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. Death Defying Acts
    Though all the elements are in place, there's not much magic to be found in Death Defying Acts, an intermittently entertaining but surprisingly modest romance from Gillian Armstrong.
  2. The Wackness
    Occasionally stumbles into charm but more often is just wayward and hazy. It makes you hungry for a real movie from writer-director Jonathan Levine.
    • New York Daily News
  3. Hancock
    There's a great idea here, but it's buried within a muddled story that lurches between dark comedy and maudlin drama.
  4. Finding Amanda
    Tolan writes regularly for smart shows like "Rescue Me," but his best instincts deserted him when he set his sights on the big screen for the first time.
  5. WALL-E
    Rotates around a rusty little robotic hero who's built, as the movie is, with such emotion, brains and humor that whole universes exist in his whirring tones and binocular eyes.
  6. Wanted
    There's barely a frame that doesn't look stretched, smashed or otherwise harassed. Imagine "The Matrix" on speed, and you're halfway there.
  7. Gunnin' for That #1 Spot
    Culminating in a high-scoring, exciting game, "Gunnin'" scores.
  8. The Last Mistress
    Though Argento and Aattou lack the searing chemistry needed, the social politics are consistently intriguing, and everything - not to mention everyone -looks absolutely stunning.
  9. Red Roses and Petrol
    Solid performances and a literary feel help turn a standard family-rift drama into a dry but saucy narrative.
  10. Trumbo
    Donald Sutherland's passionate rendition of a speech from Trumbo's 1971 film "Johnny Got His Gun" (based on his novel) is worth the price of admission.
  11. Full Grown Men
    Friedlander offers a nicely subtle performance, but the other actors - including Alan Cumming, Deborah Harry and Amy Sedaris - appear to have turned up as a favor to the director. Don't feel obliged to follow their lead.
  12. Get Smart
    While the whole cast -- including Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson -- is game, too much time was spent coordinating chase scenes and explosions, and too little fixing a slack script that relies on bathroom humor and snickering sex jokes.
  13. The Love Guru
    An atrocious, idiotic 88 minutes of anti-entertainment. To borrow word-shtick from the guru Pitka, it's AWFUL as in, "Anyone Watching Feels, Um, Loser-ish."
  14. Expired
    The performances are expert, but can't make up for a flat script and direction. Unless you, like Claire, are a glutton for punishment, we suggest you choose nothing over something.
  15. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
    It's certainly been a while since we've seen a movie this resolutely old-fashioned. But while the script feels a little stiff and moralistic at times, it's hard to fault a film with such an intelligent, good-hearted heroine.
  16. Brick Lane
    Well-acted and grounded in reality, Brick Lane is never overly emotional, even when it deals with the days after 9/11.
  17. Medicine for Melancholy
    Cenac is witty and Heggins has a wary stillness, but the movie itself seems too shy to let them really engage each other.
  18. The Happening
    The film never builds past its initial idea, the references to 9/11 feel cheap, the good actors are wasted, and the bad ones are distracting.
  19. The Incredible Hulk
    Roth and Hurt glower semi-engagingly, and while Norton's scrawniness works, he seems intellectually disengaged, despite his helping to craft Zak Penn's script.
  20. Quid Pro Quo
    While a good director can spin a worthy movie from any subject, first-timer Carlos Brooks does surprisingly little with the jaw-dropper of a topic he chose.
  21. Encounters at the End of the World
    Creating a hypnotically digressive travelogue, Herzog wanders from soul to soul, asking deceptively mild questions to potent effect.
  22. Kung Fu Panda
    This is an unashamedly old-fashioned children's movie, and a predictable message is part of the mission. But that's okay; what the movie lacks in surprises, it makes up for in whimsical fun.
  23. You Don't Mess with the Zohan
    His humor works best when it's throw-away, but "Zohan" throws everything up to get a yuck. It's a shock to see how many "yuck!" moments Sandler settles for.
  24. The Go-Getter
    The sort of discovery meant to be savored by the few who find it, The Go-Getter was made for anyone who ever felt stuck, or alone, or desperate to find their place in the world.
  25. Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
    Every performer is tough and charismatic, especially Honglei Sun, who, as Jamukha, gives so many neck-cracks, guttural howls and conspiratorial smiles he's like a Chinese Marlon Brando.
