Carla Meyer
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Film Critic, San Francisco Chronicle
The Friend (2024)
84%
3/4
“The directors restrain themselves from drawing too much comedy from the obvious size difference between their two leads.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Apr 3, 2025
Full Review
Hard Truths (2024)
95%
3/4
“Much like real life, Leigh’s unscripted, mostly improvised movies do not offer easy answers. ” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Jan 15, 2025
Full Review
Wolf Man (2025)
50%
1.5/4
“The film moves from quietly morose to spectacularly cheesy via special effects that split the difference between Chaney’s heyday and today, landing somewhere near 1980s Roger Corman.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Jan 15, 2025
Full Review
Wicked (2024)
87%
4/4
“For all its "wow" factors, "Wicked" is also achingly heartfelt...” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Nov 19, 2024
Full Review
Martha (2024)
89%
“Stewart’s impeccable instincts — and how successfully she has employed them — are too inherently fascinating a topic for “Martha” to ever truly bore.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 28, 2024
Full Review
Smile 2 (2024)
86%
3/4
““Smile 3” is probably already in the works, but Finn’s demented artistry has me looking further ahead, to his own “Megalopolis” 50 years from now.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 17, 2024
Full Review
Woman of the Hour (2023)
91%
3/4
““Woman of the Hour,” Anna Kendrick’s tense, insightful directing debut, re-centers the narrative on Alcala’s victims and the rampant misogyny that suffused the 1970s.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 17, 2024
Full Review
Lonely Planet (2024)
40%
2/4
“The movie also flirts with xenophobia... But “Lonely Planet” will not be remembered for either of those elements. It will be for showing that Laura Dern, unequivocally and in every regard, can still get it.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 11, 2024
Full Review
It's What's Inside (2024)
79%
2/4
“... Everybody knows gawking at being in someone else’s skin is a body-swap movie prerequisite. These are just dull people who happen to be in a visually adventurous film. ” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 3, 2024
Full Review
House of Spoils (2024)
40%
2/4
“As the creepiness inevitably pervades the chef’s mental state like weeds in a garden, DeBose’s performance becomes less steady. Yet the actor deserves much of the credit for the film maintaining tension.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 1, 2024
Full Review
Speak No Evil (2024)
83%
1.5/4
“For more than half of its nearly two-hour length, it plays more like the James McAvoy variety hour — which can be highly enjoyable if you do not mind one actor being the entire show.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Sep 11, 2024
Full Review
The Deliverance (2024)
34%
1/4
“As “Exorcist” knockoffs go, “The Deliverance” is at least highly pedigreed.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Aug 28, 2024
Full Review
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat (2024)
65%
2/4
“As it speeds toward conclusion, Supremes also stops subverting its more maudlin aspects, allowing a descent into soap operatic moments. The tone shift is so stark as to suggest the movie has been interfered with creatively...” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Aug 22, 2024
Full Review
Jackpot! (2024)
31%
2/4
“Awkwafina and Cena share an authenticity that can withstand the artificiality pervading this comedy hinging on the idea of a “Purge”-like “grand lottery”...” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Aug 14, 2024
Full Review
Thelma (2024)
98%
3/4
““Thelma” always emphasizes seniors’ capabilities, not their limits.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Jun 18, 2024
Full Review
Babes (2024)
88%
2.5/4
““Babes” offers keen insights into pregnancy, parenting and longtime friendships, although many get lost in the movie’s bodily function-joke jamboree.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
May 16, 2024
Full Review
Mother of the Bride (2024)
13%
2/4
“The whole cast is likable and the scenery lovely, making this only the second-worst Shields beach movie, after “The Blue Lagoon.”” –
San Francisco Chronicle
May 9, 2024
Full Review
Frida (2024)
89%
3/4
“Distinguishes itself by using the artist’s own words — largely taken from Kahlo’s illustrated diary — to tell her story.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Mar 12, 2024
Full Review
Mean Girls (2024)
69%
3/4
“The songs are mid and some story elements aged like Juicy Couture, but the acting and singing are totally fetch in the new movie musical version of “Mean Girls.”” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Jan 10, 2024
Full Review
The Color Purple (2023)
81%
2.5/4
“A flawed film with some bright spots...” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Dec 19, 2023
Full Review
Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023)
77%
3/4
““Sitting in Bars with Cakes” captures that special time in one’s 20s when stamina, optimism and a first infusion of disposable income make going out to bars seem like a mandate.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Sep 7, 2023
Full Review
Talk to Me (2023)
94%
2/4
““Talk to Me” puts kids, and animals, in danger without enough corresponding filmmaking finesse.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Jul 26, 2023
Full Review
The Little Mermaid (2023)
67%
2/4
““The Little Mermaid” origin story lacks room for this more feminist take. It simply is not deep enough.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
May 22, 2023
Full Review
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
99%
4/4
“Filmgoers of all ages will benefit from the movie’s direct yet often lighthearted approach to this topic.” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Apr 25, 2023
Full Review
Judy Blume Forever (2023)
95%
3/4
“The filmmakers’ un-critical approach ultimately matters little. What’s not to love, after all, about a writer who created relatable portraits of girlhood for young readers before Title IX was enacted?” –
San Francisco Chronicle
Apr 20, 2023
Full Review
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