V.A. Musetto

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New York Post
For 1,284 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 49% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 48% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 2.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

V.A. Musetto's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 Lorna's Silence
Lowest review score: 0 Controlled Chaos
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 834 out of 1284
  2. Mixed: 254 out of 1284
  3. Negative: 196 out of 1284
1284 movie reviews
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    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Shit Year
    A protegé of Gus Van Sant, Archer -- who also makes short films and music videos -- has a wild imagination he has trouble harnessing. He doesn't know the meaning of "too much." But Barkin, in short, blond hair, is superb, as usual, and Aaron Platt's cinematography is stunning. Here's hoping Archer gets his s - - t together in feature No. 3.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    36 vues du Pic Saint Loup
    If you want an introduction to the director's work, you're better off with "La Belle Noiseuse" (1991) and his masterpiece, "Celine and Julie Go Boating" (1974).
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Inheritance
    The Inheritance has a promising start but soon becomes preachy and melodramatic.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Life, Translated
    A sweet comedy with a bright cast and few surprises, the film did well in China, where it was aimed at teenagers. Since Hilary Duff isn't in the cast, its success probably won't cross over to America.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
    Glosses over the depression and alcoholism that have bedeviled Walker as well as any relationships he might have had. But that doesn't make the film any less interesting.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Life in a Day
    It's a clever concept that should play well on TV and the Internet. But as a big-screen movie, Life in a Day -- which lists brothers Tony and Ridley Scott as producers -- elicits a shrug and a question: Who cares?
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Universe of Keith Haring
    The film is loving but shallow.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Big Man Japan
    At nearly two hours, Big Man Japan is clever (in a sick sort of way) but overlong. It needs judicious editing -- more mockumentary, fewer superhero antics.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Princesas
    Starts as a serious examination of the two women's lives, but it descends into a mushy melodrama complete with schmaltzy music and dewy cinematography.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Matthew Barney: No Restraint
    Pleasant enough, with funny moments.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Highway Courtesans
    Brabbee, artistic director of the Nantucket Film Festival, is to be commended for her dedication to this project, but the film isn't hefty enough for a theatrical release. Public TV would be a better showcase.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Sukiyaki Western Django
    Darkly funny (par for the course with Miike), visually stunning and full of references to other films.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Bon voyage
    Things move so swiftly and confusingly that there's little time to explore any of the people in depth. Less style and more substance is definitely called for.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Changing Times
    It's always enjoyable watching Depardieu and Deneuve, but they deserve better material than they've been given by Techine.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
    Hugh Jackman appears briefly as Sophia's Aussie boyfriend, and gets to perform a lively song-and-dance number. But for some strange reason, his name isn't in the credits.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Sharkwater
    Delivers an important message, and its underwater photography is breathtaking. But Stewart lessens the impact by focusing much too much on himself. Did he really have to go into detail about his own health problems? This should be a movie about sharks, not Stewart.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Seducing Doctor Lewis
    The movie is no more than a TV sitcom stretched to feature length. All that's missing is the laugh track.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Monsieur N.
    The film tends to be pretentious and melodramatic; and Grant, better suited to comic roles, gives a heavy-handed performance.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Life, Above All
    A downer that too often resorts to melodrama.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
    If you're going to make a documentary about Leonard Cohen, the singer-songwriter, you should have him perform some of his better-known melodies, like "Suzanne."
    • 36 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Shwaas
    An old-fashioned soaper that will please or not, depending on a viewer's tolerance for schmaltz.
    • 34 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Loudmouth Soup
    The director, Queens-born Adam Watstein, who also edited and co-produced, deserves credit for making a film with modest resources.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    White Wedding
    An affable comedy that, unfortunately, has too many characters and subplots for its own good. The film also could do without the stereotypical character of a gay wedding planner who is supposed to be funny -- but is just embarrassing and clichéd.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs - The Iraqi Connection
    Despite some fancy editing, Forget Baghdad is forgettable.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    My Mother Likes Women
    PAGING Pedro Almodovar! We have a movie badly in need of your help.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Unconscious
    An overdone sex comedy.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Young Goethe in Love
    Young Goethe looks great, and the cast is appealing. But the story is riddled with clichés and fabrications.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Vivere
    You can't quarrel with the lensing and acting, but the overabundance of coincidences keeps Vivere from reaching its full potential.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Skin
    The direction is never more than conventional, with a tear-inducing finale better suited to a TV soap opera.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Here and There
    Borderline clichéd, and it makes getting a US visa seem way too easy. But I can think of much worse ways to spend an hour and a half than watching this absurdist comedy.
