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San Francisco Examiner

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
1/4
North (1994) Scott Rosenberg The movie resorts to a battery of unbelievably hackneyed devices to bring it story to a crisis.
Posted Jan 26, 2026  Edit critic review
2.5/4
Misery (1990) Michael Sragow Bates is so good at playing a psycho that you have to wonder if she has a brother named Norman.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Hortense Morton (Screen Scout) A stellar cast makes all things seem possible.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
Bite the Bullet (1975) Stanley Eichelbaum "Bite the Bullet" might have been an exciting, off-beat Western, but loses its chance by dealing limply and slothfully with the unusual theme of an endurance horse race across 700 miles of rugged country.
Posted Jan 15, 2026  Edit critic review
The Magnificent Seven (1960) Lawrence Marten "The Magnificent Seven," adapted from the Japanese samurai drama to suit the gun and a Mexican location, is exciting, plausible, and gives a graphic picture of the speed of the gunfighter's reactions and the tensions under which he lives.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
2/4
Stand by Me (1986) Michael Sragow "Stand by Me" substitutes sentimentality for teen-movie zap. It's an ode to arrested preadolescence.
Posted Jan 14, 2026  Edit critic review
Gaslight (1944) Alexander Fried For the most part, it sustains its suspense quietly and intently. At crucial moments, it has sharp punch, too.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
A Place in the Sun (1951) Hortense Morton (Screen Scout) It's a well-turned out drama with everything in its favor...cast, direction and story.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
Alice in Wonderland (1951) Hortense Morton (Screen Scout) It is more Disney than Carroll. And, as such is up to Disney's standard of gaiety and charm.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
2/4
A Few Good Men (1992) Scott Rosenberg But beneath its spiffy dress uniforms, snappy dialogue, professions of sincerity and outbursts of high-mindedness, "A Few Good Men" is surprisingly skimpy; mostly, it's an empty exercise in courtroom theatrics.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
The Sure Thing (1985) Barbara Shulgasser Annoyingly like the old I Love Lucy show.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) Ada Hanifin Anatole Litvak's meticulous casting contributes to the credulity of the action.
Posted Dec 31, 2025  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Hook (1991) Michael Sragow Spielberg's knack for carnival-like choreography has left him. The action is frenetic and indistinct: a no-ring circus.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Christine (1983) John Stark It isn't scary enough to be a horror film, nor is it funny enough to be a satire.
Posted Dec 17, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
The Abyss (1989) Michael Sragow Even when it looks and tastes great, "The Abyss" isn't filling at all.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Michael Sragow The rest of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" is a series of crushing fights and chase scenes punctuated with a smattering of cheap jokes and meretricious calls for world peace.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Terminator (1984) Allan Ulrich Nobody said The Terminator was art; but polishing trash to a slick surface like this takes some measure of rare talent.
Posted Dec 08, 2025  Edit critic review
A Christmas Carol (1984) Michael Dougan This movie is an emotional fireplace; the warmth of it seeps out and surrounds you and the glow turns your face ruddy with pleasure.
Posted Dec 04, 2025  Edit critic review
Journey Back to Oz (1974) Jeanne Miller The musical score is not memorable, but it is lively and pleasant and the lyrics are literate and charming.
Posted Nov 25, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
The Wiz (1978) Stanley Eichelbaum It's wastefully overproduced, so that every musical number is frantically busy.
Posted Nov 17, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
The Running Man (1987) Craig Seligman All you have to do is look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's face to see how badly he wants to act. It's a little heartbreaking, really.
Posted Nov 06, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
Predator 2 (1990) Barbara Shulgasser Director Hopkins has an interesting approach to sound recording. Even the quietest moments of this film seem as if they were recorded in a bowling alley on a tournament night.
Posted Oct 31, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Dracula (1979) Walter V. Addiego "Dracula" is an expensively done-up, often visually attractive, disappointment, suffering from massive overproduction.
Posted Oct 23, 2025  Edit critic review
2.5/4
From Beyond (1986) Michael Sragow Gordon's scares are smarter than the average scares.
Posted Oct 20, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Re-Animator (1985) Barbara Shulgasser This film, presumably meant to be funny, is guilty of, forgive the locution, overkill.
Posted Oct 16, 2025  Edit critic review
Born Yesterday (1950) Hortense Morton (Screen Scout) Thanks to the mobility of the camera, the film is not narrowed to the confines of junk dealer Crawford's palatial suite. We wander all over the national capital while newspaperman William Holden is trying to knock some sense into Billie's noggin.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
Stephen King's It (1990) Joyce Millman It's as invigoratingly scary as a wild roller coaster ride.
