New York Daily News' Scores

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For 6,911 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 42% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 55% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 8.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 57
Highest review score: 100 Fruitvale Station
Lowest review score: 0 The Fourth Kind
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,885 out of 6911
  2. Mixed: 2,801 out of 6911
  3. Negative: 1,225 out of 6911
6911 movie reviews
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  1. Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujaheddin
    It is an excruciating experience. But then, it would have to be. We're watching the distilled essence of war.
  2. Narc
    What could have been a run-of-the- mill story becomes a superb policier in the hands of writerdirector Joe Carnahan.
  3. Taxi to the Dark Side
    Alex Gibney's forceful documentary starts with a single tragedy: the torture of an Afghani prisoner at Bagram Air Base. By the time it's over, he's broadened his focus into a documentary so damning of the U.S. government, it's hard to believe he even got it made.
  4. Screamers
    Fans are, obviously, most likely to appreciate the concert footage that's woven throughout the film. But the most powerful moments come offstage, when we see young audience members burn with the fresh outrage of the newly enlightened.
  5. 300
    It's impossible not to be moved by its nearly nonstop visual assault.
  6. The Day Silence Died
    The story is fascinating for its simplicity and its inherent truths about the downside of progress.
  7. I Like Killing Flies
    Anyone who laments the loss of an older, grittier New York ought to adore this affectionate portrait of Greenwich Village restaurant owner Kenny Shopsin.
  8. Juno
    It is certainly the feel-good movie of the season.
  9. The Pledge
    Jack Nicholson in a performance that ranks among his best, yet leaves you feeling unfulfilled as never before.
  10. The Wild
    The voice performances are terrific, particularly those of Belushi and Garofalo, as the amorous squirrel and the giraffe he would like to have as his wife.
  11. Le petit lieutenant
    On the surface, Le Petit Lieutenant is propelled by the search for two Russians somehow responsible for a pair of murders along the Seine. And though that's a pretty mundane setup for an urban drama, it serves nicely in allowing us to get to know the haunted Caroline and the impetuous Antoine.
  12. Live Free or Die Hard
    The action in this fast-paced, hysterically overproduced and surprisingly entertaining film is as realistic as a Road Runner cartoon.
  13. Zus & zo
    Smart, spiky comedy upends every traditional notion of love, sex and family.
  14. Planet B-Boy
    Though he doesn't break any new documentary ground, Lee knows how to shoot his subjects. Their stories are moving, and their moves are thrilling.
  15. Peter Pan
    Both enchantingly old-fashioned and daringly modern.
  16. The Beautiful City
    Like most Iranian films, it's a shaggy-dog story that builds so slowly you don't see the quietly shattering climax coming.
  17. The Banger Sisters
    Forget the awful trailer that makes the movie look like chalk screeching on a blackboard. The Banger Sisters is sheer fun, and a great showcase for Hawn.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Arna's Children
    The film provides a rare glimpse into the other side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and serves as a chilling reminder that the hostilities aren't about to end anytime soon.
  19. Coach Carter
    By turns funny, touching and genuinely inspiring.
  20. Dark Water
    This is a quieter, more psychologically dense movie, where the payoff is sometimes no payoff at all - for instance, Tim Roth plays a cut-rate divorce lawyer whose own weirdness (he seems to live out of his car) is never explained.
  21. Brooklyn Lobster
    The triumph here is the natural, fluid way the characters interact, many of them displaying real-life, quirky senses of humor you don't often find in screenplays.
  22. Infamous
    I don't know if that makes Infamous a better movie, but it's certainly as good and a lot more fun. British actor Toby Jones is so physically right in the role, you'll think Capote is playing himself.
  23. Whale Rider
    Pai is resourceful and in harmony with the natural world in a way that will charm and enthrall young viewers.
  24. Shanghai Triad
    This movie is not as intricately rewarding as Zhang's others. But because it is so Westernized, it could do even better at the box office. [21 Dec 1995, p.60]
    • New York Daily News
  25. Zelary
    Zelary succeeds as moving indictment of war.
