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. Murder of a Cat
    This is a perfect example of the kind of indie movie J.K. Simmons will hopefully never have to do again if he wins an Oscar for “Whiplash.”
  2. Still Alice
    Hampered by both an unimaginative script and ordinary direction, but it’s a serious Oscar contender. Why? Because Julianne Moore is in the lead.
  3. Dying of the Light
    The irony is that in the low-key but mildly absorbing “Light,” Cage comes close to making it work.
  4. Wild
    You may admire Witherspoon’s solid performance, but you won’t forget you’re watching a star.
  5. Horrible Bosses 2
    So the big surprise of Horrible Bosses 2 is how far it gets on the hopped-up jabberjaw alliance of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day. In the 2011 “Bosses,” they were swamped by the conceit: White-collar pals try to kill awful employers. Now, freed up to free-associate, they’re totally winning.
  6. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
    This seemingly ordinary biographical documentary about the retiring animation master unfolds, at a deceptively gentle pace, into a work of immense beauty.
  7. The Imitation Game
    Ultimately, though, director Morten Tyldum’s conventional approach doesn’t do full justice to his tragically unconventional hero.
  8. Penguins of Madagascar
    A sassy script and good-natured voice work from Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich should keep kids and grownups entertained over the holidays.
  9. The Babadook
    So many horror films trade depth for a thrill. The Babadook has both. It dispenses with cheap scares and draws tension from a slowly enveloping dread. And when you think you know where it’s going, that’s when it goes in for the kill.
  10. Extraterrestrial
    Most of this dull movie is played straight. But as a local UFO nut, genre stalwart Michael Ironside (“Scanners,” “Starship Troopers”) provides solid comic relief. He feels dropped in from another movie. Or another galaxy.
  11. Food Chains
    The participants make a strong case, although the most emotionally powerful moments involve the workers themselves.
  12. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
    While the plot is too light to sink your teeth into, the dreamlike, David Lynch-style imagery is engrossing.
  13. All Relative
    Does Hollywood have so little to offer women that well-regarded actresses feel obliged to accept demeaning indies like this flatly unfunny, morally vacant comedy?
  14. Reach Me
    The concept itself is bafflingly empty. We’re never given any reason to respect Teddy or his work — which is built on tired, self-help clichés — so we hardly believe in his rapturous fans.
  15. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
    There is a serious lack of action here, which might be overlooked if the script were as smart as in the previous films. What passes for parable here is merely overplotting.
  16. A Merry Friggin' Christmas
    The atonal script is credited to first-timer Michael Brown, but there’s still no explaining Shapeero’s lump-of-coal debut.
  17. The Homesman
    The screenplay, adapted from Glendon Swarthout’s 1988 novel, lacks its heroine’s rigid spine. The story buckles in the latter half. As a result, we wind up watching two very different movies. The first forges ahead with Cuddy’s fiery righteousness. The second takes a much safer route, in which her pioneering spirit is sorely missed.
  18. Foxcatcher
    Rare is the drama that plumbs the quirky, unsettling depths of human nature like Foxcatcher. Simultaneously understated and grippingly edgy, this is an arresting examination of naivete, mismatched worlds and old-fashioned American oddness.
  19. Rosewater
    Rosewater is not about what isolates us, and part of the film’s terrific achievement is its recognition that staying connected is a daily show of strength.
  20. Dumb and Dumber To
    From junky production values to the parade of unfunny supporting characters to its lazy energy, Dumb and Dumber To falls on its face.
  21. Miss Meadows
    When writer and director are one and the same, there’s always a risk that the project will suffer from a lack of perspective. Indeed, in helming her blackly comic indie Miss Meadows, Karen Leigh Hopkins fails to fulfill the potential of her own script.
  22. Beyond the Lights
    This unusually intelligent crowd-pleaser is welcome proof that quality filmmaking needn’t be limited by subject, audience or budget.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Red Army
    You don’t have to be a sports fan or a Cold War buff to relish the compelling political investigation and fierce rink action in this brisk, terrific movie.
  24. 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.
  25. 21 Years: Richard Linklater
    There are great clips and good insight, and it’s all as loose and cool as an Austin night out.
  26. Sex Ed
    The shock of seeing kids talking dirty dries up quick, but the message is one of positivity and communication.
  27. The Better Angels
    If you succumb to The Better Angels, the effect is like falling into a gorgeous photograph, but that also means the narrative in this arthouse film is oblique and sketchy.
