Rex Reed

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Observer
For 1,210 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 48% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 8.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Rex Reed's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 57
Highest review score: 100 The Light Between Oceans
Lowest review score: 0 Corporate Animals
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 602 out of 1210
  2. Mixed: 289 out of 1210
  3. Negative: 319 out of 1210
1210 movie reviews
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    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Forgiven
    The Forgiven is not a journey every viewer will want to make, but it’s a rewarding experience to watch Ralph Fiennes play the emotional subtexts of such a complicated role with such power and nuance.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    From Nowhere
    As a film, it’s uneven and clumsy, but as a responsible political statement about the chaos we live in now, it’s both enlightening and troubling.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Like Crazy
    Unlike most alleged Hollywood rom-coms, Like Crazy is delicate, uplifting and definitely worth investigating.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Georgetown
    The acting is first-rate from start to finish, but it is really Mr. Waltz who keeps the action flowing. Both demon and clown, he’s horrifying, appealing and immensely mesmerizing in a film about the pitfalls that await anyone who falls for charm while ignoring the evils that can sometimes hide behind the facade of disingenuous priorities.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Secretariat
    This is one terrific movie about one terrific horse. It enthralls on so many levels-emotional, cinematic, historic.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Black or White
    Good acting and plenty to think about, but a better director than Mike Binder would have made a better film.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
    A film five years in the making about the poisonous effects of movie fame on the young, this fascinating but dismally depressing Swedish documentary is well worth seeing, but never fully escapes the feeling that it’s all been seen before.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
    Me and Earl and the Dying Girl treats a serious subject with wackadoodle humor that is endearingly contagious. It’s tender, clever, wise and highly recommended.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Beach Rats
    The most memorable thing about it is the profoundly understated sensitivity of Harris Dickinson, a (surprisingly) British actor to keep an eye on.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    In the Name of My Daughter
    It’s a high-class thriller without a single goose bump, but between the mother, the daughter, the lawyer, the Mafia, and the investors determined to separate Renée from her money and power, there’s enough material to juggle several balls in the air at the same time.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Viper Club
    The film eschews a Hollywood happy ending in favor of bone-chilling reality, which makes Viper Club doubly relevant amid current headlines.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Mary Queen of Scots
    You go away from Mary Queen of Scots sated but exhausted. The problem, as I see it, is that in spite of director Josie Rourke’s solemnity, her passion for translating history into modern terms doesn’t always jell.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Life
    Life is not a great film, but it has its thrills.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Fury
    It never scales the cinematic heights or reaches the same groundbreaking level as "Saving Private Ryan," but it’s intensely ferocious and relentlessly rough on the senses. You’ll know you’ve been to war, and not on the Hollywood front.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Byzantium
    It’s not perfect, but when it works, Byzantium towers above all of the romantic vampire slobber we’ve been getting lately. I fear that Dracula is watching from some moldy crypt somewhere, nodding approval.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Saving Mr. Banks
    The screenplay, by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith, seamlessly captures two different eras with overlapping story lines that never intrude or confuse.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Handsome Harry
    It’s rare to see a film directed by a woman who knows more about men than they themselves do. With Handsome Harry, the widely respected independent filmmaker Bette Gordon has hit a bull’s eye.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Book Club: The Next Chapter
    The four stars deserve better material, but even they seem to enjoy themselves (and each other). Call Book Club: The Next Chapter the rare sequel that looks like an all-expense-paid vacation.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Carnage
    Scathing and funny and cynical about contemporary society and the hypocritical way we live now, Carnage may not be the dream movie I expected, but it has a dream cast of pure, unimpeachable ensemble perfection.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Mean Dreams
    Not a great film in the same vein as "Badlands" and "Pretty Poison," but a very good one that is well worth seeing.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Don't Come Back from the Moon
    I liked the sensory strengths of a movie without anything of beauty to look at, but Don’t Come Back From the Moon eventually fails to involve viewers completely because it’s about the consequences of a wasted life instead of the sorry events that lead up to one. Poignant and close, but no cigar.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Kidnap
    Berry knows how to seize the center spot and hold on tight. In Kidnap, she gets quite an exhausting workout, and so does the audience.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Magic of Belle Isle
    The Magic of Belle Isle is a warm, human, feel-good experience about bringing out the best in people, one that brings out Morgan Freeman's best performance in years.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Mudbound
    So skillfully directed, photographed and acted that it sucks you into its powerful emotional storyline from the start and holds interest to the finish. Despite its length and intricacy, you can’t call this one boring.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