  26. A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
    Soldier's Daughter is at its best when alluding to the quasi- romantic attachments and undefined crushes that develop in small groups and keep the engines whirring. The inchoate longings go round and round, as subtly as befits the movie's rather smallish canvas. [18 Sep 1998, Pg.57]
    • New York Daily News
  27. Stevie
    Without excusing Stevie's behavior, the film makes a compelling case for how a child molester can grow from the bitter seeds of neglect and abuse.
  28. 800 Bullets
    Take away the violence, ribald humor and salty language, and 800 Bullets is actually a touching tale about family, love and honor.
  29. Everybody's Famous!
    A delightful comedic twist on Martin Scorsese's "King of Comedy."
  30. Human Nature
    Fresh and often very funny, and it makes its point that when our native urges conflict with social norms, the former shall give in to the latter, or else.
    • New York Daily News
  31. Half Nelson
    It is not easy to watch, yet beyond the traps that society and the urban culture have set up for Drey and the other kids, and the traps that Dan is falling into on his own, this is ultimately a hopeful story of common humanity.
  32. Eastern Promises
    The first must-see adult film of the young fall.
  33. The Young Girl and the Monsoon
    A fine example of how a character-based story can be so compelling you don't miss the frills.
  34. Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust
    A poignant, deeply ­intimate history of one family.
  35. The Clay Bird
    From folk festivals to political rallies, Masud never overlooks the cultural and emotional elements of a country at a crossroads.
  36. Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
    Greenwald has created a crisp historical document that is worth your time, even if the information in it was not worth the President's.
  37. The Bridesmaid
    The Bridesmaid is fairly familiar Chabrol country, an exploration of the psychological undercurrent of the bourgeoisie, with heavy helpings of black comedy.
  38. Group
    The sort of independent-film project that could have been disastrous in less-skilled hands. But Freeman's direction is so deft and the performances so natural that her remarkable experiment ends up feeling more realistic than most documentaries.
  39. How to Draw a Bunny
    A fascinating exploration of the mysteries of the artist's life.
  40. Grazia's Island
    A beautifully composed tone poem about unspoken group dynamics in an isolated community. It is also, in its way, about how love endures.
  41. Holes
    A great family movie, with a terrifically empathetic young hero, strong messages about the powers of familial love and friendship, buried treasure and enough action to keep the little ones from getting bored.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    To Be or Not to Be
    Brooks works overtime finding laughs more in line with his rambunctious kind of comedy...Only in Anne Bancroft's luscious, Lombard-light performance of Brooks' better (but parenthetically billed) half do you get a hint of this film's smart and stylish origin.
  43. Hidden in Plain Sight
    Though Army officials vigorously defend the school, after watching so many grim interviews with victims of the school's alumni, agreeing with Smihula's skepticism is finally unavoidable.
  44. Body Shots
    Blunt, alternately prurient, funny and depressing.
  45. The Opportunists
    Enjoyable, intelligent little heist movie.
  46. Blue Crush
    Fun and frivolous, packed wave to wave with gorgeous young creatures reveling in their physical prowess.
  47. The Man Without a Past
    A solid delight, the sort of cinematic concoction you might expect from a time-warp collaboration between Preston Sturges and Jim Jarmusch.
  48. Memoirs of a Geisha
    The movie may be set in prewar Japan, but it's pure 1940s Hollywood. There's costume, pageantry, melodrama, the feeling of a sweeping epic without the bother of too much accuracy, equal doses of heartbreak and uplift.
  49. Off the Hook
    Unlike most inner-city stories that come out of Hollywood, this feels like the real thing.
  50. American Psycho
    The real highlight is when Bateman and his co-workers compare custom business cards in a grueling, ego-shattering game of one-upmanship that is so linked to their sense of self it might as well be Russian roulette.
  51. Mr. Untouchable
    It's not a pretty picture, but it sure is a compelling one.
