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Steve Persall

Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:
Official Website:

http://www.sptimes.com

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Chocolat (2000) 64% B- EDIT “Chocolat isn't as sensual as Like Water for Chocolate, sentimental as Big Night or gluttonous as Babette's Feast. It's more like a sprig of parsley on the side of a full plate of holiday releases. Nibble, if you wish. ” – Tampa Bay Times Feb 17, 2026 Full Review Muppet Treasure Island (1996) 80% C EDIT “The Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat don't have the looks of movie stars, or the charm to carry a film on their felt-and-foam shoulders.” – Tampa Bay Times Feb 12, 2026 Full Review Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) 96% A EDIT “We learn so much about Lee's lovelorn warriors that when they leave the ground, our hearts go with them. That warm rush in the chest is a joy audiences haven't felt in a long, long time.” – Tampa Bay Times Feb 11, 2026 Full Review Erin Brockovich (2000) 87% B EDIT “Nothing is particularly memorable about Erin Brockovich except its charismatic star and hindsight realization that we had a good time watching the same old thing in a new package. This time, that is enough. ” – Tampa Bay Times Feb 6, 2026 Full Review North (1994) 12% B- EDIT “North is the sort of hop-scotch fantasy a child might devise in a creative writing class, with all the innocence, exaggeration and cute charm that would suggest.” – Tampa Bay Times Jan 23, 2026 Full Review The American President (1995) 90% A EDIT “After last year's vilified North, Reiner has shaped a comeback worthy of Richard Nixon. His deft hand, Sorkin's script and two magnetic stars should put The American President on the Oscar ballot when that "other" election rolls around next spring. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jan 22, 2026 Full Review The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 94% A EDIT “The Return of the King is the equal of its predecessors in visual marvels, yet surpasses both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers in pure storytelling.” – Tampa Bay Times Jan 14, 2026 Full Review The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 95% B EDIT “While flesh-and-blood performers perfectly enunciate solemn warnings about the future of Middle-earth, a marvelous CGI creation called Gollum steals the show. Jar-Jar and Dobby: Eat your hearts out.” – Tampa Bay Times Jan 13, 2026 Full Review The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 91% B+ EDIT “Jackson's film rarely moves us beyond enthusiastic technical admiration and into emotional or spiritual surrender. When the sagging anti-climax arrives, a feeling lingers that parts two and three could be canceled and wouldn't be missed.” – Tampa Bay Times Jan 13, 2026 Full Review True Lies (1994) 77% B EDIT “In its vest moments, True Lies is a bull's-eye send-up of the James Bond series.” – Tampa Bay Times Dec 10, 2025 Full Review The Celluloid Closet (1995) 96% B EDIT “Good research and nostalgic moments, but more likely to be embraced as a solid research project than [a] banner of gay pride. ” – Tampa Bay Times Oct 8, 2025 Full Review Casper (1995) 59% B EDIT “Casper often resembles a blueprint for the next Universal theme park ride, but it serves well as the summer's first family treat.” – Tampa Bay Times Oct 3, 2025 Full Review Boogie Nights (1997) 91% A EDIT “It's a blessing blessing all its own: bold and uncompromising in the way it treats pornography as a profession and a smutty joke, yet so genial and thrilling in its execution that you're transfixed by the genius of a new member of the filmmaking elite.” – Tampa Bay Times Sep 24, 2025 Full Review Toy Story (1995) 100% A+ EDIT “Just when you're certain that the movies can't show us anything new or stir emotions with sheer artistic creativity, along comes Toy Story, a film event so perfectly realized that it immediately ranks as an industry milestone. ” – Tampa Bay Times Sep 9, 2025 Full Review Requiem for a Dream (2000) 80% A EDIT “Requiem for a Dream is masterfully repellent, making shocked viewers recoil while simultaneously daring us not to look.” – Tampa Bay Times Aug 22, 2025 Full Review Mortal Kombat (1995) 44% C+ EDIT “It's loud, it's brutal, senseless and fairly fun, but it leaves one with a nagging wish that this sort of entertainment might become as obsolete as pinball.” – Tampa Bay Times Aug 19, 2025 Full Review Babe (1995) 98% A EDIT “Director Chris Noonan's airy tale of a pig who refuses to accept "the way things are" is positive proof that movies don't have to be innocuous or rude to cater to a child's taste. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 30, 2025 Full Review Waterworld (1995) 60% B EDIT “Sets are spectacularly decrepit, and the costumes by John Bloomfield are marvels of imagination. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 28, 2025 Full Review I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) 47% D EDIT “Cheaply effective at times, but it isn't a Scream. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 15, 2025 Full Review The Cement Garden (1993) 85% B+ EDIT “Too lurid for many moviegoers, but a shocking discovery for those adventurous types. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 15, 2025 Full Review Red Rock West (1993) 95% B EDIT “Good performances and flashes of goose-bump-raising wit, but one is left wondering what all the fuss was about.” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 15, 2025 Full Review Superman Returns (2006) 72% B- EDIT “Superman Returns casts the Man of Steel in a movie that steals from the 1978 original starring Christopher Reeve, with few ideas that work and several that don't.” – Tampa Bay Times Jul 8, 2025 Full Review The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) 57% A- EDIT “The astounding success of Jurassic Park has unleashed an aggressive vitality in [Steven Spielberg's] action sequences. The second half of The Lost World is easily Spielberg's most acutely tense film work since Jaws.” – Tampa Bay Times Jun 30, 2025 Full Review Jurassic Park III (2001) 49% C+ EDIT “We've grown too accustomed to computers and puppets defying evolution. ” – Tampa Bay Times Jun 25, 2025 Full Review Apollo 13 (1995) 94% A EDIT “A filmmaker devoted to authenticity meets a project that doesn't need to be rewritten to be enthralling. When those twin lightning bolts of preparation and opportunity collide, the result is magnificent... The result is a film like [Apollo 13].” – Tampa Bay Times Jun 25, 2025 Full Review
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