Chicago Sun-Times' Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
For 8,156 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 73% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 25% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 6 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Falling from Grace
Lowest review score: 0 Jupiter Ascending
Score distribution:
8156 movie reviews
  1. After all the clutter and noise, it turns out that “Snow White” is a perfectly serviceable, gorgeously filmed, toe-tapping musical that pays homage to the animated film while making significant changes, including deviating from the original storyline to make Rachel Zegler’s Snow White more of a People’s Princess and girl-power rebel than someone warbling “Some Day My Prince Will Come.”
  2. With clear and obvious influences from films such as “Joker,” “The King of Comedy,” “Whiplash” and, most prominently, “Taxi Driver,” writer-director Bynum and Majors team up for a disturbing and blistering case study of a man who feels utterly unseen and is obsessed with making a name for himself.
  3. De Niro infuses Costello with a kind of avuncular charm, while Genovese has the fiery temper and paranoid fury to match Jake La Motta in “Raging Bull.” It’s a privilege to witness one of the best actors of all time, still at the top of his game.
  4. I’m not going to pretend I always knew exactly what everyone was talking about as we plunged ever deeper into the weeds of double-crossing and triple-crossing among a batch of mostly iniquitous secret agents, but it’s a zippy and darkly funny ride every step of the way. The dialogue jumps off the page, and the performances are universally brilliant.
  5. Despite the stylish direction from the duo of Dan Berk and Robert Olsen and winning performances by Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder, “Novocaine” sputters to the finish line.
  6. Drawing from behind-the-scenes footage and photos on the “Rust” set, police footage from the scene and from interrogation rooms, interviews with actors and production staffers as well as director Joel Souza (who was wounded but fully recovered) and Hutchins’ personal archives, “Last Take” is a powerful piece of work.
  7. While the documentary doesn’t provide conclusive proof of a link between any covert government operations and Manson, it’s at least fodder for lively debate (not to mention a Netflix documentary).
  8. It’s a variation on the teletransportation paradox as filtered through a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon, with some B-movie creatures thrown in for good measure.
  9. The darkly entertaining but derivative crime comedy/drama “Riff Raff” features an amazing cast — some of them playing the kinds of roles we’ve come to expect from them, others out of their go-to comfort zone but reminding us of their range and versatility.
  10. With a running time of just 92 minutes, “Last Breath” will keep you in its grip throughout. Just remember to inhale, and exhale. Slow, long, steady breaths.
  11. Some of the resolutions of this myriad of conflicts and issues are perhaps a bit too tidy, but this is a richly layered and truly moving set piece, with a smart and insightful screenplay and great performances from the ensemble cast.
  12. While these folks aren’t always the most pleasant to be around, we understand them and can relate to them, and at times feel empathy for their predicaments.
  13. Everyone knows this is a gory B-movie where taste is not an issue, and they play their roles accordingly.
  14. Cleaner is “Die Hard,” just with different people.
  15. I’m going to tread lightly so as not to spoil too many of the twists and turns, but I will say it’s not often you experience a film that at times plays like a rom-com from the 1990s spliced with something from the John Carpenter playbook.
  16. This is one of those movies where on a handful of occasions, you feel the urge to look away from the screen or at least squint a bit, because you know something truly (and wonderfully) dreadful is about to happen. But you’re not going to look away, because that’s the chilling fun of it.
  17. Granted, the pleasures offered in “Captain America: Brave New World” are neither grand nor groundbreaking, but they’re consistent and earned.
  18. Writer-director Christopher Andrews’ brutal and unforgiving and sometimes almost cruelly funny “Bring Them Down” is like a biblical tale brought to life. There are times when this rural west Ireland fable makes “The Banshees of Inisherin” feel like a soft-pedaled buddy comedy. It’s that bleak, and nearly as searing and memorable.
  19. Directed with grace and grounded style and a keen eye for outdoor visuals by Anders Lindwall, and filmed in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin, this is a warm and authentic slice of farm life, with magnificent work by the 80-year-old Craig T. Nelson, who looks every inch the world-weary Wisconsin farmer.
  20. Ferrell and Witherspoon play off each other with impeccable timing, and the supporting cast (which includes a couple of celebrity cameos) is universally terrific.
  21. Companion is darkly funny and has some great jump scares, but it’s also a meditation on how some men have a default switch that makes it far too easy for them to be manipulative and abusive.
  22. This is a serviceable, suitably gory and intermittently scary film with some solid action sequences.
  23. Based on a true story, this is a tribute to the strength of a matriarch who doesn’t have time to grieve or feel sorry for herself. She has children to love and protect.
  24. Everything we witness in this film is literally seen through the point of view of a spectral presence, but it’s the machinations of a deeply dysfunctional nuclear family that makes it all so intriguing.
  25. Director Seth Gordon (“Four Christmases,” “Horrible Bosses”) knows how to film fast-moving comedies with star appeal, and Diaz (who hasn’t lost an ounce of onscreen charisma) and Foxx are terrific together, but wouldn’t it have been lovely if they had tackled more creative and challenging material?
  26. Just as Whannell breathed new life into the story of “The Invisible Man” in 2020, he offers a fresh and grotesquely chilling take on the well-trodden storyline of the man who becomes ... something else.
  27. So, if we’re in the mood for an R-rated, sometimes cartoonishly violent, occasionally salacious comedy where you know some jokes will score and others will land with a thud and we’ll just move on to the next scene, here’s your ticket.
  28. Even though events have been compressed to fit a 22-hour timeline into a 94-minute movie, and some conversations and characters are fictional, there’s never a moment when it feels as if events have been amped up or overcooked.
  29. We know exactly where this story is going, and we're happy to come along for the ride.
  30. Even with the occasional stumble and that self-indulgent running time, this is a unique and at times brilliant piece of work.

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