Christian Science Monitor's Scores

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For 4,492 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 55% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 43% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.1 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 67
Highest review score: 100 'Round Midnight
Lowest review score: 0 Couples Retreat
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,780 out of 4492
  2. Mixed: 1,361 out of 4492
  3. Negative: 351 out of 4492
4492 movie reviews
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  1. Bob, Verushka & the Pursuit of Happiness
    Tries to be a new "Something Wild"; ends up being tamer than tame.
  2. Man of the Century
    Funny dialogue, crisp black-and-white cinematography, and a well-chosen cast of mostly stage-trained actors raise this eccentric fantasy a notch above the ordinary.
  3. The Island
    The first half is high-quality science fiction, the rest is a high-tech chase adventure with a gleeful yen for destructive thrills.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    They All Laughed
    The impressive presences of Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara help just a little. Otherwise, it's a hollow and very minor affair. [31 Dec 1981, p.23]
    • Christian Science Monitor
  5. After the Sunset
    This indirect rehash of "To Catch a Thief" trades Hitchcockian shrewdness for the slickest kinds of Hollywood glitz, gloss, and vulgarity.
  6. Happy Gilmore
    Adam Sandler is funny as the volatile hero, and the screenplay is just abrasive enough to keep the story surprising.
  7. Star Trek: First Contact
    The action is carefully calculated to captivate a wide audience while allowing hard-core trekkies to savor nuances of plot and personality.
  8. Trading Places
    Directed by John Landis with a surprising amount of class, though he lets some of his old ''Animal House'' vulgarity slip ostentatiously into the action.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Traitor
    Cheadle's innate goodness is the film's main dilemma, since the truth under the story's surface (which we won't reveal here) can be contained for only so long, and with ever-diminishing dramatic returns.
  10. Excalibur
    At a time when most movies try far too little, I don't like berating Excalibur for taking on too much. It's just that Mr. Boorman never quite achieves what he attempts. [23 April 1981, p.19]
    • Christian Science Monitor
  11. Shock and Awe
    It’s a rote piece of work that, oddly, also feels dated even at a time when the press and the White House have rarely been more at odds.
  12. Spy Hard
    Most of the laughs come near the beginning, before Rick Friedberg's klutzy directing becomes annoyingly monotonous.
  13. Les amants criminels
    Its eventual failure to make sense indicates that it's intended more as a surrealistic fable than an ordinary sex-and-violence adventure.
  14. Beyond the Sea
    Spacey is almost as swinging as Darin was, but his filmmaking leans toward tried-and-true formulas.
  15. Men of Honor
    Gooding and De Niro bring their characters to vivid life despite the unsubtle screenplay and hyperactive music score.
  16. X-Men
    The mood is awfully dark for an escapist fantasy, though, and the high-tech mayhem gets repetitious.
  17. Brother
    Enough odd twists to be mildly interesting.
  18. The Emperor's Club
    At a time when much public education is in a state of perilous decay, one wonders whether this sentimental ode to old-school dignity and privilege is in touch with today's pressing realities.
  19. Life Is Beautiful
    Has good intentions, but its exaggerated celebration of quick-witted improvisation ultimately trivializes the human and historical horrors evoked by the story.
  20. 21 Jump Street
    Look for a cameo by a movie star whose initials are J.D.
  21. Harry + Max
    Intermittently insightful, but a disappointment from the talented Munch.
  22. The Thirteenth Floor
    Darkly elegant cinematography helps compensate for awful dialogue and lackluster acting.
  23. The Omen
    This is one of those movies that profits from very low expectations. If you go in expecting something dreadful, be assured: It's only near dreadful.
  24. We Need to Talk About Kevin
    It's a creepy and disturbing movie, but there's not a lot going on behind people's eyes. The soullessness lacks soul.
  25. 16 Years of Alcohol
    The pacing soon grows dull and the frequent narration is a nonstop string of clichés, platitudes, and truisms that should have been flung out the cutting-room window.
  26. Till Human Voices Wake Us
    Petroni's directorial debut is too bittersweet and atmospheric for its own good, wrapping a potentially strong story in too many layers of misty emotion.
  27. Mona Lisa Smile
    Roberts brings a sense of personal conviction to her part -- she's quite a feminist herself -- and as much sense of humor as the corny screenplay allows.
  28. Serious Moonlight
    What may have started out as a comedy devolves into quasi-Stephen King territory.
  29. Cobb
    Cobb would be a more persuasive picture if the filmmakers had a clearer idea of their intentions.
  30. Stoker
    Park employs all manner of cinematic derring-do – shock cuts, off-kilter compositions, discontinuous storytelling – all to no great purpose other than to make us go “Wow.” A more appropriate response might be, “Huh?”
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