Los Angeles Times' Scores

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For 16,523 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 56% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 38% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 Sand Storm
Lowest review score: 0 Saw VI
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8,698 out of 16523
  2. Mixed: 5,808 out of 16523
  3. Negative: 2,017 out of 16523
16523 movie reviews
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  1. Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
    A giddy, gassy piece of lunatic fluff that recounts Jiminy's rise to fame. In interviews, Short has described Glick as a moron with power, and in Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, he takes us back to the early days, when he was merely a moron.
  2. The Great Role
    It is a most tender love story, first and foremost, and a warm, affectionately humorous depiction of Kurz's close-knit Jewish friends and colleagues.
  3. Layer Cake
    A sleek, effective entertainment that is a refreshing respite from the slick emptiness of recent American crime dramas.
  4. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
    The most energetic of the prequels, the only one at all worth watching. But that doesn't mean it is without the weaknesses that scuttled its pair of predecessors. Quite the contrary.
  5. Madagascar
    Madagascar is a classical gas. It's a good-humored, pleasant confection that has all kinds of relaxed fun bringing computer-animated savvy to the old-fashioned world of Looney Tunes cartoons.
  6. Saving Face
    Alice Wu's debut film is so deft, natural and exquisitely specific, it feels fresh.
  7. Cinderella Man
    Cinderella Man's key emotional moments feel as if they've been predigested for an audience that can't be trusted to feel things for itself but needs to be firmly albeit lovingly pointed in the appropriate direction.
  8. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
    Has its share of summery charms, including gorgeous postcard views of Santorini, an old-worldy Romeo-Juliet romance, and some particularly good performances by Tamblyn and Boyd.
  9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
    In the end, star charisma and Liman's style win us over and we relax into a sophisticated summertime diversion that is noticeably intended for adults.
  10. The Story of an African Farm
    As it is, Bustin' Bonaparte is an enjoyable diversion, but with more energy and style it might have been a gem.
  11. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D
    On the whole it feels genuine. Lautner and Dooley are compelling as the sullen, instinctual Sharkboy and the radiant, hot-headed Lavagirl, and it's easy to see why they dominate shy, hesitant Max's dreams.
  12. Chrystal
    Chrystal unravels a bit toward the end as it becomes more fable-like, but the performances make it worthwhile.
  13. Heights
    Beautifully shot on location in New York and consistently well-acted, but it sticks a little too closely to the surface to be very compelling.
  14. Herbie Fully Loaded
    It may be by-the-numbers, but it knows that under the right circumstances those numbers can lead to a fair amount of fun.
  15. Waging a Living
    Through sensitive, in-depth profiles of four workers, Weisberg drives home the point that hard-working men and women with full-time jobs find themselves and their families trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of poverty.
  16. Lila Says
    Raw, earthy yet tender and perceptive, Lila Says marks a strong directorial debut for Doueiri, who was Quentin Tarantino's camera operator on "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown."
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Twist of Faith
    It's a demanding film but one filled with important truths about humanity in all its denominations.
  18. Dark Water
    Brazilian Walter Salles, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated films "Central Station" and "The Motorcycle Diaries," guides this stylish remake through treacherous territory to create a distressing, subtly suspenseful film full of emotional resonance.
  19. Chronicles
    The result is reasonably absorbing and a provocative if familiar commentary on media manipulation, with Leguizamo terrific in a serious, intense performance.
  20. On the Outs
    Bracing and remarkably compact drama, which invests some standard movie tropes of rough-and-tumble urban life with deep feeling and urgency.
  21. Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
    Delightfully demented.
  22. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    Burton's gifts ensure you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happy with what you're seeing.
  23. The Skeleton Key
    Tightly plotted and suspenseful enough to keep you guessing until the satisfying, unexpected end, which is worth suspending disbelief for. After all, as they point out in the movie, "It doesn't work if you don't believe it."
  24. Broken Flowers
    It's hard to fully empathize with Don's season of remorse. It's the big problem with Broken Flowers, and one I don't think the movie -- for all of its funny and occasionally poignant touches -- ever really transcends.
