The Silver Stallion AKA The Silver Brumby

The Silver Stallion AKA The Silver Brumby

Roadshow Entertainment

September 16, 1993

Drama

DVD
D+

A bit creepy.  Director John Tatoulis co-adapted the Silver Brumby novels by Elyne Mitchell.

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook

The Weinstein Company

December 25, 2012

Dramedy
DVD
D+

I tried to watch this once before, because I loved director Russell's American Hustle, but it's still a no.  This is based on the Matthew Quick novel.

A Silent Voice: The Movie

A Silent Voice: The Movie

Kyoto Animation

17 September 2016

Anime, Drama

DVD
D+

Too much bullying, with no adult interference, at least in the first quarter hour.  This is based on the manga by Yoshitoki Oima (hence "The Movie") and directed by Naoko Yamada.

Silent Movie

Silent Movie

Twentieth Century Fox

June 16, 1976

Comedy

DVD
C+

I saw this at the time and Marcel Marceau's "Non!" produced one of the biggest laughs I've ever had in a movie theater.  This time, I instead laughed at the "walking against the wind" joke, which I wouldn't have gotten at eight. Anyway, the movie is uneven, sometimes tedious, sometimes hilarious.  I think it's worth sticking with, especially if you want to count '70s "movie stars."  (I tagged as many as I was allowed, but I do have to mention I spotted a pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada.)  Brooks directed, co-wrote, and stars.

Silent Hill: Revelation

Silent Hill: Revelation

Konami etc.

October 26, 2012

Horror

DVD
D-

Unwatchable on many levels for me (including the acting), but I suppose it could've been worse.  Directed and co-written by M.J. Bassett.

The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs

Orion Pictures etc.

February 14, 1991

Crime Drama

DVD
D

I was surprised that, in the first quarter hour, Hannibal Lecter isn't necessarily the creepiest man onscreen.  This is based on the novel by Thomas Harris and directed by Jonathan Demme.

Silence

Silence

IM Global etc.

December 10, 2016

Historical Drama

DVD
D-

Despite the presence of Adam Driver, a collection of things I don't want in a movie.  Scorsese directed and co-adapted the Shūsaku Endō novel.

Sideways

Sideways

Fox Searchlight Pictures

October 22, 2004

Dramedy
DVD
D+

I was leaning towards a C- until the Giamatti character stole from his mom.  Director Alexander Payne co-adapted the Rex Pickett novel, seven years before The Descendants.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Lionsgate etc.

June 29, 2018

Crime Drama

DVD
D-

Less violent but more racist than I expected.  Stefano Sollima directed.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island

Paramount etc.

February 19, 2010

Historical Drama, Crime Drama

DVD
C-

Although this isn't my usual sort of movie, the trailer was so good I considered seeing the movie in the theater.  Watching it on DVD today, well, it's still better than many movies of its type, but not enough for me to stay tuned.  This is based on Dennis Lehane's novel and directed by Scorsese.

Shrek

Shrek

DreamWorks

May 18, 2001

Animation, Children's, Comedy, Fantasy

DVD
C-

I enjoyed this at the time, although not a lot, but it didn't really grab me now, maybe because this approach is no longer as fresh as it was then.  This is very loosely based on the William Steig picture book, and co-directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson.

Showtime

Showtime 

Village Roadshow etc.

March 15, 2002

Crime Comedy
DVD
C-

Better than I expected.  Tom Dey directed, four years before Failure to Launch.

Showgirls

Showgirls

United Artists etc.

September 22, 1995

Dramedy?

DVD

C-

Not as cheesy as I hoped.  Paul Verhoeven directed, eight years after RoboCop.

Show Boat (1951)

Show Boat (1951)

MGM

September 24, 1951

Musical, Historical Comedy, Historical Drama

DVD
D

I exclaimed, "Oh, no, Howard Keel!"  And then we cut to the happy slaves picking cotton.  Even the costumes are ugly.  But, um, it probably isn't as sexist as some of Keel's other movies?

This is based on the Kern & Hammerstein stage musical, which in turn is based on the Edna Ferber novel.  George Sidney directed.

The Show (2017)

The Show (2017)

Dobre Films etc.

September 15, 2017

Dramedy?

DVD
C-

An interesting premise derailed, surprisingly for me, less by the graphic violence than the unrealistic dialogue.  Giancarlo Esposito directed and plays Mason.

Short Term 12

Short Term 12

Cinedigm etc.

