Chicago Sun-Times' Scores

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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 6.1 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: 6,085 out of 8156
  2. Mixed: 1,243 out of 8156
  3. Negative: 828 out of 8156
8156 movie reviews
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  1. Mother
    Brooks, who co-wrote (with Monica Johnson) and directed as well as stars, is much too smart to settle for the obvious gags and payoffs. All of his films depend on closely observed behavior and language, on the ways language can refuse to let us communicate, no matter how obsessively we try to nail things down. In his scenes with Reynolds, they are told quietly, conversationally; they're not pounding out punch lines, and that's why the dialogue is so funny.
  2. Albino Alligator
    Spacey does what can be done with the material, but it never achieves takeoff velocity.
  3. Metro
    The movie works well on its chosen level. The big action scenes are cleverly staged and Eddie Murphy is back on his game again, with a high-energy performance and crisp dialogue.
  4. The Relic
    All of this is actually a lot of fun, if you like special effects and gore.
  5. Ghosts of Mississippi
    It closes a chapter in history, but scarcely brings it to life.
  6. The People vs. Larry Flynt
    Love proves she is not a rock star pretending to act, but a true actress, and Harrelson matches her with his portrait of a man who has one thing on his mind, and never changes it.
  7. Evita
    But Parker's visuals enliven the music, and Madonna and Banderas bring it passion. By the end of the film we feel like we've had our money's worth, and we're sure Evita has.
  8. Michael
    Michael doesn't set up big drama or punch up big moments. It ambles.
  9. Thieves
    Thieves doesn't have the Hollywood kind of ending, where everything is sorted out by who gets shot. It is about the people, not their plot. It is about how the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and the grandsons.
  10. The Portrait of a Lady
    I think if you care for James, you must see it. It is not an adaptation but an interpretation.
  11. Scream
    What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is really violent.
  12. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
    Those who deplore Beavis and Butt-Head are confusing the messengers with the message.
  13. My Fellow Americans
    This is not a great comedy and will be soon forgotten, but it has nice moments.
  14. One Fine Day
    Pfeiffer looks, acts and sounds wonderful throughout all of this, and George Clooney is perfectly serviceable as a romantic lead, sort of a Mel Gibson lite. I liked them. I wanted them to get together. I wanted them to live happily ever after. The sooner the better.
  15. Marvin's Room
    The famous faces make it difficult, at first, to sink into the story, but eventually we do; the characters become so convincing that even if we're aware of Keaton and Streep, it's as if these events are happening to them.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Bastard Out of Carolina
    Huston films the horrifying assault scenes to provoke disgust, outrage, fear and pity. She doesn't flinch. She refuses to soften the situation. Her Carolina is painful to watch. It's meant to be. [13 Dec 1996, p.65nc]
    • Chicago Sun-Times
  17. Jerry Maguire
    There are a couple of moments in Jerry Maguire when you want to hug yourself with delight. Both of those moments involve the actress Renee Zellweger, whose lovability is one of the key elements in a movie that starts out looking cynical and quickly becomes a heartwarmer.
  18. Mars Attacks!
    Mars Attacks! has the look and feel of a schlocky 1950s science-fiction movie, and if it's not as bad as a Wood film, that's not a plus: A movie like this should be a lot better, or a lot worse.
  19. Citizen Ruth
    A satire with the reckless courage to take on both sides in the abortion debate.
  20. Daylight
    Daylight is the cinematic equivalent of a golden oldies station, where you never encounter anything you haven't grown to love over the years.
  21. Sling Blade
    There is pain, humor, irony and sweetness in the character, and a voice and manner so distinctive, he is the most memorable movie character I've seen in a long time.
  22. 101 Dalmatians
    What's funny in cartoons is not always funny in live action, and some of the dunkings in unsavory substances left me less than amused.
  23. The Crucible
    The Crucible is a drama of ideas, but they seem laid on top of the material, not organically part of it.
  24. Star Trek: First Contact
    Certainly the best in its technical credits, and among the best in the ingenuity of its plot.
  25. Jingle All the Way
    I liked a lot of the movie, which is genial and has a lot of energy, but I was sort of depressed by its relentlessly materialistic view of Christmas, and by the choice to go with action and (mild) violence over dialogue and plot.
  26. Ridicule
    What is fascinating about Ridicule is that so much depends on language, and so little is really said.
  27. Shine
    The fact that David Helfgott lived the outlines of these events--that he triumphed, that he fell, that he came slowly back--adds an enormous weight of meaning to the film.
  28. The English Patient
    The kind of movie you can see twice--first for the questions, the second time for the answers.
  29. Space Jam
    Space Jam is a happy marriage of good ideas--three films for the price of one, giving us a comic treatment of the career adventures of Michael Jordan, crossed with a Looney Tunes cartoon and some showbiz warfare.
  30. Breaking the Waves
    Not many movies like this get made, because not many filmmakers are so bold, angry and defiant.
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