Los Angeles Times' Scores

Select another publication »
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
view
per page
  1. The Gatekeeper
    Has a certain stiffness and awkwardness at the start, but this deeply personal work steadily grows more powerful and eloquent, creating a tragic vision of the plight of illegal aliens that transcends its melodramatic elements.
  2. Velvet Goldmine
    Dazzling and dizzying, confusing and even annoying, Velvet Goldmine is a feverish dream of a film, a riot of color and attitude that is all pop decadence, all night long.
  3. The Spanish Prisoner
    The Spanish Prisoner is the smoothest and most convincing of Mamet's elaborate charades and features intriguing performances by Steve Martin and Campbell Scott.
  4. Someone Like You...
    Smart, amiable and well-paced, and director Tony Goldwyn brings to it an all-too-rare buoyancy and breeziness.
  5. The Apostle
    Robert Duvall's performance as a Holy Roller who shakes off his secular life to become a man simply known as “the Apostle” is a masterpiece of emotion.
  6. About a Boy
    Because a gradually thawing Will plays more to Grant's strengths, the second part of the film, helped as well by Rachel Weisz as a love interest, is much more fun. But it is still hard not to feel that this film is pushing us too hard, slickly trying to seem more honest than it actually is.
  7. Joe Somebody
    Joe Somebody sends audiences home happy but also with an awareness that happy endings have to be earned in real life as on the screen.
  8. Maestro
    For the uninitiated it is a revelation, and for the aficionado it will surely be a special treat. Its every frame is an expression of love for the music, the underground club scene, its creators and its patrons.
  9. My Architect
    Nathaniel Kahn is very much a presence in this film, at times too much so. The title is properly read with the emphasis on the "my," and the work itself is a plea, understandable but disconcerting at times in its nakedness, to be linked irrevocably to his father.
  10. Dopamine
    Overcomes some forced artiness to be a sweet, smart romance without being saccharine.
  11. Passionada
    Director Dan Ireland and the Jermanoks strive for and achieve a light romantic comedy with humorous, fanciful plotting yet shaded by genuine tenderness and passion.
  12. ABCD
    It's polished without being slick; well-paced and graceful and brought alive by stellar performances led by Jaffrey.
  13. Under Suspicion
    Offers the pleasures of a chamber drama's bravura performances from a pair of supremely accomplished pros.
  14. Field of Dreams
    But there's something missing, something tentative and uncertain. In order to pull off a magic trick, you often have to distract the audience with smooth patter, clever detail or indirection. And this movie tries to play it so pure and unabashed that we can see right up its sleeves. [21 Apr 1989, Calendar, p.6-1]
    • Los Angeles Times
  15. Traffic
    So though it takes important steps in that direction, the film pulls back from what seems to be its own logical conclusion.
  16. Sacred Planet
    It's an ideal film to open on Earth Day, for in the least preachy way possible it celebrates the natural world to make viewers pause and consider the profound importance of preserving the planet.
  17. The Cuckoo
    A rare bird indeed -- a disarming, appealingly modest discovery, beautifully shot, nicely performed. Perched on the knife's edge of absurdity, the story at once embraces the large questions (who is the enemy and why) and shrugs them off with a laugh.
  18. The Gift
    Overly familiar material, even well done, cannot be made more intrinsically interesting than it is. Not even by Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves.
  19. Phantoms
    Well-crafted in most aspects, Phantoms is finally more ambitious than satisfying. It also could have used more humor. But it can't be accused of insulting the intelligence of its audiences.
  20. Captain Pantoja and the Special Services
    While Pantaleón does have its scorching erotic moments and skewers establishment hypocrisy toward prostitution, it lacks the originality and complexity of "Y Tu Mamá."
  21. 15 Minutes
    Both audacious and unwieldy, exciting and excessive, this dark thriller is too long, too violent and not always convincing. But at the same time, there's no denying that it's onto something, that its savage indictment of the nexus involving media, crime and a voracious public is a cinematic statement difficult to ignore.
  22. The Mummy Returns
    Both pleasantly old-fashioned and packed with up-to-date computer-generated special effects, the film's constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences have no trouble attracting our attention and holding on.
  23. Sliding Doors
    It may be Howitt's greatest achievement that we're able to keep the stories straight.
