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. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Insidious: Chapter 3
    You jump out of your skin the first few times the skeleton pops out at you. By the end of the ride, you’ve gotten a good look and it’s not so much scary as hokey.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Me and You
    The director's "Stealing Beauty" and "The Dreamers" were both sympathetic but prurient films about teenage sensual awakenings. Me and You is sweeter and more resonant, and a potent comeback for the 73-year-old director of "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor."
  5. The Decent One
    Vanessa Lapa constructed this straightforward biopic about SS leader Heinrich Himmler from a recently found trove of his personal letters and photographs. Her streamlined approach seems appropriate for the subject, which boils down to the banality of evil.
  6. 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.
  7. The Rum Diary
    Luckily, the cast is comfortable going with the flow. Ribisi is amusingly corrosive, while Jenkins and Rispoli are sweaty, cigar-chomping movie-journalist archetypes.
  8. Gold
    Turning McConaughey into a wreck through makeup and lighting is not an adequate substitute for character development. But it underscores something that the film gets right — the fact that underneath many pretty surfaces is ugliness.
  9. The Boss Baby
    Everything is perfectly entertaining. Too perfectly.
  10. Miral
    Any film as politically specific as Miral needs to be addressed on two levels, as a movie and as, from a certain viewpoint, a polemic. If a viewer can separate one from the other - and some may not - there's an intense, novelistic drama here.
  11. The Conspirator
    Like his 2007 political drama, "Lions for Lambs," Robert Redford's fictionalized chronicle of Mary Surratt's 1865 trial is high-minded and slow-moving. Some may chafe at his unsubtle sermonizing, but strong central performances will reward the patient.
  12. Dark Shadows
    Whether it works is a matter of taste, but the fact that Burton's revisit unearths enough fun while feeling like four films in one is testament to the source's seductive bloodline.
  13. The Stoning of Soraya M.
    As with so many message movies, this one trades ­nuance for naked outrage. The filmmakers'heartfelt intent is admirable, but right now they’re competing with a more compellingly told reality.
  14. Dead Man Down
    Before it devolves into typical American-style action, there’s an intriguing, European-style complexity to Dead Man Down.
  15. The Blue Room
    The mystery is pretty low-key and the resolution somewhat disappointing. But Amalric is mesmerizing and the film’s taut, chilly tone leaves us unnerved.
  16. The Big Fix
    Though the Tickells' unabashedly partial, first-person approach is a liability, they present so much damning evidence that their case is - one hopes - impossible to ignore.
  17. Before I Fall
    A collision of sci-fi, drama and horror, Before I Fall earns points for ambition.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Intervention
    With her directorial debut, Clea Duvall could have used just a little bit of an intervention. Many things in The Intervention work, but a bit more comic relief would have taken the edge off her overdependence on melodrama.
  19. Elysium
    Unfortunately, Elysium devolves. It doesn’t address the ramifications of making everyone healthy for eternity, or what it is on Earth they’re making or digging up that fuels whatever economy is left on the space station. For such a well thought-out premise, there’s not a mention of how capitalism works in this futureworld.
  20. Oldboy
    Leave it to Spike Lee to deliver one of the strangest, most off-putting movies for the Thanksgiving holiday.
  21. Peep World
    The entire cast is solid, but most notable are Greer and Silverman, who make the most of unexpectedly serious roles.
  22. Hotel Artemis
    The wannabe thriller set in the near future packs gritty style and ambiance, but that’s no match when the story has no stakes and doesn’t add up.
  23. A Fragile Trust
    The movie covers all the bases, but doesn’t advance the story.
  24. Despicable Me 2
    Guaranteed to charm anyone who’s out of school and already bored.
  25. Trolls
    Trolls just feels very formulaic, and having a pop superstar like Timberlake in your voice cast, and deliberately not having him sing until near the end just seems like a waste of that talent.
  26. Outrage
    The primary response he's (Kitano) seeking seems best expressed by one typically ill-fated player: "What the hell … ?"
  27. 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.