    It's all about personality and Joan's inimitable style, which fills every second of its 84 minutes.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Jersey Boys
    It’s a universal, American “anyone can make it” success story that has uplifting appeal onstage, and in Mr. Eastwood’s capable hands, the joy spreads like apple butter.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Inescapable
    The remarkably expressive Mr. Siddig is sympathetic and true as the tortured father, communicating reams of emotion with his eyes, and Ms. Tomei is totally charismatic as his discarded lover who helps him out of a sense of humanity.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Top Gun: Maverick
    There is still something to be said for skillful, old-fashioned filmmaking, and director Joseph Kosinski has done plenty of it here. The result goes with popcorn like butter, and I liked it in spite of myself.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    A Fantastic Woman
    The cast is uniformly excellent, with Francisco Reyes a particularly likable beam of strength and light as the unfortunate Orlando, but the film’s great triumph is Daniela Vega, a transgender actress and singer, who makes an indelible impression in the leading role.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Pain Hustlers
    A real-life story with social issues about capitalism that is entertaining and funny while it makes you think, without being too earnest and serious.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Son
    The third and final entry in French writer-director Florian Zeller’s acclaimed trilogy of plays about conflicted family values in perpetual crisis, The Son is a bold, harrowing and unflinchingly sobering film that is admittedly not for every taste, but an unavoidably intelligent piece of filmmaking for mature viewers that I highly recommend.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Good Catholic
    The Good Catholic is a sober, thoughtful and well-made little gem about a young priest torn between his dedication to God and his sudden physical and emotional attraction to an unconventional woman who forces him to question his faith and his purpose. It’s a small film in every way, but I found it riveting.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Zookeeper's Wife
    In the end, it’s the animals who conquer the emotions and provide the suspense in The Zookeeper’s Wife.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    In the House
    There are humorous intrusions (e.g., an art show at Jeanne’s gallery that includes Nazi symbols constructed from penises), and great performances throughout.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Burnt
    A mildly entertaining but well acted, sumptuously photographed and smartly written comedy with dark undertones about culinary addiction that can only be called “delicious.” See it and then check your cholesterol.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Miracle Club
    Sweet and well-intentioned but bland and disappointing, The Miracle Club is one of those slow, meandering Irish dramas that inspire more respect than excitement.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    California Solo
    In a bravura performance that is the primary don't-miss reason for its existence, he (Carlyle) gives California Solo all he's got; even in scenes that just exist to pass the time, his presence informs the essence of the man he plays and the humanity of the film itself.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Pact
    A riveting homage to an extraordinary force as dynamic as she was unique.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Flood
    It’s not dull, you won’t dare doze, and there’s something to be said about a cast of bloodthirsty carnivores in the middle of an actor’s strike.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Last Voyage of the Demeter
    It’s pretty foreboding, loaded with atmosphere, dark as midnight and thick as a deadly fog. Also very well made and justifiably terrifying.
    • 29 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Mothers and Daughters
    It’s all so confusing that I found it next to impossible to keep up with who’s who, how they’re related to each other, and why—and I found the script too baffling and sentimental to care.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Clouds of Sils Maria
    The movie moves as slowly as the oncoming fog, but Juliette Binoche is always a pleasure to watch, despite an awkward coda set in London that I found jarring.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Morning
    Sensitively written and carefully directed with keenly observed nuance by Leland Orser, who also plays the grief-stricken husband driven to the brink of madness by the sudden death of his son, it’s a film that touches the heart with the tenderness of understatement.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Being Charlie
    The result is a film so personal you watch transfixed, caught up in a life that is constantly enthralling, with a universal appeal that extends beyond the exclusive Hills of Beverly.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Looking for Eric
    It's uneven, but its optimistic message-lost causes can find strength through friendship and bonding-is contagious.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Gangster Squad
    The best thing about Gangster Squad is how they got the 1940s accoutrements right.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Joneses
    Surprising, inventive and crisply, merrily written and directed by Derrick Borte, The Joneses is a brisk, captivating entertainment. Think Ozzie and Harriet on speed.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Legend of Tarzan
    You have to admire the sheer physical scope of this epic, even if there are no animals in it.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Little Pink House
    It’s a good story, but too slow-moving for its own good. The cast works diligently, and Keener is scrappy but calm throughout, with a convincing naturalism as a woman with tremendous strength and a powerful belief in civil rights—at a time when most women were reluctant to speak out against political corruption.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Fantastic Fungi
    The result is fascinating, informative, educational and totally entertaining.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Last Showgirl
    Sensitively directed by Francis Ford Coppola’s granddaughter, Gia Coppola, it’s a film about a familiar subject, but with a heart as big as the Vegas strip and a style of its own that holds interest from start to finish.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    King of Thieves