  24. Divan
    The result is a touching and humorous documentary that for all its enlightening scope, encompassing centuries of religious and cultural history and a physical voyage of thousands of miles, is ultimately a deceptively simple tale of a daughter trying to reconnect with her father across two boroughs.
  25. Frankie and Johnny Are Married
    A bittersweet, wryly amusing "dramatic fiction"
  26. Twelve Monkeys
    Mystifying, intriguing, even infuriating, it shows what happens when an unconventional talent meets straightforward material.
    • Los Angeles Times
  27. Step Into Liquid
    Brown has expertly captured the exhilarating and terrifying experience of watching surfers attack waves so preposterously large and ridiculously beautiful they defy description.
  28. Men in Black
    A genially twisted riff on the familiar alien invaders story, a lively summer entertainment that marries a deadpan sense of humor to the strangest creatures around.
  29. Below
    Has a slamming first hour. As Ian Wilson's camera darts over Charles Lee's spookily atmospheric sets, enigmas sprout like mushrooms.
  30. Looking for an Echo
    The film's locales have an appealing authentic feel to them, and everything from decor to music contributes to making Looking for an Echo an appealing heart-tugger.
  31. All My Loved Ones
    It is crucial when viewing All My Loved Ones, with its fine ensemble cast and well-evoked sense of time and place, to remember that it unfolds as a recollection of David, a boy of perhaps 10 in 1938.
  32. Star Trek: Nemesis
    Familiarity and continuity are what the success of this series has always been about. We've been here before, and we like the neighborhood.
  33. Stepmom
    It may be unfair to ask a film like this not to be shamelessly manipulative, but wouldn't it be nice if audiences could be trusted to feel things more or less on their own without layers of unnecessary hokum entering the picture?
  34. American Movie
    Although overly long at 107 minutes, American Movie is an incisive, largely absorbing work and a far more mature effort than Smith's "American Job."
  35. Khab-e sefid
    A sweet-natured Iranian film of considerable charm and humor that might have been more enjoyable had its writer-director-star, Hamid Jebelli, been a tad less self-indulgent in telling his slender tale.
  36. The Thin Blue Line
    Morris pulls off a genuine shocker to cap his film, but his method exacts its price. It takes fully a third of the film's 109 minutes to become involved in it, thanks to Morris' deadpan tone and the initially jarring effect of his intercutting between straightforward talking heads and his B-movie reenactment of the crime. [2 Sept 1988]
    • Los Angeles Times
  37. Bukowski: Born into This
    Accomplishes beautifully what it sets out to do, which is to reveal the man behind the crusty, hard-drinking, tough-talking persona Charles Bukowski so artfully crafted.
  38. The Filth and the Fury
    A film as arresting and at times as frustrating as the Pistols themselves.
  39. Amy's Orgasm
    Julie Davis' story is fresh and amusing.
  40. For Love of the Game
    Those who have even a small soft spot for baseball's soothing rhythms will be hard-pressed to resist it.
  41. Bought & Sold
    The story wraps a little too neatly and backs away from some of its darker impulses but is finally a sweet-natured tale of male rituals and cultural adaptation in urban America.
  42. Life as a House
    Works as a heart-warming, involving experience.
  43. Bread and Tulips
    Too lethargic and strung-out for its own good. Thankfully, it casts a pleasant, amusing and touching spell anyway, but more energy and a markedly shorter running time might have turned a sunny diversion into something more special.
  44. The Legend of Drunken Master
    Has a great deal of the unapologetically broad and silly comedy.
  45. Lisa Picard Is Famous
    High-grade lampoon, at once more consistently on-the-money and less patronizing than anything off the Christopher Guest conveyor belt.
  46. Out of Time
    There's something about the movie that sets it apart from the usual thriller. Franklin may not be a master of genre like Hammett and Chandler, but he knows that it means SOMETHING when a character throws a punch or fires a gun.
  47. The Prince of Egypt
    Even in an animated feature, visuals alone, no matter how successful, are not enough. And despite having this sturdy biblical tale to work with, despite being faithful enough to the spirit of the story to please a wide swath of scholars and theologians, the creators of Prince of Egypt have been unable to relate it in a completely compelling way.