  25. My Date with Drew
    It plays less creepy on-screen than it sounds, at least in part because Herzlinger is an extremely likable guy and he goes to great lengths to avoid appearing to be a stalker.
  26. A State of Mind
    The result is a fresh, straightforward portrayal of what the film calls "the least visible ... least known ... least understood ... country in the world."
  27. Pretty Persuasion
    It's too bad that the satire is not more pointed, because Pretty Persuasion is outrageously funny in short blasts, mainly thanks to James Woods at his most gleefully depraved.
  28. Pulse
    Neither linear nor overly explained, Pulse completely dispenses with smash cuts, cymbal crashes and other editing tricks of the horror trade.
  29. Reel Paradise
    The uproarious laughter that floats from the cinema wonderfully illustrates the universality of the moviegoing experience.
  30. The Cave
    It's increasingly hard to work up a fright on the screen these days, but even if The Cave doesn't exactly terrify, it's fun and looks great.
  31. Wall
    A deeply personal and unexpectedly poetic film.
  32. Margaret Cho: Assassin
    She has something to say to everyone, and one can only hope that she is preaching to more than her choir of devoted fans.
  33. HellBent
    A hard-charging horror movie with a clever gay twist.
  34. Music from the Inside Out
    Anker evocatively captures the joys (and sometime frustrations) experienced by high-level artists working within an institution. The ardor they bring to their music is both enviable and inspiring.
  35. Cry_Wolf
    A clever teen thriller with intricate plotting, deft characterizations, sharp ensemble performances and a darkly ironic twist at the end.
  36. Venom
    Smartly directed by Jim Gillespie from a script by various hands, Venom is from Dimension Films and follows its stylish, energetic and darkly amusing horror movie tradition.
  37. Roll Bounce
    Has plenty of affectionate humor to balance some serious heart-tugging. And as for the roller-skating, it for sure provides a lot of razzle-dazzle action with lots of virtuoso terpsichorean touches.
  38. Dear Wendy
    By the time this astute and entirely distinctive film is over, the folly of America's love affair with guns, past and present, is laid bare with the same inescapable force with which Gregg Araki exposed the horror of child molestation in "Mysterious Skin," a similarly poetic and deceptively affectless film.
  39. Oliver Twist
    Polanski's version, though handsomely realized, is a fairly conventional rendering of the novel that probably won't be counted among his best films.
  40. Going Shopping
    It completes an informal trilogy that treats women's anxieties over food, motherhood and now clothes with humor and affection.
  41. The War Within
    Not entirely free from an aura of didacticism or contrivance, but the film by and large functions as a taut thriller. A drastic act late in the film on the part of Duri seems somewhat implausible, but that does not deter The War Within from emerging as a mostly well-wrought and timely tragedy.
  42. Never Been Thawed
    Wickedly funny and subversive.
  43. Where the Truth Lies
    The real reason to see it is its style, which sets an otherwise fairly unremarkable whodunit in a seedy, lite-Lynchian wonderland that's enjoyable to hang out in for a while.
  44. Land of Plenty
    Hampered by an ending that overreaches needlessly, the film is nevertheless worthy and unmistakably the effort of an enduringly distinctive and important filmmaker.
  45. Loggerheads
    For a film in a naturalistic mode, Loggerheads gets a shade too elliptical at its finish but still leaves a deep impression as to how irrevocable life's choices can be.
  46. Summer Storm
    Kreuzpaintner displays a natural gift with actors and a clarity in storytelling that result in a fresh take on what otherwise might have been a familiar coming-of-age story.
  47. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story
    The low-key charm of its setting underscores the easygoing performances of a relaxed, well-matched cast. Kristofferson doesn't oversell the grizzled grandpa routine or talk down to the little girl.
  48. Shopgirl
    It's smart, spare, elegant and understated.
  49. Ushpizin
    A gently humorous fable about the power of faith and the possibility of change, Ushpizin not only takes place in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, it was filmed with that media-shy group's cooperation and followed religious law at all times.
  50. Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
    With Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family, documentarian Susan Kaplan has achieved the enviable effect of eavesdropping on her subjects for a meaningful exploration of the possibilities and the limits within any relationship.