  28. Jack Goes Boating
    Hoffman has a nice eye for detail, painting an empathetic portrait of lost souls that recalls 1955's still-powerful romance "Marty."
  29. The A-Team
    Both in name and spirit, The A-Team drags the Eighties into the 21st century, and you might be surprised to find -- if only briefly -- that you've missed them just a little.
  30. Frontera
    The modern, gritty Western Frontera takes a lot of the clichés and delicately upends them to tell a tale about undocumented immigrants.
  31. Traitor
    Nachmanoff fills the movie with a sense of gripping, '70s-style grittiness that helps undercut the web-of-evil tone.
  32. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
    Director Bruce Hendricks makes little use of the 3D technology, though the gimmick does distract from the fact that we learn nothing new about the guys. It would have been interesting to hear something of their history, especially given their much-discussed Evangelical background.
  33. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
    Weitz takes a looser approach than the series’ last director, Catherine Hardwicke, did. He has a better sense of humor, too.
  34. Edge of Darkness
    In Hollywood, all is forgiven if you can deliver the goods. On-screen, at least, there’s little difference between this Gibson and the one we remember from earlier films like “Ransom” and “Payback.”
  35. St. Trinian's
    Anyone with a fondness for the midcentury cartoons and films that inspired this scrappy comedy will appreciate the latest trip to the titular British boarding school.
  36. A Most Wanted Man
    Whether you call Anton Corbijn’s adaptation of John le Carré’s 2008 novel “deliberately paced” or “so slow I can feel my hair growing,” there’s no denying the power behind the central performance.
  37. Elevate
    One of the many beautiful things about this affecting, informative doc is the opportunity it gives to see the American college sports world through different eyes.
  38. The Other Guys
    Wahlberg is surprisingly committed to the ridiculousness.
  39. A Journey in My Mother's Footsteps
    There is also inspiration in watching her find herself by helping others.
  40. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
    While softening Geisel's darker themes, they still meld a valuable message into catchy songs, bright images (nicely done in 3D) and funny characters.
  41. Like Crazy
    The trailer for Like Crazy is one of the best of the year, and I couldn't wait to see the movie that inspired it. Turns out, the film itself plays like one long trailer, a collection of moments and montages that hint at, but never quite achieve, a fully realized whole.
  42. Tokyo Sonata
    Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is better known for horror films; this is a movie where the horror is internalized, and hideously truthful.
  43. Dark Horse
    Abe's day-to-day trials may eventually seem like cheap daytime TV, but Gelber and Solondz know how to nail the uncomfortably funny optimism shadowing American desperation.
  44. Magic in the Moonlight
    Stone, last seen in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” is served best. Gliding through the film in sailor-girl outfits that evoke film stars of the 1920s, Stone’s big kewpie eyes and long-limbed gamine appeal fit in this era of silent films.
  45. We Are X
    Whether or not the movie turns you into X-philes, Yoshiki is hard to shake.
  46. Let the Bullets Fly
    A good-natured and highly enjoyable goof.
  47. White Irish Drinkers
    There's an unexpected appeal to John Gray's modest drama, emanating from its center.
  48. Solitary Man
    Michael Douglas in Solitary Man, has all the tools of the man who plays him at his disposal. At times in this often engaging, occasionally meandering movie, that's enough to score.
  49. Dancing in Jaffa
    When the grade-school kids are Israelis and Palestinians, the initially reluctant, moving duets they finally perform make you feel like, yes, dancing.
  50. Willow Creek
    The parts are greater than the whole, but there’s a lot to like here, including the easy interplay between the leads.
  51. The Debt
    Despite some early whispers of awards potential, The Debt is nothing more than a gritty thriller with a highbrow pedigree.
  52. The Patience Stone
    Farahani — seen in “Body of Lies” and “Chicken With Plums” — is equally vibrant in a performance, and a film, that dares us to listen.
  53. The Greatest Showman
    Alas, a winning lead performance isn’t enough when it is at the center of a flawed movie. The Greatest Showman can only hoodwink for so long before the tent collapses. This is an enjoyable film, but its rags-to-riches tale in a sanitized 19th century is extremely by-the-numbers.
