Miriam Bale

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The New York Times
For 50 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 56% higher than the average critic
  • 8% same as the average critic
  • 36% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 8.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Miriam Bale's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 57
Highest review score: 100 Caucus
Lowest review score: 10 Walter: Lessons from the World's Oldest People
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 50
  3. Negative: 10 out of 50
50 movie reviews
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    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Flex Is Kings
    Because of the rote and typical way of organizing a dance movie around a contest, the pace and interest lag even though the images and characters are fascinating. Yet the film is worth watching because of the strong cinematography and the glimpses of strange beauty in the dance moves.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Miriam Bale
    Anita
    Anita is an important historical document about an event that prompted a larger cultural conversation about sexual harassment. But, perhaps more important, it conveys Ms. Hill’s journey from an accuser alone to an activist who shares with, and listens to, others.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Miriam Bale
    Himizu
    Mr. Sono uses sound, a low, grumbling noise like an earthquake, to convey this chaos. He also gives the film a harrowing cacophony and a sense of trauma with sound effects, including subtle echoes.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 80 Miriam Bale
    Guilty of Romance
    Most disturbing and fascinating is the mixture of Izumi’s liberation with her degradation in this film, which plays like a more horrific version of David Lynch’s “Mullholland Drive.”
    • 40 Metascore
    • 80 Miriam Bale
    Khumba
    A wondrous and slightly deranged story about oddballs embracing their differences.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    The End of Time
    [Mr. Mettler’s] images of galaxies, mandalas, particle accelerators and glowing red lava become his real subjects. He uses music and sound to control the pace, to slow time, as if cinema were a form of enforced meditation.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    The Great Fallacy
    Watching it feels like packing a semester-long history course with a very cool, left-leaning teacher into less than 90 minutes. The aim is wide-reaching and abstract, yet cohesive and invigorating.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 100 Miriam Bale
    Caucus
    The film is a testament to the power of observational documentary to tenderly present hypocrisy and to show eccentricity peeking out from behind social masks.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    It's Me, It's Me
    Though the film is occasionally frustrating and confusing, the modern life it is commenting on is certainly that, too.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Miriam Bale
    Sweet Dreams
    The sibling directors Lisa and Rob Fruchtman have made a nuanced and deftly edited film about a complex issue.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Miriam Bale
    The Pin
    Ms. Jaye uses sound, composition and careful patience to create a contemplative mood of memory, loss and magic. With limited resources and the power of storytelling, she has created a small film that feels mainstream and epic.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Hellbenders
    This movie has the humor and insouciant pileup of bizarre and disgustingly beautiful images of a cult classic on late-night cable.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Design Is One
    The information-rich film is enlivened by the charm of the intelligent, eccentric couple at its heart.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    The Spy: Undercover Operation
    It’s amusing, and a refreshing change from the usual C.G.I.-heavy blockbusters.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
    At times it felt as if this film might challenge Pixar’s decade-long reign, but that promise wanes. Instead, the movie is sometimes so strange, colorful and wildly cute that it may end up becoming a “Yellow Submarine” for a new generation.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Fire in the Blood
    This virtuous stance is not unusual for issue-based documentaries, but a film with such illuminating content deserves a more artful vehicle for its moving message.
    • 100 Metascore
    • 100 Miriam Bale
    Best Kept Secret
    Best Kept Secret is an exemplary documentary: It spotlights an important issue yet never seeks to squeeze the truth into an easily digestible narrative frame. Instead it expands its storytelling to the boundaries of messy, joyful and painful reality.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Devil's Pass
    The film is ridiculous and laugh-out-loud funny, though it’s sometimes hard to tell if this is intentional or not. Either way, it remains riveting because of its effective tropes.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 100 Miriam Bale
    Jajouka, Something Good Comes to You
    The film’s strange mixture of primitive and poetic images becomes etched into memory. Weaving observation and a shared dream state, this is an intuitive and intricate exploration into the feeling of sound.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 70 Miriam Bale
    Wasteland
    To borrow from a term for the gritty, working-class British dramas that this film also nods to, it’s a kitchen-sink caper.

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