Arizona Republic's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
For 2,969 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 34% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 The Peanut Butter Falcon
Lowest review score: 10 The Legend of Hercules
Score distribution:
2969 movie reviews
  1. A movie with a title like Puerto Ricans in Paris comes with certain expectations. Low ones. Thanks to the efforts of Luis Guzman — and they are mighty — Ian Edelman's slight film manages to rise above them. Not by much, but above them, still.
  2. It will quench the thirst of die-hard fans who always want more. But does that thirst justify “The Matrix Resurrections?” Maybe. But it can’t make it a great movie. And despite Reeves’ willingness to jump back in, neither can anything else.
  3. Verbinski manages some squirm-worthy moments, and cinematographer Bojan Bazelli creates a creepy look throughout. But the story doesn’t make sense as it goes along and then devolves into absurdity.
  4. Ultimately, the film is never boring, but it's never involving, either. At the end, what you're left with is a modestly entertaining film that doesn't seem to have an original thought in its head. In that way, it's a lot like the characters it spotlights.
  5. You come away from watching the film with a moral bellyache.
  6. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is ultimately an OK entry in a legendary franchise. It’s fun enough, but why bother?
  7. Allen builds to a climax that is ridiculous and a comment on … I don’t know. Fate? Folly? There are plenty of both in Irrational Man, but they’re not often a comfortable mix.
  8. Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley is quite good — as Chappie, in a motion-capture performance. (He also provides the voice of the robot.) If this were somehow a commentary on man's increasing lack of humanity or something, that would be fine. Instead, it's just good work buried inside a movie made up of intriguing ideas that never really go anywhere.
  9. Despite all of the unlikely scenarios and dubious plot developments, Plummer shines. There are moments here when we understand why he took the role, and many more when we are glad he did. But not enough to make Remember a better movie all the way around.
  10. There are some funny parts, of course, because the cast is so talented. But it’s too much work for too little payoff — sound and fury signifying nothing. Nothing but Minion fart jokes.
  11. The film’s focus is too easily distracted by celebrity and turns less documentary and more fawning love letter to an industry already in love with itself.
  12. There's no question that Black women are underrepresented in movies. There's also no question that when they get a chance to perform, they deserve a better movie than For Colored Girls.
  13. To pretend that the film’s pleasures are more than modest is just that — pretending.
  14. Despite its familiarity, A Bad Moms Christmas is a touch better than the first bacchanal.
  15. More curiosity than movie, “Michael,” a biopic so reverential towards its subject, Michael Jackson, that it borders on worshipful, can’t seem to figure out what it is.
  16. Hop
    Check your driver's license - if you have one, you're probably too old to get the most out of it. If not, you may find your satisfaction a little harder - though not impossible - to come by.
  17. Paolo Virzi’s film, based on a novel by Michael Zadoorian, holds few surprises, leaving us with some enjoyable set pieces in a disappointing movie.
  18. J.A. Bayona's film never figures out what it wants to be, casting about for a coherent tone. Thanks in large part to Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow's script, it doesn't find one. But at least it has some fun making the effort.
  19. Now You See Me is a movie about magic, but its most astonishing trick is how little mileage it gets out of a stellar cast.
  20. I Feel Pretty is a good idea that never quite clicks the way it should
  21. The scares don't stay with you. They're the horror-movie equivalent of junk food.
  22. Individually they are all good here, though Hardy's skills don't necessarily translate that well to romantic comedy -- which could have been used to good effect, but McG doesn't have the touch to pull that off.
  23. Welcome back, Whit Stillman -- with Damsels in Distress, the hipper-than-thou club is back in session.
  24. There are some compelling elements here, probably too many for one film, but they're too often presented in a cliched way. Connor and co-director Michael Worth go for the easy sentiment, the expected route, leading to middling results.
  25. This is a first-rate cast in a second-rate story with some entertaining bits and some maddening holes. That combination works for late-night channel surfing. Anywhere else, not so much.
  26. Supporting turns by Philip Rosenthal and David Alan Grier as two pals in the business are fun, but they can't prevent the movie's rather aimless nature or self-indulgent feel.
  27. A Kid Like Jake, isn't terrible, but it sure could be better.
  28. It delivers plenty of exciting action with some CGI-assisted visual flair, from stampeding bison to a starkly beautiful image of a frozen lake with our hero flailing on the wrong side of the ice. Hughes’ efforts to bring emotional drama to the proceedings fall flat, however, relying on coming-of-age clichés that strip the story of any real surprise.
  29. It should be funnier. It should be better. Instead, it just sort of is.
  30. How disappointing that a movie about challenging authority should be such a slave to convention.

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