Chicago Reader's Scores

  • Movies
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:
6312 movie reviews
  1. As Martel points out, the movie is about the "difficulties" and "dangers" of "differentiating good from evil," and it requires as well as rewards a fair amount of alertness from the viewer.
  2. This movie will hardly set the world on fire, but it's a worthy vehicle for the two old troopers; Smith has the stiffest upper lip in the business, and Dench is heartrending as the naive, lovelorn sister.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Five people worked on the script; if there was ever any inspiration behind it, there isn't now.
  3. This interminable contest between two narcissists, stretched out over many miles and years, is supposed to have something to do with romance.
  4. The more interesting woman is Epper, who comes from a highly respected family of stunt doubles and at 62 shows no signs of slowing.
  5. To my taste the only serious distraction and ethical lapse is Gibney's sarcastic, cheap-shot use of popular songs like "That Old Black Magic," "Love for Sale," and "God Bless the Child" to underscore certain points; it seems almost to celebrate the shamelessness of the creeps being exposed.
  6. Tends toward the generic, and Jim Caviezel is hopelessly bland in the lead. Among the bright spots are Mary McCormack as the hero's wife and Bruce Dern as the wise old motorboat guru.
  7. It's uneven, but still pretty charming, and director Jorge Furtado's whimsical visual touches keep things lively.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Melissa George's performance has more Lady Macbeth in it than Kidder's.
  8. Forgettable coming-of-age story.
  9. Australian mockumentary offers plenty of cheap laughs early on.
  10. Camara and Peña are perfectly cast as the bewildered couple, and early on Berger gets some laughs from the one-note premise. But the material grows increasingly stale as the film drags on to its unintentionally creepy finale.
  11. Engrossing.
  12. Flaky, funny, and sexy.
  13. Most comedies start with a straight story and hang jokes on it; Solondz begins with a cosmic joke and takes his characters by the hand as they suffer through it.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Directing real-life street kids, Tan abruptly shifts focus from one character to another, as if mimicking their impatience and short attention span, and like Godard he playfully subverts his own material by having actors address the camera directly, spouting cultural and political asides.
  14. I'm no boxing fan, but there's something admirable about fighter Johar Abu Lashin's love of his sport, chronicled in Duki Dror's tautly constructed 2002 documentary.
  15. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the historical premise for this Indiana Jones knockoff.
  16. To call this "Farrelly brothers lite" may be a little redundant, but aside from the odd vomit gag, it goes relatively easy on their usual working-class taboo busting.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Chow's newfound patience and attentiveness to stasis, tinged with nostalgia, are promising indications of where he's taking his art as he attempts to influence the commercial cinema that's long influenced him.
  17. Wacky mix-ups and a stunningly unfunny climax.
  18. I guess one out of three ain't bad.
  19. Beautifully unemphatic small-town drama.
  20. Gainsbourg has some cute scenes with Johnny Depp, a debonair stranger she meets in a Virgin Megastore, but otherwise this is a fairly banal installment in the battle of the sexes.
  21. The film's elliptical structure seems little more than a device to compensate for the thin dramatic material, but it's saved by a fine ensemble cast and Akhavan's convincing transformation from a naive romantic to a disturbing reactionary.
  22. Keeps building to apocalyptic climaxes that never materialize. (Review of Original Release)
  23. Rodriguez's evident delight in the form make this a worthwhile piece of eye candy.
  24. The action is exciting, but the rapid-fire narration jumps around too quickly, making it difficult to keep straight the personalities meant to hold the film together.
  25. Darkly funny and metaphorically potent.
  26. The French title is Comme une image ("like an image"), but Tennessee Williams's phrase "the catastrophe of success" seems more appropriate.

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