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Movies / On DVD / The Skulls
The Skulls

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The Skulls (2000)

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Reviews Counted:83

Fresh:6

Rotten:77

Average Rating:3/10

Consensus: The Skulls is full of nonsense and empty of good script and plot.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: At a top Ivy League college, a prestigious secret society has begun recruiting new members. One of their selections is Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a local working-class boy and star of the crew... At a top Ivy League college, a prestigious secret society has begun recruiting new members. One of their selections is Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a local working-class boy and star of the crew team. After a dangerous and arcane induction ceremony, Luke and other young men are welcomed into the Skulls, an elite fraternity with two former presidents and numerous powerful and important men as members. Luke enjoys his newfound privileges, which include fancy cars, money, and admittance to the law school of his choice. But when Luke's best friend and editor of the school newspaper goes investigating into the Skulls' inner sanctum and winds up mysteriously dead, Luke believes there may be sinister forces at work. Luke tries to quit the Skulls, refusing to go along with a cover-up involving the wealthy Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker), son of the Skulls' president, and soon ominous forces are threatening not only Luke but his girlfriend, Chloe (Leslie Bibb). But can Luke get away from the Skulls, or is he a part of them forever? THE SKULLS is a creepy blending of conspiracy thriller ideas, based on the actual Skull & Bones Fraternity at Yale, which included screenwriter John Pogue as a member. [More]

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Leslie Bibb

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Leslie Bibb, Hill Harper, Steve Harris, Christopher McDonald, Jenn Melino, William L. Petersen

Director: Rob Cohen

Director: Rob Cohen
Screenwriter: John Pogue
Producer: Neal H. Moritz, John Pogue
Composer: Randy Edelman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Skulls

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Gleefully plunges through the silliness with remarkable conviction; there's a thrill to be had. Time and money are rarely wasted in such entertaining and inoffensive ways.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
03/24/01
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

The story looks promising up to a point, but then it gets downright silly with a series of car chases and improbable coincidences.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/01/01
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

A mindless thriller.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

The Skulls is such a generic, automatic-pilot movie -- seemingly stitched together out of disconnected outtakes from the USA Network archive.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

A good movie gets you hooked by introducing a fascinating story, likeable characters or thrilling action. The Skulls has none of these.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

When material is this silly, you're better off making fun of it than going down the solemnly ridiculous path Jackson chooses.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

A secret society so powerful it can get away with murder. A secret society so exclusive it firebrands everyone who joins with its mark. A secret society so secret... it has a big logo up on top of the building!?

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

The writing is so bad that it's impossible not to laugh out loud at scenes intended to be scary or serious.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

The Skulls is less interested in politics than in profitably flattering the suspicions and resentments of its intended teenage audience.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Some movies are moron movies without seeming to know it, which can be charmingly pathetic or just dumbfounding.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

This movie never really gets off the ground.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

A youth-oriented mystery programmer about as deep as a fraternity punchbowl.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

Dull and oddly outdated, only the lush photography by Hurlbut, accentuating its gorgeous Toronto-based setting, saves the picture from being a surefire cure for insomniacs.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Every moment of The Skulls is just as idiotic as it sounds.

Full Review Source: NUVO Newsweekly | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Johnson-Ott
Edward Johnson-Ott
NUVO Newsweekly

A movie populated entirely by stupid people doing stupid things, yet it somehow escapes being anything more than mildly irritating.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Director Rob Cohen has crafted a bouncing escape yarn stocked with sharp twists and twisted characters.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
F.X. Feeney
F.X. Feeney
Mr. Showbiz

An utterly boneheaded movie."

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
01/01/00
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

It's better than you expect going in, but not quite good enough to leave you with more than a vaguely pleasant, vaguely disappointed aftertaste.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gemma Files
Gemma Files
eye WEEKLY

Irredeemably knuckleheaded teen-targeted tosh.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
01/01/00
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

To explain the number of things wrong with The Skulls would require more space than is available and more time than can be spared.

comment Comment
01/01/00
George Thomas
George Thomas
Beacon Journal
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

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