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. Billy Elliot
    Trumpets the worthwhile message that ballet is just as manly and athletic as any other masculine activity - and maybe a touch more so, if you have to defy an uncomprehending community in order to pursue it.
  2. Senna
    Not surprisingly, a documentary constructed entirely from newsreel footage proves inadequate to the task of sounding the depths of someone as complicated or driven (pun intended) as Senna.
  3. The Savages
    As thin and jokey as this movie often is, I prefer it to the serioso treatment that usually encrusts this type of material. At its best, The Savages captures the lunacy that comes with coping with sorrow.
  4. Red Satin
    Sincere acting and heartfelt filmmaking add energy to this unassuming Tunisian drama.
  5. Kiss of the Spider Woman
    It packs an emotional punch despite shortcomings of story and style.
  6. Shrek
    The visuals are amazingly realistic, filling the screen with authentic effects.
  7. Rain
    Jeffs is an unusually gifted director, but her screenplay (based on Kirsty Gunn's novel) never quite gets a firm grip or a fresh perspective on its coming-of-age subject matter.
  8. Writer of O
    Touching and sentimental.
  9. Curious George
    Because almost all animated films now are computer generated, the 2-D animated Curious George has the not-unpleasant patina of an antique.
  10. Mojados: Through the Night
    A gripping documentary, although we learn too little of the relationship between the filmmaker and his subjects.
  11. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    The film is fine enough to make you forgive, if not forget, the fact that it exists primarily as a corporate enterprise and not as an imaginative tour de force.
  12. Phone Booth
    Has undertones of serious commentary on American violence, thanks to the screenplay by Larry Cohen, who often uses horror-film plots to explore cracks and contradictions in society.
  13. Cuba: Island of Music
    The analytical discussions don't run very deep, but eyes will shine and toes will tap whenever this picture is shown.
  14. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
    It would have better if Brooks had invested more time trying to discover what makes AMERICANS laugh.
  15. Truth
    The film basically upholds the verity of the news story while not condoning the sloppiness, and it’s worth seeing mostly for Cate Blanchett’s firebrand performance as Mapes, a battler consumed by righteousness.
  16. Gran Torino
    This is Eastwood's first acting job since "Million Dollar Baby," and his range, like his raspiness, is fairly one-note.
  17. Union Square
    The material is vivid and harrowing, although the movie provides little analysis or larger-scale context.
  18. Remember Me, My Love
    Very well acted and directed, if overlong.
  19. Get Shorty
    The picture has enough assets to please moviegoers willing to put up with its many four-letter words and the bursts of violence that spring from nowhere at unexpected moments. [27 October 1995, Arts Film, p.12]
    • Christian Science Monitor
  20. Spring Forward
    The movie's seven scenes were filmed in real time (as opposed to condensed editing-room time) over the course of a year, giving the drama an extra touch of realism and humanity.
  21. Sophie's Choice
    The overall result is a serious though harrowing journey into the dark corners of this century, marked by a compassionate approach and even a fillip of optimism at the end.
  22. Broken English
    A pleasantly disposable romantic comedy starring the once and future indie-queen Parker Posey.
  23. Closer
    It's too emotionally honest and psychologically dense for its own good. It's a movie that demands more than one viewing to absorb all its ideas and feelings.
  24. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
    All emerge as vivid historical figures in this lucid account.
  25. Legal Eagles
    A reasonably bright and original movie -- with enough good-natured star performances to make up for glitches in the screenplay, which never quite decides if it's more interested in laughs, chills, or romance.
  26. A Love Song for Bobby Long
    Rambling, meandering, likable.
  27. Noise
    The black comedy Noise may be a one-joke movie but it's a resonant one.
  28. About Elly (2009)
    The dense interweave of relationships, a Farhadi specialty, is continually compelling.
  29. Pooh's Heffalump Movie
    The gentle story, told via old-fashioned "flat" animation, is perfect for the very youngest viewers.
  30. Let the Sunshine In
    The movie is all a bit more airy than it needs to be, but Isabelle’s startlements are like a double take that never lets up.
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