Chronicles
Palm Pictures | Release Date: July 8, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneAchy Obejas
This is an all-Latino film--a rarity and a pleasure--but what's most curious and refreshing is that Cordero allows the Latinos to naturally embrace their nationalities, accents and cultural peculiarities. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A taut, tricky thriller. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Even as the film sometimes veers into unproductive sidebars, there's a masterful tension to it, Alcazar is wonderful, and the final shot is a stunner. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A crackling good suspense thriller. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
Writer-director Sebastian Cordero wrings nerve-racking suspense, and complex performances, from these dynamics. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
The ironic twist at the conclusion of this chilling drama underscores the vagaries of human nature--and of the media. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The film begins strongly and violently, then simmers down to a standard-issue suspense story. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A raw and powerful suspense thriller. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The moral murk of Crónicas would be more effective if the story weren't so contrived, yet the movie is worth seeing for Leguizamo's sinewy urgency, Alcázar's desperate cleverness as the killer, and the squalid, frantic atmosphere of Latin American hunger. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
Cronicas has a cracking good plot, a central moral issue and John Leguizamo speaking Spanish. What more does a film need? Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
With considerable passion and more than a little anger, Cronicas argues that our appetite for an increasing coarse and sensational type of news programming has skewed our inner compasses. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The kind of movie that grabs you while you're watching, even if later you wish it had grabbed a little harder. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The hit-and-run destructiveness of the rapacious media is nothing new, but Cordero gives his cynical take a unique setting and a queasy climax. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
The result is reasonably absorbing and a provocative if familiar commentary on media manipulation, with Leguizamo terrific in a serious, intense performance. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Despite all that South American sunshine, this lean and brilliantly constructed thriller is a dark realm of secrets and lies, illuminated by TV lighting and the glitter of John Leguizamo's eyes. Those in search of life-affirming family entertainment might want to stick with Ingmar Bergman. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The movie suffers from tipping its hand too easily and hating its subject so much. Read full review
60
Film ThreatJeremy Mathews
Sometimes goes a bit over the top to make its point. Read full review
60
VarietyDavid Rooney
Starts out bracingly but gradually loses focus. Ecuadorian writer-director Sebastian Cordero's screenplay trades in underdeveloped conflicts and blank characters, hinting far too early at the killer's probable identity. Read full review
60
Village VoicePeter L'Official
Leguizamo finds the right mute for his trumpet, modulating his expenditure of emotion to the requirements of the scenario rather than overengaging his capable Mambo Mouth. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
What distinguishes Cordero's film is his use of location. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
John Leguizamo, in a rare watchable performance. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It's daring and it's different. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A film divided against itself. The more the cat-and-mouse game between prisoner and reporter points it in the direction of "The Silence of the Lambs," the closer it inches toward the sort of exploitation it condemns; for me, that's too close for Crónicas to be taken without a big grain of salt. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Like its protagonist, Cordero's film is a nimble thing, darting from hot-button topic to prison-cell metaphysics in the blink of a blind eye, but it never quite achieves the level of journalistic condemnation it so clearly seeks. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Although it's often difficult to discern amid a schematic plot and overheated, sanctimonious denouement, an undeniable reality underlies Cronicas. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJanice Page
For a movie about serial killings and media sensationalism, Cronicas sure is wimpy. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Scathing indictment of the tabloid media! Film at 11! That's how Crónicas sees itself, but all I could see was a scathing indictment of writer-director Sebastian Cordero's ability to put together a credible story. Read full review
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