  52. Pretty in Pink
    As irresistibly sweet as cotton candy. Even though the poor-girl-meets-rich-kid plot is older than the Hollywood hills, and this romantic comedy lacks the cheeky humour of Hughes' first outing, "Sixteen Candles," the film definitely warms the heart.
  53. Born Romantic
    Director David Kane handles the sprawling cast with aplomb as his characters learn some new steps in this life-and love-affirming movie.
  54. Notorious C.H.O.
    Cho is funnier — and raunchier — in this, her second concert film, than in 2000's "I'm the One That I Want," even if she doesn't break any new comedic ground.
    • New York Daily News
  55. The Ladies Man
    A guilty pleasure, right up there with "The Water Boy."
  56. The Ant Bully
    While "Cars" may have the most elaborate CGI effects of the season, and "Monster House?" the most original character (the house), The Ant Bully can lay claim to the most entertaining story and most rewarding ending.
  57. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
    Most of its features work fine, and it will dazzle you with its tricks and illusions. But it is not what it claims to be on the package.
  58. So Close
    A brilliant example of the genre -- with romantic subplots to boot.
  59. House of Sand and Fog
    It's a sad, rich story, full of misunderstandings, bad bargains, odd parallels.
  60. Left Luggage
    Krabbe attempts to stuff too many themes and subplots into the story.
  61. The Perfect Storm
    Petersen's speculative reenactment makes for gripping summer entertainment -- if you don't mind a little corn floating in your brine.
  62. Judy Berlin
    Its leisurely pace and surreal poetry won't break box-office records, but will surely serve to introduce Mendelsohn as a major new talent.
  63. In Good Company
    An amusing and unusually compassionate look at today's corporate culture.
  64. Saving Face
    A worthy addition to what must take up a whole section of the video store - the heartwarming comedy that reaffirms the power of personal choice, while also promising to love and to cherish even the most hidebound cultures.
  65. Music and Lyrics
    As a premise, this is thinner than a strand of cotton candy, but fairy tales have been hung from less, and what keeps this one together is the surprisingly easy chemistry between Grant and Barrymore.
  66. The Triumph of Love
    The always reliable Kingsley and Shaw are hilarious, and if the movie isn't quite a triumph, it's still far better than the junk food currently cluttering movie screens.
    • New York Daily News
  67. The Matador
    It is no small compliment to Pierce Brosnan to say that his performance in writer-director Richard Shephard's goofy black comedy The Matador could only be rivaled by Christopher Walken.
  68. Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?
    Though the film does have the modest, human-interest feel of a "60 Minutes" segment, it grows stronger as it goes along.
  69. Nancy Drew
    A very clever update of the 16-year-old heroine, managing to make her seem both as square as the Bobbsey Twins and as contemporary as MySpace.
  70. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    Matt Damon's performance isn't bad, but it pales in comparison with Law's.
  71. The Devil's Backbone
    Along with "The Others," -- represents a welcome diversion from loud, senseless Hollywood extravaganzas.
  72. Street Fight
    Newark Mayor Sharpe James is the kind of politician that Tony Soprano would be happy to own.
  73. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
    Note: We're giving this one 4 stars if you're under 12; 2-1/2 stars if you're not...That unwieldy name should give you some sense of Disney's intentions: this is, plain and simple, a consolation prize for all the frustrated fans who couldn't get tickets to Cyrus' sold-out stadium tour last year.
  74. The Contender
    Lurie has made an impressive contribution to the bulging library of political film, and he has showcased some performances sure to get Oscar consideration.
  75. Friendly Persuasion: Iranian Cinema After the 1979 Revolution
    A no-frills, homespun documentary that gives so much more than its humble technical credits would suggest.
  76. The Motel
    Unlike so many indie films, Michael Kang's gently empathetic debut embraces eccentricity without drowning in its own hip irony.
  77. Don't Say a Word
    A fairly nifty piece of suspense filmmaking, with a strong if relatively undemanding performance from Douglas.
  78. Freedom Writers
    I say bring 'em on, if the stories can be told as well, as convincingly and as inspirationally as Richard LaGravenese's Freedom Writers, an educational fantasy that happens to be mostly true.
  79. Bruce Almighty
    When Carrey is doing his thing as the Almighty, histrionically whipping up one miracle after another and relishing the power, "Bruce" has you spring-cleaning your lungs with laughter. But you are made to pay for it with a third-act sap-rising that's as thick as the final reels of "Patch Adams."
  80. The Killing of John Lennon
    Piddington does a beautiful balancing act, creating a movie that works both on the level of suspense and as a detailed factual chronicle.
  81. Standing in the Shadows of Motown
    Frustratingly, though, and not a little ironically, Justman chooses to focus on the new stars when they sing, rather than on the Funk Brothers playing in the background. Just as curiously, he paints a remarkably rosy picture of the old days, overlooking the racism and exploitation the Brothers surely experienced.
  82. Private
    Private, Italian director Saverio Costanzo's stunning human drama, would seem like something out of Kafka if it weren't based on real events and a relatively common fact of contemporary Palestinian life.
  83. Timecode
    Is the story being told worth a movie on its own merits? No way. Time Code exists as an esthetic event -- either a trick or a treat, depending on your expectations.
  84. Time of the Wolf
    Time of the Wolf is grounded so deeply in the reality of society gone awry that the anxiety faced by Isabelle Huppert's character as she struggles to keep her family together transfers onto the audience and never leaves.
  85. Beijing Bicycle
    The movie is filled with sweetly funny moments, but its exposure of class, income and cultural differences makes it an uneasy charmer right up to its violent denouement.
  86. Chutney Popcorn
    Her story (Ganatra) -- and the rest of the gifted, multicultural cast that brings it to life -- represents another step in the evolving face of film.
  87. What Women Want
    A merry romantic comedy in the screwball tradition.
  88. Best in Show
    When it's funny, Best is hilarious.
  89. In This World
    Winterbottom informs us that, though fictional, his story represents thousands of real lives, and there is a hardly a false note, which makes this both a difficult and exceedingly memorable film to watch.
  90. Broken Flowers
    This is Murray's subtlest performance, and one of his best.
  91. Le bossu
    It revives an innocently pleasurable genre - shades of Burt Lancaster and Errol Flynn - that combines lusty adventure, humor, the great outdoors and satisfying storytelling without having to concoct it in a special-effects lab.
  92. One Last Kiss
    Both a witty ode to and a poignant lament for the choices we make.
  93. The Page Turner
    Director and co-writer Denis Dercourt infuses Melanie's calculating seduction of the family with a sense of genuine menace. You will not be bored.
  94. People Say I'm Crazy
    In this candid, fascinating film, Cadigan has the will - and the family support - to defeat his demons. It's clear that for him, the ending is only the beginning, but it's filled with hope.
  95. Bright Leaves
    This might have come off as both self-indulgent and preachy if McElwee weren't so persuasively earnest. "Bright Leaves" becomes both a mystery and memoir in progress and though the filmmaker does not find the truth he is looking for, it was clearly a quest worth undertaking.
  96. Santa vs. the Snowman
    Santa Claus and the Snowman stage a scaled-down "Star Wars"-type battle for the rights to Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve in the pleasantly goofy, irreverent Santa vs. the Snowman.
  97. Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
    The movie fascinates not so much because of Strummer, whose brooding temperament and flash-and-burn career arc seems pretty routine by rock standards, but because of the way Temple organized and edited the film.
  98. Teeth
    The film should have the edgy wit of "Election" here, but instead is played so straight it's hard to make the shift when things start getting really crazy. But stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a new kind of superhero and a couple of the ghastliest, most outrageous penis jokes ever imagined.
  99. The Man Who Copied
    Manages to tackle some serious issues without sacrificing its inherently sweet nature.
  100. Beloved
    Has a great deal going for it. [16 October 1998, p. 57]
    • New York Daily News
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