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 Dancer Upstairs
    Has many of the qualities that made the actor such a great target for self-parody in Spike Jonze's "Being John Malkovich" - it's sober, deliberate, self-consciously mysterious and no fun at all.
  2. Reno: Rebel Without a Pause
    Anyone familiar with Reno's politically minded monologues won't be surprised by her fury, which has sometimes been fueled by a self-righteousness that's undermined her valid observations.
  3. Owning Mahowny
    Hoffman is a fine actor in a rut, working on a string of socially alienated characters who are variations on the same theme. That's too bad, because the story being told around his static presence is amazing.
  4. New Suit
    Satire works when it's sharp and funny. When it's not, you get New Suit, an unremarkable sour-grapes comedy about the obsequious players and inconsequential products of Hollywood.
  5. X2: X-Men United
    A substantial improvement over "X-Men," in many ways, especially in visual and specialeffects departments.
  6. The Lizzie McGuire Movie
    Not a single moment of creativity or intrigue is to be found in the big-screen debut of the Disney Channel's most popular sitcom character.
  7. Blue Car
    Even without nudity, the sex scene between Meg and Auster is one of the most uncomfortable on film. Not just because of the actors' age difference (Strathairn is 54, Bruckner 17), but because of Meg's inexperience and misplaced trust.
  8. Spellbound
    This could be a documentary about reading the body language of childhood.
  9. Identity
    A fascinating movie that, if you are able to make the leap it asks of you at about the three-quarter mark, will give you something to think and talk about for days. One thing is certain: It isn't predictable.
  10. Confidence
    As pulp entertainment, Confidence is great fun and Foley's first good movie since the very different "Glengarry Glen Ross."
    • 44 Metascore
    • 25 Critic Score
    It Runs in the Family
    The family's all here and surely, with all their accumulated years of wisdom, they should have been able to distinguish a cloying script when one fell into their hands.
  12. Jersey Guy
    This badly written, badly directed and badly acted little movie about an ordinary guy from Jersey who discovers passion with a fashion plate in Manhattan looks great.
  13. Returning Mickey Stern
    As earnest as it is awkward, the film has so much spirit, it's hard to dismiss entirely, even at its considerable worst.
  14. People I Know
    It was filmed in and around the World Trade Center, and the subsequent cuts, reshoots and sleights of hand designed to obscure that fact prove devastating.
  15. Manic
    Searching for a documentary feel, the camera here is so shaky that you cling to the arms of your chair lest you pitch into the next row.
  16. City of Ghosts
    The hand-held camera is much too insinuating for what is essentially a story we have seen many times before. And the cuts and transitions are dizzyingly abrupt.
  17. House of Fools
    Something less than a gem. It has a brilliant lead performance from Yuliya Vysotskaya as Janna.
  18. Marooned in Iraq
    It's part grim Beckett-like drama, part joyous picaresque, and all quite mesmerizing.
  19. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
    This is not a film for the impatient. But director Aparna Sen finds the poetry in romantic restraint, which is a mighty rare resource these days.
  20. The Real Cancun
    An uncensored, often hilarious vision of spring break madness that is so perfectly positioned on the big screen, the only question you can ask its creators is, "What took you so long?"
  21. A Decade Under the Influence
    Whether you lived through the period and will have fond memories jostled, or are scouting for future DVD pleasures, the surest way to see a good movie in a theater this week is to see one about them.
  22. Onmyoji: The Yin Yang Master
    It clearly wants to be more, but it's failed by its lightweight leads.
  23. Malibu's Most Wanted
    An unerring sign of the awfulness of Malibu's Most Wanted is a series of the least funny outtakes ever appended to a movie's closing credits.
  24. Venus and Mars
    The ideal movie for people too lazy to read a Harlequin romance, this by-the-numbers love story doesn't offer a single surprise.
  25. Medea
    It's not the best of von Trier, but the movie is shot in an unforgettable, haunting style that evokes both Bergman and the silent era.
  26. Lilya 4-Ever
    a despairing movie that you can't look away from, though you'll wish you could.
  27. 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.
  28. Winged Migration
    Breathtaking.
  29. Bulletproof Monk
    The picture's a dud... Instead of Chow's gravitas rubbing off on the kid, Scott's dude-ness dilutes Chow's authority.
  30. Chasing Papi
    It's hard to say which is worse: The fact that 20th Century Fox believes this sour, sexist fantasy reflects anyone's actual experience or that Hollywood is so woefully behind the cultural curve.
  31. Love and Diane
    Amazing... There are only a finite number of filmmakers with the devotion, patience and ability to tease out these stories.
  32. Samehada otoko to momojiri onna
    Its crazy non sequiturs and anything-goes performances do lend it a certain cult appeal.
  33. A Mighty Wind
    The wheezy Mighty Wind can't blow out the candle of this group's first musical mockumentary, 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap."