  51. The Roost
    Full of genuine scares and impressively disturbing effects.
  52. Prime
    Despite the snappy brilliance of the setup, Prime doesn't entirely deliver on its promise -- something about the way it ends feels like a cop-out, and the opportunities for humor aren't exploited quite as well as they could be.
  53. Saw II
    For the most part the film succeeds in producing a frightening Halloween weekend experience.
  54. The Weather Man
    A surprisingly wry, contemplative movie.
  55. Gay Sex in the 70s
    A rich sense of the dawning of gay liberation.
  56. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
    An engrossing, muckraking documentary about the retail giant that's been called "the world's largest, richest and probably meanest corporation." But if you're expecting an angry diatribe, you're going to be disappointed.
  57. Walk the Line
    The movie is less an uncharted journey than a 2 p.m. bus tour of a music industry legend. But like an expert guide, Mangold shepherds the story with enough grace, energy and skill to make it worthwhile.
  58. Private
    Perhaps inevitably bleak and grueling, Private is also involving and provocative -- and critical of Israeli treatment of Palestinians in an effectively understated manner.
  59. First Descent
    As a result, what should have been a thrilling 90-minute sport adventure runs on for 20 more repetitive minutes. First Descent is exciting, but less would surely have been more.
  60. The Kid & I
    It is difficult to imagine anyone but Spheeris pulling off this movie, undercutting all mawkishness, bringing to it nuance and shading, not to mention wit. The result is an enjoyable family movie.
  61. Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt
    Brown's engrossing and poignant documentary on Van Zandt, is filled with appearances by celebrated performers who are simply fans of this legendarily troubled figure with the aching voice and haunted Lincoln-esque look.
  62. Memoirs of a Geisha
    Spanning two decades and a momentous war, Memoirs of a Geisha displays all the pomp and grandeur of an epic, but you wouldn't call it sweeping.
  63. The Family Stone
    A film that's at times as ragged and shaggy as its family unit. But as written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, its offbeat mixture of highly choreographed comic crises and the occasional bite of reality make for an unexpectedly enticing blend.
  64. The World's Fastest Indian
    Based on the real-life exploits of Munro, it's a boilerplate fish-out-of-water/road trip/underdog sports movie -- but it's a heck of a ride with Hopkins leading the way.
  65. Marebito (The Stranger from Afar)
    Provocative rather than scary, and it's made with visual flair.
  66. Cheaper by the Dozen 2
    A family comedy that is actually involving, even believable, and manages to be pretty funny too.
  67. Hoodwinked!
    Hoodwinked hasn't much time for soul or sentiment, but it is certainly amusingly smart and sassy.
  68. The Ringer
    Though the movie bears some of the Farrellys' trademark outrageous humor, it has a sweet demeanor and makes a noble statement.
  69. Tristan and Isolde
    This "Tristan" has its slightly silly moments, but rather like those fondly remembered epics of Hollywood past, its energy and entertainment value carry the day.
  70. The Fall of Fujimori
    A confoundingly mercurial figure, Fujimori is a fascinating subject. But in her focus on the man, Perry fails to paint a broader picture of a racially diverse and extremely complex country.
  71. Go for Zucker
    Zippy, well-played, Wilder-esque farce.
  72. Why We Fight
    The long line of recent muckraking documentaries that has preceded Why We Fight does nothing to diminish its force.
  73. Bubble
    Despite its refreshingly straightforward style and compelling performers, the movie feels encased in an invisible, filmy membrane of its own. Soderbergh keeps his characters on one side of the wall and his audience on the other. As to which is living in the real world, I guess that's open to discussion.
  74. Following Sean
    What emerges from Arlyck's musings is a penetrating cinematic essay on how generations in the last century struggled to take hold of history and reconfigure the shape of daily life.
  75. Nanny McPhee
    A spicy little pastry with just the right proportions of flakiness and gooeyness.
  76. Curious George
    Turns out to be as simple, friendly, kid-appropriate and nontoxic as any major motion picmerchtainment franchise could ever hope to be.
  77. The Pink Panther
    The best thing about the replica is how wholeheartedly Martin throws himself into the physical comedy, which is uniformly hilarious.
