Chicago Sun-Times' Scores

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For 8,158 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 6.1 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:
  1. Positive: 6,087 out of 8158
  2. Mixed: 1,243 out of 8158
  3. Negative: 828 out of 8158
8158 movie reviews
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  1. The Samaritan
    The Samaritan isn't a great noir, but it's true to the tradition and gives Samuel L. Jackson one of his best recent roles.
  2. Lucky Break
    There is not much here that comes as a blinding plot revelation, but the movie has a raffish charm and good-hearted characters, and like "The Full Monty" it makes good use of the desperation beneath the comedy.
  3. Starman
    Starman contains the potential to be a very silly movie, but the two actors have so much sympathy for their characters that the movie, advertised as space fiction, turns into one of 1984's more touching love stories.
  4. The Birth of a Nation
    Parker reaches with both hands for greatness and falls short — but this is nevertheless a solid and strong and valuable piece of work.
  5. Mistress
    The movie lacks the cleanedged economy of the screenplay for The Player, and it could have benefitted from less talkiness and fewer characters, but as a portrait of a particular Hollywood strata it is bittersweet and knowledgeable.
  6. Assassination Tango
    The movie is not quite successful. It is too secretive about its heart.
  7. You're Not You
    A movie about this subject matter is a tough sell, but Swank and Rossum are brilliant, and in its own unique way, You’re Not You is one of the best buddy movies of the year.
  8. Tab Hunter Confidential
    Tab Hunter Confidential is a well-crafted if not particularly deep bio-documentary.
  9. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
    His film is pro-Kerry, yes, but the focus is on history, not polemics, and provides a record of the crucial role of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
  10. Together
    You might well be tired of pandemic-inspired movies and series and I’m leaning in that direction myself, but I’m still recommending the blistering and razor-sharp two-hander Together largely on the strength of the searing and unfiltered and stunningly good performances by Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy.
  11. Bad Hair
    With a running time of 1 hour 55 minutes, Bad Hair might have benefited from a quick trim (sorry), and it’s a real mess at times, but you won’t soon shake off its genuinely scary and originally twisted delight
  12. Swan Song
    Thanks to the brilliant, nuanced work by the great Mahershala Ali, our heart goes out to both Camerons.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Hard Boiled
    The film lacks the delirium, ambition and transcendence of Woo's "The Killer" and "Bullet in the Head," but nothing in the way of over-the-top action or audacity. [27 Sep 1992, p.8]
    • Chicago Sun-Times
  14. Wicked
    It’s sweet and lovely work, but at times lacking in the type of subtlety required for film acting, even in a musical role with as much comedy as drama. Still, Erivo and Grande have chemistry in abundance and make for a memorable duo.
  15. Head of State
    An imperfect movie, but not a boring one and not lacking in intelligence.
  16. Crimes of the Future
    While there are times when Cronenberg seems to be indulging in his trademark gross-out visuals for the sake of shock, Crimes of the Future is darkly funny and consistently thoughtful — and, for all its moments of extreme horror, offers legitimate commentary on issues such as body dysmorphia and the extreme measures taken by some real-world individuals in order to carve, sculpt and tattoo their bodies as evolving canvasses of expression.
  17. The Sparks Brothers
    Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver), who is of course British, aims to rectify that with The Sparks Brothers, a sprawling and comprehensive and cheeky film that documents the rise and fall and rise again and fall again and the leveling out and all the other peaks and valleys the group has experienced over the last 50 years.
  18. The Missing Picture
    The Missing Picture is a wrenching yet tender memoir by Rithy Panh about life and death in the time of Pol Pot.
  19. The Gallows
    This is the kind of movie where you can anticipate the next big shock and it usually arrives right on cue, and yet it still gets you right in the gut.
  20. The Libertine
    Depp accepts the character and all of its baggage, and works without a net.
  21. Sleepless Night
    The film's headlong momentum streamrolls over all our questions, and we're carried along by the expertly choreographed action. Even after everything seems over, it isn't, and the last minutes are particularly satisfying.
  22. Frankenweenie
    This isn't one of Burton's best, but it has zealous energy. It might have been too macabre for kids in past, but kids these days, they've seen it all, and the charm of a boy and his dog retains its appeal.
  23. Listen Up Philip
    Philip is one of the most unlikable but also one of the most fascinating characters of the year.
  24. Elegy
    By the time it's over, Penelope Cruz has slipped away with it, and transformed Kingsley's character in the process. It's nicely done.
  25. September 11
    9/11 was a savage and heartless crime, and after the symbolism and the history and the imagery and the analysis, that is a point that must be made.
  26. Last Breath
    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.
  27. Big Animal
    It is whimsical, bittersweet, wise in a minor key.
  28. Fatherhood
    It’s nice to see Hart in a role where the comedy is relatively low-key and dialogue-driven (though there are a few hilarious physical bits of humor).
  29. Today's Special
    As a movie, Today's Special is only just OK. What saves it, as it saves so very many things, is the garam masala.
  30. The Inspection
    It’s impossible not to think of military training camp staples such as “Full Metal Jacket” and “An Officer and a Gentlemen” when experiencing writer-director Elegance Bratton’s semi-autobiographical The Inspection. While Bratton’s film isn’t in the same league as those classics, it’s a strong and memorable if predictable boot-camp journey that features many of the same elements of the first half of “Jacket” and the entirety of “Gentleman” — most notably in that all three films feature an alpha male drill instructor who will either defeat his recruits and send them home, or turn them into lean mean fighting machines.
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