August 23, 2013

Drama

DVD
C-

Good acting but I didn't want to watch this story, written by director Destin Daniel Cretton, who gave us both Glass Castle (D) and Just Mercy (B+).

Short Cuts

Short Cuts

Fine Line Features etc.

October 1, 1993

Dramedy
DVD
C-

An interesting cast (I've tagged everyone I recognized) but it feels unfocused, medfly-spraying aside.  This is based on the writings of Raymond Carver and directed by Robert Altman.

Short Circuit

Short Circuit

Tri-Star

May 9, 1986

Sci-Fi, Comedy

DVD
C-

I didn't see this at the time but don't feel like I missed much, although the cast is somewhat interesting.  (Not that I saw everyone in a quarter hour.)  John Badham directed.

Shoplifters AKA Manbiki Kazoku

Shoplifters AKA Manbiki Kazoku

Fuji TV etc.

8 June 2018

Drama

DVD
C-

Not as depressing as it could be.  Hirokazu Koreeda directed and wrote, fourteen years after Nobody Knows AKA Dare mo Shiranai, which I liked better but also found deliberately unsettling.

Shooter

Shooter

Paramount

March 23, 2007

Action
DVD
D+

Bumped up a notch for nice mountain scenery and the laugh I got from "thirty-six months later."  This is based on Stephen Hunter's novel Point of Impact, and directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Shoot 'Em Up

Shoot 'Em Up

New Line

September 7, 2007

Action

DVD
F

Repellent on multiple levels.  Michael Davis wrote and directed.

Shock Wave

Shock Wave

Universe Entertainment etc.

20 April 2017

Action

DVD
D

Forgettable.  Herman Yau directed and co-wrote.

Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie

20th Century Fox

July 30, 1937

Historical Drama

DVD
D+

Racist of course and I didn't really care about the characters.  This is based on a Kipling short story, and directed by John Ford.

Stowaway (1936)

Stowaway (1936)

Twentieth Century Fox

December 25, 1936

Drama

DVD
C-

Not as racist as I expected, and the dog is cute.  William A. Seiter directed.

Young People

Young People

Fox

August 23, 1940

Musical
DVD
C-

I don't really understand the title.  Allen Dwan directed.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)

Fox

March 18, 1938

Musical?

DVD
C-

It feels like all they took from the Kate Douglas Wiggin novel is the title.  OK, and Shirley's optimism, but she's like that in almost every movie.  Allan Dwan directed.

Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes

Fox

December 28, 1934

Dramedy

DVD
C

I thought the awful, rich family was more interesting than Shirley and her circle, but I don't know that I'd want a whole movie with them.  David Butler directed and co-wrote.

Baby, Take a Bow

Baby, Take a Bow

Fox

June 30, 1934

Crime Drama

DVD
C-

First-billed Shirley doesn't even show up until twelve minutes in, since her character's parents have to get married six years earlier.  Harry Lachman directed.

Susannah of the Mounties

Susannah of the Mounties

20th Century Fox

June 23, 1939

Historical Drama

DVD
D+

Borderline racist, and not that interesting a story anyway, based on Muriel Denison's novel.  William A. Seiter and Walter Lang co-directed.

Just Around the Corner (1938)

Just Around the Corner (1938)

20th Century Fox

November 11, 1938
Musical
DVD
C

Interesting elements but it doesn't all hang together.  This is based on Paul Gerard Smith's short story "Lucky Penny," and directed by Irving Cummings.

Little Miss Broadway

Little Miss Broadway

Twentieth Century Fox

July 29, 1938

Musical?

DVD
D+

I just couldn't tell where they were going with this.  I mean, yes, there's probably going to be some fundraiser, but Shirley goes from being an orphan cheerfully singing about how no one will love you if you're unhappy to hanging out in the lobby of a vaudeville hotel.  Irving Cummings directed.

Heidi (1937)

Heidi (1937)

Twentieth Century Fox

October 15, 1937

Historical Drama, Musical

DVD
C+

I enjoyed this movie and the Johanna Spyri novel as a kid, but I must've reread the former more recently than I rewatched the movie, because this week I kept wishing there was more about "Blind Anna" and Peter.  And the other changes, like the chase scene, seemed to weaken the story.  Still, there's some nice acting and it's certainly one of the better Shirley T movies I've tried recently.  Allan Dwan directed.

Our Girl Shirley

Our Girl Shirley

Fox

1939ish

Comedy

DVD
C+

Reediting of a couple of the "Mary Lou" adventures, like Merrily Yours, with a new introduction, falsely claiming this is Shirley's "first picture."  Fairly entertaining, if not as much as Merrily.  Charles Lamont directed.