  34. The Young Unknowns
    Jelski's dialogue is razor sharp and she got a terrific performance from the relatively inexperienced Gummersall, who runs a gamut of emotions and holds the screen like a seasoned star.
  35. Marion Bridge
    This Canadian film is extraordinarily low-key, considering the explosive secrets the sisters unearth, but that is part of its strength.
  36. Anger Management
    Has hell frozen over? Not only is Jack Nicholson starring in a buddy movie alongside Adam Sandler, but of the two, Sandler's low-key approach is preferable.
  37. XX/XY
    An ongoing problem is the complete lack of chemistry between the leads.
  38. Better Luck Tomorrow
    The crime isn't that the movie's message is amoral, but that it goes totally unexamined, as if the recess bell rang too early.
  39. Ghosts of the Abyss
    Though younger fans of Cameron's 1997 blockbuster may be a little disappointed at the lack of, well, Leo, Cameron persuades us to share his obsession with the ship's history.
  40. House of 1000 Corpses
    Zombie's sense of fun gets buried under the growing pile of bodies, and eventually, we're left with little more than a frenzy of sadism.
  41. DysFunktional Family
    The whole nutty crew finds it rollicking good fun to see themselves lampooned. But there is an unmistakable sorrow behind the humor.
  42. Levity
    Where's the levity, you ask? There is none, or rather, there is none that Manuel can perceive.
  43. Manna from Heaven
    Regrettably, neither cast nor crew is able to save it from itself.
  44. Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
    Despite the spectacularly cool opening credits and some first-rate animation, the story starts to flag about halfway through.
  45. 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.
  46. What a Girl Wants
    Irritating wish-fulfillment movie.
  47. Phone Booth
    Farrell, adding to the case for his impending stardom, locks into his role with the laser precision of the sniper's rifle scope.
  48. A Man Apart
    The film would be totally unwatchable without the very real charisma of Diesel.
  49. The Good Thief
    With his haggard good looks and bearish presence, Nolte is the main event in this colorful three-ring circus of a heist picture.
  50. Cet amour-là
    Dayan's weakly structured biopic Cet Amour-là is, to be kind, less than inspired. But as a showcase for legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau, it's a tour de force.
  51. Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
    It's the many thoughtful, eloquent interviews with Fellini himself that serve as the heart of the film.
  52. The Core
    Only Stanley Tucci seems aware of the drop-dead stupidity of the plot, and acts up a storm of high camp as the narcissistic scientist.
  53. Raising Victor Vargas
    There's something uniquely gratifying about watching nonprofessionals deliver totally natural performances.
  54. 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.
  55. Assassination Tango
    The story line is frustratingly haphazard, spreading out in several directions without ever focusing on one.
  56. Basic
    Travolta is the least of the film's problems. With a script by James Vanderbilt, whose first credit was for a movie about the tooth fairy ("Darkness Falls"), and directed by John McTiernan, last seen struggling with "Rollerball," Basic is a fundamental failure.
  57. Head of State
    A tepid amalgam of other, similarly themed movies.
  58. Unknown Pleasures
    There are several small, startling moments of insight hidden amid the long, slow stretches of listlessness. But the balance is slightly off. We could have used a little more pleasure to get us through his grim adolescent unknown.
  59. Gaudi Afternoon
    Gaudi Afternoon, adapted from Barbara Wilson's novel, is a setup for a smart ensemble comedy, and the cast delivers in hilarious deadpan style.
  60. View from the Top
    The movie is full of puzzling celebrity cameos, as if Brazilian director Bruno Barreto called in all his chits.
  61. Dreamcatcher
    Dreamcatcher has no business being this bad.
  62. Chuen jik sat sau
    A flashy homage to a dozen better movies, this self-conscious Hong Kong action flick is so packed with visual thrills, you may not notice that there's absolutely nothing beneath its impressively slick surface.
  63. Boat Trip
    Cuba Gooding Jr. can just return his "Jerry Maguire" Oscar right now. He has no excuse for making Boat Trip, a perniciously unfunny comedy.
  64. Piglet's Big Movie
    Built on the most basic (though quite charming) animation, songs and plots, the film does have an inescapably straight-to-video feel.
  65. One Swallow Brought Spring
    Moves as slowly and deliberately as it sounds, but Seigner and Serrault are extremely effective in roles often requiring them to work alone, or together in loaded but wordless exchanges.
  66. Down and Out with the Dolls
    A great idea that never gets off the ground.
  67. Japan
    Tough going for most audiences and should be considered more of a rough draft full of lofty ideas unevenly executed.
  68. Willard
    Glover, wearing his close-cropped hair in a pompadour and striking beady-eyed, furrow-browed poses that scare the hair off a tarantula, makes it as much fun as a rat revenge movie can be.
  69. Under the City's Skin
    Watching Tuba's proud girls disappear into anonymous clouds of chadors says more than any political diatribe could, and Bani-Etemad is wise enough to know it.