  78. A Year Without Love
    A Year Without Love is only Berneri's third feature yet is an elegant, economical work.
  79. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
    CSA is rough around the edges, especially where the acting and some of the film's invented characters are concerned. But the way CSA works out its ideas is so provoking that its drawbacks are not difficult to ignore.
  80. Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor
    Director Timur Bekmambetov has combined two things that never connected before. He's taken a glossy Hollywood-type fantasy thriller about the battle between supernatural forces of good and evil right here on planet Earth and infused it with a homegrown, distinctively Russian soul.
  81. Winter Passing
    Harris, of course, is in a different league from the rest, and his depiction of the tortured writer is remarkably well-realized, considering the nonspecific yet somehow overly familiar inscrutability of the character. Despite its limitations, there's something appealing about the world Rapp has created.
  82. Tsotsi
    Whatever its weaknesses, Tsotsi is redeemed by its excellent performances.
  83. Unknown White Male
    An unexpectedly emotional, continually disconcerting film.
  84. Our Brand Is Crisis
    Most of all we see what a coldblooded sport campaigning is, and how desperately the people who are good at it want to win.
  85. Merry Christmas
    The uncomplicated humanism of Joyeux Noël, with its Christmas message of peace, feels at once irrefutable and refreshing.
  86. Ask the Dust
    Thirty years of gestation have produced a film of great beauty with unfulfilled promise - a disappointment, but with much to recommend and be glad about.
  87. Game 6
    Small and intimate, Game 6 is a meditation on American theater and the Great American Pastime that hovers above the surface of reality but never quite takes off, either.
  88. Shakespeare Behind Bars
    The main strength of "Shakespeare" is its ability to show the vulnerability of its subjects, neither judging nor smothering them with undeserved praise.
  89. She's the Man
    So good-natured, and its cast seems to enjoy itself so thoroughly, that the total annihilation of disbelief it requires winds up feeling like a reasonable enough request.
  90. Americano
    Writer-director Kevin Noland effectively utilizes his fine young cast and the natural beauty and rich culture of northern Spain in amiably posing a timeless question of youth.
  91. Lonesome Jim
    If Lonesome Jim feels like it's perpetually on the verge of evaporating, Buscemi brings to the material the boundless empathy for misfits and screw-ups he displayed in "Trees Lounge."
  92. Mardi Gras: Made in China
    A thought-provoking, canny piece of filmmaking that puts flesh, blood and garish multicolored baubles on the skeleton of globalization.
  93. Slither
    Slither is a gross, disgusting, but undeniably amusing treat laden with homages and in-jokes.
  94. Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!
    Cutting to the beat of the Beasties' propulsive rap, Hörnblowér creates an experience that is simultaneously low-fi and state-of-the-art.
  95. On a Clear Day
    Sweet-natured, if somewhat familiar, On a Clear Day features fine performances by Mullan, Blethyn and Sives. Dellal and cinematographer David Johnson paint an inviting picture of Glasgow.
  96. American Dreamz
    Grant's second coming as a rake and an egotist is the best thing to happen to his career since "Four Weddings and a Funeral." He is twice as enjoyable as the preening bad guy as he was as the bumbling good guy, and Weitz makes perfect use of the new persona.
  97. The Sentinel
    An unassuming thriller, a nifty piece of genre filmmaking without frills or self-importance. It's a throwback, if you will, to the days of B pictures, when formula movies were made with a maximum of skill and a minimum of pretense.
  98. Kinky Boots
    A humanist parable about how to be a good person, live a good life and make gallons of lemonade when life suddenly hands you lemons, it's predictably delightful and delightfully predictable.
  99. La Mujer de Mi Hermano
    As pared down, stylish and deceptively simple as the stark glass and concrete block inhabited by two of its main characters, La Mujer de Mi Hermano (My Brother's Wife) is an adultery drama that skips the big life lessons in favor of observing the mysteries of human interdependency and social behavior.
  100. Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
    Dunn says he's been defending his choice in music since he was 12, and the film is a carefully organized and thoughtful argument for the merits of metal.
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