Los Angeles Times' Scores

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For 16,526 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: 8,699 out of 16526
  2. Mixed: 5,810 out of 16526
  3. Negative: 2,017 out of 16526
16526 movie reviews
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  1. Jig
    As for the dancing itself, it's nothing short of dazzling.
  2. Buck
    The film is deeply moving yet never maudlin in telling this hard-knocks-but-hope-infused story.
  3. The Art of Getting By
    Unformed protagonists don't come more wallowingly irritating and contradictory than George.
  4. Mr. Popper's Penguins
    The-impossible-to-upstage stars are the penguins, a combination of real Gentoos specially trained for the film and some computer-generated counterparts. The special effects gurus blend the two seamlessly, making it easy to believe there was no digital wizardry involved, which is perhaps the niftiest trick of all.
  5. Green Lantern
    More science-fiction space opera than superhero epic, it works in fits and starts as its disparate parts go in and out of effectiveness, but the professionalism of the production make it watchable in a comic book kind of way.
  6. Viva Riva!
    As gut-punch storytelling, Viva Riva! delivers much, not the least of which is the promise of an exciting new filmmaking talent.
  7. Just Like Us
    Despite its brief running time, the film feels padded by sightseeing footage and a warm but diversionary visit between Ahmed and his Cairo-area relatives. Still, Just Like Us proves an amusing, uniquely unifying effort.
  8. The Trip
    Coogan and Brydon are either quite brilliant at this or just serving up slight variations of their very witty selves. Either way, their travels and squabbles are great fun to watch, the countryside is bucolic, the food mouthwatering. You just wouldn't want to go on a real road trip with them.
  9. Super 8
    This melding of two cinematic sensibilities, though effective at moments, is finally not as exciting or involving as it we'd like it to be.
  10. Submarine
    Writer-director Richard Ayoade has the knack. A fresh and inventive cinematic voice, he's taken a subject that's been beaten half to death and brought it miraculously to life in his smart and funny debut feature, Submarine.
  11. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
    Craig McCall's affectionate "Life & Work" doesn't dig deep on the biographical side, and the lack of personal detail can be frustrating. Yet it suits its subject's gentlemanly reserve.
  12. Beginners
    A buoyant and disarming drama about sons and fathers, death and dying, living and loving and all the ways we find ourselves starting over, hoping to finally get it right.
  13. Empire of Silver
    Has enough going for it to make it likely worth the effort for fans of Asian cinema, but it does seem an opportunity missed.
  14. X-Men: First Class
    A tedious two-plus hours. There were such possibilities in the origins idea.
  15. Make Believe
    The various sleights of hand are impressive even if we're afforded little insight into their actual execution. Still, it's fun stuff.
  16. Blank City
    The doc flags toward the end, but it remains an absorbing snapshot of a daring time.
  17. The Abduction of Zack Butterfield
    Subscribing to the philosophy that creepy equals interesting, the film contains barely a moment that isn't flat-footed, ludicrous or both.
  18. The Tree of Life
    While Malick's great ability holds us for a time, it is finally not enough to compensate for a lack of dramatic involvement - those eschatological quandaries tend to overwhelm the story. The Tree of Life, its enormous advantages notwithstanding, ends up a film that demands to be admired but cannot be easily embraced.
  19. Kung Fu Panda 2
    The big action pieces, particularly the final face-off, are masterful both for their cleverness in bringing down the house and the detail jammed into every frame. Even composers Hans Zimmer, who's scored a zillion movies, and John Powell seem to be having more fun than usual.
  20. The Hangover Part II
    Lost is the fresh, perverse, painfully politically incorrect R-rated pleasure that came when "The Hangover" ate up the summer of 2009.
  21. Spork
    For all its poignancy, Spork never loses sight of its goal to be zesty, sharp-witted fun.
  22. L'amour fou
    The documentary is fascinating as a museum piece with Berge serving as docent.
  23. How to Live Forever
    The cheeky title How to Live Forever belongs to a wry, hopeful yet enigma-appreciating documentary about the perils and possibilities that come with growing old.
  24. Earthwork
    A flawless gem, a gentle yet ultimately ironic meditation on the power of art.
  25. Bloodworth
    As members of that clan, Kris Kristofferson, Val Kilmer and Dwight Yoakam are compelling in beautifully lived-in, vanity-free performances, but the drama's escalating dread fizzles in a farcical pileup of disaster.
  26. Midnight in Paris
    With Midnight in Paris, Allen has lightened up, allowed himself a treat and in the process created a gift for us and him.
  27. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
    Johnny Depp, back again as the swashbuckling miscreant who favors guy-liner and gold, somehow manages to keep this ship of fools afloat. But just barely.
  28. Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
    Though it's more than a little awestruck and feels padded even at 82 minutes, the story it tells remains completely fascinating
  29. The People vs. George Lucas
    You don't have to be a "Star Wars" nut to enjoy this fast-paced film, though it's sure to resonate most with those whose childhoods - and beyond - were shaped by the 1977 phenomenon.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Priest
    The film is somehow a disappointing combo of too-full and oddly empty. Even with all the various parts and pieces going into its structure, it feels bare-bones.
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