REVIEW ARCHIVE
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				Reviews in a Hurry:  S
							Spy Kids “has the energy, sense of humor, and good nature that is missing from so many grown-up action movies, which are merely content with technique.” Spy Kids 2:  The Island of Lost Dreams “like a long episode of an afternoon cartoon.” Spy Kids 3-D:  Game Over “sloppy and awkward.” Stardust Memories “more an intriguing exercise in style than groundbreaking character development or making any particular point.” Star Trek:  The First Six Movies “the most h87u#&m,.a(n” Star Wars Episode I:  The Phantom Menace “a jolly adventure through an improbable cosmos” Star Wars Episode II:  Attack of the Clones “in many places just dull..more like an explanation than an adventure.” Star Wars Episode II:  The IMAX Experience “shorter” Star Wars Episode III:  Revenge of the Sith “it’s a volcanic moon—you’ll be safe there!” The Stepford Wives (1975) “the husbands of Stepford...exhibit a complete lack of imagination when it comes to playing God.” The Stepford Wives (2004) “explores not only Stepford wives, but Stepford husbands, Stepford towns, even a whole Stepford culture.” Superman Returns “airbrushed” Super Size Me “after watching [director] Spurlock put away 40 oz of soda every day, Jared seems like Francis of Assisi” Sweet Sweetback's Baad Assss Song “powered and driven by indignation” Switchblade Sisters “It’s no fun to see without your friends because then there’s no one to hear your clever comments.” Sylvia (2003) “haven’t I seen this movie before?” Syriana “Traffic II: This Time It’s Oil”
	The Sacrifice (1986) “If I could bring the mystical experience back into the world, then it wouldn’t be a mystical experience” The Saddest Music in the World “No one beats the Siamese when it comes to dignity, cats, or twins.” Saraband (2003) “creates the internal personal universe of a novel” Satantango “my film-snob status is now unassailable” Scarface (1983) “The World Is Yours” School of Rock “tedious, predictable affair” The Score “the machine works well, all the way to the end.” The Scorpion King “exists on a plane of brainless goofiness where everyone would much rather beat your face in than listen to your explanation.” Seabiscuit (2003) “pleasant, accessible parable about the Great Depression” Seconds “the implications of the fantastic gimmick are more important than the mechanics of the gimmick itself.” Serenity (2005) “flesh-eating space cannibals” Seven (Se7en) “killer’s motivation is not to commit evil but…to present a moral lesson.” The Seven Samurai “damn right” Shanghai Knights “the better a movie’s serious parts are, the funnier the jokes about it will be” Shrek “debunk[s] fairytales by sneaking in modern humor and irony.” Sideways (2004) “the best dram-edy of 2004.” Sin City “maze of chronologies and massive piles of plotting...gives us the sense of an inescapable nightmare...in a twisted timewarp” Signs “excruciating suspense…infinitely more terrifying by showing us almost nothing at all.” Sisters (1973) “so you want a good guilty pleasure?” Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow “a goldmine of pulp imagery” Smoke (1995) “about how valuable our spoken-of, unseen, and possibly untrue lives are to us.” Solaris (1972) “the unknown vs. man’s insatiable hunger for knowledge.” Solaris (2002) “the memories he’s been carrying…seem inaccurate now that they have come to life.” Something’s Gotta Give “what are Diane and Jack saying to each other?” Spartan (2004) “Shakespeare has iambic pentameter and Mamet has…whatever the hell he has.” Spellbound (1945) “entertaining thriller through a minefield of suppressed memories, Freudian slips, repressed sexuality, and a little Oedipal complex thrown in.” Spider-Man (2002) “doesn’t have much sense of humor about itself.” Spider-Man 2 "works more as a character study than an adventure."