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. Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
    Though Bowser uses old footage when possible, the absence of his subject -- who died tragically in 1976 -- is keenly felt.
  2. Season of the Witch
    At least "Witch" offers Perlman's easy, early-hominid charm, and a semi-suspenseful rickety-bridge scene.
  3. Country Strong
    What saves Country Strong from drowning in its own tears are the leads, all four of whom imbue Feste's unabashedly clichéd script with some genuine humanity.
  4. Biutiful
    Here, it's all Bardem, and this great actor's careworn face and sensitive presence counts for a lot. He ultimately can't save the soul of Biutiful, but he makes the journey easier.
  5. Blue Valentine
    Halfway into Blue Valentine, a work so beautifully acted and emotionally honest it is my choice for best movie of the year, there's an amazing flashback scene you hope never ends.
  6. Another Year
    The perfect haven from the cheap ironies and cruel indifference we all have to field both in life and, far too often, at the movies.
  7. Nénette
    Our time spent with Nenette feel as stifling and airless as hers.
  8. Secret Sunshine
    Director Lee Chang-dong's soulful, affecting film is as quiet as a tomb and has a disturbing, critical underside that's hard to shake off.
  9. The Illusionist
    If this lovely tribute sends viewers in search of the real thing, that would be a neat trick indeed.
  10. Gulliver's Travels
    The cast gamely tries to keep up, with the scene-stealing O'Dowd making the strongest impression. Still, it all feels so lazy and familiar that adults may find themselves hoping Black will start to challenge himself again - and the more swiftly the better.
  11. Somewhere
    Dorff and Fanning are perfect in their roles, and Coppola captures the draining narcissism of celebrity culture with the understanding of someone who"s witnessed it all her life.
  12. Little Fockers
    Fortunately, the sheer amount of talent involved makes for a cheerfully forgettable experience, rather than a memorably miserable one.
  13. True Grit
    A wonderfully entertaining, beautiful Western drama that lets the quirks of the genre gallop freely as it keeps a tight rein throughout.
  14. Yogi Bear
    None of the three screenwriters strained himself with effort. But the relative lack of coarseness and snark may come as a surprising relief, even to 21st-century audiences.
  15. Rabbit Hole
    Kidman is able to draw you in even as the movie's solemn, morbid obviousness wears you out.
  16. TRON: Legacy
    Bridges is enjoyable as he gives the older Flynn a Zen hero quality, and even breaks through the effects to make his younger-Clu-self oddly engaging.
  17. Casino Jack
    The trouble starts with the casting. The usually reliable Kevin Spacey never quite gets a handle on Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew devoted to unorthodox business methods.
  18. How Do You Know
    Brooks' shallow screenplay feels half-finished, and he never compensates with additional guidance or directorial flair. So all his actors are forced to flail about ineffectually. Apparently, none of them read the script in advance. Because surely then they'd have known to take a pass.
  19. Megamind
    Plays out like a clunky, not-so-incredible "Incredibles," or a more-despicable "Despicable Me."
  20. Due Date
    Like the direction, the script veers all over the place before reaching its inevitable, unsurprising destination.
  21. Cool It
    While Lomborg is an engaging though sometimes smug subject, director Ondi Timoner allows a coterie of scientists to spend too much time puncturing Gore than propping up Lomborg - who comes off as charismatic and engaged but, ultimately, merely a contrarian.
  22. Unstoppable
    It takes a little while to pick up speed, but once Tony Scott's Unstoppable starts moving, it becomes a lean, efficient action flick.
  23. Saw 3D
    Franchise morphs into generic slasher series without Jigsaw.
  24. White Material
    As Claire Denis' stunning new movie reminds us, she expects a lot of her audience but gives considerably more in return.
  25. Love and Other Drugs
    We never really forget we're watching two highly paid professionals create a cinematic placebo, strong enough to entertain without making a long-term impact. Fortunately, everyone works just hard enough to sell us on the whole thing anyway.
