L.A. Weekly's Scores

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For 3,750 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 46% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 8.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 56
Highest review score: 100 A Bread Factory Part Two: Walk With Me a While
Lowest review score: 0 Deuces Wild
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,540 out of 3750
  2. Mixed: 1,542 out of 3750
  3. Negative: 668 out of 3750
3750 movie reviews
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  1. Freedom Writers
    It all sounds like a recipe for the most noxious liberal jerk-off movie since "Crash," but in the hands of writer-director Richard LaGravenese, Freedom Writers turns out to be a superb piece of mainstream entertainment -- not an agonized debate over the principles of modern education à la "The History Boys," but a simple, straightforward and surprisingly affecting story of one woman who managed to make a difference.
  2. King Leopold's Ghost
    King Leopold's Ghost is an often infuriating (and excruciating) film to watch, but one that gets to the root of the despair that now plagues so much of the African continent.
  3. Barbershop 2: Back in Business
    An even richer, smarter, funnier sequel.
  4. Kitchen Stories
    In the landscape of contemporary movie comedies, Kitchen Stories is like a rejuvenating blast of crisp Nordic air.
  5. The Station Agent
    Quiet and meditative, Dinklage neatly sidesteps the trope of the angry dwarf, and Clarkson, even in pain and rage, is characteristically warm and sexy -- she's our very own Helen Mirren.
  6. Pure
    Real kudos goes to Molly Parker, searing as a heroin-addicted mother immobilized by the death of her husband, and to a poised little boy named Harry Eden, who's astonishingly good as the 10-year-old son desperately trying to hold her to the straight and narrow.
  7. Notorious C.H.O.
    When she unabashedly puts herself in the same category as Richard Pryor (the master of identity politics and cultural reportage), it's not just presumptuous posturing on her part. She's earned her place there.
  8. Cube
    Although character arcs are a little too abruptly truncated as the story moves, Natali never fumbles the big picture.
  9. Holes
    Although parents of small children are advised to give the film an advance look, Holes may nudge older kids toward that most ancient of after-school distractions: reading.
  10. How to Draw a Bunny
    Unlike most documentaries about arty types, John Walter's wonderfully capricious, wittily edited film about Johnson seeks to make precise all the different ways in which the artist managed to remain opaque.
  11. Group
    Some psychobabble ("We're all trying to be who we are") is inevitable, but somehow or other the thing works, largely because the acting, though primarily reactive, invests the movie with enough immediacy and specificity to turn the most excruciating banality into an original thought.
  12. The American Astronaut
    The result is a sui generis, love-it-or-hate-it exercise in homegrown American surrealism.
  13. The Stepford Wives
    Contrary to recent rumors that it was a dud, the new Stepford Wives, with its chocolate-box visual style, archly heavy-handed foreshadowing and its scene-for-scene parody of the original's fright strategies (Walken's waxy menace is once again played for laughs), is a gas.
  14. Burnt Money
    Those who hang in for the long haul are rewarded with a sexy, moving love story.
  15. Rana's Wedding
    The movie's wistful tone leavened with breaks into farce recalls Elia Suleiman's superbly controlled "Chronicle of a Disappearance."
  16. Standing in the Shadows of Motown
    The film's energy is primarily due to the rich storytelling skills of the musicians, who trot out anecdotes and memories filled with humor and wry philosophizing.
  17. In This World
    The movie's staccato pacing, lent emphasis by Dario Marianelli's haunting score, evokes the cycles of tedium and terror that make the journey so unnerving.
  18. Yossi & Jagger
    Enlivened by journalist Avner Bernheimer's delicately witty script and some lively ensemble performances under the direction of Eytan Fox, the film offers a haunting portrait of a generation forced to risk their lives in the service of military goals they're far from totally committed to.
  19. Born Romantic
    Kane believes in happy endings, but he makes his characters earn theirs, as each couple is forced, ever so subtly, to face its own inner nonsense. The filmmaker has divine actors at his disposal.
  20. The Talent Given Us
    A painful, hilarious and immensely moving rumination on mid-life angst.
  21. Live Free or Die Hard
    Provided you don't think too long or hard about it (and why ever would you?), Live Free or Die Hard is infectious good fun, and a tremendous encouragement to the middle aged.
  22. Nowhere Man
    If Blake Edwards wrote a script and then Abel Ferrara directed it, it might look something like Nowhere Man.