    • 18 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Cupid's Mistake
    For one thing, it goes on too long. But it looks good, the cast is perky.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Wild Blue Yonder
    Wavers between (sometimes) brilliant and (mostly) boring. But it would be wrong to call it a failure.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan
    Johnny Depp puts in a cameo declaring that "most Americans believe the clichés about Gypsies." Unfortunately, the well-intentioned film never gets beyond clichés itself.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
    Riding Alone features a moving performance by Takakura (often called the Asian Clint Eastwood), as well as pretty cinematography. But the mushy script, co-written by Zhang, never rises above that of a TV soap opera.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Days of Glory
    Days of Glory has good intentions and a well-executed combat scene, but it could do with more originality.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Soul Kitchen
    There are moments of fun (an aphrodisiac-laced dessert, for example), but generally the humor seems warmed-over.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Black Butterflies
    The script is cliché-ridden and ends on an overly sentimental note.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    A Somewhat Gentle Man
    A slim story that becomes schmaltzy at the end.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Two in the Wave
    An interesting but flawed look at the birth of the French New Wave.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Lottery
    The film has no ready answers, although it becomes abundantly clear that both those for and against charter schools are more concerned with covering their own asses than with helping students get a quality education.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Hiding Divya
    Under writer-helmer Rehana Mirza, the acting and direction are workmanlike, but the plot is full of hackneyed characters and contrived events better suited to TV than the big screen.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Irene in Time
    Has some witty dialogue and sprightly performances by Karen Black, Andrea Marcovicci, Victoria Tennant and others.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Gift to Stalin
    Beautifully filmed and well-acted, "The Gift to Stalin," directed by Rustem Abdrashev, has its schmaltzy, cliched moments, including an unnecessary finale in Jerusalem.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Zebraman
    It pains me to report that his Zebraman is a disappointment.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    One Swallow Brought Spring
    Carion, in his feature debut, means well, and his characters are lovable. But the plot is so predictable and sentimental that viewers are likely to lose interest before Sandrine and her goats walk off into the sunset.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Autoerotic
    Trouble is, the movie is only sporadically funny, and the concept soon grows tiresome. In fact, you could say that there's too much downtime in Autoerotic.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Ip Man
    If you're looking for great action scenes, you've found them. But if you desire more than eye candy, such as character and plot development and historical accuracy, you'll have to look elsewhere.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Bread, My Sweet
    You know exactly how this thing is going to turn out before it's even half over.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    My Blueberry Nights
    The biggest problem is Wong's decision to cast Norah Jones as Elizabeth, a New Yorker who hits the road after a love affair goes bad. Jones, in her first movie, can't act. (There, I said it!)
    • 47 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    24 Hours on Craigslist
    Loads of fun, especially if you use the site yourself. But it plays too much like a paid ad.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
    All this is loads of fun, but after a while sensory overload sets in, dulling the mind. Even in a kung-fu flick, more isn't always better.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Conquest
    The film opens with a disclaimer: "Although based on real events and people, this is a work of fiction." There should be another warning: Unless you're up to date on French politics, a lot of Googling is needed to follow the players.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Loot
    Less an adventure yarn than a character study of two old guys with fading memories and improbable dreams.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Foreign Sister
    Wolman gets his point across, but he does so in such a predictable, contrived and sappy manner that viewers aren't likely to care. And the final plot twist is a cop-out.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Let Fury Have the Hour
    The film is one-sided and at times unfocused, but it makes a lot of sense politically.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Light from the East
    Of historical interest, although a more experienced filmmaker would have made more of the sudden rush of events - and avoided the temptation to put himself or herself into nearly every frame, as Grappell does.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Kaboom
    Call it "The Doom Generation II." Gregg Araki's Kaboom returns to the trippy ways of his 1995 erotic head trip.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Exterminating Angels
    Brisseau obviously aims to shock - and he does. Now shocking is A-OK with me - but only if it's part of a something bigger. Exterminating Angels is beautifully lensed and acted, but it lacks substance.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    In Paris
    Make a movie about depressed people, and what do you get? A depressing movie.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Oyster Farmer
    There are the makings of a funny movie here, but novice director-writer Anna Reeves isn't up to the job. While her cast is talented, Reeves doesn't concentrate long enough on any plotline or character to build viewer interest.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Go for Zucker
    Go for Zucker was a smash back home, where it was hailed as the first German comedy about Jews since World War II. But it will take more than that to make American audiences laugh.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    When We Leave
    Kekilli delivers a perfectly tuned performance. Too bad the script is often clunky and melodramatic, as the first-time director, Vienna-born Feo Aladag, tries to manipulate viewers' emotions.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Curse of the Golden Flower
    Curse of the Golden Flower could also be called "Curse of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' " In other words, it is yet another attempt to cash in on the success of Ang Lee's 2000 martial-arts epic, which will go down in the history books as one of the most overrated films of the decade.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    J.S.A.: Joint Security Area
    Scenes of the probe are less successful. They feel contrived, and actress Lee Yeong-ae is not especially effective as Major Jang.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Change of Plans (Le code a changé)
