Los Angeles Times' Scores

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:
16526 movie reviews
  1. Rapace moves through the escalating exposure with a series of subtle shifts that are both painful and exquisite to watch. The actress can make eye contact seem like salt in an open wound.
  2. More of the same, for all the good and acceptably routine that that implies.
  3. This hollow downer about deep wells of male anger, wallowing regret and mental disintegration is ultimately a thematic cop-out.
  4. GhettoPhysics undercuts its approach with too much cant, too much rambling and too much that is self-evident.
  5. It takes a while to get there, but Inhale eventually emerges as a tense and morally complex thriller with a devastating twist.
  6. The film falls short of delivering the outrage and uplift that should have come easy for this true-life fight against justice denied. Unfortunately, that makes Conviction more a trial than a triumph.
  7. This is quiet but potent filmmaking that believes nothing is more important than the story it has to tell.
  8. It all leaves "Drewe" and its often jarring turns of motivation and tone - feeling haphazard and cartoony, and the whole thing more a vibrant mess than something comically disarming.
  9. An illuminating and heartwarming documentary.
  10. It’s remarkable how Bae’s commitment to the physical mechanics of a trickily metaphoric role in no way interferes with the heart she needs to show, and vice versa.
  11. What starts as a biography turns into a detective thriller as Green crisscrosses the globe, searching for clues as to why Guy-Blaché has been forgotten.
  12. If the choreography behind these intricate set-pieces is dauntingly complex, the satisfactions they produce could hardly be simpler.
  13. Eklöf doesn’t seem to care if you like her film or her characters — including the protagonist — and it’s this boldness that keeps you watching.
  14. At a time when viewers are calling for greater diversity in film, On Happiness Road marks the introduction of a promising new female voice in animation.
  15. It might have made for an inspired college paper thesis, but as a documentary, The Gilligan Manifesto, which attempts to draw a direct link between “Gilligan’s Island” and the Communist Manifesto, is conceptually shipwrecked well before completing its one-and-a-half-hour tour.
  16. It’s a reasonably grabby tale despite its familiarity and trying too hard to make its milieu menacing.
  17. While an effective rebuttal to media stereotyping, especially in its own portrayals of people of color and the LGBTQ community, Hillbilly feels less assured in dealing with the election, a subject that is getting a little tired but no less confounding.
  18. The first theatrical feature adapted from the hit anime adventure My Hero Academia: Two Heroes gives fans of the manga and broadcast series exactly what they want: a high-energy blend of heroism, comedy, friendship and take-no-prisoners battles.
  19. Wein and Bang deftly balance the comedy and the commentary, resulting in a fast-moving, funny film that’s as alive as the city of Los Angeles itself.
  20. The movie’s only intermittently successful at blurring the lines between art and life. But it’s a sincerely felt experiment, and it has spirit.
  21. “To a More Perfect Union” could be more focused, particularly given its brief running time. However, the larger history behind the gay rights movement may be a helpful primer for those unfamiliar with it. But this doesn’t cloud the documentary’s emotional impact and effectiveness.
  22. Eric Stoltz makes a confident if tonally wavering feature directorial debut with Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk.
  23. The election’s startling results give the movie more resonance and emotional heft than it might have otherwise. A brief closing interview with Obama provides some stirring — and haunting — grace notes.
  24. While “32 Pills” is a devastating depiction of the effect suicide has on families, it’s more so a heartfelt tribute to her sister’s work and the connection that they shared.
  25. There’s no shortage of areas to explore in philosophy, science and religion, but The Man From Earth: Holocene would rather spend its time with unlikable characters than deal with complex concepts.
  26. A nearly three-hour talkfest that plays out in something close to real time may sound daunting on paper, but if you can make it past the opening shot, you will find yourself gripped for the duration.
  27. Scrape away the soggy one-liners, generic CGI and cheesy musical numbers and what remains has all the briny allure of reheated fry oil.
  28. Such is the intensity of Ceylan's vision that a perfectly natural, even casual, course of events, which is what the film consists of, makes Kasaba utterly compelling. [30 Sep 2004, p.E13]
    • Los Angeles Times
  29. RED
    Red can't stop itself from trying too hard to be hip. It's not that it doesn't have effective moments, it's that it doesn't have as many as it thinks it does. The film's inescapable air of glib self-satisfaction is not only largely unearned, it's downright irritating.
  30. Down Terrace is long on talk but generates its own internal rhythms and pace that makes it feel bracing and vibrantly alive.

Top Trailers