    British character actors are the best in the world, and King of Thieves provides a perfect example of why. Like the distaff side of today’s British royalty that includes Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins, it’s a marvel to watch Caine, Courtenay, Broadbent and Gambon go at each other with an aplomb that dazzles.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Walking Out
    Walking Out is a skillfully made thriller with a pair of very talented actors who knock themselves out, in more ways than one, to guarantee that it never becomes boring.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Way Back
    The plot may be formulaic, but there’s nothing predictable about Ben Affleck’s commitment to the role of Jack, or the subtlety and sincerity with which he plays it.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Never Look Away
    See it and prepare to be stunned and exhausted at the same time.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Kidnapping Mr. Heineken
    Anthony Hopkins plays the king of the hops, and he is excellent. So is the rest of the movie, a sober, no-frills account about the highest ransom ever collected up to that time — $10 million and counting.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Moving On
    Not a great film, but Moving On is a pleasurable enough way to kill an hour and a half without regret.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Etruscan Smile
    Sensitively directed by the Israeli duo Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, The Etruscan Smile is a perfect example of what can happen when a great, versatile and powerful actor raises familiar material above and beyond the level of mediocrity.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Speak No Evil
    Remakes are odious, but Speak No Evil, while thoroughly unneeded and unasked for, is an Americanized remake of a 2022 thriller from Denmark that services its original material well, thanks mostly to a sprawling, contradictory and totally galvanizing centerpiece performance by James McAvoy.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Black Sea
    Directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), it’s basically another tough genre workout that is all too familiar, with enough tension and violence to keep an audience alert if not riveted.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Sovereign
    Sovereign is an ambitious, above-average action thriller with the extra bonus of being a thought-provoking civics lesson.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Florida Project
    Eventually The Florida Project (the working title Disney gave to his dream in its planning stages on the drawing boards) sucks you into a world you would never otherwise know anything about.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Cake
    Depression is a tricky subject for a movie aimed at a target audience that is depressed enough already. But this one justifies its challenges to feel-good escapism through honesty and integrity.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Guest
    Turns out to be more suspenseful and keenly plotted than most, with a compelling centerpiece performance by Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) that deserves attention.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Tracks
    When it finally ended, I felt like I had traveled the distance in the next sleeping bag. It’s exhausting but exhilarating.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    All the Money in the World
    Ridley Scott does a meticulous job of unraveling myriad gruesome facts in the case, and although it’s no surprise how it all turns out, the way a complex crime is played to the final throw of the dice by opposing forces is both admirable and focused.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
    The senior set deserves a few crumpets with their tea, and Part Two, which takes up where the original left off, aims to satisfy.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Far from the Madding Crowd
    Its virtues are many and this filmed version of Hardy’s fourth novel is well worth seeing. It rises head and shoulders above most of what we’ve been seeing lately.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Flight
    My biggest problem with Flight is not the unanswered questions it raises, but the eleventh-hour epiphany just in time for a happy ending. Maybe I'm naturally cynical, but I simply don't believe that people are basically good at heart - and I don't buy into sudden salvation. Otherwise, Flight is one hell of an entertainment.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Hostiles
    Fortunately, this is a filmmaker as talented as he is brave and stubborn. Hostiles breathes fresh oxygen into a genre as old as a Confederate cough.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    Brake
    In retrospect, it's preposterous. But while you're gasping for air, it's one hell of a thrill ride, like being stuck on a malfunctioning roller coaster for an hour and a half at top speed, and unable to get off.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Bay
    Best of all, I applaud the director's triumph of intimate terror over preposterous puppets and noisy computer-generated effects. In The Bay, the mayhem is both fresh and thrilling.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    How I Live Now
    In a movie without adults, the children are spontaneous and natural. And Ms. Ronan is captivating throughout.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Deep Blue Sea
    It is quirky, dark, much maligned by feminists and too slow for some tastes, but it's a work worth seeing again, and Ms. Weisz is wonderful in it.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    The Grey
    The Grey avoids smug clichés, takes you to places you least expect and settles for no comfortable solutions, while it explores the dark shadows of the male psyche and finds more emotional fragility there than you find in the usual phony macho myths from Hollywood.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 75 Rex Reed
    5 Flights Up
    Better films about senior citizens displaced by a greedy housing market have been made. (Anyone for Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D, or Ira Sachs’ recent heartbreaker Love is Strange, about a homeless elderly gay couple?) But the humorous script by Charlie Peters (based on a novel by Jill Ciment), fluidly directed by Richard Loncraine, makes this an agreeable experience.
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