Posted Oct 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Stephen King's It (1990) John Carman While the miniseries delivers a few good chills, it suffers from stiff direction, stutter-step pacing and an oddly long and serious treatment for what is at heart a childish tale.
Posted Oct 09, 2025  Edit critic review
4/5
The Celluloid Closet (1995) Barry Walters The Celluloid Closet brings the pioneering book and lectures of activist and scholar Vito Russo to a mainstream audience without diluting their revolutionary purpose.
Posted Oct 08, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Tron (1982) John Stark Most of "TRON" is so technically esoteric that you wonder if anyone outside of its creators can appreciate or enjoy it.
Posted Oct 06, 2025  Edit critic review
Hard Times (1975) Stanley Eichelbaum While the role of inarticulate, gutsy, self-sufficient fight is perfect fodder for Bronson, he is badly let down by writer-director Walter Hill. His script is a sorry affair, emptier and duller than a shopworn kettle drum.
Posted Sep 26, 2025  Edit critic review
3.5/4
Hard Eight (1996) Edvins Beitiks Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, making his feature film debut, it is every bit as impressive as Quentin Tarantino's early efforts. This movie likes faces, and the faces it gets to work with are mesmerizing.
Posted Sep 22, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Night of the Living Dead (1990) Mick LaSalle The film ends up being much too narrow in perspective -- probably only truly gripping to men who enjoy blood and gore.
Posted Sep 17, 2025  Edit critic review
Darkman (1990) Michael Sragow It's a zippy, furious yet endearing little big film.
Posted Aug 26, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Pumpkinhead (1988) Craig Seligman Enjoyable and even, in its way, as charming as the movie is, it could give children nightmares.
Posted Aug 14, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
High and Low (1963) Allan Ulrich Now is the time to catch up with what, for sheer narrative alone, ranks among the master's most absorbing films.
Posted Aug 13, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Barbara Shulgasser The comedy isn't ripsnorting or bellylaughable, but Reubens fascinates by sustaining such a nervy character for a full hour and a half.
Posted Jul 30, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Peter Stack Crazy fun.
Posted Jul 29, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) Michael Sragow The ZAZ folks are very clever barbarians -- they're dumb without being stupid. And in their pursuit of yocks, they stumble into inspired parodies and pratfalls as well as jokes for the john.
Posted Jul 24, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) Peter Stack A very funny send-up of an action drama.
Posted Jul 24, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) Michael Sragow Losing Abrahams and Zucker must have hurt like the loss of a right hand. Luckily, David Zucker appears to be left-handed.
Posted Jul 23, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) Scott A. Rosenberg Brazenly stupid and proud of it, "Naked Gun 33 1/3" is nearly invulnerable to criticism, boredom and dislike. It is a no-brained, in every imaginable sense of the term.
Posted Jul 22, 2025  Edit critic review
1/4
DuckTales, the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) Peter Stack The satirical points may be lost on most children and the forced razzle-dazzle overwhelms the fun.
Posted Jul 17, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Red Rock West (1993) Barbara Shulgasser The plot makes several neat and clever left turns and the cast gamely plays it so dark that their shadows cast shadows.
Posted Jul 15, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Red Rock West (1993) Mick LaSalle [Red Rock West is a] fun-loving thriller.
Posted Jul 15, 2025  Edit critic review
3/4
Explorers (1985) Peter Stack A good-humored science fiction fantasy.
Posted Jul 10, 2025  Edit critic review
2/4
Explorers (1985) Barbara Shulgasser Eric Luke's dreary script provides a lot of predictable scenes of secret nighttime hammering and scavenging as the boys jerryrig their homely spacecraft.
Posted Jul 10, 2025  Edit critic review
Superman III (1983) John Stark Lester fails to keep that spark going, despite the charismatic presence of Richard Pryor.
Posted Jul 08, 2025  Edit critic review
4/4
Superman: The Movie (1978) Stanley Eichelbaum The movie surprises us with its sharp wit, and is all the more delightful for being uncommonly funny -- and more sophisticated than Star Wars and most entries in the sci-fi handicap.
Posted Jul 08, 2025  Edit critic review
1.5/4
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) Michael Sragow It is tacky and skimpy.
Posted Jul 02, 2025  Edit critic review
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