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. Save Yourselves!
    Even the smaller touches in Save Yourselves! ring true.
  2. The Other
    The Other, which is based on the novel by former actor Tom Tryon (you saw him as The Cardinal), has been criticized in some quarters because Mulligan made it too beautiful, they say, and too nostalgic. Not at all. His colors are rich and deep and dark, chocolatey browns and bloody reds; they aren’t beautiful but perverse and menacing.
  3. You've Been Trumped
    In medieval times, the nobility enjoyed something called droit du seigneur, their right to deflower their serfs' virgin daughters before their marriage. These days the nobility has been replaced by billionaire bullies, who continue to screw us serfs.
  4. The Lie
    The Lie is dark enough, but it has affection for its characters and doesn't destroy them. It paints them in three fallible human dimensions, and the actors are warm and plausible.
  5. Citadel
    This is a basic story, simply and directly told by Irish writer-director Ciaran Foy. He doesn't try to explain too much, he doesn't depend on special effects and stays just this side of the unbelievable.
  6. Mr. Jones
    What is remarkable about "Mr. Jones" is how clearly it communicates his feelings. We begin to understand why manic-depression is sometimes described as the only mental illness its victims enjoy - on the up days, anyway.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    G.B.F.
    It’s cheery but still has a bit of a bite, makes a point without ever being too preachy and features a litany of quotable lines with a cleverness not seen since “Heathers.”
  8. Free Fire
    Either you’re in the mood for a series of gruesomely creative kills and lots of dark humor — or you’re not.
  9. Mayor of the Sunset Strip
    Hickenlooper's film evokes what the Japanese call mono no aware, which refers to the impermanence of life and the bittersweet transience of things. There is a little Rodney Bingenheimer in everyone, but you know what? Most people aren't as lucky as Rodney.
  10. Splice
    Disappointing then, that the movie introduces such an extraordinary living being and focuses mostly on those around her. All the same, it’s well done, and intriguing.
  11. Sorry/Not Sorry
    The long-run fallout of the Louis C.K. scandal is the subject of the thought-provoking New York Times documentary “Sorry/Not Sorry” from directors and producers Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, which shines a spotlight on the difficult questions raised when someone’s egregious actions result in them being “canceled.”
  12. Sorry, Haters
    A film that begins in intrigue, develops in fascination and ends in a train wreck. It goes spectacularly wrong, and yet it contains such a gripping performance by Robin Wright Penn that it succeeds, in a way, despite itself.
  13. Life
    The movie is ribald, funny and sometimes sweet, and well acted by Murphy, Lawrence and a strong supporting cast.
  14. Mo' Better Blues
    Mo' Better Blues is not a great film, but it's an interesting one, which is almost as rare.
  15. Heartbreak Ridge
    Heartbreak Ridge has as much energy and color as any action picture this year, and it contains truly amazing dialogue.
  16. Silent Night
    For the 77-year-old Woo, who has influenced generations of directors with films such as “The Killer,” “Bullet in the Head” and “Face/Off,” this is his first American film since 2003’s “Paycheck,” and it is hardcore evidence Woo regains his signature style and his flair for over-the-top, sometimes poetically brutal action.
  17. Happy Tears
    Joe presents not so much a problem for Jayne and Laura as an opportunity. It's time to finally grow up and be true daughters and sisters. They've waited long enough. All of this, I must add, is done with a nicely screwy, sometimes stoned humor.
  18. Beauty Shop
    The beauty of the "Shop" movies is that they provide a stage for lively characters.
  19. Die Hard: With a Vengeance
    Die Hard With a Vengeance is basically a wind-up action toy, cleverly made, and delivered with high energy. It delivers just what it advertises, with a vengeance.
  20. Jackie
    Portman’s performance carries the day.
  21. Bait
    It's over the top, an exercise in action comedy that cuts loose from logic and enjoys itself.
  22. Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
    Music was the ANC's most dangerous weapon, and we see footage of streets lined with tens of thousands of marchers, singing and dancing, expressing an unquenchable spirit.
  23. Garage Days
    The movie is not in any sense a musical featuring this band (which, as nearly as I could tell, does not have a name). The soundtrack has a lot of music, freely selected from pop hits old and new, but the running gag is that the band never gets to play, and so we never get to hear it.
  24. Tales of the Night
    The film is intended for family audiences. It is so gentle and whimsical that one wonders if American children, accustomed to the whiz-bang action of most animation, will accept it. Maybe there would be hope for the younger ones - but what will they make of the subtitles?
  25. Space Chimps
    Delightful from beginning to end.
  26. Captive State
    Though Captive State has plenty of action, it’s not a blood-and-guts sci-fi thriller. It aims for a more cerebral, social-commentary approach.
  27. Great Expectations
    Begins as a great movie (I was spellbound by the first 30 minutes) but ends as only a good one, and I think that's because the screenplay, by Mitch Glazer, too closely follows the romantic line.
  28. Zola
    The result is a raw and sometimes chilling and often darkly funny adventure filled with just enough nods to social media, e.g., we sometimes hear the familiar Twitter sound effect when something is posted.
  29. TRON: Legacy
    Tron: Legacy, a sequel made 28 years after the original but with the same actor, is true to the first film: It also can't be understood, but looks great. Both films, made so many years apart, can fairly lay claim to being state of the art. This time that includes the use of 3-D.
  30. Fly Me to the Moon
    With director Greg Berlanti (“Love, Simon”) skillfully weaving in a myriad of storylines that justify the 132-minute running time, Rose Gilroy delivering a crisp and funny script (based on a story by Bill Kirstein and Kennan Flynn) and Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum igniting the fuse with good old-fashioned, Grade A movie-star chemistry, “Fly Me to the Moon” is a “go” from the get-go.
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