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Movie Archive by Letter - S
Year Movie
Gary's Rating
Michelle's Rating
In Brief....
2002 Santa Clause 2, The 64 - It's utter nonsense, of course, but it's fun, festive, feelgood nonsense and Tim Allen is as entertaining as ever.
1999 Savage Honeymoon 76 - Enjoyable for seeing a slice of NZ life at the London Film Festival
1998 Saving Private Ryan 85 65 Not just that spectacular opening sequence but a powerful told story of the changes that war forces upon men.
2000 Scary Movie 45 44 Could have been brilliant, but is instead a lazy mish mash of easy gags.
2004 Scary Movie 3 38 - Occasionally funny, but mostly excrutiatingly cheap and nasty spoof of several recent horror movies. Having David 'Airplane' Zucker on board as director as done nothing to improve the wit of this franchise.
2003 School of Rock 78 81 Infectious silliness as Jack Black's wannabe rock star slacker somehow ends up training a class of posh school kids for a 'Battle of the Bands'. The story is predictable but Black's zany antics are just hilarious. Dust off that air guitar and rock out, man!
2002 Scooby Doo 58 52 Mostly juvenile but Lillard's Shaggy is scarily spot on.
2001 Score, The 66 60 Formulaic but entertaining nonetheless.
2002 Scorpion King, The 61 - "The Rock" wields his wrestling muscle in ancient Egypt.
1997 Scream 63 40 The movie that breathed new life into the usually awful teen slasher genre.
1951 Scrooge 70 - Perhaps the best rendition of Dicken's oft-retold Christmas fable.
2003 Seabiscuit 69 77 Unashamedly feel-good movie of how a down and out jockey, a loony horse whisperer, and a car salesman turn a lazy nag into a superstar. A must-see for equestrian fans, think 'Chariots of Fire' but with horses.
2003 Secretary 56 68 Quite bizarre movie chronicling the unorthodox relationship between a smalltown lawyer and his decidedly odd personal assistant.
1998 Seige, The 52 43 Surprising dull 'thriller' considering the star power on display.
2002 Serendipity 63 72 Harmless fluff featuring the mighty John Cusack and the lovely Kate Beckinsale.
2000 Shaft 59 62 Disappointingly ordinary resurrection of the 'Man' who was not as legendary as everyone thinks they remember. Jackson is all style but that's about all.
1999 Shakespeare in Love 68 76 Above average film, lifted to undeserved glory by its sweep of the Oscars.
2002 Shallow Hal 51 52 Predictably low brow affair that is only saved by Jack Black's one liners and seeing Gwynneth in the fat suit.
2003 Shanghai Knights 77 70 Brainless hi-jinks as the Shanghai Noon boys head to old London town. But Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan make sure it is hilarious fun from start to finish.
2000 Shanghai Noon 76 75 The always dynamic Jackie Chan teams up with the always funny Owen Wilson in this Wild West action comedy.
1999 She's All That 84 64 Easily the best thing ever to feature either Freddie Prinze jr or Rachael Leigh Cook, this rehash of the My Fair Lady story gets everything just about right.
2002 Shipping News, The 60 55 A classic example of a movie that knows that the book must have been much better.
2001 Shrek 70 70 Plenty of great scenes and great animation but the too patchy to rate higher.
2002 Signs 69 - Another smart thriller from the inventive M. Night Shyamalan.
1999 Simple Plan, A 60 56 Brotherly disputes in the dreary snow.
1999 Simply Irresistible 26 - Sarah Michelle Gellar finds a magic crab and becomes a great chef. Simply terrible - has to be seen to be believed.
1999 Sixth Sense, The 82 75 One of the best directorial debuts of all time - will it survive the test of time to become a classic?
1998 Sliding Doors 76 90 Clever concept with Paltrow and Hannah in understated good form.
1999 Sleepy Hollow 61 72 Atmospheric enough, but the acting is a bit too wooden to carry it off.
2000 Snatch 68 56 Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrells Part II - nothing more, nothing less.
1997 Snowriders 60 60 Stunning scenery and snowboarding stunts.
