Chicago Reader's Scores

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For 6,312 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 42% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 56% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 60
Highest review score: 100 I Stand Alone
Lowest review score: 0 Old Dogs
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,983 out of 6312
  2. Mixed: 2,456 out of 6312
  3. Negative: 873 out of 6312
6312 movie reviews
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  1. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
    This talking-heads documentary by Stefan Forbes doesn't waste much time delving into Atwater's misshapen character; instead it focuses on his South Carolina roots and his instinctive grasp of the southern strategy that's been the GOP's key to the White House for the past 40 years.
  2. Suspect Zero
    A novel twist in the second half succeeds in distinguishing this from the pack but also wrenches it away from the meager characters.
  3. La mission
    The after-school-special moralizing is mitigated by the project's sincerity and textured locale.
  4. Mr. Untouchable
    Machiavelli epigrams and 70s soul classics embellish this slice of thug life, which succumbs to the usual hypocrisy of condemning Barnes while grooving on his cars, clothes, and jewels.
  5. The Punisher
    There's something to be said for letting a comic book adaptation operate at the level of a comic book--i.e., with cheap laughs and ice-cold sadism.
  6. Greenberg
    Stiller plays a monster, and when Gerwig goes for him, declaring that she sees his tender side, the development seems like a fond indulgence on the part of writer-director Noah Baumbach.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Cote d'Azur
    Real-life partners Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau wrote and directed this frothy sex farce, incorporating musical numbers that recall Jacques Demy; the results are middling, but the actors' verve compensates for the clumsy choreography and lackadaisical camerawork.
  8. Brooklyn Lobster
    Kevin Jordan (Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire), a protege of Martin Scorsese, wrote and directed this dull 2005 autobiographical feature; it feels real, but solid performances fail to enliven the characters.
  9. Riding in Cars with Boys
    It's a bitter story played for humor, in which a callous character is never quite allowed to see herself as such.
  10. The General's Daughter
    The feminist veneer is the most deeply disturbing part of this callow thriller, whose fetishizing of a dead woman's body (and a live woman's sexual behavior) is far more questionable than anything even "The Silence of the Lambs" has been accused of.
  11. The Mask of Zorro
    Antonio Banderas signs up for charisma lessons from Anthony Hopkins -- but they just don't take.
  12. Reflections in a Golden Eye
    Either you like this movie a lot or you run screaming for the exit; I find it rough going.
  13. She's Out of My League
    Director Jim Field Smith lifts his best beats from Judd Apatow, and his worst from "American Pie."
  14. Slow Jam King
    This harmless comedy by Steven Mallorca comments wryly on America's weird hybrid culture, but the characters are too broadly drawn and the story drags in the last third, just when it should be hitting comic warp speed.
  15. Miss Potter
    The twee romance was too much for me, though the movie's first half follows in fascinating detail the innovations Warne introduced to popularize illustrated picture books for children.
  16. Orange County
    For my money, what keeps it bearable is mainly the mugging of the older folks -- not just Jack Black, who steals the show in a part seemingly inspired by John Belushi, but Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, and cameos by Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin, and Kevin Kline.
  17. Red Trousers: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen
    Robin Shou frequently cuts to scenes from one of his recent movies, adding to the impression that this is a vanity reel.
  18. Seeing Other People
    More witty than laugh-out-loud funny.
  19. Pirate Radio
    A hodgepodge of half-baked characters and story ideas, stoked by a frantic climax and a blue-chip playlist of 1966 rock classics.
  20. Around the World in 80 Days
    Proof that you can buy an Academy Award, with David Niven, Cantinflas, and 44 stars in cameo roles spending a lot of Michael Todd’s money as they tour the world in Jules Verne’s balloon.
  21. Love Crime
    There's something wrong with a suspense film when the sets are more interesting than the characters.
  22. Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II
    The makers of this eclectically animated adventure, a follow-up to "The Rugrats Movie," know their audience, though all the "Godfather" references will be thoroughly puzzling to at least half of it.
  23. Outrage
    What makes Outrage a bankable indie film is the promise of personal embarrassment--everyone loves a good outing. Except for the person at the center of it.
  24. Babies
    As in many nature films, the ostensible subjects are less captivating than their scenic backdrops.
  25. Some Body
    Bennett is also self-indulgent, giving us few clues as to what's behind this destructively hedonist behavior; instead we get shortcut insights as she and the men confess into the camera.
  26. Kate & Leopold
    Not very believable, even in relation to its own premises, but if you were charmed by "Somewhere in Time" and/or Jack Finney's novel "Time and Again," this might charm you as well.
  27. Joe Dirt
    This underdog comedy and its title character have considerable charm.
  28. The Snows of Kilimanjaro
    There is some exquisite Technicolor photography by Leon Shamroy, but director Henry King never moves the action beyond respectful superficiality.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Little Lili
    Miller and coscreenwriter Julien Boivent have a gift for aphoristic, if glib, dialogue, and Nicole Garcia and Ludivine Sagnier do their best to flesh out hopelessly one-dimensional characters.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Cowboys & Aliens
    Playing a variation on John Wayne's character from "Red River," Harrison Ford gives an understandably bewildered performance, often appearing uncertain if he should take his lines seriously.
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