  70. Spun
    Both a madcap comedy and a cautionary tale about the dangers of drug abuse. But it's not funny or smart enough to work as either one, let alone to strike a balance.
  71. The Hunted
    As in "The Edge," in which Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins were stranded in the wilds, you can earn a wildernesssurvival merit badge just from watching.
  72. Zhantai
    After lulling us into a neartorpor, Jia sneaks in one of the most gut-punching endings in recent memory.
  73. Agent Cody Banks
    While Duff is fairly flavorless, Muniz proves that four seasons of "Malcolm" have made him a pro at navigating surreal silliness. Even when the script fails him, his well-honed instincts save the day.
  74. Bend It Like Beckham
    Director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha continues in the vein of her previous movies, "What's Cooking?" and "Bhaji on the Beach," exploring with humor and compassion how cultures adapt in foreign climes.
  75. The Safety of Objects
    Troche is most interested in exploring the secret lives hidden inside freshly painted Colonials, and what she finds is that everyone's secret is exactly the same: a crushing inability to connect with the people closest to them.
  76. Tears of the Sun
    A preposterous action movie in which a Navy SEAL makes the world safe for democracy one continent at a time.
  77. Chaos
    It's not giving too much away to note that we've seen a lot of this before, in classic noir and postnoir films, though to name those films would spoil things.
  78. Nowhere in Africa
    Though the story itself is undeniably fascinating, this somewhat prosaic account simply doesn't do it justice.
  79. Laurel Canyon
    An underdevelopment of a bad idea that is entertaining, so far as it is, because of McDormand's totally unselfconscious performance. This wonderful actress is never less than interesting, and even as a caricature of a stereotype, she's fun to watch.
  80. Bringing Down the House
    A comedy that successfully plays with stereotypes, both racial and personal.
  81. Irreversible
    Once you're past THOSE scenes, and come to know the context and characters involved, you'll find something both deeply humanist and emotionally complex.
  82. Ten
    The already minimalist filmmaker has gone positively threadbare with Ten, a movie that feels as if there was no director on the set. For the most part, there wasn't.
  83. Dischord
    The only good thing about this on-the-fly, low-budget quickie is its Cape Cod setting and the in-focus cinematography of Ernst Kubitza. Very pretty. Otherwise, it is a speechifying bore.
  84. Foreign Sister
    Starts strongly and is bolstered by thoughtful performances.
  85. Poolhall Junkies
    Stole so many details from the earlier film, "The Hustler," that you have to think of it as either a bad parody or an unfortunate homage.
  86. Cradle 2 the Grave
    Overall the tone is dark and nasty, exemplified by the inelegant signature kung-fu move of the good guys -- a backward kick to the groin.
  87. Bolivia
    Turns the dangerous monotony of poverty and unemployment into something nearly hypnotic.
  88. Lawless Heart
    Perfectly modulated in its tone and performances, Lawless Heart is content to be a small, quiet film. We could use a few more like it.
  89. Tales of Erotica
    Don't let the title fool you. The one thing they have in common is how decidedly unerotic they are.
  90. Dark Blue
    Creates a hellishly evil portrait of a police department in which every white cop is either a racist thug or an enabler, and every black cop a disgusted observer or crusading hero.
  91. Till Human Voices Wake Us
    As a meditation on love and loss, the award-winning script is perhaps too blunt.
  92. Old School
    A deliberately stupid movie whose crazy charm wins you over in the end.
  93. The Life of David Gale
    In trying to disguise his themes within the structure of a noir thriller, Parker was simply more successful at fooling himself than us.
  94. Gods and Generals
    Turner's guileless amateurism stands in refreshing contrast to the rest of the performances -- stilted, self-conscious and sleep-inducing -- that fill this tedious 3-1/2-hour marathon, the Civil War in real time.
  95. Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
    The film itself is a bit on the talking-head side, evoking none of the passion and anguish that are the music's trademarks.
  96. Ordinary Sinner
    Novice filmmaker John Henry Davis deserves credit for tackling big issues, but he forgot one of the most important credos of his craft. No matter how vital your message, a good story beats a sermon any day.
  97. All the Real Girls
    The central relationship here is curious but not engaging, except for the pleasure of watching Deschanel, making All the Real Girls just a filmmaker's exercise in impressionistic style and mood.
  98. Love at Times Square
    Dev Anand's unintentionally hilarious Bollywood romance would be considered terrible by any artistic standard, but it serves as proof that sometimes the worst films make for the most fun.
  99. Gerry
    Gerry isn't much of anything, and doesn't claim to be. It's a movie stripped of its movieness.
  100. Painted Fire
    Once again, the director's eye is faultless as he captures both the essence and beauty of the art of Jang Seung-up, Korea's legendary 19th-century painter. But he doesn't capture the artist's soul.
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