  26. Faster
    Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is overhyped as Billy Bob Thornton is slow and steady.
  27. Welcome to the Rileys
    If Welcome to the Rileys were a thicker-skinned movie -- if it were the movie it thinks it is -- so much of the outcome wouldn't be telegraphed the minute you read the premise.
  28. The King's Speech
    Despite being about a royal family at a critical moment in history, The King's Speech doesn't shout about its many strengths. Rather, it urges you to lean in close, where its intelligence and heart come through loud and clear.
  29. And Everything Is Going Fine
    Soderbergh does his best with limited time, but his biggest success may be in pushing viewers home, to watch Gray's films in full.
  30. Hemingway's Garden of Eden
    While Suvari is especially miscast as a sophisticate, only Richard E. Grant, as a worldly Brit, seems to understand the text.
  31. You Won't Miss Me
    Other than those related to cast and crew, it's difficult to imagine who else would sit through Ry Russo-Young's self-obsessed indie.
  32. The Tempest
    Less the opulent retelling she (Taymor) intended and more like a high-minded midnight movie, filled with Ricky's-style costumes, black swans, sprites that flit across the screen and a cave filled with boiling beakers.
  33. The Company Men
    The Company Men recalls 1946's great post-World War II drama "The Best Years of Our Lives," and the reason isn't simply its trio of protagonists.
  34. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
    Kids, of course, are unlikely to get the religious allusions. All they'll see is a decent family adventure, perfectly suited to a cold Saturday morning -- and likely to be forgotten by Sunday.
  35. The Fighter
    By far the most rousing, expertly cast movie this year, David O. Russell's movie takes a roundabout way of telling its true story.
  36. Tangled
    There could have been more side trips on the road to self-discovery, but the plentiful lessons and derring-'do make Tangled a lock for playground pastimes. And maybe even some knotty parent-kid chats about finding your part in life.
  37. Burlesque
    Sure, sometimes it's fun to be assaulted by sequins, wigs, corsets and retro homage. But Xtina's fans can find all that already - in videos ranging from "Lady Marmalade" to "Ain't No Other Man" - without having to sit through two hours of recycled plots and plastic acting.
  38. The Tourist
    Goes about its game so bloodlessly, the result is some of the most unexciting action and seduction sequences in recent memory.
  39. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
    Don't you expect any hand-holding, either. Director David Yates throws us straight into Harry's waking nightmare, as he searches for a way to defeat Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) while keeping himself and his friends alive.
  40. Queen of the Lot
    The only grace notes come from Noah Wyle and Peter Bogdanovich as the two characters who refuse, in different ways, to buy the industry line.
  41. Night Catches Us
    "Night" never quite coalesces into the forceful drama it hopes to be.
  42. Bhutto
    It's a fascinating story, and too epic to be contained here. But the directors certainly capture our interest, even as they leave us wanting to know more.
  43. All Good Things
    The film ends up wrestling itself into a corner, though it's saved by a corrosive central performance from Ryan Gosling and a disconcertingly hypnotic feel.
  44. I Love You Phillip Morris
    I Love You Phillip Morris not only blasts gay stereotypes back decades, it could actually make people wish for a third "Ace Ventura" movie. Both of those are an accomplishment, though neither is a compliment.
  45. Black Swan
    A psychosexual thriller that lures its viewers into a woozy nightmare.
  46. Undertow
    Without excessive emotion or drama, director Javier Fuentes-León's film - and Mercado's performance - gently captures the power of emotions whose silent rattle is even stronger than reality.
  47. Willets Point
    As for that unpolished screenplay, the less said the better.
  48. The Legend of Pale Male
    You won't find a tale more true to our city than the extraordinary history of Pale Male. It's just unfortunate that Frederic Lilien's documentary is as clunky as his subject is graceful.
  49. The Nutcracker
    Do not, in fact, go at all. Because aside from the actual nutcracker, most of the crucial elements are missing from Andrei Konchalovsky's bizarre miscalculation. Magic and joy top the list.
  50. Family Affair
    Chico Colvard's tragic documentary is blunt and rather artless, but it does make for impactful, and deeply disturbing, viewing.
  51. William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
    The author of "Naked Lunch" and his words were funny, freaky and sometimes just Out There. Yet as "there" became "here," Leyser shows, Burroughs seemed to be everywhere.
  52. Today's Special
    This full, sweet comedy, adapted by star Aasif Mandvi from an Off-Broadway play, has a city flavor and a wry take on familial obligations.
  53. Made in Dagenham
    A slow, solid movie that, like Rita, sneaks up on you with its intelligence and pluck.
  54. The Next Three Days
    It's laughably, eye-rollingly absurd.
  55. Skyline
    It's finally here: The most boring alien-invasion movie ever.
  56. Eichmann
    The final fate of Adolf ­Eichmann is certainly a compelling subject. But its dramatic impact is severely diminished here by stilted filmmaking and wooden performances.
  57. Shake Hands with the Devil
    Spottiswoode relays this tragic story with respect and sadness. But Michael Donovan's script is stuffed with clichés, and Dupuis is unable to convey the depth of Dallaire's emotions.
  58. Helena from the Wedding
    Every generation gets a "Big Chill," and this tired but well-meaning indie contains many clichés of the "pals-pondering-life" movies that came before.
  59. Disco and Atomic War
    Director Jaak Kilmi's remembrance of growing up under Soviet rule never tries to be anything more than a curiosity.
  60. Morning Glory
    This often-witty baby-of-"Broadcast News" tries hard to be liked, like the TV fluff it's built around. The news is that, often, it succeeds.
  61. Fair Game
    Though based on a true story with a well-known outcome, Doug Liman's Fair Game is as suspenseful as any fictional thriller -- and considerably more tragic.
  62. Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
    Gibney puts mystery back into a story we thought we knew.
  63. 127 Hours
    Once Franco's on his own, everything is played across this terrific actor's deceptively goofy face.
  64. For Colored Girls
    "This is a woman's trip," it is announced in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, and how you respond to those words will likely determine how you respond to the film itself.
  65. The Kids Grow Up
    The small moments loom large in this moving, bittersweet and often funny documentary.
  66. Wild Target
    The script does boast a fair share of zingers, delivered with arch wit by a crack team of professionals.
  67. Jolene
    The tone veers wildly, from wacky indie to melodramatic soap opera. Like the other men in her life, Ireland adores Jolene without entirely understanding her.
  68. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
    The Swedish edition, which ends with this bleak finale, is downright grim.
  69. The Taqwacores
    The actual Taqwacore movement is distilled in blatantly simplistic fashion, but Zahra does capture the novel's adolescent excitement, in which a new generation rediscovers rebellion all over again.
  70. Punching the Clown
    Every aspiring performer will appreciate Gregori Viens' unassuming comedy, which cheerfully skewers industry pretensions and media-fueled trends.
  71. Kalamity
    Stahl should have had a career similar to Sam Rockwell's, blending thoughtful indies with fun popcorn flicks. Instead, he's spinning his wheels in junk like this. Calamitous indeed.
  72. Boxing Gym
    Wiseman films it all without comment, letting the rhythm of the place tell the story.
  73. Knucklehead
    Half-assed, halfhearted attempt to copy the Farrellys' out-there style is missing both their jackassical riffs and their heart.
  74. Inhale
    The film awkwardly mixes political, social and medical issues and ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
  75. Conviction
    Based on a true story, the movie's best scenes involve its heroine breaking down barriers by force of will as much as by legal wrangling.
  76. Paranormal Activity 2
    Without giving anything away, much of the excruciatingly teased-out tension here echoes the first movie without upping the ante.
  77. Hereafter
    It doesn't help that Eastwood's laconic style is as torpid as it was in such misfires as "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and "Changeling."
  78. Tamara Drewe
    The book itself is an easy read -- conveniently enough, it shouldn't take you more than two hours. So you might want to skip the discordant copy, and use that time to discover the real thing.
  79. Stone
    Norton, too, keeps us guessing, though his pseudo-tough-guy line readings (and cornrowed hair) are initially distracting. But his scenes with De Niro -- who fills every twitch or glance with Jack's long-buried guilt -- are the guts of the movie.
  80. Jackass 3-D
    Ten years into the "Jackass" franchise, it's obvious the well is starting to run dry. Then again, if you show Johnny Knoxville an empty well, he'll jump in headfirst. After packing it with writhing snakes.
  81. RED
    To underestimate actors of this caliber -- even in a popcorn action flick -- would be dangerous indeed.
  82. Down Terrace
    Strong performances and understated cinematography help balance the self-conscious editing, but ultimately the entire affair feels false.
  83. Carlos
    Assayas - whose previous work, though noteworthy, never hinted at this kind of ambition - gives the film a journalistic quality, while admitting that only a recombination of facts and fiction could do the story justice. It certainly results in explosive viewing.
  84. The Two Escobars
    The Zimbalists have unearthed a trove of footage, which they effectively blend with a full range of surprisingly honest interviews. As a result, the story of two individuals expands into a portrait of an entire country, in almost unthinkable distress.
  85. Life as We Know It
    The sisters who play Sophie are adorable. And if you happen to be a sleep-deprived parent yourself, there are worse ways to catch a two-hour nap.
  86. Secretariat
    Wallace layers on some era-specific meaning to Chenery, who seems to be simply following her lineage, thanks to Lane's quietly dignified performance. Malkovich is more fun, though Laurin isn't as outrageous as the movie thinks he is.
  87. It's Kind of a Funny Story
    Melancholy 16-year-olds are the ideal audience for It's Kind of a Funny Story, which actually feels as though it were made by an especially precocious adolescent.
  88. Inside Job
    Ferguson doesn't aim to entertain; he wants answers, and talks to many of the enabling weasels.
  89. Nowhere Boy
    Johnson is convincing as a swaggering, jokey Lennon, but the photos of young John, Paul and George that end the movie ultimately have more punch than this bubblegummy montage.
  90. As Good as Dead
    This taut but cliched little thriller is like "Wait Until Dark" with neo-Nazis.
  91. The Social Network
    A work deeper than its nickname, "The Facebook Movie," hints at - coils around your brain. Weeks after seeing it, moments from it will haunt you.
  92. Let Me In
    Director Matt Reeves (who also made the much rawer "Cloverfield") so deeply understands the nature of childhood terror that Let Me In burns with a white-hot clarity.
  93. Speed-Dating
    Jonathan, who was so great in "Roll Bounce," deserves better. It'd be overly generous, however, to say the same about anyone else involved.
  94. Freakonomics
    From a consumer perspective, you're better off skipping the movie and putting your money toward their book instead.
  95. Douchebag
    The rhythms of this comedy-drama may be familiar, but besides its fratty title, it's surprisingly sophisticated.
  96. Leaving
    The class issues make them pariahs, the love scenes belong on Cinemax After Dark, and the emotions writer-director Catherine Corsini believes are so adult are clichéd. Still, Scott Thomas is beguiling as usual, the one expected thing that's welcome here
  97. Ip Man
    The highlights, of course, are the competitions and duels, choreographed by Sammo Hung.
  98. You Again
    A chatty little bore.
  99. Buried
    Just when it seems he's left himself with no way out, he comes up with a finish guaranteed to leave you breathless.
  100. Waiting for 'Superman'
    Why are innovative educators met with so much resistance? And why is our system falling so painfully short? Perhaps ­because so many of us don't realize just how dire things ­really are.
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