  54. Boy
    Waititi retains his quirky style, but it feels meaningful here, a valid effort to explore the difficulties in coming of age during tough times.
  55. Stonewall Uprising
    Many witnesses offer emotional recollections of the ensuing riots, but equally powerful moments come courtesy of old footage, in which anti-gay "experts" expound with a confident ignorance that sounds chillingly familiar even today.
  56. Broadway Idiot
    The movie can’t help feeling like a vanity affair — a shot of novocaine, instead of a letter bomb.
  57. Transsiberian
    Since Alfred Hitchcock set the standard for strangers-on-a-train thrillers, Anderson has a lot to live up to. He falls short of creating a new classic, but he does manage to keep us on edge for most of the movie.
  58. The Express
    Sports biodramas generally take one of two tacks: gauzily sentimental or scrappy tale of struggle. The Express runs the thin line between the two and, to its benefit, more often than not hits the first mark.
  59. JCVD
    Who knew? Turns out, Jean-Claude Van Damme is a funny guy, and a pretty good actor, too. Fans may already be aware of this, but JCVD is likely to introduce a whole new Van Damme to everybody else.
  60. 9
    Shane Acker's underwritten but beautifully animated debut is both an ode to technology and a warning against it. Perhaps unintentionally, the film itself echoes those themes.
  61. Zombieland
    The action-comedy Zombieland works because it's played with an emphasis on the living, not the undead.
  62. The Gunman
    Sean Penn’s bad side makes for good action-drama in The Gunman. There’s a grubby, redemptive quality that makes this tough-minded flick feel like the son of “Serpico” and “Salvador.”
  63. The Place Beyond the Pines
    The poetry in The Place Beyond the Pines can be elusive, but also easy to get lost in.
  64. Rob the Mob
    The movie winds up being a real standup flick, if you know what I mean.
  65. Venus and Serena
    Directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major may have begun this documentary with the intention of profiling two of the most successful siblings in sports. But any reality TV viewer knows that bad behavior is always more compelling than likability. So this movie’s title becomes, perhaps to the filmmakers’ own surprise, a little misleading.
  66. Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
    Friends of Shep discuss his often unorthodox business sense, especially in the music biz, as well as his general decency. The guy’s tale is full of funny anecdotes and celeb privilege, but short on pretension.
  67. Jack Reacher
    Cruise's tightly controlled performance holds our attention all the way through to the tense finale. Still, McQuarrie's script never gets at the heart of a character who's already inspired such a passionate fan base.
  68. We Are Wizards
    A fun project that doesn't quite reach its potential, Josh Koury's doc is still worthwhile for anyone who can't wait until 2009 to see Harry Potter back on the big screen.
  69. Hello Lonesome
    The parts are ultimately greater than the whole, but Adam Reid's offbeat debut suggests a talent worth watching.
  70. She's Lost Control
    There’s a lot left unsaid in director Anja Marquardt’s chilly yet intimate and thought-provoking indie drama. But what should be said loud and clear is that actress Brooke Bloom is riveting. Emanating everyday grace and real depth, she plays a sex surrogate handling several needy and emotionally wounded clients.
  71. Our Idiot Brother
    Despite a pleasantly laid-back demeanor, you wish it would just get focused.
  72. The Mighty Macs
    Carla Gugino has yet to find the right movie that clicks with her spunky outsider appeal, but The Mighty Macs, a gauzy, inspiring true-life drama about a girls' basketball team, at least gets her close and provides a lot of assists.
  73. Romeo & Juliet
    This version is never rough, nor rude, nor boisterous, but for first-timers, perhaps wisely and slow is the way to go. There will be time enough for them to discover cinema’s superior adaptations anon.
  74. Goodbye to Language 3D
    At only 70 minutes, Goodbye to Language, a Cannes Film Fest Grand Prix winner, has no discernible plot. It’s more like whiffs of a story we sense happening somewhere outside the film.
  75. Muppets Most Wanted
    This time the movie really is — as the old theme song promises — sensational, celebrational and Muppetational.
  76. OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger's Movie
    Clayman, who co-directed with filmmaker friends, is fascinating company.
  77. Mr. Popper's Penguins
    There is something infectious about the old-fashioned innocence of Mark Waters' comedy.
  78. The Peanuts Movie
    It looks shiny enough to keep the kids engaged, but not so new and improved that it'll alienate nostalgic parents. The movie strikes that balance, adding a bell here, a whistle there.
  79. Wolves
    The first 30 minutes of this cheap-looking monster drama are admittedly rough going. But once the “Twilight”-meets-“Sons of Anarchy” silliness kicks in, there’s a lovable lunacy at work.
  80. CSNY/Déjà Vu
    "I hate this stinkin' war," Neil Young announces in this chronicle of CSNY's "Freedom of Speech Tour," and the rest of the movie is just as unapologetically blunt.
  81. All the Light in the Sky
    Marie is middle-aged and at a crossroads in All the Light in the Sky, a movie that feels the same way — listless and searching and on its way toward something good.
  82. Blood Done Sign My Name
    Though it can't quite transcend its filmmaker's earnest intentions, this solemn history lesson offers several powerful moments.
  83. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
    For any adult feeling overwhelmed by bad news and dark times, your antidote is right here.
  84. The Secret Disco Revolution
    Some may still be surprised at this fun, well-informed chronicle of what was happening in the U.S. as lighted floors, boogie shoes and Saturday night fevers were the rage.
  85. The Best Man Holiday
    The movie ends with a setup for another sequel, which will undoubtedly be embraced by fans. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another 14 years to see it.
  86. Lenny Cooke
    This melancholy documentary shows how championship dreams can turn into a nightmare.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Poltergeist
    It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but Poltergeist is a solid, surprisingly effective chiller.
  88. Cartel Land
    There’s politics involved, along with personal stories, extraordinary tense standoffs and down-and-dirty drug business.
  89. Ping Pong Summer
    This sweet, offhanded but lovingly observed remembrance is a real kick. It takes us back to the way things used to be, especially for 13-year-old guys, and specifically in the arcade rooms of 1985, filled with upright video games with glowing screens and big-haired girls in neon.
  90. The Gift
    It’s fun to see Bateman channel his inner prick. But the gaslighting husband/cruel high school tormentor subplot is so underwritten that it feels tacked on.
  91. Blackthorn
    Director Mateo Gill's autumnal movie has elements of other late-era Westerns in its blood, but it isn't easily pigeonholed. There are shootouts and standoffs, as well as great scenes like one between the grizzled, perfectly cast Shepard and Rea discussing the cost of criminality and the changing morals of old men.
  92. 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.
  93. Taking Woodstock
    Something of a traffic jam--even with his usual restraint, Lee couldn't recount a key moment of the '60s without a blurry parade of personalities--and also lullingly dull.
  94. War Horse
    While the Tony-winning play based on the same book creates unexpected impact through strikingly inventive puppetry, Spielberg is at a disadvantage in employing such a literal approach. Not even animals as beautiful as these can substitute for human ingenuity and imagination.
  95. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (Une bouteille à la mer)
    There are no villains here, no attempts to sway opinions or even stake out political ground. Some will find that a disappointment. But the truth is that this effort is both more evenhanded than most dramas with similar themes, and more open-hearted.
  96. Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone
    There's as much social history of L.A.'s racial divide as there is appreciation for the band's big, genre-crossing sound. It all comes together for a rollicking chronicle of verve and nerve.
  97. Paddington
    Cute, mostly well-mannered and just a bit off-center.
  98. Imagine That
    For the first time since "The Nutty Professor," Eddie Murphy successfully mixes his adult and kid-film personas -- imagine that.
  99. Breathe In
    For all the obviousness on the surface, and despite some forced last-act havoc, Breathe In works like a piece of chamber music. It goes up to the edge of emotion, circles it, then backs away. But the notes not hit seem as powerful as the ones that are.
  100. Rubble Kings
    The era deserves far better than hipster nostalgia.
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