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San Francisco Chronicle

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
3/4
A Private Life (2025) Mick LaSalle In America, it might be called a mess, and at times this movie sags. But overall, there’s something about it that holds interest. “A Private Life” is an odd ramble that eventually arrives somewhere.
Posted Jan 27, 2026  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Mercy (2026) G. Allen Johnson Visual images flash by fast and furious, but Bekmambetov does a remarkable job of creating a plausible world of lives lived digitally. “Mercy” is a fun movie.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
4/4
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) Bob Strauss It’s unlike any other ever put on screen, but definitely a song-and-dance show at regular, exhilarating intervals.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
Misery (1990) Mick LaSalle "Misery" creates a state of tension that's almost unbearable and keeps building it, until the audience is frustrated and cringing.
Posted Jan 21, 2026  Edit critic review
2.5/4
The Rip (2026) Bob Strauss Based on a true story and generic enough to make us believe it, this Joe Carnahan-directed and co-written thriller is sprinkled with enjoyable, genre-appropriate flourishes such as Clinton Shorter’s synth-pulse score.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) William Hogan Rennie, who portrays a missing superhuman, actually is a well-balanced human type with powers far superior to any possessed by earth men.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
Bite the Bullet (1975) John L. Wasserman "Bite the Bullet" is corny, sentimental, predictable, pat and rife with cliches. It is also a delightful, beautifully made, exceedingly pleasant and satisfying film.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
4/4
Bite the Bullet (1975) G. Allen Johnson "Bite the Bullet" is epic Americana, gorgeously filmed, and a candidate for most underrated film of the 1970s.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
The Magnificent Seven (1960) Paine Knickerbocker Brynner, with his cat-like walk, suggests an effective capacity for violence; McQueen's quick dry smile is effective, and the curious lanky stance of James Coburn, as the taciturn knife thrower gives variety to the seven.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
Stand by Me (1986) Gerald Nachman "Stand by Me" is a gentle memory of youth with a rich, golden, pastoral tone that Reiner superbly sustains.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
2/4
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) G. Allen Johnson Although more Fiennes is always a good thing, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” simply doesn’t have the solid storytelling or enthralling characters that its predecessor has.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
Gaslight (1944) SF Chronicle Staff The fact also that the period of the story has the color of a past period is in its favor.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
The Chronology of Water (2025) Mick LaSalle You can love or hate “The Chronology of Water,” but if you don’t come away from it marveling at the brilliance of Poots’ performance, you just weren’t paying attention.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
1/4
Out of the Past (1947) SF Chronicle Staff A fairly routine melodrama.
Posted Jan 09, 2026  Edit critic review
Alice in Wonderland (1951) SF Chronicle Staff There are standout scenes and character interpretations, and "Alice" is well worth a look if you enjoy Disney. Color, incidentally, pulses and glows. The result should make most everyone happy.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
The Sure Thing (1985) Gerald Nachman ... a comedy that's funnier than you think it's going to be, or perhaps has any right to be.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
2/4
The Princess Bride (1987) Peter Stack If it weren't for a gem of a performance by Mandy Patinkin as a derring-do Spanish swordfighter avenging the death of his father, this lollygagging tale would drift into the margins of the movie screen.
Posted Jan 07, 2026  Edit critic review
When Harry Met Sally... (1989) Peter Stack Adding to the urbane atmosphere of this very enjoyable movie is a soundtrack that features New Orleans jazz pianist-singer Harry Connick Jr. and jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Ray Charles.
Posted Jan 06, 2026  Edit critic review
4/4
Dead Man's Wire (2025) Mick LaSalle If “Dead Man’s Wire” has a weakness it’s that it doesn’t create an intense desire to find out how it all turns out. It compensates with dark humor and with a central performance by Skarsgård that’s fascinating.
Posted Jan 05, 2026  Edit critic review
2/4
Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) Mick LaSalle The inescapable, undeniable weakness of “Father Mother Sister Brother” is that, while its first part is thoroughly satisfying, its second part is just OK, and its third part is close to a waste of time.
Posted Jan 05, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not (2025) Bob Strauss Interviews with numerous collaborators, friends former and new, his adoring but clear-eyed third wife Jayni Chase and their three daughters paint a complex portrait of a flawed but not always unlovable man.
Posted Jan 02, 2026  Edit critic review
3/4
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) Zaki Hasan "The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants" may not be the series’ most inspired cinematic outing, but it’s a likable one.
Posted Jan 02, 2026  Edit critic review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) Paul Speegle Director Anatole Litvak has fused the script into a tight, tense cinematic document which runs swiftly and surely to its climax.
Posted Dec 31, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Is This Thing On? (2025) Carla Meyer Scenes inside the cramped club hum with excitement and touches of anxiety heightened by Libatique’s handheld camera work.
Posted Dec 24, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Marty Supreme (2025) G. Allen Johnson Even with a uniformly excellent and eclectic cast and some over-the-top situations, it’s hard to take your eyes off Chalamet.
Posted Dec 24, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Song Sung Blue (2025) Bob Strauss These are not complex performances, but they do represent the kind of wistful, wishful passion that Diamond inspires... time and again “Song Sung Blue” visualizes the love millions of fans have for the singer-songwriter’s well-crafted kitsch.
Posted Dec 23, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Anaconda (2025) Bob Strauss Delivers moments of real terror in a smart comedy that deserves to be a bigger success than the original.
Posted Dec 23, 2025  Edit critic review
Death Race 2000 (1975) John L. Wasserman A strange picture... Repulsive and cuddly at the same time.
Posted Dec 22, 2025  Edit critic review
The Fortune (1975) John L. Wasserman The film is both funny and clever.
Posted Dec 22, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Hook (1991) Mick LaSalle It doesn't grab the audience, fling it into another world and make people forget where they parked their cars. But it does leave the viewer with a glow, and along the way it has magical moments, even if it's not fully magical as a whole.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Housemaid (2025) Mick LaSalle The last 30-40 minutes of “The Housemaid” are so propulsive and unexpected that it makes up for what the middle lacks.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Suburban Fury (2024) G. Allen Johnson It’s not often that we get an assassin or would-be assassin’s side of the story. “Suburban Fury” therefore is not just a cracking good tale, it’s a historical document as well.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
Breakdown: 1975 (2025) Mick LaSalle The documentary soon derails into bogus history, specious arguments and a self-blinding variety of political bias.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Christine (1983) Peter Stack "Christine" is a gimmick movie, no great contribution to world cinema or automania.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) G. Allen Johnson James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is a whole new movie, but you can be forgiven if for a good while you think the projectionist accidentally loaded Avatar: The Way of Water into the machine.
Posted Dec 16, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
Goodbye June (2025) Mick LaSalle “Goodbye June” is a flawed exercise that probably never would have made it to the screen had the screenwriter not made such a shrewd choice in mothers.
Posted Dec 12, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Cactus Pears (2025) G. Allen Johnson Kanawade handles all these competing emotional storylines with assuredness, his delicate direction combining with sensitive performances, colorful costumes and sumptuous cinematography for a very memorable debut.
Posted Dec 12, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Ella McCay (2025) Mick LaSalle More than most filmmakers, Brooks has a strong sense of what he can get away with in terms of narrative.
Posted Dec 12, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Casanova (2015) David Wiegand Oscar-nominated director Jean-Pierre Jeunet indulges the richness of the setting and story to perfection, and Luna is winning as the multilingual Giacomo Casanova.
Posted Dec 12, 2025  Edit critic review
True Lies (1994) Mick LaSalle If you're interested in seeing what can be done with action visuals in 1994, True Lies is the film to see.
Posted Dec 10, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) Judy Stone The sadness of his tragic end is illuminated by all the evidence in this film that one man can make a difference.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Thief of Hearts (1984) Peter Stack A perfect film for rainy afternoons.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Terror in the Aisles (1984) Peter Stack Good for a chuckle or two.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Teachers (1984) Peter Stack The comedy doesn't pay off in this story that has pretensions to deal with serious issues. Still, the thing may be worth seeing, if only because it's the only movie that attempts to look behind the scenes of an urban high school.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
A Soldier's Story (1984) Judy Stone Under Norman Jewison's direction, it is opened up to provide more of a feeling about the south in wartime, but Fuller's script retains his complex explorations of the men and their motivations.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
The Razor's Edge (1984) Judy Stone Murray turns in a mixed performance. He's fine when he relaxes and shows his appreciation for the humorous side of life, but he just looks shell-shocked when he is supposedly having a mystical experience.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Purple Rain (1984) Joel Selvin The film hangs on the flimsiest of plots, but the movie is really about Prince delivering the message in his music. And it is above all a frankly sentimental film about love -- not sex, fired by the spectacular music.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Places in the Heart (1984) Judy Stone Director Robert Benton weaves the strands of his characters' lives in a memorable and moving fashion. It's extraordinary in its grace, beauty and suggestion of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Terminator (1984) Peter Stack Confusing plot, but car chases, gunplay and some deft humor keep this one boogeying.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Abyss (1989) Mick LaSalle The relationship between Harris and Mastrantonio as husband and wife makes "The Abyss" something more than a special-effects thriller.
Posted Dec 05, 2025  Edit critic review
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