  48. Son of the Bride
    A warm and affectionate Argentine film of wide appeal that is an Academy Award nominee in the foreign-language category.
  49. Suicide Kings
    Satisfying, unpretentious fun.
  50. The Bone Collector
    A tribute to old-fashioned craftsmanship and skill both on and off the screen, it's as crisp and efficient as its law enforcement protagonists, able to make the best of its traditional genre elements.
  51. Shade
    A clever and adroit B picture with A virtues, starting with its ensemble cast.
  52. Rock Star
    A genial look at what happens when a wannabe becomes a headliner, Rock Star only stumbles when it decides it has to deliver a lesson about What's Really Important.
  53. The Negotiator
    It's a measure of how pulsating and energetic a visual style director F. Gary Gray has, and how vividly actors Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey come across on screen, that this film is intensely watchable from minute to minute, even though a lot of what's happening doesn't stand up to a moment's scrutiny.
  54. Bandits
    An emotion-charged tale that's also an edgy commentary on women's destinies and how they're still so largely affected by men.
  55. Grazia's Island
    The film doubtless works better for those able to accept it unquestioningly as a charming fable of the redemptive, healing power of love that it means to be.
  56. Angela's Ashes
    If this beautifully made if flawed film sends people back to his book, it will have done good work for sure.
  57. Horns and Halos
    Although the term cinéma vérité is overused as a descriptor for documentaries, it applies here. The makers of Horns and Halos eschew the Michael Moore "poke 'em with a stick, let's watch 'em squirm" approach and wisely let the cameras roll, interspersing news footage with their own interviews.
  58. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
    Though "Romy and Michelle" doing Tucson doesn't take us much further than Beavis and Butt-head doing America, the ride, and the company, are a lot more fun.
  59. Word Wars
    The film stands up well to the inevitable comparisons to "Spellbound," a riveting documentary about young spelling bee contestants.
  60. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
    Myers has a singular talent for skit humor… You can get away with an awful lot of gross, juvenile humor if you've got that to fall back on. [11 June 1999, Calendar, p.F-1]
    • Los Angeles Times
  61. Heartbreakers
    As Hollywood diversions go, this gleaming MGM release still leaves you wishing the filmmakers took as many risks as their grifters do.
  62. Cold Creek Manor
    A lightweight popcorn movie, hardly the scariest of the year but with enough jolts to be satisfying. Writer Richard Jefferies' solid script emphasizes character and psychology over plot and provides Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone with engaging, multidimensional starring roles.
  63. Mighty Aphrodite
    A sketchy trifle that is sporadically amusing but also off-putting around the edges.
  64. Sweet and Lowdown
    It's a loving and comic tribute to a musical era Allen knows well.
  65. Mambo italiano
    Intent on offering viewers a good time yet manages to sneak in considerable substance in a disarming, even old-fashioned manner.
  66. Tupac: Resurrection
    Especially good at showing how unnervingly, even heartbreakingly contradictory this man could be.
  67. Bamboozled
    It's the angriest film an unfailingly angry filmmaker has yet made, skewering almost everyone in it, both black and white.
  68. Beloved
    Beloved is ungainly and hard to follow at times, like the proverbial giant not quite sure how to best use its strength. But that power exists, present and undeniable, and once this film gets its bearings, the unsentimental fierceness of its vision brushes obstacles and quibbles from its path.
  69. Star Trek: Insurrection
    Star Trek: Insurrection lacks the adrenalized oomph of its predecessor, but no adventure of the Starship Enterprise is without its gee-whiz affability.
  70. Girl on the Bridge
    Locale is crucial here, and Monte Carlo, Athens and Istanbul are a wonderful trio of cities for glamorous romance, intrigue and danger--and they could not seem more richly atmospheric with Dreujou's lush camerawork.
  71. Man on the Train
    As a filmmaker, he (Leconte) doesn't have anything profound to say but does say his something with craft, visual flair and professionalism. Depending on your mood, that can be either too little or just enough.
  72. Greendale
    By the time Greendale reaches its rousing crescendo with the anthem "Be the Rain" and Young and Crazy Horse have blown off the barn doors, the Canadian-born artist has crafted one genuinely tasty slice of Americana.
