San Francisco Chronicle

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
1/4 Copshop (2021) David Lewis We're supposed to be taking a fun thrill ride here, with a little existentialism to boot, but "Copshop" can't escape its arrested development. EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2021
1/4 Malignant (2021) Robert Morast It could have been so much more. EDIT
Posted Sep 10, 2021
2/4 The Voyeurs (2021) G. Allen Johnson A slow-moving dud until a slam-bang finale that contains a couple of delicious twists. If only the whole movie had been like that. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2021
3/4 The Card Counter (2020) Chris Vognar Schrader is in one of those late-career grooves that you always like to see from a veteran filmmaker who has something to say. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2021
2.5/4 Kate (2021) Bob Strauss Winstead sells it. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2021
3/4 Fauci (2021) David Lewis The strength of "Fauci" is its underlying theme, which is really not about Fauci at all. EDIT
Posted Sep 8, 2021
3/4 Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) David Lewis There's nary an unpredictable moment in this family-friendly film - save for a few nice flourishes near the end - but for the most part, the musical is a rousing good time, something worth talking about. EDIT
Posted Sep 8, 2021
Salomy Jane (1914) SF Chronicle Staff No picture since motion pictures came into being has more of beauty, action and heart interest than this masterpiece... at a single bound Beatriz Michelena, the star of the Western idyl, has assumed a place second to none as a motion picture actress. EDIT
Posted Sep 7, 2021
3/4 9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021) David Lewis Every single official comes off as genuine and patriotic, and as people who cared about their country. Clearly, there is some legacy-shaping going on here, but that's what public officials do. EDIT
Posted Sep 3, 2021
2.5/4 Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali (2021) Zaki Hasan A broad overview of an interesting, unexplored time that, while feeling a bit cursory at times, still manages to engage in a worthwhile and compelling discussion about these two historical figure's intertwined legacies with several decades of hindsight. EDIT
Posted Sep 2, 2021
1/4 Cinderella (2021) Lily Janiak In trying to be safe and copacetic with modern sensibilities, this "Cinderella" neuters itself. EDIT
Posted Sep 1, 2021
3/4 Mogul Mowgli (2020) Pam Grady A drama that rings with truth, about a musician's ambition, a son's relationship with his father and how the immigrant experience shapes following generations. EDIT
Posted Sep 1, 2021
3/4 Worth (2020) David Lewis In the end, this Netflix film is a restrained yet unmistakable call for compassion, and it makes a case for the value of every human life. EDIT
Posted Aug 29, 2021
2/4 He's All That (2021) Lily Janiak Cast members seem to operate on the belief that they can best deal with the plot's improbabilities by grimacing their way through and not giving anyone time to react to them. EDIT
Posted Aug 27, 2021
3/4 Candyman (2021) Robert Morast DaCosta's restraint keeps it interesting. There's an elegance to her storytelling, always giving us just enough to keep us moving forward without signaling too much of what's to come. EDIT
Posted Aug 25, 2021
3/4 No Man of God (2021) Carla Meyer Offers nearly note-perfect lead performances. EDIT
Posted Aug 24, 2021
3/4 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) Peter Hartlaub At some point during one of the best car chase scenes in San Francisco movie history, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" makes at least one thing gloriously clear: Today, you will be getting your money's worth at the movies. EDIT
Posted Aug 23, 2021
2/4 Together (2021) David Lewis Both McAvoy and Horgan handle the rapid-fire dialogue with gusto, and for a while, their devastating banter is amusing. But eventually the effect begins to wear thin... EDIT
Posted Aug 23, 2021
2.5/4 Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed (2021) Chris Vognar The film makes the case that the Kowalskis bilked Ross' family out of their share of money from Ross' image and likeness, and steamrolled other artists and instructors as well. And it makes this case well. EDIT
Posted Aug 23, 2021
3/4 The Protégé (2021) Mick LaSalle Now let's see more Maggie Q movies like this one. EDIT
Posted Aug 20, 2021
2/4 Sweet Girl (2021) David Lewis To be sure, Big Pharma execs make for natural movie villains these days, but this story could have used a tad more subtlety, something that was in short supply here. EDIT
Posted Aug 20, 2021
3/4 Flag Day (2021) Mick LaSalle Dylan Penn can act. Whatever attention Sean Penn lavished on his daughter to bring out this performance was repaid tenfold. EDIT
Posted Aug 18, 2021
3/4 Cryptozoo (2021) Bob Strauss While its hippie-era setting and hallucinatory imagery give a nostalgic kick, the film's darker conflicts speak to dire issues of today. EDIT
Posted Aug 18, 2021
2/4 Reminiscence (2021) G. Allen Johnson Intriguing but ultimately shallow... EDIT
Posted Aug 18, 2021
3/4 Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power (2020) David Lewis We don't always get a full picture of Barbara Lee, however, there's no doubt for a single frame that this consummate politician - a pragmatic firebrand - is long overdue for recognition beyond the Bay Area. EDIT
