Mark Caro

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Chicago Tribune
For 284 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 45% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 5 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Mark Caro's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 61
Highest review score: 100 City of God
Lowest review score: 0 The Real Cancun
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 154 out of 284
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 284
  3. Negative: 52 out of 284
284 movie reviews
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    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Mark Caro
    Bloody Sunday
    By re-imagining a pivotal, terrible 24 hours, Greengrass has made a must-see film that is timely - and timeless.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Mark Caro
    Capturing the Friedmans
    The more you learn, the more questions you have about life in that Great Neck house. Leo Tolstoy wrote that "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own fashion," but not even he could have invented the Friedmans.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Drumline
    That it's got a positive message may strike some as decidedly not "edgy" -- but they should be too busy stomping their feet to notice.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Miracle
    While the movie's heroes lay everything on the line, Miracle is too content to skate along the surface.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Finding Forrester
    It's rare to see a movie that takes such joy in the power of words, not to create lofty works of art but to effect the simple, necessary translation of what's in one's heart and mind.
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 46 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Breakin' All the Rules
    Isn't exactly a good movie, but it turns out not to be bad, either. It's a romantic comedy that strains to be screwball but at least is likable.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Joy Ride
    There's good pulp and bad pulp, and for most of its duration, Joy Ride is quality stuff.
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Mystery Men
    They're a ragtag assembly for sure, and the results aren't pretty. But on a simple mission of entertainment, they get the job done.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Manic
    This clear-eyed, low-budget drama is populated by troubled teens whose stories aren’t packaged in neat little bows. Their histories are sad, their feelings raw, their futures uncertain.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 88 Mark Caro
    About a Boy
    It's funny, moving and true, and it respects the audience's intelligence as much as the characters'. That combination, no matter the movie's label, deserves to be treasured.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Intermission
    If Intermission isn't profound, it's got boisterous humor and energy, with U2's rollicking "Out of Control" leading the charge. Given the grimness of many Irish tales, Intermission represents less of a pause than a burst into a fresh direction.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    The Cat's Meow
    The movie leaves us with the image of rich folks frantically dancing the Charleston because if they stop, they'll have nothing. The point is as untrue as it is simplistic.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Quadrophenia (re-release)
    Plays more like a gritty, episodic British independent film powered by a soundtrack of Who songs that illuminate the main character's turbulent emotions.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Cold Mountain
    This Civil War epic romance is exquisitely shot, lovingly designed and populated with talented name actors. In terms of pedigree and sheer, lush filmmaking, the movie has class written all over it. And that's part of the problem.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Boiler Room
    For a movie that begins so intriguingly, Boiler Room becomes boilerplate all too quickly.
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 30 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    The Butterfly Effect
    Kutcher delivers a credibly serious performance as Evan, and he's surrounded by a skilled supporting cast.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    The Shape of Things
    LaBute never loses sight of what shape he wishes this crafty story to take. In the end, his aim is true.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Spy Game
    If you like Redford, Spy Game will be a real treat: a fast electric thriller full of the old Sundance charm and pizzazz.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    A Mighty Wind
    The tweaking here feels affectionate, yet you soon suspect that these subjects make for awfully easy pickings.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Romeo Is Bleeding
    At its best moments, Romeo Is Bleeding actually is the wickedly funny, violent black comedy it purports to be. [4 Feb 1994, p.C2]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    All the Real Girls
    A small movie about big emotions, with Green capturing the rush of love and sting of heartbreak with great vividness.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Mark Caro
    The Royal Tenenbaums
    More flat-out funny than "Rushmore," but in neither film is the humor joke-based. What you're laughing at is the behavior of characters who are so fixed in their idiosyncratic worldviews that they can't help but careen into each other like out-of-control bumper cars.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 88 Mark Caro
    Iron Monkey
    The characters may be speaking Chinese, but such rousing entertainment needs no translation.
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    She's So Lovely
    An offhanded, dizzy tale of uncompromising love in a wobbly world. Its main characters often can't see or stand up straight, but they never lose sight of that one person who occupies their hearts. [29 Aug 1997, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Insomnia
    Smart and well-crafted, and it boasts complex characters, effective star turns and evocative photography of a small Alaskan town in summertime, when the sun never sets. It's a solid Hollywood thriller.
    • 36 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    Abandon
    The biggest surprise may be what the filmmaker doesn't show; he withholds a big dramatic payoff, so the audience must fill in the blanks.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 75 Mark Caro
    It Runs in the Family
    Never quite transcends its movie-of-the-week trappings. But either you're glad to have spent time with these three generations or you aren't. Bottom line: I was.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 88 Mark Caro
    In America
    Family life rarely is portrayed with such warmth, clarity and vibrancy as in In America.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Shrek
    Alternately sweet and mean, sophisticated and vulgar, witty and base, dazzling and ugly, charming and charmless.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 63 Mark Caro
    Clay Pigeons
    The movie seems so convinced of its own entertainment value that it has neglected to factor in the elements that make a comedic thriller more than just a facile exercise -- i.e., suspense, tension, heart. Being amused by plot turns is not the same as caring, and Clay Pigeons never inspires you to grab your armrest or catch your breath. [25 Sept 1998]
    • Chicago Tribune
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