James Berardinelli

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For 4,651 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 36% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 0.4 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

James Berardinelli's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 Yojimbo
Lowest review score: 0 Feast
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,347 out of 4651
  2. Mixed: 845 out of 4651
  3. Negative: 459 out of 4651
4651 movie reviews
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    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    A Christmas Tale
    The film's success or failure depends almost entirely on a viewer's ability to relate to and become involved in the lives of the characters. We are with them for less than a week and, during that short time, we come to understand the lifetime of hurt and misunderstanding that stands between them.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Vincere
    Vincere is Ida's story, but it says as much about fascist Italy and its ruler as it does about the central character.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Starsky & Hutch
    The key to the film's success is that it uses the burned out premise as the springboard for a comedy, not an action flick.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Scream 2
    Paradoxically, there's a lot less gore. There is blood, of course, but nothing excessive by slasher-movie standards, and there are no depictions of spilled entrails. Craven has remembered that scares are more important that graphic displays of human insides and bodily fluids.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    13 Going on 30
    Solidly entertaining.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Dark Blue
    Russell is the reason to go to the theater. He will continue to hold your attention when things around him -– like the storyline -– lose steam and credibility.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
    Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is an oversized, big budget popcorn flick, with all the positives and negatives one associates with that sort of glorious but ephemeral brand of filmmaking.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Savages
    These are fascinating, three-dimensional individuals brought into the foreground by a pair of today's finest actors.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Other Boleyn Girl
    The result is an entertainingly sudsy trip through early 16th century English history.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Fracture
    Gruesomely engaging.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Kill Bill: Vol. 2
    As it currently stands, Kill Bill is a victim of its director's ego and its distributor's greed. The moments of greatness make it worth seeing, and there's certainly plenty of entertainment to be found here, but it's hard not to lament what might have been.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Illusionist
    An infectious mix of romance, mystery, and magic.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Grindhouse
    The kind of movie where it's necessary to put aside pretensions and enjoy the product on its terms, with all the sexiness, violence, gore, and camp as part of the parcel. This is three-plus hours of gleeful-but-guilty escapism.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Man on the Train
    The film doesn't have much of a narrative, and the ending is a little too mystical, but there's still plenty here to engage the attention of all but the most restless of movie-goers.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Summer Hours
    Summer Hours attracted two of France's acting luminaries, and their presence elevates the material. Charles Berling has the central role; the movie is largely told from his perspective. Juliette Binoche, with blonde hair, has a secondary part.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Hustle & Flow
    It celebrates art, hope, and dreams, and you don't have to like hip-hop to appreciate the message or the way in which it is delivered.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
    Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as Harry. He brings the right mix of cynicism, self-doubt, and unpretentiousness.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Menu
    A dark satire that skewers privilege and eviscerates the famous, the wealthy, and professional critics (gulp), this film from prolific TV director Mark Mylod takes no prisoners.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Aeronauts
    Overall, this is a well-acted peek back in history to an era when scientific and engineering techniques currently taken for granted were in their pioneering stages, impelled forward by humanity’s insatiable desire to explore and conquer new vistas.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Game
    As it's unspooling on screen, the film is hugely entertaining, but there are several significant plot holes that grow wider the more closely they're investigated.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Green Knight
    The Green Knight has its share of flaws but there’s a freshness to Lowery’s approach that demands to be noticed.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    The Quiet American
    The acting, especially by the male leads, is superlative.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Get on the Bus
    Lee's primary objective is to reflect back and offer a uniquely personal perspective of that single day last October. This viewpoint, which ultimately transcends the movie's flaws, is one of the aspects that makes for a worthwhile two hours.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    Harry Brown
    My expectation is that Harry Brown will find its strongest adherents among those who remember Caine in The Ipcress File and Get Carter and are fascinated to explore his take on how that sort of character might have aged.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 James Berardinelli
    42
    Unfortunately, the generic bio-pic structure of 42 prevents it from ever becoming something great.
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