Chicago Tribune's Scores

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For 7,613 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 36% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.4 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 Autumn Tale
Lowest review score: 0 Car 54, Where Are You?
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,116 out of 7613
  2. Mixed: 1,475 out of 7613
  3. Negative: 1,022 out of 7613
7613 movie reviews
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  1. The Other Sister
    Falls into a familiar trap, resembling a neatly wrapped made-for-TV homily. [26 February 1999, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  2. Office Space
    Drably shot, unimaginatively written and shallowly acted, it's a poor example of the "daffy, goofy, sex-crazed guys" occupational comedies that flourished throughout the job-obsessed '80s. [19 Feb 1999]
    • Chicago Tribune
  3. October Sky
    A family tale, in the best sense. [19 February 1999, Tempo, p.4]
    • Chicago Tribune
  4. Jawbreaker
    It's not particularly funny or trenchant, and its portrayal of noxious high school cliques never amounts to more than was shown in "Heathers." [19 Feb 1999]
    • Chicago Tribune
  5. Blast from the Past
    Blast is just shooting blanks. [12 February 1999, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  6. Message in a Bottle
    Strikes me as a pure, unadulterated crock. [12 February 1999, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  7. My Favorite Martian
    There are good movies, bad movies and confoundingly bad movies. My Favorite Martian belongs to that rare third category. [12 Feb 1999, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  8. Simply Irresistible
    Falls prey to the all-too-contemporary problem of complicating the tale until the ending is not only obvious, but prayed for between yawns. [9 February 1999, Tempo, p.2]
    • Chicago Tribune
  9. Payback
    The idea may sound like fun, but the movie isn't. It's a travesty of a picture that's a disgrace to the memory of the great film from which it's remade. [5 February 1999, Friday, po.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  10. She's All That
    Rachael Leigh Cook, as Laney, the plain Jane object of the makeover, is forced to demonstrate the biggest emotional range as a character, and she is equal to the assignment. I look forward to seeing her in her next picture. [29 Jan 1999, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  11. Gloria
    The shadow of Gena Rowlands looms over this picture like a cinematic eclipse. [25 January 1999, Tempo, p.5]
    • Chicago Tribune
  12. Children of Heaven
    Though Majidi draws from familiar Iranian sources, he's made something unique and moving: a sweet tale with a stirring finish.
  13. At First Sight
    More of a physical achievement in moviemaking than a piece of storytelling, but I do recommend it on that basis. [15 January 1999, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  14. Virus
    Some movies are a joy. Some are a chore. And some are sheer torture. A good example of the latter is Virus. [17 January 1999, Metro Chicago, p.8]
    • Chicago Tribune
  15. Varsity Blues
    If you are willing to overlook the occasional missed block, clumsy tackle or dropped pass, there is more than enough in Varsity Blues to keep you engrossed.
  16. The Thin Red Line
    One of the most curious and perversely brilliant films ever made in the American studio system. It's a shining example of qualities we don't normally see in our big theatrical pictures: vast ambition, huge resources and technical genius mated to a unique and compelling vision of life.
  17. Affliction
    Violence may provide entertainment value in more crass or commercially minded projects, but in the unflinching world of Affliction, it leads only to the ruination of your soul. [5 February 1999, Friday, p.D]
    • Chicago Tribune
  18. Hilary and Jackie
    Gripping in purely cinematic terms as an imaginatively told tale of sibling rivalry and the pressures of great expectations.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Faculty
    All the young actors, especially Joshua Hartnett as the misunderstood drug dealer, deliver fine performances in their diverse group, which forms a kind of horror film equivalent of "The Breakfast Club." [25 Dec 1998]
    • Chicago Tribune
  20. A Civil Action
    This is Hollywood expertise and Hollywood civic idealism at high levels.
  21. Stepmom
    Too loud, bright and shallow for its subject: a movie that pushes too many obvious buttons to build naturally to the big, heartbreaking climax it obviously wants.
  22. Mighty Joe Young
    Mighty Joe Young is a mighty big movie about a mighty big gorilla. And a lot of it is mighty bad -- unless you're a devotee of high tech and low camp, elephantine effects and mouse-sized stories, politically correct nostalgia and/or Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton in jungle outfits.
  23. Down in the Delta
    Down in the Delta's large heart is certainly in the right place, but it is beating just a bit too slowly. [25 Dec 1998, p.S]
    • Chicago Tribune
  24. The Theory of Flight
    The Theory of Flight is built from the kind of material that either soars or crashes with audiences. And here, it doesn't quite hold together. But if the film, as a whole, never takes flight, the actors do. Watching them bicker and sail up is so delightful, you only wish their vehicle could keep them aloft longer.
  25. The General
    A near-masterpiece, it is one of the most effective and convincing studies of a criminal ever put on screen. [22 Jan 1999, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  26. A Simple Plan
    Generates genuine tension because it's propelled by actual human feeling, which, these days, turns out to be a surprisingly thrilling prospect. [11 Dec 1998]
    • Chicago Tribune
  27. Shakespeare in Love
    Some scholars may scowl, some lowbrows may scoff. But, like wordwise Will, these filmmakers know how to win a crowd -- from the queen down to the groundlings, from the sky above to the stage below. Bravo! [5 December 1998, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  28. Rushmore
    A true original: a film that stands apart from the crowd, goes its own way and all but dares you not to like it.
  29. Little Voice
    A slightly more light-hearted version of the "Shine" story. [4 December 1998, Friday, p.A]
    • Chicago Tribune
  30. Babe: Pig in the City
    It's refreshing that a family movie dares to be as emotionally charged as this one, but you wish Miller had paused before he piled everything on and said to himself, "That'll do."
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