  73. Looney Tunes: Back in Action
    Looney Tunes doesn't have much on its addled mind other than pure entertainment, and on this level it succeeds quite nicely.
  74. Mayor of the Sunset Strip
    Made by Hickenlooper over a six-year period, "Mayor" is rich in interviews, with comments from rock stars.
  75. Showboy
    The result is a deliberate conflation of fact and fiction that yields unexpected emotional impact.
  76. Anything Else
    Feels newly hatched. Some of the laugh lines creak as loudly as grandma's rocker and the cultural references send up billows of dust.
  77. Forces of Nature
    Turns out to be an extremely likable vehicle with a genuine sense of fun.
  78. The Anniversary Party
    Cumming and Leigh -- bring to their stylish, incisive and compassionate film an immediacy and a bracing snap.
  79. The Guru
    The Guru turns out to be just a flirtation with the musical rather than a full-on embrace. That's a shame because the musical interludes are where the film wears its heart and finds its soul.
  80. The Safety of Objects
    For all of Troche's skill and talent, The Safety of Objects (a splendid title) nevertheless tries to cover too much territory. In movies, as elsewhere, a little less sometimes can add up to a lot more.
  81. The Big Empty
    Has a seductive easiness (which may not be for everyone, but it works), a laid-back yet ever-so-slightly portentous score and a wonderful sense of place.
  82. Girl, Interrupted
    Top performances keep true-life mental ward tale Girl, Interrupted soaring, despite a script that frequently drifts into genre clichés.
  83. Barbershop 2: Back in Business
    Pleasing blend of humor, sentiment and commentary.
  84. Miss Congeniality
    A mainstream Hollywood escapist fantasy that in the end melts satire into sentimentality, but it is funny and knowing, detached enough to take a bemused stance toward its calculated tone.
  85. This Old Cub
    Though at times sentimental, the documentary is a terrific character sketch, capturing both the rough edges and the compassion of its subject.
  86. Anatomy 2
    Suspenseful entertainment -- but it's also a suitably chilling cautionary tale.
  87. Almost Peaceful
    Succeeds as a delicately moving memory piece about a subject not often put on film: the process of moving on into ordinary life after surviving the Holocaust.
  88. My First Mister
    In its first two-thirds, My First Mister, which marks Christine Lahti's feature directorial debut, looks to be a winner. But it takes a disastrously wrong turn toward the end that all but destroys the good work that's come before.
  89. The Komediant
    It is impossible to watch this warm, wonderful film without becoming aware of the enormous impact the Yiddish theater has had on every aspect of American show business.
  90. Tycoon: A New Russian
    In the end Tycoon above all evokes a melancholy awareness of the seemingly eternal exploitation and impoverishment of the Russian people.
  91. The Virgin Suicides
    Successfully venturesome, but you need to know that it's also a real downer.
    • Los Angeles Times
  92. Millennium Mambo
    There's wonderful promise in Hou's attempt to make a movie about the kind of woman who's usually part of the scenery.
  93. Nicotina
    Nicotina's every loser, criminal, dreamer, crank and cynic is flawed, but their flaws are primal and as human as thumbs. In the end, it's this grim but tender view of humanity that gives the movie its appealing combination of mordant humor and cheerful pessimism.
  94. Owning Mahowny
    Kwietniowski might have tried for some edginess that would express a measure of the excitement Mahowny is experiencing. Despite the driven intensity of the banker, the film threatens to slip into the lifelessness of the drab world it depicts.
  95. Shadow Magic
    Evokes the dawn of cinema in China with much charm, humor and subtlety.
  96. Rosenstrasse
    Most important is the film's consistent unexpectedness. Rosenstrasse captures well not only the varying states of mind and levels of awareness in Germany during World War II but also the era's lingering effect upon its survivors.
  97. Solaris
    Ends up more challenging and intriguing than personally involving, and while these are far from small things, it is only human to hope for more.
  98. Night at the Golden Eagle
    A modest pleasure that accomplishes its goals with ease and confidence.
  99. Runaway Jury
    The spirit of the law will be upheld (this being Hollywood), but only after everyone has had plenty of nasty fun (this being Hollywood).
  100. Maryam
    Carefully crafted, notably in its deft dramatic structuring, and has become timely in a way its maker could never have anticipated.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »