Los Angeles Times' Scores

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For 16,550 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 2.2 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: 8,714 out of 16550
  2. Mixed: 5,819 out of 16550
  3. Negative: 2,017 out of 16550
16550 movie reviews
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  1. The Kindergarten Teacher
    Lapid confidently peppers the film with enough provocative beats, unsettling behaviors and bold camera moves to keep us intrigued — if not necessarily invested.
  2. When Animals Dream
    Though the careful mood is invariably dissipated when it comes time to kill, kill, kill, Arnby's ace in the hole remains Suhl, a young actress of Streep-ian intensity.
  3. Tales of Halloween
    The overall tone is more tongue-in-cheek than terrifying. Though some of the directors involved — like Lucky McKee ("May") and Neil Marshall ("The Descent") — have a hard horror pedigree, the emphasis here is on slickness.
  4. Frank the Bastard
    Despite the film's made-for-TV aesthetic and performances, Coley has saturated its backstory with vividly drawn details that make this convoluted saga wholly believable.
  5. Jack Strong
    With its solid performances, nice attention to period detail and a foreboding rumble of a symphonic score by Jan Duszynski, Jack Strong adds a unique Eastern Bloc POV to the enduring Cold War movie arsenal.
  6. Staten Island Summer
    Staten Island Summer is a refreshingly old school coming-of-age comedy with just enough raunchiness, stoner humor and otherwise dubious behavior to divert movie audiences weaned on violated pies and superbad high jinks.
  7. The Outrageous Sophie Tucker
    Though placing the cheerleading Eckers front and center as key interview subjects gives their film a self-congratulatory, gee-whiz quality, "Outrageous" compensates by giving you a good sense of who Tucker was and how she got where she did.
  8. Truth
    Truth is a movie curiously in conflict with itself. There is a constant shift between granular detail and big-picture sweep that the movie never fully resolves.
  9. Assassination
    The director nimbly orchestrates to entertaining effect this mass game of cat-and-mouse populated by paid and unpaid assassins, double agents and even the proverbial twins separated at birth.
  10. Rosenwald
    As revealed by writer-director Aviva Kempner, it's not just the amount of money he donated that makes Rosenwald special, it's the specifics of who he gave it to and how and why he did it that sets him apart.
  11. Tab Hunter Confidential
    Schwarz and Hunter never dig all that deep — in fact, it all seems pretty tame by today's reality TV standards — but the film remains an evocative, enjoyable ride.
  12. Brothers ... Blood Against Blood
    Bollywood veteran Jackie Shroff, assuming Nick Nolte's part as the recovering alcoholic father, delivers the kind of acting reel that would guarantee an Oscar nomination for some Hollywood actors. It's a pleasure to marvel at his performance alone.
  13. In My Father's House
    Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg bring a skilled and nuanced storytelling to the film, which never shies away from the harder moments.
  14. The Golden Dream
    The movie exists in a space beyond arguments about immigration policy and border security, and while sometimes a little too willfully pokey, it speaks to something indelibly human about dreams and their costs.
  15. Shout Gladi Gladi
    The film can feel like an infomercial for the foundation, but that doesn't stop the power of the stories from coming through.
  16. Leatherface
    Leatherface is well-made pulp, not a masterpiece like Hooper’s original. But given what this character means to horror history — and how badly he’s been treated — any upgrade’s a gift.
  17. Wolf Totem
    There's no denying the beauty of the film's imagery, violent and tender, or the emotional power of the final moment in the boy-and-his-dog love story.
  18. The Hallow
    This backwoods monster movie boasts compelling performances, eye-catching creatures and an effective blend of practical and digital effects.
  19. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
    This Reacher outing has its imperfections and its obstacles to overcome, but the strength of the character and the briskness of the action make it acceptable if you are in the mood.
  20. The House That Jack Built
    The personality flaws of the characters and the dysfunctions of the household are instantly recognizable from this very capable cast, yet they never come off as cliché.
  21. The Beauty Inside
    It's satisfying, charming and surprising — a film that keeps its supernatural elements grounded in reality, with the focus on the spirituality of true love.
  22. Sweaty Betty
    Though it's not entirely satisfying, the loose-limbed feature exerts a genial pull in its offhand exuberance.
  23. De Palma
    De Palma's biggest asset, not surprisingly, is the man himself. A formidable talker who is invariably smart, candid and acerbic, De Palma is a person of considerable self-confidence, and listening to him hold forth gives us an always-involving glimpse inside a singular cinematic mind.
  24. Born to be Blue
    By reducing Baker's story to just a couple of pivotal years, Budreau makes every moment matter, including a tense final scene that treats the preparation for a performance like a duel at high noon. Like Baker himself, Born to Be Blue finds drama in minimalism.
  25. High-Rise
    High-Rise is a stubborn, incoherent wreck of a movie, and I mean that as fairly high praise. You won’t follow everything that happens, but you may feel weirdly at home.
  26. Radicalized
    Like the young social activists at its center, the documentary Radicalized is propelled by a ragged energy, a fuel that's equal parts outrage and idealism.
  27. Francofonia
    Sokurov's open-ended Eurocentric meditation is, above all, a stunning visual achievement. The fluency with which he combines the pixels, ghosts and artifacts is extraordinary, and his deft use of drone footage is a lesson to many gadget-happy filmmakers.
  28. Janis: Little Girl Blue
    From this pastiche Joplin emerges as we've never seen her before, articulate, ambitious, torn between her wild self and her desperate need for stability.
  29. East Side Sushi
    Though the film has trappings of a crowd-pleaser like Jon Favreau’s “Chef,” writer-director Anthony Lucero has left much thematically to unpack.
  30. Bare
    Director Natalia Leite brings an emotional intelligence and sensitivity to Bare that raises it above its smutty late-night cable premise of a small-town girl falling into a lesbian affair and exploring the world of stripping.
  31. Unbranded
    It's a film with a cause, but it's also brimming with drama in the midst of jaw-dropping landscapes.
  32. Extraordinary Tales
    Like "A Cat in Paris" or "Sita Sings the Blues," Extraordinary Tales reminds viewers that animation can enable an artist to realize an individual vision, even on a limited budget.
  33. Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans
    The documentary, far from a glorified making-of featurette, is fittingly cinematic, with spectacularly wide establishing shots and studio-portrait-like testimonials.
  34. Movement and Location
    Systematically yet subtly, the Bolings and their strong cast take this certifiably oddball film in some thoughtfully intriguing places.
  35. The Visit: An Alien Encounter
    Madsen brings our collective sense of identity into sharp relief through the lens of what could be called a first date with mysterious beings.
  36. Killing Them Safely
    With the intensified focus on use of force in police departments, the unsettling documentary Killing Them Safely couldn't be timelier.
  37. Neorealism: We Were Not Just Bicycles Thieves
    It's like a cozy, informational visit with a beloved professor who assumes you come with a cineaste's built-in appreciation, but enjoys connecting the dots for you in a way that makes the movement's creative signposts — nonprofessional actors, street vitality, stories about poverty and desperation — feel freshly indelible.
  38. A Wonderful Cloud
    Whenever the larkishness thins, though, Sheil — who could easily have modeled her face for Modigliani — grounds it all as a young woman torn between dissecting a mistake and accepting a responsible future.
  39. The Russian Woodpecker
    The documentary The Russian Woodpecker is provocative, spooky and just a little nutty.
  40. The Messenger
    The slow-motion close-ups alone should convince you these magnificent creatures are well worth the effort.
  41. The Tainted Veil
    The Tainted Veil resists taking a stance, and both sides of the argument are compelling and persuasive.
  42. Aram, Aram
    Aram, Aram is almost too lightweight to have real power, but its snapshot of a vibrant local community and a hollowed-out transplant's very real identity crisis feels genuine.
  43. Elstree 1976
    The best parts of "Elstree," not surprisingly, are the war stories these nine men and one woman share, their vivid memories of a shoot one calls "as primitive as it gets."
  44. Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art
    Revolutionary zealots who did not necessarily get along with each other, the temperamental creators of land art took themselves very seriously. But as "Troublemakers" convincingly demonstrates, the work they produced justified their attitude.
  45. Heneral Luna
    Boasting a sizable budget, stirring photography and Arcilla's charismatic lead performance, Heneral Luna would never be mistaken for more serious-minded art-house material, but there are certainly less lively ways to be taught a history lesson.
  46. A Royal Night Out
    Despite the perfunctory social commentary and retro political optimism, the film remains a lighthearted romp to its core.
  47. The Daughter
    Made with taste, skill and discretion, The Daughter demonstrates both the staying power of classic material and the risks inherent in bringing it up to date.
  48. The Armor of Light
    Whether viewers accept the spiritual terms of the conversation or not, the unlikely allies shine a burning light on questions that go to the essence of who we are and what it means to value life.
  49. Sand Dollars
    Sand Dollars has an assured, light touch.
  50. Prescription Thugs
    Despite [Bell's] casual aura, the filmmaker is eloquent and thoughtful. He argues that Big Pharma merely services consumer demand for quick fixes with "magic" pills, bringing his cautionary tale full circle.
  51. Allied
    Even when Allied loses its footing, there is something unmistakably touching about Zemeckis’ commitment to evoking a world so quietly, heroically out of step with the times.
  52. Touched With Fire
    Writer-director Dalio has firsthand experience with bipolar disorder, and his perspective sheds fresh light on the unique ways in which manic-depressive individuals experience love and creativity.
  53. American Hero
    Love does a fine job evoking the social and cultural vibe of the Big Easy and its environs. He also enjoyably uses documentary-style testimonials from Melvin's devoted friends and supporters, inspired editing and a slew of nifty visual effects.
  54. Casa Grande
    Barbosa skillfully skewers the presumptions of rich folks who presume they deserve all that they've gotten, even as they're squandering it.
  55. Out of My Hand
    The film may deliver an all-too-neat resolution, but the haunting reminder that your past is never far away lingers.
  56. Song of Lahore
    The unifying power of music is rewardingly demonstrated in Song of Lahore.
  57. Sweet Micky for President
    There's no shortage of political intrigue even with the outcome a foregone conclusion.
  58. The Dark Horse
    If its wobbliness doesn't always serve its commanding central performance, the movie does mark a sensitive, low-key approach to outsiders of any kind, one that legitimizes their struggle without selling them as ready-made saints.
  59. Boy and the World
    Boy & the World is a brightly colored, often charming film that juxtaposes simple, hand-drawn animation with kaleidoscopic computer-generated patterns.
  60. Ip Man 3
    Ip Man 3, set in Hong Kong circa 1959, combines the customary, inventively choreographed action with an unexpected emotional depth, proving as hard to resist as its entertaining predecessors.
  61. Imba Means Sing
    Filled with humanitarian good cheer — and enough costume changes to rival a Diana Ross concert — Imba Means Sing delivers a heartwarming song of hope for the future.
  62. Coming Home
    Succeeds despite an intrusive soundtrack that underscores each genuinely heartfelt moment.
  63. He Never Died
    He Never Died isn't as fleshed out as it could be, but what the film lacks in vivid supporting characters and rich plotting it gets back from Rollins, whose innate charisma carries the film.
  64. Drone
    Drone is a solid, thought-provoking documentary that raises some pertinent questions even if they may not originate from the most objective of places.
  65. Lamb
    The compulsively watchable oddness of Lamb and its commingling of innocence and peril keep it from easy categorization.
  66. Alien: Covenant
    This movie may be a convulsively entertaining throwback to Scott’s glory days, but to look upon Fassbender, with his icy and seductive post-human gaze, is to behold this franchise’s future.
  67. The Wave
    The Wave adds credible writing and effective acting to gangbusters special effects, resulting in a white-knuckle experience a bit higher on the plausibility scale than what we're used to from Hollywood versions of the genre.
  68. Rolling Papers
    Generally leaving the weightier political stuff to others, Mitch Dickman's lively documentary functions as both a handy pot primer and a telling portrait of the volatile, adapt-or-die climate that continues to hover over the newspaper industry.
  69. Stink!
    While Whelan repeats his points too much, it remains gripping and maddening throughout to watch him run into stone walls.
  70. Like You Mean It
    The last gasps of a romantic relationship between two very different men are intimately and delicately charted in the beautifully immersive, if decidedly somber, Like You Mean It.
  71. MI-5
    The cast and crew work like a well-oiled machine, delivering the quality drama we've come to expect from British TV imports.
  72. Sky
    Though the first half of the film is far more interesting than the overwrought melodrama that it becomes, Sky remains a deeply compelling and optimistic valentine to the possibilities of the West.
  73. Viva
    Nothing happens you won't see coming, but it's all so deftly done you're more than happy to wait for the inevitable to arrive.
  74. Sing
    It's a cute movie with genuinely funny moments (keep an eye out for the koala car wash), and some great tunes to boot.
  75. The Fencer
    Director Klaus Härö, working from a script by Anna Heinämaa, deftly captures the grayish gloom and day-to-day paranoia of postwar Soviet life, while infusing this absorbing tale with affecting emotion.