Merrily Yours

Merrily Yours

Educational Films Corporation of America

October 6, 1933

Comedy

DVD

B-

Yeah, I actually enjoyed this one, with Shirley playing the bratty but likable kid sister of a proto-Archie-Andrews teenage boy, but very '30s.  (And, no, not like Andy Hardy, since Sonny is actually pretty sweet.)  True, a lot of this enjoyment was laughing at rather than with the twenty-minute long-short, but it's a good-natured flick, with one of the earliest examples of the rich blond jerky rival archetype.  Lamont directed and co-wrote.

The Pie-Covered Wagon

The Pie-Covered Wagon

Jack Hays Productions

October 30, 1932

Historical Comedy
DVD
D-

This time racist against both Blacks and Native Americans.  Hays wrote, Lamont directed.

Kid "in" Africa

Kid "in" Africa

Jack Hays Productions

October 6, 1933

Comedy
DVD
F+

The worst so far, with Shirley as Madame Cradlebait trying to civilize African "cannibals," who of course capture her, and she has to be rescued by Diaperzan, whom she marries and henpecks.  Not only cringey, but there's even less plot than usual, though this is a couple minutes shorter than the other Hays shorts.  And this time Mr. Hays directed, although Lamont wrote.

Polly Tix in Washington

Polly Tix in Washington

Jack Hays Productions

June 4, 1933

Comedy
DVD
D+

Comparatively well-written, with sharper satirical elements and a more nuanced character arc for Shirley.  Still crappy, still creepy, still directed by Charles Lamont (who also wrote).

Glad Rags to Riches

Glad Rags to Riches

Jack Hays Productions

February 5, 1933

Comedy

DVD
D

Relatively funny, such as a line that goes something like "When I come back, I'll return," but still pretty creepy, especially Shirley's rendition of "She's Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage."  Charles Lamont directed again.

The Kid's Last Fight

The Kid's Last Fight

Jack Hays Productions

April 23, 1933

Sports Comedy

DVD
D

Less sexually creepy, but it does have kindergartners in a boxing match.  Charles Lamont directed again.

Kid in Hollywood

Kid in Hollywood

Jack Hays Productions

March 14, 1933

Comedy
DVD
D-

One of those cringey early Shirley shorts, here with her as a starlet named Morelegs Sweettrick, who ends up married (to the co-star who kisses her) and with a baby at the end!  The version I saw was colorized, which didn't help.  Charles Lamont directed, as he did War Babies, which I recall as less racist, although it's been awhile.

Dimples

Dimples

Twentieth Century Fox

October 16, 1936

Historical Comedy, Musical

DVD

D+

While it's interesting to see Frank Morgan pre-Wizard-of-Oz, I don't want to worry about Shirley's safety with a pickpocket grandfather.  And the music is pretty forgettable.  Still, the bits about the Depression (of the 1850s) are relatively clever.  William A. Seiter directed.

Curly Top

Curly Top

Fox

July 26, 1935

Comedy, Musical
DVD
C-

This is the first up of a Shirley Temple collection.  I'm sure I saw it (and some of the others) a bunch of times as a kid, but Shirley's cutesiness is a little hard to take now.  Still, bumped up a notch for the "Animal Crackers in My Soup" song.  This is based on Jean Webster's novel Daddy Long-Legs and directed by Irving Cummings.

She's the Man

She's the Man

DreamWorks etc.

March 17, 2006

Romcom, Sports Comedy

DVD
B-

I enjoyed this at the time and it remains entertaining, plausibility aside.  The Aughts soundtrack is good and the cast is game, pun intended.  Yes, I didn't even mind the soccer.  And it has one of the best cat-fights of its genre.  There's a lot less of Shakespeare left here than there was of Jane Austen in Clueless, and I do wish that Viola's two female friends had been given more to do, but it works, enough.  Andy Fickman directed.

Sherman's March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love In the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation

Sherman's March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love In the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation

Studio Unknown

November 13, 1985

Documentary

DVD

C-

The reviews on the case say how hilarious this is, but I just found it depressing.  Ross McElwee wrote, directed, and appears as himself.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Village Roadshow etc.

December 25, 2009

Historical Drama, Action

DVD
C-

I enjoyed this in the theater at the time, although it's not really my thing, but it didn't hold my interest now.  Guy Ritchie directed, eleven years after Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.