Derek Elley

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Variety
For 400 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 45% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 52% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 3.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Derek Elley's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 62
Highest review score: 100 Atonement
Lowest review score: 10 Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 199 out of 400
  2. Mixed: 178 out of 400
  3. Negative: 23 out of 400
400 movie reviews
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    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    Mr. Bean's Vacation
    This is a thoroughly Euro bedmate to the 1997 "Bean," with the Gauls rather than the Yanks as the butt of Bean's bumblings.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    Yat luk che
    An utterly charming retro romancer set against a background of '70s movie going. Full of lovely touches and well-etched performances, and flawed only by a bland male lead.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 50 Derek Elley
    The Burning Plain
    Many of the weaknesses and few of the strengths of Guillermo Arriaga as a scripter are evident in his directing debut, The Burning Plain.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    Buzz
    Film traverses Buzz's career with reasonable depth, helped by good-quality trailers from several pics. However, one suspects there are a lot more stories Buzz could tell in a more rigorous format.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 10 Derek Elley
    The Specials
    A vulgar, Z-grade variant on last year's "Mystery Men" for those who didn't get their fill the first time around.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    Blind Shaft
    Has a low-key power that comes as much from its off-handed approach to the dark material as from any manipulative techniques.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    Kal Ho Naa Ho
    Another slam-dunk from vet producer Yash Johar.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul
    One of the world's great cities comes vibrantly alive through its music and musical denizens in Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
    A good-looking but slim confection that's short on the multi-characterisation and sense of entwined destinies that mark the great Lelouch sagas.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 90 Derek Elley
    Happy Together
    Maverick director Wong Kar-wai manages to pour old wine into new jars with Happy Together, a fizzy chamber yarn about two gay Hong Kongers in Argentina that's as slim as a bamboo flute but is his most linear and mature work for some time.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 10 Derek Elley
    Fleeing by Night
    An embarrassing failure at almost every level.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    The Ninth Day
    A thoughtfully written drama of ideas with vivid performances by August Diehl and Ulrich Matthes.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    I've Loved You So Long
    A movie that is utterly engrossing despite being, on the surface, about very little.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    The President's Last Bang
    South Korean cinema finally gets its first full-blown political satire with The President's Last Bang, a virtuoso slice of sustained black humor.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    Sunflower
    With a commanding performance by Sun Haiying as the unbending, ornery father, and a glammed-down Joan Chen remarkable as the boy's devoted mom, pic serves up solid dramatic values instead of being yet another panorama of social and political changes in China during the late 20th century.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    The Girl from Monaco
    A generally entertaining piece of fluff that's kept afloat by a weathered cast including Fabrice Luchini and Roschdy Zem.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    The Snapper
    There’s plenty of unvarnished, off-the-wall Irish humor, especially in the ensemble scenes of family life and boozy barroom chat, plus real warmth beneath the rough one-liners.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 30 Derek Elley
    Funny Games (2008)
    As shocking and deliberately manipulative as the original movie and -- some may reckon -- even more pointless.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 80 Derek Elley
    The Exorcism of Emily Rose
    Some genuine shocks punctuate The Exorcism of Emily Rose, an unusually intelligent genre item that manages to mix full-bore horror with courtroom drama.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    The Descent
    The chills and spills keep comin' to agreeable effect in Brit-made scarefest The Descent.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 90 Derek Elley
    Butterfly Kiss
    From its opening shots, Butterfly Kiss exudes a confidence and distinctive feel that promises something rather special. Unlike its characters, the pic knows where it's going.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 50 Derek Elley
    A Life Less Ordinary
    Part kooky romance, part screwball comedy, part quirky fantasy and part Roadrunner cartoon, this is a movie that has everything except an involving storyline and characters.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    Saawariya
    A really small movie done up in a big, moody package, Saawariya entices, fitfully springs to life but finally outstays its welcome by a good half-hour.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    Flowers of Shanghai
    Gorgeously mounted, but butt-numbingly slow.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 30 Derek Elley
    Lucky Break
    Chained to the floor by a script that isn't particularly funny, direction that goes for realism rather than stylization and an almost complete lack of comic timing.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 90 Derek Elley
    The Queen
    Tradition and informality collide -- and mutually benefit -- in the deliciously written and expertly played The Queen.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Derek Elley
    The Seagull's Laughter
    A sprightly, enjoyable comedy-drama from veteran Agust Gudmundsson that's buoyed by a raft of excellent distaff performances.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 60 Derek Elley
    Stella Street
    A hip comic curio.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 50 Derek Elley
    S21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine
    There's no shortage of existing docus on the subject, and Panh's doesn't bring either a fresh enough angle or enough new material to the table to justify its length.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 40 Derek Elley
    Bitter Moon
    Four years after Frantic, Roman Polanski approaches rock bottom with Bitter Moon, a phony slice of huis clos drama between two couples aboard a Euro ocean liner. Strong playing by topliner Peter Coyote can't compensate for a script that's all over the map and a tone that veers from outre comedy to erotic game-playing.
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