    The acting by Seigner, Marina Hands, Karin Viard, Patrick Bruel and other French notables is first-rate, although their characters and what they have to say are trite.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Ondine
    Neil Jordan's Ondine has a split personality. It starts promisingly as a fantasy but ends disappointingly as a thriller.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death
    Claiming that from Korea to Vietnam to Iraq, the US government has misled the public - and the media - on the reasons for going to war.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Thumbsucker
    The actors can't escape the confines of the warmed-over, coming-of-age-in-suburbia script by Mills, from a novel by Walter Kirn.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Desert Flower
    Suffers from a lack of focus and a sitcom script.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Desert of Forbidden Art
    Sadly, with the Soviet Union gone, the art faces a new enemy: Islamic extremists.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Forgiving Dr. Mengele
    An extraordinary woman like Eva Kor deserves a less ordinary biography.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Mad Love
    Pleasing to the eye, with lavish sets, ravishing costumes and two great-looking stars. Unfortunately, there is little else to recommend this overwrought, melodramatic bodice-ripper.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Sleepy Time Gal
    Too-convenient coincidences hurt the movie's credibility. A melodramatic script best left to cable TV doesn't help, either.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    A Secret
    The fractured timeline covers five decades, which Miller weaves together, with the past shot in color and the present in black and white. Still, the soapy climax is unnecessary.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Tying the Knot
    The subject is worth exploring - unfortunately, de Seve does so in a cut-and-dried manner that never explains why these two couples were able to stay together for so long.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Pierrepoint
    You have to wonder just how true to life the melodramatic depiction of these events is, especially since the film was made in partnership with TV's "Masterpiece Theater."
    • 48 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Perfect Host
    Ultimately breaks down under the weight of too many characters and unbelievable twists.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Incantato
    Pleasant but lifeless love story.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Cuba: Island of Music
    A toe-tapping, booty- shaking look at Cubans' love of music that gets bogged down in political thoughts that go unexplored.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Grudge
    The Grudge offers a bit more exposition than did "Ju-On," but the plot is still wispy.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    John Rabe
    The fine supporting cast includes Steve Buscemi, as a cynical American doctor who at first doesn't get along with Rabe; and Anne Consigny, as the French head of a local school for Chinese girls.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Nobody's Perfect
    The film tastefully handles the sensitive subject, but it lacks the bite that a Michael Moore would have provided.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Burning Annie
    Burning Annie has funny moments, but it suffers from an overflow of characters.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Ju-on: The Grudge
    The story is told in fractured time. This might not be a problem if his visuals were more fear-inducing.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    An Adolescent
    Okuda's debut behind the camera, Shoujyo, is a dirty old man's delight: schoolgirls galore in short skirts or, in Yoko's case, nothing at all. That may be enough for some viewers, but not for those who insist on a story that gives substance to its characters.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Crime After Crime
    Potash's film tells an important and disturbing story, but his presentation is uninspired and non-cinematic. It's best left to TV.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Helena from the Wedding
    None of its characters is especially interesting.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Vitus
    A sappy look at the title character, a 12-year-old boy who's a math and music prodigy.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The First Beautiful Thing
    Overall, however, it's sappy and predictable -- fun to watch, perhaps, but instantly forgettable.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Miss Minoes
    Vincent Bal's film should appeal to kids, cat lovers and felines. I give it two stars, and my cat, Audrey, gives it three meows.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story
    Corddry leads a game cast, but the film is rough around the edges...It would play better as a TV sketch.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary
    The documentary is unapologetically one-sided, and spends more time canonizing Abu-Jamal than exploring the murder and trial themselves. Still it raises issues of racism in America (flashback to George Wallace) that are worthy of discussion.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    !Women Art Revolution
    While I have no argument with Leeson's political views, her presentation -- mostly a succession of talking heads -- is dry and uninspired. These women deserve better.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Other Dream Team
    The presentation is conventional in style but uplifting in spirit, and worth seeing even if you know nothing about basketball.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Heartbeats
    An example of style over substance. There's lots of slo-mo and jittery hand-held camera work, and references to the French New Wave (especially François Truffaut), but little depth.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Kamikaze Girls
    What Kamikaze Girls doesn't have is a plot. As nice as the film looks, it soon grows tiresome -- though I could listen to the Johann Strauss II soundtrack forever.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Jimmy Show
    Whaley gives an earnest performance, especially when he's articulating his frustrations during his monologues. But it's all relentlessly glum. The film, like Jimmy's routines, could use a few good laughs.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Lost in Beijing
    The story is contrived. Would you believe a high-rise window-washer just happening to be cleaning the window of the room where, at that very moment, his wife is being raped by her boss? Didn't think so.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    Armadillo
    There's little new in Armadillo.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 50 V.A. Musetto
    The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch
    The generic plot is redeemed by exciting action sequences, good-looking location photography and a hot sex scene involving a femme fatale named Lea (pixie-haired Melanie Thierry).
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