Posted Aug 16, 2021
3/4 CODA (2021) Mick LaSalle "CODA" demonstrates that formulas are fine, if they're informed by true emotion and commitment. EDIT
Posted Aug 12, 2021
3/4 Beckett (2021) Mick LaSalle "Beckett" is rich in story and innovation. Every time it's about to settle in and follow one path, it shifts gears altogether. It's surprising and nerve-racking in all the right ways. EDIT
Posted Aug 11, 2021
2.5/4 Free Guy (2021) Bob Strauss Everybody, from stars Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer to terrifically effective art department and camera crews, brings their A-game to this uplifting tale about artificial people discovering their humanity. EDIT
Posted Aug 11, 2021
4/4 Stand and Deliver (1988) Peter Stack Lou Diamond Phillips is excellent as a fiery gang leader, and veteran Rosana De Sota, as Olmos' wife, is superb. EDIT
Posted Aug 10, 2021
3/4 Raging Fire (2021) G. Allen Johnson Aided by the star magnetism of Yen and Tse and back in his element on the colorful streets of Hong Kong, Chan goes out with both guns blazing. EDIT
Posted Aug 10, 2021
2.5/4 Homeroom (2021) Mick LaSalle Anyone who sees it will derive something from the experience. EDIT
Posted Aug 10, 2021
3/4 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020) Mick LaSalle Its combination of an artificially positive sitcom world and the suggestion of a creepy and all-too-real world hovering at its edges gives "Kimmy vs. the Reverend" a knowing, postmodern feeling. EDIT
Posted Aug 9, 2021
4/4 Respect (2021) Mick LaSalle Because it doesn't aspire to tell the story of her whole life, it has to end somewhere, and the place it chooses feels a little arbitrary. Then again, that hardly matters. This isn't a movie we watch waiting for it to end. EDIT
Posted Aug 9, 2021
1/4 Naked Singularity (2021) Bob Strauss Even as Mexican cartels, Hasidic money-launderers, modal realism explanations and a samurai sword pile up around the action, "Naked Singularity" stubbornly refuses to engage. EDIT
Posted Aug 8, 2021
4/4 Ailey (2021) Chris Vognar A haunting portrait of what it means to be an artist - from the triumphs to the empty, lonely feeling that you're never as good as you're supposed to be. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2021
2.5/4 Nine Days (2020) Bob Strauss There's no shame... in being moved by any or all of "Nine Days." At the very least, it marks the arrival of a filmmaker with great potential. EDIT
Posted Aug 5, 2021
1/4 Annette (2021) Mick LaSalle Anything that can happen in one minute happens in 10, with a song thrown in, and every plot surprise can be seen from a distance, like Omar Shariff coming over the horizon in "Lawrence of Arabia." EDIT
Posted Aug 4, 2021
3/4 Bring Your Own Brigade (2021) Bob Strauss Mixing in citizens' harrowing cellphone footage and heartbreaking emergency call recordings, Walker's teams immerse us in the flaming terror as few features have before. EDIT
Posted Aug 4, 2021
2.5/4 Fireboys (2021) Bob Strauss The directors gratifyingly zero in on the well-behaved prisoners, their respectful instructors/jailers and uplifting evidence that the youths are turning their lives around and are pleased to help others. EDIT
Posted Aug 4, 2021
3/4 The Suicide Squad (2021) Mick LaSalle In "The Suicide Squad," writer-director James Gunn has done the seemingly impossible: He has found the fun in the Suicide Squad EDIT
Posted Aug 4, 2021
1/4 Swan Song (2021) Mick LaSalle How do you make a movie without having a single scene turn out well by accident? In this way, "Swan Song" may be worthy of future study. EDIT
Posted Aug 2, 2021
2/4 Vivo (2021) G. Allen Johnson Not every movie has to turn into an action film, and if the idea is you have to keep the kiddies entertained, hey, maybe trust them a little more. EDIT
Posted Aug 1, 2021
3/4 Mr. Soul! (2018) Chris Vognar "Mr. Soul!" is like a wrinkle in time, a time capsule that needed to be opened. In uncovering rare gold, it's a film that reminds us just how much we don't know. EDIT
Posted Jul 29, 2021
3/4 Pray Away (2020) Mick LaSalle "Pray Away" is a wise and compassionate film about anti-gay conversion therapy as it's practiced and encouraged by the evangelical church. EDIT
Posted Jul 29, 2021
3/4 The Green Knight (2021) Mick LaSalle The freedom that Lowery assumes for himself is staggering - and encouraging. "The Green Knight" is artistically from Jupiter, except that its real source resides deep in the human soul. EDIT
Posted Jul 29, 2021
4/4 Lorelei (2020) G. Allen Johnson Malone... is outstanding as a woman who, in some sense, has been in a prison of her own the past 15 years, waiting for that break in life that may never come. EDIT
Posted Jul 28, 2021
1/4 Jungle Cruise (2021) Mick LaSalle It's a first-class production of an empty concept and an utterly dead script. EDIT
Posted Jul 28, 2021
1/4 No Ordinary Man (2020) G. Allen Johnson There's one big problem about "No Ordinary Man: The Billy Tipton Documentary": It's not really about Billy Tipton. EDIT
Posted Jul 26, 2021
3/4 Old (2021) Mick LaSalle "Old" is, at times, clumsy and obvious, but it's different and weird, and it taps into something essential. EDIT
Posted Jul 22, 2021
2/4 Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021) Mick LaSalle By the end, it's no better than a mediocre superhero effort, except it's even worse, because there was potential there for more. EDIT
Posted Jul 22, 2021