David Sterritt

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Christian Science Monitor
For 2,253 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 0.8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

David Sterritt's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 65
Highest review score: 100 Children of Heaven
Lowest review score: 0 Barb Wire
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,242 out of 2253
  2. Mixed: 751 out of 2253
  3. Negative: 260 out of 2253
2253 movie reviews
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    • 75 Metascore
    • 67 David Sterritt
    Once Upon a Time in America
    Although substantially shortened for its United States release, this violent drama still has the feel of an epic, as director Sergio Leone explores the seamiest byways of urban Americana through the story of two gangsters who start their partnership as Brooklyn kids in 1921 and tragically end it in the late '60s. Yet the story has gaps and many of the incidents have a flatness which suggest deeper flaws than cutting and trimming probably account for. [U.S. theatrical release]
    • 85 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Before Night Falls
    Politics and humanism find an engrossing balance in this ambitious drama based on the life of Reinaldo Arenas, a gay Cuban poet who was persecuted by the homophobic Castro regime.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Taboo
    The movie's most striking assets are its lyrical visual style, which forms a silky counterpoint to the plot's turbulent emotions, and Beat Takeshi's smooth and expressive performance as a senior warrior.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    Pistol Opera
    What counts isn't the convoluted plot or exotic characters -- it's the brilliance of Suzuki's cinematic style, articulating the action with eye-boggling color and split-second editing effects.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    State and Main
    Mamet's screenplay is full of savvy satire and the cast couldn't be better.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    OT: Our Town
    Kennedy documents their efforts with skill and compassion, almost entirely avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality and victimology. He and his likable "cast" deserve a standing ovation.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Tokyo Godfathers
    The story is sweet by animé standards, although it has harsh elements as well.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    Power Trip
    Intelligent, revealing, and sometimes hilarious.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Man on the Train
    Heartfelt performances make up for some stodgy dialogue and corny moments, though. And it's nice to know some filmmakers still have a foot firmly planted in old-fashioned humanistic storytelling.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 David Sterritt
    Fever Pitch
    The story is unmemorable, but the characters are engaging and their predicaments are all too recognizable.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 50 David Sterritt
    The Flower of My Secret
    Pedro Almodovar's Spanish drama is his most involving work since the comedy "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," but its mood of ironic melancholy doesn't hold up enough to make the picture a full success.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Knafayim Shvurot
    Heartfelt acting and a sometimes tragic but ultimately life-affirming story make this an unusually touching Israeli production.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 67 David Sterritt
    Misery
    James Caan is excellent as the writer and Kathy Bates is brilliant as his captor. Unfortunately, what could have been a seamless psychological thriller is interrupted by violence that's as gratuitous as it is sadistic.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    Clean
    Can a misguided adult start afresh with a new set of values and priorities? This ambitious drama, directed by one of France's most resourceful filmmakers, explores that crucial question in depth and detail.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 83 David Sterritt
    A Cry in the Dark
    In all, A Cry in the Dark is one of the year's most engaging films, well acted (by everyone except Sam Neill, as Streep's deeply religious husband) and made with a clear sense of social awareness as well as movie-style drama. [25 Nov 1988, p.27]
    • Christian Science Monitor
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 David Sterritt
    Jing Ke ci Qin Wang
    Has a mixture of strengths and limitations often found in historical epics: lots of eye-filling action and spectacle, little in the way of psychology or human interest.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 David Sterritt
    The Cider House Rules
    Leaves out portions of John Irving's novel that would have given it more balance and perspective, but the acting by Maguire and Caine is first-rate by any standard.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Tumbleweeds
    The story is as rambling as the characters, but superb acting by McTeer and Brown goes a long way toward redeeming it.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Croupier
    Hodges and screenwriter Paul Mayersberg fill the British production with Dostoevskian ironies, and Owen is perfect as the antihero.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Girl on the Bridge
    Although the story slips into clichés despite its offbeat subject, Leconte's cinematic style is fresh and vigorous, and Auteuil remains one of France's most engaging actors.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 David Sterritt
    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
    Moviegoers deserve more than the racism, sexism, and all-purpose mayhem on view here - failings that offset the razor-sharp action and technical brilliance also visible.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 David Sterritt
    The Crucible
    Emotional, powerful, an important film to see.
    • Christian Science Monitor
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    Lost in La Mancha
    This is a sad and funny true-life tale that speaks volumes about the difficulties of independent filmmaking.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 83 David Sterritt
    El Norte
    Although the film's Guatemalan and Mexican portions include much effective storytelling, the long American episode is the most stirring.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Elizabeth
    Acted and directed with great energy and imagination.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 83 David Sterritt
    Born in Flames
    Borden artfully combines social and political commentary with story elements, character development, and enough ideological savvy to poke intelligent fun at dogmas of every stripe.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    The Beat That My Heart Skipped
    As stylish as it is suspenseful.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 David Sterritt
    Twelve Monkeys
    Bruce Willis is bruisingly good as the hero and Brad Pitt is suitably zany as the activist who dogs his trail.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Kippur
    Both a blood-churning war movie and a mind-stirring antiwar movie, focusing not on guts and glory but on the stark realities of real battlefield experience.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 David Sterritt
    Lawless Heart
    Solid acting and engaging characters round out the neatly assembled tale.
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