  26. Mother of Tears
    At 67, maestro Argento's taste still runs toward bloody entrails and eye-gougings, but Asia's sexy sour-lemon smile is underused in his movies.
  27. The Promotion
    There's still a lot to like here, but ultimately the movie reflects its hapless hero a little too well. While we're constantly rooting for it to succeed, the finish line seems forever out of reach.
  28. Operation Filmmaker
    Davenport herself seems stunned by how complicated the story turns out to be, which just makes her movie all the more worthwhile.
  29. Bigger Stronger Faster*
    Entertaining, smart and snappy, this terrific doc, a Sundance favorite, digs into the country's use of steroids and how it affects sports, pop culture and the self-image of young men.
  30. The Foot Fist Way
    There are enough droll moments to spark cult status, and McBride's commitment is impressive.
  31. Savage Grace
    "Grace" may be based on a true story, but barely a moment in it feels real.
  32. Sex and the City
    The movie's beating heart is the friendship between the women, who had found some sort of happiness by the show's 2004 finale. Now they're all at a personal crossroads and need one another more than ever.
  33. The Strangers
    Bertino does an excellent job building dread, especially during the first half of the movie. Every silence, pause and sudden noise startles - and the results, frankly, are more frightening than the graphic torture scenes in movies like "Hostel" and "Saw."
  34. Stuck
    A taut drama that manages to be thoughtful without forgetting it's a creep-out.
  35. The Children of Huang Shi
    Never achieves the David Lean style of epic it aims for - exterior vistas and interior dramas - but it has two charismatic performances, beautiful Chinese locations and an admirable lack of sentimentality.
  36. Postal
    Where Boll's movies were once amusingly atrocious, Postal is so aggressively tasteless and knowingly idiotic, there's just no fun to be had.
  37. War, Inc.
    Has TOO much happening, which befits a comedy with a lot of targets but ultimately makes the whole operation scattershot.
  38. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
    Entertaining, inventive and old-fashioned in the best way.
  39. The Edge of Heaven
    Like a more personal, less pretentious version of Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Babel," this spiraling dissection of circumstance, choice and fate is more about thoroughness of vision than tricky storytelling.
  40. A Jihad for Love
    We never learn why most of his subjects remain loyal to a faith that so explicitly rejects them.
  41. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
    Even with all the CGI effects, this darkly emotional movie feels like the anti-"Speed Racer." Sure, it's a big-budget spectacle. But it's also the kind of grandly old-fashioned entertainment we don't get enough of anymore.
  42. Reprise
    Joachim Trier's energetic, inventive debut takes such a novel approach to well-worn themes that it makes most movies look downright lazy.
  43. Sangre De Mi Sangre
    The movie shows the city as both an intimidating and enticing place for new arrivals, but ultimately gets bogged down in the cliched split destinies and intentions of its main characters.
  44. Speed Racer
    The cast is generally game for playing cardboard cutouts, with Goodman having the most fun.
  45. The Babysitters
    It reads like a Cinemax special event, and as good as Leguizamo and Waterston are, the skeevy, fantasy-fulfillment plot that drives David Ross' movie is uncomfortably risky business.
  46. Noise
    Noise ultimately becomes a slice of city life instead of a great satire.
  47. Surfwise
    Pray unfolds the family's story with patience and skill, making it both a compliment and a complaint to say that he leaves us wanting to know much more.
  48. The Tracey Fragments
    The Tracey Fragments is a grating stunt that plays like a film-school project, cutting a bland story into a million tiny irritating pieces.
  49. Turn the River
    It's not sharp or ironic, but drab and downbeat. Unfortunately, it's also going to feel utterly familiar to those who've seen their share of independent dramas in the last 15 years.
  50. What Happens in Vegas
    While Diaz and Kutcher make their clichéd characters as likable as possible, you can bet on this: Any movie named after an already-stale ad campaign isn't likely to gamble on the unexpected.
  51. Fugitive Pieces
    Though much of the film's power is tamped down by the passive storytelling style, Dillane's performance as the adult Jakob is compelling, and Ayelet Zurer is beguiling as Jakob's late-in-life soul mate.
  52. Iron Man
    The result is the first comic-book movie in a while that actually feels like a classic comic book: fast, furious and flip. Forget about superheroes with love problems and tortured souls.
  53. Made of Honor
    The cinematic equivalent of a cookie-cutter wedding, Made of Honor ultimately feels a little depressing.
  54. Mister Lonely
    Not all of the movie works - in fact, huge portions don't - but there are enough striking moments to make a lasting impact. How ironic: In this fairy-tale of arrested development, Korine has created his most mature movie yet.
  55. Redbelt
    Redbelt will fascinate those who share David Mamet's interest in mixed martial arts. But its hold may be weaker on those who don't.
  56. Son of Rambow
    Luckily, Son of Rambow, a comedy that's part kid-buddy flick, part valentine to filmmaking - and full of heart - has both.
  57. Viva
    Viva needed to be shaved down to about 70 minutes, the better to really let loose and jettison some over-the-top jokiness.
  58. Baby Mama
    In a pleasing contrast to Fey's sharpness, Poehler keeps her performance unpredictable and fuzzy. In this just-add-water comedy, a very funny movie star is born.
  59. Deception
    The real culprit is first-time director Marcel Langenegger, who seems to have studied for his debut by watching nothing but Cinemax. The score hints at ominous activities that never happen, a rain machine provides the only atmosphere and the actors have to suffer through the silliest sex scenes in recent memory.
  60. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
    It's a big fat missed opportunity.
  61. Roman de gare
    The story's Hitchcockian plot loses steam quickly, though Pinon's salty presence keeps things from getting totally bloodless.
  62. Standard Operating Procedure
    Morris mixes piercing sit-downs with disturbing evidence. Though soldiers, including the notorious Lynndie England, express remorse, it's haunting to hear how several prisoners were "nice guys" or known to be innocent, yet no connection is made between those remarks and the images of torture.
  63. Then She Found Me
    Has some nice moments, but it feels very much like a first film. The pacing is off, and the cast members appear to be acting in completely different projects.
  64. 88 Minutes
    This slimy, slug-minded mystery thriller starts out dead on arrival and then, like three-day-old fish, gets really bad really fast.
  65. Anamorph
    The long shadow of David Fincher's "Seven" falls on Anamorph, a moody, ultimately unexciting thriller.
  66. The Forbidden Kingdom
    The wisecracking Chan and the stoic Li play off their on-screen images with good humor, and if they don't have the agility they once did, it's still a joy to watch them make the most of Yuen Woo-ping's impressive choreography.
  67. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
    As fans of "Freaks and Geeks" know, Segel is a master in the art of humiliation, and it's been a long time since we've seen anyone debase himself so thoroughly for our amusement.
  68. The Life Before Her Eyes
    What this heavy-handed film mainly has to endure is a clunky story structure and an ending that wasn't original when it was seen four decades ago on "The Twilight Zone."
  69. Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
    After a clever start, Spurlock turns self-serious, aiming to teach us something about our enemies and ourselves.
  70. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
    Stein's schlumpy presence is disarming, though his know-it-all nature is at odds with his free-speech posing.
  71. Dark Matter
    Director Chen Shi-Zheng's film has a graceful energy, and three strong performances help make this serene drama - and its shocking conclusion - quietly moving.
  72. Smart People
    In what world does Smart People exist? Clearly not the real one, though this dramedy wants to think it's filled with ironic insights about love and family.
  73. Street Kings
    After its clichéd first scene - a solo LAPD officer battling a well-armed gang of thugs - Street Kings becomes an enjoyably tough, blood-splattered action drama that revolves around the one good cop at its center.
  74. The Visitor
    Both director and cast exhibit the dedication of those who truly believe in the message at hand. But with so much earnestness onscreen, the message occasionally gets in the way of the movie itself.
  75. Chaos Theory
    The kind of movie designed more for a has-been than a potential leading man, this slapdash dramatic comedy fits the now-established pattern perfectly: Your (Ryan Reynolds) committed performance is the sole reason to see it.
  76. The Take
    The story does feel a little threadbare, and much of the pacing is far too slow for a suspense thriller. But Perez and Leguizamo make an entirely believable couple.
  77. Remember the Daze
    The original title of Jess Manafort's directorial debut was "The Beautiful Ordinary," and she shouldn't have changed it. After all, her cast is beautiful and her movie is ordinary.
  78. Young@Heart
    One of the most delightful movies to come along this year.
  79. Flight of the Red Balloon
    Hou intends to celebrate the classic 1956 children's film "The Red Balloon," and he has done a beautiful job. In fact, he may well have created a future classic of his own.
  80. Leatherheads
    Frankly, Zellweger shouldn't have to compete with the ghosts of Rosalind Russell and Carole Lombard, as Clooney forces her to do. It's one thing to evoke the Champagne sophistication of the screwball era; it's another to try to emulate it. Inevitably, the harder you work at capturing madcap fizz, the flatter things are going to feel.
  81. My Blueberry Nights
    A stunner of a movie. But all those gorgeous images never add up to a full picture.
  82. Nim's Island
    Foster seems to be having real fun, twitching and skittering around, that steel jaw of hers comically tense. But this family movie shouldn't be about a shut-in trying to get from A to B; it needs to be about an unconventional girl growing up and helping an equally unconventional grownup cut loose on a volcanic island. Sadly, Nim's Island is a missed opportunity.
  83. Sex and Death 101
    In a fair universe, Sex and Death 101 would end its miserable life after one episode as a TV show. But this unfunny "dark comedy" goes on for two hours.
  84. Shine a Light
    Jagger is often shot straight-on, veiny arms outstretched, white-hot lights illuminating his skinny form (and, um, bared belly). Suddenly, Scorsese turns what seemed familiar into genuinely iconic. From then on, the movie is on fire.
  85. Water Lilies
    With no adults to add melodrama, the sweet Water Lilies depends on the emotion in its young performers' faces to move forward.
  86. Flawless
    In the diamond-heist thriller Flawless, there aren't a lot of diamonds, heists or thrills. But there is a nice sense of style, and appreciation for tense face-to-face confrontations among characters trying to ignore the temptations around them.
  87. Run, Fatboy, Run
    Every ounce of comedy is so forced and full-on ridiculous that when characters express even a smidgen of sentiment, it feels like a parody. That's because nothing in "Fatboy" feels real.
  88. 21
    The early scenes are flashy fun, and Sturgess (handsome Jude in "Across the Universe") makes a convincing math geek. But the requisite romance and Hollywood-style ending feel as fake as the air allegedly pumped into casinos to revive flagging players
  89. Chapter 27
    It's a transformative role, but how widely seen it is depends on how strong a stomach one has for wall-to-wall paranoid ravings.
  90. Hats Off
    Though Weddell's accomplishments are inspiring, we would have been better served by a more impartial portrait. With its reverent tone, the movie often feels more like it was made by a doting granddaughter than a pro filmmaker.
  91. Priceless
    Dirty, kinda-rotten scoundrels Elmaleh and Tautou make an engaging pair.
  92. Stop-Loss
    Despite several attempts, we're still waiting for the drama that convincingly captures the experienc of soldiers who've fought in Iraq. Stop-Loss" isn't that film, but at the very least its efforts are honorable.
  93. Drillbit Taylor
    Even if this movie doesn't quite hit the highs of its predecessor, it's nice to know that there are still filmmakers ready to respect the eternal struggles of freaks and geeks.
  94. Boarding Gate
    A ridiculous poseur thriller that seems to be made up of the slow moments from Hong Kong action films and Euro-flashy stuff like "Run Lola Run."
  95. The Grand
    Nearly every actor has his or her moments of hilarity, but it's the surprises, like Herzog's terrific turn as a bunny-loving sadist, that make the biggest impact.
  96. The Hammer
    The Hammer benefits from Carolla's low-energy, low-impact style. He doesn't so much deliver quips as let them dribble out the side of his mouth.
  97. Love Songs
    So French you may have to buy your ticket in euros, Christophe Honoré's musical trifle feels ready-made for emotionally woozy undergraduates.
  98. 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.
  99. Shelter
    Actors Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe are good enough to turn a formulaic coming-out tale into a sweet romance.
  100. Meet the Browns
    Many of the cast members originated their roles onstage, and the ensemble scenes capture the spirited sense of fun that is Perry's trademark.
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