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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    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Kindergarten Cop
    This is "high concept" moviemaking at its most relentless, but it has a few chuckles, and Linda Hunt pulls off some fine moments in a small role. Ivan Reitman directed, by the numbers. [15 Mar 1991]
    • Christian Science Monitor
  2. One Hour Photo
    What damps down the psychological power of One Hour Photo is director Mark Romanek's reluctance to let the film become as idiosyncratically unnerving as its main character.
  3. Wall Street: A Wondering Trip
    Documentary about stock trading, with some vivid images but no clear perspectives or opinions on the material it presents.
  4. March of the Penguins
    As a zoological spectacle the movie is riveting. But the narration tries to make us think of these adorable animals as if they saw the world in human terms.
  5. Must Love Dogs
    Virtually every person in the story is fabulously cute, picturesquely forlorn, adorably ditzy, or winsomely philosophical. In short, there's plenty of smooth storytelling but not a hint of reality here.
  6. Bait
    The comically tinged action is as lively as it is brainless, and it revels in violence a bit less eagerly than many thrillers of its ilk.
  7. Southie
    The movie paints a vivid portrait of a time and place, but falls back on familiar formulas that diminish its value as both emotional drama and slice-of-life realism.
  8. House of Fools
    Konchalovsky keeps the action reasonably quick, but sentimental storytelling eventually swamps the picture.
  9. On the Road
    It's all rather exhausting, as opposed to exhilirating.
  10. Don't Move
    The story wants to be a sort of "Last Tango in Paris" redux, but it falls into mere melodrama after a brilliant beginning.
  11. Limitless
    What would you do if you could take a pill and suddenly access 100 percent of your brain power? This is the premise behind Limitless, a sci-fi thriller that looks as if its makers utilized around 30 percent of theirs.
  12. Cadence
    Directed by Martin Sheen, the picture works hard to be socially and psychologically penetrating but doesn't quite make the grade. [15 Mar 1991, p.12]
    • Christian Science Monitor
  13. Too Much Sleep
    The movie's concept is amusing, but much of the acting and dialogue is as uninspired as the story's deliberately bland suburban setting.
  14. Return to Paradise
    The story raises challenging moral and legal questions but loses energy in a miscalculated romantic subplot.
  15. City of Ghosts
    The film has plenty of shortcomings, but it's fun to see Caan back in action.
  16. Waterworld
    At least Dennis Hopper plays the bad guy with wildness and wit. Costner's stolid hero seems a washout by comparison.
  17. Annie
    Annie turns out to be a reasonably entertaining movie.
  18. The Seagull's Laughter
    Solid acting and an intriguing plot compensate for some dull spots.
  19. The Brothers Bloom
    The Brothers Bloom is much more interested in showing off its own smarts, such as they are, than in challenging the audience's.
  20. Independence Day
    The action is fast, furious, and loaded with explosive effects, but the theme is a regrettable return to the us-against-them paranoia that dominated much science fiction in the cold-war era.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Eclipse
    The energy slacks off in the final third. It’s a bit like “The Sixth Sense” – but without any of the mystery.
  22. From the Other Side
    Akerman is among the most imaginative filmmakers in her native Belgium or anywhere else, but here she doesn't get very far beneath the surface of her subject.
  23. Fever
    This offbeat drama has more atmosphere than logic, but a few sequences are strikingly well acted and filmed.
  24. Kill by Inches
    This dark psychological story falls short in terms of filmmaking and acting, but it's original enough to stand out from the crowd.
  25. The Statement
    Caine puts all his formidable talent into pulling this off, but Jewison's directing and Roland Harwood's screenplay (based on Brian Moore's novel) provide a regrettably shaky foundation for him to build on.
  26. September Tapes
    The movie's heart is in the right place, but it looks and sounds regrettably bogus.
  27. Hitch
    Along with its try-anything-for-a-yuk screenplay, the worst thing about Hitch is its running time of almost two hours. Did the studio forget to edit this flimsy thing down?
  28. Bless the Child
    Often trite and predictable but grudgingly likable in the end.
  29. 8 Mile
    Pop-music biopics have a great history, but 8 Mile is for Eminem fans only. They're sure to make it a huge, huge hit.
  30. The Haunted Mansion
    While it may supply giggles and shivers to preteens, grownups should think twice before entering this all-too-haunted house.
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