2003 Solaris 57 62 Soderbergh and Clooney remake old Russian sci-fi sleeper. Thought provoking but strangely lacking in emotion.
1950 Some Like It Hot 52 - Vastly overrated comedy classic, which in my humble opinion, has aged terribly.
1999 South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut 61 59 Funny stuff, but feels 'stretched'. Stick to the TV.
2000 Space Cowboys 68 63 Venerable old actors poke fun at themselves (and the space program).
1998 Spiceworld 51 - Not as bad as it should have been (which isn't saying much).
2002 Spiderman 68 62 Spectacular stuff and cool ending - but how on earth did it make so much money?
2003 Spirited Away 69 64 Little girl defies overwhelming odds to triumph over adversity in weird fantasy world. Think Alice in Wonderland meets The Wizard of Oz. Charming and clever but a tad over-rated. Maybe something was lost in the translation from Japanese to English.
2003 Spy Kids 3D: Game Over 65 - The storyline is incomprehensible (something like Tron meets The Matrix) and the 3D glasses are hard work, but otherwise this is all sly jokes, crazy cameos, and loopy childish fun.
1996 Star Trek: First Contact 88 - My all time favourite Star Trek movie. Resistance is futile.
2003 Star Trek: Nemesis 70 64 Not the event that Trek movies used to be, but stil enjoyable sci-fi fun.
1998 Star Trek: Insurrection 60 - Number Nine fulfills the standard that the odd numbered Star Trek movies are weaker than the others.
1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture 73 - The original Star Trek movie brings back all the magic of the TV series (before the actors all got too old). A classic story where the 'search for new life' turns up a surprising twist.
1977 Star Wars 97 - One day, I'll write the full review, but in the meantime, this continues to reign supreme as the ultimate science fiction epic classic.
1998 Starship Troopers 62 57 Surprisingly not terrible, mainly as it makes sure not to take itself too seriously.
2004 Starsky & Hutch 72 - Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller resurrect the classic 1970s crimefighters on the big screen. This film takes itself much less seriously than the original but these two are the among funniest guys around at the moment, so the laughs come thick and fast.
2001 State and Main 83 69 Brilliant satire of the movie industry with yet another fabulous character performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman.
1998 Stepmom 68 65 Soppy as hell, but it's tough not to be moved by Roberts and Sarandon in this tear jerker.
2001 Stickmen 81 78 Classic Kiwi comedy as a bunch of likely lads meet their match in the pool hall.
2000 Stir of Echoes 63 65 OK supernatural thriller that suffered from inevitable comparison with The Sixth Sense.
1999 Straight Story, The 80 - Fantastically sentimental true story of old guy riding lawnmower halfway across the USA. More poignant given subsequent death of star Richard Farnsworth.
2000 Stuart Little 61 60 Hard to dislike this kiddie flick given great effects and comic timing of Michael J. Fox.
1999 Summer of Sam 64 70 Depressing but powerful story of real-life serial killer rampage.
2002 Sum of All Fears, The 71 58 Despite the horrendous inconsistencies with the other Jack Ryan movies, this is a suitably effective action outing.
2003 S.W.A.T. 62 61 Standard-issue non stop action thriller with LAPD special team on the trail of a not overly resourceful foreign villain. The ever present Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson provide the star-power
2002 Sweet Home Alabama 58 78 Only another sparkling turn by the reliable Reese Witherspoon saves this inconsequential rom-com from bottom shelf mediocrity.
2002 Sweetest Thing, The 41 68 The stinkest thing.
2001 Swordfish 60 65 Hacker thriller that will be remembered mainly for Halle Berry sunbathing and 'that' hacking scene.
         
 
Last Updated 29 October 2004

 

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