CNN's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
For 607 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 42% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 54% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 61
Highest review score: 100 Come from Away
Lowest review score: 20 Dolittle
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 44 out of 607
607 movie reviews
  1. Those raised on John's music will surely luxuriate in the songs, from the title track to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Your Song" to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." In those moments, it's easy to share the euphoric sense of being lifted off the ground. It's only a bit of shame that Rocketman, as constructed, doesn't consistently stay airborne.
  2. Written and directed by Lee Cronin, the wit and humor that Campbell brought to past incarnations (including a Starz series revival) is in relatively short supply here. The film rather relies upon lots of jump scares and gruesome makeup effects, as well as the prospect of Ellie’s possessed form trying to do in her kids. That includes her very-young daughter (Nell Fisher), a semi-distasteful element even by the standards of the genre.
  3. Greta Thunberg's inspiring children's crusade on the climate-change crisis receives dutiful if somewhat sluggish documentary treatment in "I Am Greta," an intimate portrait of the teenage activist that at its best conveys her courage and spirit, before bogging down in what becomes a somewhat repetitious call for action.
  4. There's nary a note of surprise to be found, but the heroism and man-dog bond carry the movie along.
  5. The amount of new information in "The Princess" will likely depend on one's personal Royals-related media consumption, but the packaging of this stark and intimate documentary -- marking the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death -- serves as a sobering reminder of how the press hounded her from the moment of her engagement until her tragic death.
  6. Lionel Richie serves as the de facto tour guide for this trip down memory lane, which fulfills its promise to make a better day (or at least 90-some-odd minutes) for you and me.
  7. A particularly rich Disney+ documentary that captures the man as well as the ideas that will ensure him a kind of immortality.
  8. Unlike most biographical documentaries, “Stephen Curry: Underrated” benefits from having two very distinct windows in mind, both buttressing its underlying point: Curry as a barely recruited, under-sized high school prospect, before merging as a college star at Davidson; and his most recent title with the Golden State Warriors. Either would be good enough, but put together, “Underrated” shoots and scores.
  9. Opening up about her bipolar disorder is surely a service, but the six-year span encompassed by this intimate Apple TV+ presentation labors to flesh out its revelations into a documentary.
  10. For an actor known for having led his crew as it boldly explored humankind’s final frontier, “You Can Call Me Bill,” somewhat disappointingly, takes its extensive access to Shatner and doesn’t go much of anywhere.
  11. His catchphrase notwithstanding, "Borat" isn't always very nice; indeed, the material is pointed, and occasionally guilty of working a little too hard to shock. In its best moments, though, the twisted mirror that Cohen holds up to America from a Borat's-eye-view is telling, and like the previous "moviefilm," very, very funny.
  12. Oyelowo's film delivers its simple message to appreciate the people you love ably enough, without leaving the intended ripples in its wake.
  13. The film makes a sobering point about the danger of rushing to judgment and trial by media, but undermines that with its ham-handed approach to key parts of the story.
  14. Edgy, unsettlingly paranoid and genuinely clever, it’s a logical continuation of the conversation writer-director Sam Esmail started with “Mr. Robot.”
  15. Permutations on Sherlock Holmes have a long and spotty cinematic history, which makes Enola Holmes -- a vehicle for "Stranger Things'" Millie Bobby Brown, who doubled as its producer -- such a pleasant surprise. Adapted from the young-adult books, it's a lovely production that reinforces the sense Brown, if there were any doubts, is a major star in the making.
  16. The latest film begins from a slightly unexpected premise, but then efficiently spins it to yield additional horror while giving theater-goers every reason to keep their mouths shut.
  17. To its credit, this two hour, 43-minute movie (thus making the title a bit of a lie) assiduously builds on everything that the recent Bond movies have established, in a way earlier incarnations generally didn't. That has deepened the character, allowing Bond to experience grief, loss and love without hitting the reset button, the recurrence of the villainous Blofeld notwithstanding.
  18. While it’s fun seeing “The Breakfast Club” as they near “The Early-Bird Dinner Club” years, this is one of those projects that would have benefited from a more journalistic tone.
  19. What really defines the film is meeting the title character's other "family," whose members are equal parts colorfully eccentric and lethal.
  20. Despite a glittering pedigree, the result is an earnest film deficient in the inspirational qualities of its subject matter.
  21. James Cameron has done it again with Avatar: The Way of Water, a state-of-the-art exercise that rekindles that sense of wonder and demands to be seen by anyone with lingering interest in watching movies in theaters.
  22. The destination, frankly, is probably less compelling than the journey. But Frye's wide web of contacts offers a compelling window into not only her past, but the very specific cultural moment when it all unfolded.
  23. Like other self-referential horror/comedies (the “Scream” franchise come to mind), the film ably delivers on its premise, mining enough life from its satirical concept to deliver plenty of crowd-pleasing moments.
  24. The Idea of You will likely be most satisfying for those who choose not to sweat the details, enjoying the scenery and fantasy wrapped up in it. Think of it as one of those movies that really reinforces the adage there are no new ideas, just fresh versions of old ones set to different beats.
  25. A "Rashomon"-like tale that tells its story from different perspectives, this fact-based adaptation of Eric Jager's book is muddy, bloody and grim but too drawn out in filtering 14th-century feudal norms through a modern prism.
  26. The resulting movie, however, hits the wrong notes, repeating mundane lyrics without uttering the words that keep coming to mind, which are "precious" and "pretentious."
  27. Tesla even more aggressively incorporates documentary-style techniques and weird anachronisms into the drama. His story is essentially narrated by Morgan's daughter, Anne (Eve Hewson), in a way that gives the movie a decidedly off-kilter spin. At one point, Hawke even sings a few bars of the 1980s song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," recorded decades after Tesla's death.
  28. Long Shot is a movie somewhat at war with itself, seeking to combine political satire with crude (in the mode of many Seth Rogen movies) romantic comedy. Both elements work in fits and starts, but they tend to offset each other, yielding a film more enjoyable for individual moments than any sort of cohesive whole.
  29. In the parlance of Olympic diving – a good analogy for blockbuster movie-making – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever faced an inordinate degree of difficulty, addressing the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman. That the movie manages to strike that somber chord and still deliver as Marvel-style entertainment represents a major accomplishment, though the tension created by those two forces grinding in different directions can’t entirely be ignored.
  30. Simply in terms of presenting a draft of history through his earlier work and scalding commentary via his more recent endeavors, Souza's aim has been true.

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