  76. Sunday Ball
    Even viewers who know nothing about soccer can enjoy how Rocha captures the beauty of a communal event through editing and shot selection alone.
  77. Embers
    While one wishes Carré, who shares screenplay credit with Charles Spano, might have hung those stirring visuals on more involving plotting, Embers nevertheless makes a strong, not to mention timely, impression.
  78. Men Go to Battle
    Men Go to Battle isn’t always effective, in that way DIY filmmaking sometimes irritates by deliberately avoiding “moments.” But as an offbeat lens through which to view an oft-mined era, it has a quiet pull.
  79. King Jack
    Although he’s working with familiar tropes, writer-director Felix Thompson, in his feature debut, wisely keeps clear of big, dramatic moments, maintaining instead a palpable naturalism through dialogue that has an unmannered, improvised feel and acting that follows suit.
  80. Tallulah
    Despite the melodrama, the connections these women forge are heartfelt and earned.
  81. 10 Cloverfield Lane
    It is designed to be fun, efficient and accessible and delivers precisely and exactly on that and nothing more.
  82. Wiener-Dog
    The juxtaposition of formal beauty and surpassing human ugliness is hardly the least of “Wiener-Dog’s” numerous internal contradictions, some of which are more resolvable than others.
  83. Goat
    It might have set out to convey the disturbingly sadistic nature of institutional brotherhood, but it’s the familial variety with which “Goat” explores something ultimately more compelling.
  84. Baywatch
    Baywatch...is for those fans who couldn’t resist the show’s soapy charms. New ones who crave a summer blockbuster comedy might enjoy how much it not only owns its dumbness but hurtles itself all the way back around through a flurry of genitalia jokes and F-bombs to splash unapologetically in an R-rated surf of winking postmodernism.
  85. All Mistakes Buried
    The twists and turns of this stylish and well-acted if minor thriller bring Sonny to unexpected yet apt conclusions.
  86. Mountain Men
    Tyler Labine, known for his comedic work, contributes a fine dramatic performance tinged with comedy, and Crawford is equally as good. A smart script deftly opens and builds upon itself in a controlled slow burn.
  87. Nina Forever
    Thanks to a trio of solid performances (especially the dryly bitter O'Shaughnessy, who suggests a young Helena Bonham Carter), this first feature, although a tad long, nevertheless emerges as a diabolically effective anti-date movie.
  88. The Hollars
    Strouse’s deft script and Krasinki’s game direction upend a host of familiar moments in ways that are fresh and unexpected — if sometimes overly broad. The terrific cast doesn’t hurt.
  89. The Intervention
    DuVall shows a welcome light touch with tone, easing back and forth between humor and neurosis and never treating her material as the last word on relationships.
  90. Joshy
    Ultimately, it’s a fascinating depiction of the way men do — or don’t — confront life’s tragedies and traumas.
  91. Kate Plays Christine
    Although Greene swerves unnecessarily into obvious audience indictment at the end, Kate Plays Christine makes for a twisty, unsettling probe into our fascination with transforming lives, and deaths, into digestible storytelling.
  92. The Lovers and the Despot
    A beyond belief documentary.
  93. The Lure
    The Lure may not be everybody’s siren song, but as debut features go, it counts as a splash.
  94. Operation Avalanche
    While the movie balances a spirited celebration of America’s space race ingenuity with a satire about the cleverness of mass deceit, it’s hard to ignore the one thing Operation Avalanche understands implicitly: whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, a well-crafted image can sell anything.
  95. Southside with You
    “Southside” does have its standard, conventional aspects, but it was a popular Sundance item despite that, in large measure because of the performances of its finely matched pair of stars.
  96. The Confirmation
    Feature films these days rarely come as gentle and equitable as The Confirmation. It's a sweet, decidedly low-key little picture starring a deftly understated Clive Owen.
  97. Equity
    The screenplay by Amy Fox is mechanical, the plot more contrived than charged under Meera Menon’s lackluster direction. But as a study of endurance and self-preservation in the face of persistent double standards, the movie clicks.
  98. Creative Control
    Creative Control is funny and imaginative, where many films of this type are dispiritingly plain.
  99. How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
    The film ends up as a heartwarmingly raunchy celebration of unabashed and diverse sexuality without shame or hang ups. And somewhere along the way, writer-director Jeremy LaLonde manages to squeeze in some romance too, turning this sex comedy into a rom-com.
  100. The Automatic Hate
    A compelling bit of family drama that packs a corrosive punch.
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