  23. The Monkey's Mask
    What makes the film compelling is the filmmakers' ability to blend a studied (occasionally academic) dissection of cultural and sexual decadence with a potboiler plot.
  24. Blind Spot. Hitler's Secretary
    Junge's testimony about the last days in Hitler's bunker will fascinate the layperson, but it adds little to what is already known by historians.
  25. Stone Reader
    To anyone whose soul lives or dies by reading or writing or both, the movie is a total thrill, and not just as a debate on the nature of the one-shot writer or the decline of publishing.
  26. House of Flying Daggers
    The most seamless piece of sensuous expressionism Zhang has created since "Ju Dou" (1990).
  27. Yang Ban Xi: The 8 Modelworks
    Enthralling documentary.
  28. The Letter: An American Town and the 'Somali Invasion'
    The result is a carefully wrought, historically grounded and thoroughly absorbing look at a quintessential American experience.
  29. The Believer
    After its electric opening -- one of the few occasions where Bean advances his case cinematically, showing rather than just telling -- the film rapidly assumes the shape of a 100-minute debate, as Danny argues against the Jews and, in the same breath, for them.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Man Without a Past
    If Aki Kaurismaki were the Eagles, which he is not, The Man Without a Past might be considered a kind of "best of" album.
  31. Together
    Moodysson's movie, one part mash note and three parts scathing piss-taker, is hugely compassionate toward the well-meaning fools in his tale, but he doesn't suffer their nonsense gladly; his film is, in large part, about grown-ups needing to grow up.
  32. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
    Ray Harryhausen's original stop-motion Sinbad classics are a hard act to follow, but Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore's update, couched in a gorgeous palette of indigo and dark rose, is a big, beautiful thrill all its own.
  33. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    Although he never matches the book in either brilliance or sheer perversity, Minghella has remained essentially true to his source.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Yiddish Theater: A Love Story
    [A] wistful and moving portrait of quixotically dedicated artisans playing to half-empty houses, struggling for solvency and relevance — which renders it not just a movie about a theater in particular, but about the theater in general.
  35. Jet Lag
    Danièle Thompson's romantic comedy is excellent fluff français, leavened with charm, wit and smart observation about the way we love now.
  36. Down to the Bone
    Quietly devastating.
  37. Hatchet
    This horror comedy is loaded with decapitations, bodies torn in two and spewing blood, and yet, unlike the grim, torture-filled gore-fests of late, Hatchet’s mayhem is so giddily over-the-top that you end up applauding the low-budget aplomb of it all.
  38. Nearing Grace
    The actors are superb -- especially Smith, who exudes some of the live-wire charisma of the young Sean Penn in Rosenthal's "Bad Boys," and the smoldering Brewster.
  39. Time of the Wolf
    Time of the Wolf is tough medicine, to be sure. Yet, the movie builds to a note of cautious optimism that is as stirring as it is unexpected.
  40. Transporter 2
    This ridiculously entertaining sequel is that rare part deux that leaves you hankering for part trois. The action is, in a word, spectacular, but also playful, inventive and witty.
  41. Reykjavík
    First-time director Baltasar Kormakur -- balances tones with a smooth, mature confidence.
  42. Monsoon Wedding
    Nair, who, in this film as in so many others, aims for the beating heart of the predictable movie moment.
  43. Outside Providence
    Baldwin's perfectly impacted performance as a tough-love provider (the actor gets some of the best lines in the movie).
  44. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
    It's forceful and alive and spilling over with crazy poetry.
  45. Down by Love
    Fascinating film, which tracks Éva's slowly dawning realization that she's being played for a fool, an insight that may be driving her mad.
  46. Little Lili
    It's the third feature Miller has shot using lightweight digital video cameras, and the result is a special lightness in the work itself -- the glowing images ease into one another like leaves turning in a summer breeze, while the performances are similarly effortless.
  47. The Fast and the Furious
    The best cheap thrill to come out of Hollywood in ages -- it's a shot of tonic for the current blockbuster bloat.
  48. Sex Is Comedy
    Those who are already in her (Breillat) camp will find much to feed on in this at once intellectualized and accessible, documentary-style peek inside the head of a passionately driven woman and artist.
