at the same warm and touching place.
  28. The Switch
    The movie's flaw is impossible to ignore, turning on the most tired of romantic comedy conventions: Someone knows something, and all that person has to do is say it, and the movie is over and everything's great.
  29. The Tillman Story
    By the way, The Tillman Story has an R rating because of language. Think about that one, too: Lies are rated G and can be heard around the clock on television, but try saying the truth with the proper force and you end up with a restricted audience.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Army of Crime
    It shouldn't be missed. This is a fact-based story of the French resistance who had to fight not only the Germans but their own people. The title comes from the term in a propaganda poster that the Germans and occupied French government used to label the fighters as terrorists.
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