  49. Keane
    British actor Damian Lewis, in an astonishingly elastic yet disciplined performance, invests Keane with a richly ambiguous, heartbreaking inner life that's only at peace when he manages to form a tenuous human connection.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The U.S. vs. John Lennon
    The U.S. vs. John Lennon offers up the singer's famous, filmed confrontation with the ludicrously snotty New York Times writer Gloria Emerson, who calls Lennon "dear boy" as he heatedly attempts to defend the role of the artist in political discourse. No devious editing required here: Although Lennon seems to lose his composure in the encounter, Emerson looks an utter clown all on her own.
  51. Nowhere in Africa
    The movie's real strength lies in its intelligent, sympathetic account of the dynamic, difficult marriage of Regina's parents.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sex with Strangers
    The effect is so riveting, and the cameras so psychologically penetrating, you may be left breathless -- but satisfied.
  53. American Psycho
    Cloaking (Bateman's) world in a hyperrealist light so sharp you could cut yourself on it, Harron keeps the violence minimal, over the top and ghoulishly funny.
  54. Adorenarin doraibu
    Not to mention the good-when-moody, best-when-raucous art-band soundtrack!
  55. Somersault
    This remarkable film from Australia, the debut feature of writer-director Cate Shortland, moves to the lyrical rhythms and unhurried pace of a 1970s road movie.
  56. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
    Smart, goofy and endearing, Cho and Penn make a terrific team, and the fact that they're starring in their own movie suggests that, in the Hollywood comedy frat house, there's finally room for everyone.
  57. Super Size Me
    The speed with which a healthy, relatively young stud can morph into a tub of lard is as horrifying as it is entertaining to watch.
  58. Human Resources
    What makes this straightforward film so incredibly moving is that it keeps its scathing political commentary firmly rooted in everyday struggle.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Buena Vista Social Club
    Buena Vista avoids literal politics, as if all that is beside this film's point.
  60. Alice et Martin
    Miraculous photography.
  61. Step Into Liquid
    The movie's tag line, which promises (among other things) “No stereotypes,” is one of those rare cases of truth in advertising. That Brown also happens to have captured some genuinely awesome surf footage -- often the only raison d’être for such films -- feels like a bonus.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II
    A running spoof of "The Godfather" is especially hilarious, as are numerous, sly digs at all things Disney.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    4 Little Girls
    The film is artfully made, its occasional excesses of style moderated by the plain force of the content and the passion of the testimony.
  64. Celebrity
    Celebrity is one of Woody Allen’s finest. This is a minority opinion….But I prefer Allen when he works in a minor key – “Broadway Danny Rose,” “Radio Days” --precisely because he’s not trying to be profound, only true to firsthand observation.
  65. Bright Leaves
    McElwee fans will welcome back the wonderful Charleen, his former teacher and lifelong friend, older and mellower but as beguiling and free-spirited as ever.
  66. Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire
    An intellectually steelier case against Bush, his cabalistic administration and the Iraq war than Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, Hijacking is even more chilling because it eschews the heartstring symphony conducted (albeit very effectively) by Moore and sticks to irrefutable facts and no-bullshit analysis.
  67. Trembling Before G-d
    Remarkable exploration of sexuality and the Jewish faith.
  68. The Tunnel
    Director Roland Suso Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts.
  69. Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
    For all its shock-driven, laugh-out-loud moments, what makes Jesus so entertaining is that it puts you in the presence of a dementedly sharp mind -- one that understands that leftist subversion doesn't have to coddle or breast-feed the choir.
  70. Liyana
    The animation that brings Liyana to life, created by Shofela Coker, is gorgeous, but the reason it resonates has everything to do with the way it’s woven into footage of the children telling Liyana’s story or going about their everyday business.
  71. Daughter from Danang
    The film's almost unbearable portrait of sadness and grief transcends its specific story to speak to the ways in which need, history and presumption tangle, and sometimes destroy, blood ties.
  72. The Five Obstructions
    From its very first frames it exerts a powerful fascination.
  73. Eureka
    Eerily compelling.
  74. As Good as It Gets
    As funny as it's got all year. Manipulative and calculating? Sure. Submit! Enjoy!
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
    It may seem overblown when one of the gamers calls Donkey Kong a metaphor for life, but The King of Kong is just that -- a reminder of how we all have to prove ourselves to others, and the extent to which the odds are often stacked against outsiders and newcomers.
  76. Chocolat
    While there are scenes of wrenching emotional openness and spontaneous charm -- largely due to the irresistible allure and impeccable craft of its ensemble cast -- the degree of calculation apparent in its plot and images undermines its efforts to move and seduce.
  77. Winged Migration
    Astonishing both for the beauty of the birds and for its sheer technical brilliance.
  78. My Country, My Country
    Perhaps the most telling image in this remarkable movie is that of a relative intently swatting flies in Riyadh's house, while fighting rages outside.
  79. The Science of Sleep
    For the soul of Gondry's work, it seems to me, is neither its soaring flights of visual fancy nor its sometimes crude slapstick, but rather its pained understanding of a generation hopelessly tongue-tied when it comes to matters of the heart.
  80. Scream 3
    It's a pleasure to report that Scream 3 is an absolute riot, jammed with spicy cameos.
  81. What Time Is It Over There?
    Takes raw grief as its point of departure only to play out as a comedy of deadpan heartbreak.
  82. Elizabeth
    Bollywood meets The Godfather.
  83. Onmyoji: The Yin Yang Master
    Film is a ghostly and gorgeous tale of a court magician, the legendary Abe no Seimei.
  84. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
    Rough-hewn, improvisatory and contentedly lo-fi, the resulting documentary should prove warmly encouraging to embattled progressives of all stripes, and incidentally offers the best political date-movie of the week.
  85. Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember
    Nearly three and a half hours in length, but owing to its freedom of movement, the film feels weightless.
  86. 2046
    The result is a film chilly and externalized in all the ways that Mood was bottled up and woozily dreamlike.
  87. Teacher's Pet
    This mouthy express train of a movie has giddy charm to burn, due in major part to the frantic charisma of Nathan Lane.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Devil and Daniel Johnston
    Some of his mystical encounters are just too spooky and amazing to reveal here, and Feuerzeig (director of previous documentaries on Jon Hendricks and Half Japanese) weaves them into the story with excellent timing and a psychedelic eye, aided by editor Tyler Hubby and cinematographer Fortunato Procopio.
  89. Levity
    Those who can forgive the director's pretensions will discover some fine filmmaking.
  90. Paranormal Activity
    Grounded by strong performances by newcomers Featherston and Sloat, who pretty much have the movie to themselves, Paranormal Activity, which demands to be seen in a crowded theater, is refreshingly blood-free.
  91. Ong Bak
    However shrewdly he's been packaged, Tony Jaa is the real thing.
  92. Happy Feet
    Antarctica is a beautiful blue paradise, and the final set piece, in which penguins and humans tap their way to a unity of green-minded spirit, is a small masterpiece of conciliatory wackiness.
  93. Next
    Directed by Lee Tamahori with his customary flash and glitter, Next lives from one brilliantly executed chase sequence to the next, which is more than enough reason to stay the course.
  94. Cars
    Exciting though the car-racing scenes are, with their millions of fan-cars swaying fluidly around the stadium, it's the drives through the canyons and passes, and the quiet old ruin of a town (which recalls the abandoned mall in Miyazaki’s "Spirited Away"), that truly quicken the pulse.
  95. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
    The gimmick is simple but devastatingly effective: Never once breaking character or acknowledging that he’s in on the joke, the Jew-fearing, grammatically challenged reporter ingratiates himself with his unsuspecting, average-American victims before uproariously turning the tables on them.
  96. The Sixth Sense
    Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan lets the tension rise slowly, leads you everywhere you don't expect, doesn't rip you off and totally freaks you out -- all without stale effects or gore.
  97. There's Something About Mary
    Their taste is as bad as their timing is exquisite.
  98. Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
    Pettigrew assumes that Fellini was a genius, and while this film won't convince any skeptics, the maestro's fans can sink into it like a hot bath.
  99. 28 Days Later...
    The movie is mercifully uncontaminated by the smarty-pants self-reflexiveness that has sucked the lifeblood from nearly all post-"Scream" horror pictures. Clever enough not to be too clever, Boyle and Garland play their story straight -- they just want to give you the creeps -- and, by so doing, bring the undead back to cinematic life.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi
    Although Zatoichi may disappoint some Kitano purists, who might think it a vanity piece or submission to popular taste -- he's even begun moving his camera -- its pyrotechnics are still audacious and breathtaking.
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