  28. Big Hero 6
    Big Hero 6 was executive produced by Pixar guru John Lasseter. You can see the influence in the high quality, from the appealing 3D animation to the unusually sharp story and script (a cooperative effort credited to seven people).
  29. The Theory of Everything
    Rather than go for big ideas, the movie cozies up to small wonders. Instead of an ah-ha moment, we get a sigh of familiarity. Still, in this biopic about Hawking, there’s one explosion that blows your mind: Eddie Redmayne’s performance. Redmayne as Hawking, if the stars align, should be an Oscar lock.
  30. Fugly!
    John Leguizamo can do so much better than this weak rom-com, in which men are morons and women are either neurotic or nasty.
  31. Jessabelle
    There are few scares here, but plenty of mild grossness. The absurd ending ties up the mystery in a way that’s sure to annoy both supernaturalists and realists.
  32. Interstellar
    The movie could have gone several ways, too — and it is heartbreaking to watch this ambitious story choose the wrong one and get lost in space.
  33. True Son
    Watching politics and the people in it can be disheartening and depressing. Here’s an antidote: This energizing, uplifting, sharp documentary from director Kevin Gordon.
  34. Nightcrawler
    It’s a pleasure to see Russo back on screen (she’s married to Gilroy). But Nina’s eager complicity is far too easy and every social critique flashes as bright as the neon guiding Lou around back-alley L.A.
  35. Private Peaceful
    Fans of PBS, history and a certain kind of old-fashioned moviemaking may fall in.
  36. Horns
    Alexandre Aja’s supernatural thriller Horns isn’t an entirely successful movie. But with a committed Daniel Radcliffe in the lead, it’s a consistently intriguing one.
  37. Before I Go to Sleep
    This dull thriller wastes the potential of Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth.
  38. Point and Shoot
    A compelling account of an ordinary guy who transformed himself through extraordinary circumstance.
  39. Revenge of the Green Dragons
    The local angle offers a degree of flavor, but this is a dull tale, reminiscent of a hundred others. The dialogue is ludicrous, the video stock looks cheap.
  40. Viktor
    Preposterous things are everywhere in this lethargic thriller.
  41. 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.
  42. Hit by Lightning
    Cryer makes a likable sad-sack and Will Sasso provides balance as his narcissistic best friend. But both guys deserve better. As do we.
  43. Stonehearst Asylum
    Stonehearst Asylum, Brad Anderson’s adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story, is undeniably preposterous. But if you accept the grandly Gothic insanity here, there’s a lot of fun to be had.
  44. Exists
    Just because a movie can exist doesn’t mean it should.
  45. John Wick
    Plot is not the movie’s strong suit. But stylish set pieces are, including one epic blast-a-thon alongside a pool.
  46. Low Down
    Director Jeff Preiss soaks his movie in a brownish retro atmosphere, which helps smooth over the many dull spots, but only briefly. Though his cast is strong even when the movie lags, they often feel like soloists doing their own thing next to each other — always melodic but never truly meshing.
  47. 1,000 Times Good Night
    Sadly, this gorgeous-looking adult movie plays out the same theme over and over, never going anywhere surprising. At least we have Binoche to guide us to hell and back.
  48. Ouija
    Cooke, a young Brit seen on TV’s “Bates Motel,” is strong as the diminutive brunette at the center of the interworldly fright-fest. Her charisma is almost enough to keep you from rolling your eyes at the script.
  49. Laggies
    The unavoidable obstacle is that the perpetually elegant Knightley does not belong. Not at a prom, not furtively partying in a parent’s basement and not, alas, in this movie.
  50. White Bird in a Blizzard
    Having carried the mediocre smash “Divergent,” Shailene Woodley now uplifts another underwhelming teen thriller. This one’s as tiny as that one was huge.
  51. Citizenfour
    So is he a martyred patriot or a misguided traitor? And is it possible he’s both? Poitras comes down firmly on one side, and she makes a strong case. But the movie would have been stronger still if she’d acknowledged the alternative view.
  52. The Book of Life
    For a kiddie flick, The Book of Life pushes boundaries, as the topic of death is undeniably front and center. But like Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the movie enjoyably, and successfully, mixes the macabre with the celebratory.
  53. The Best of Me
    There have been times when the right team has been able to transcend the gooey schmaltz of Sparks’ stories. This effort, however, sinks like a rock thrown into a sun-dappled lake shaded by magnolia trees sparkling under a sky of shooting stars.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
    This adaptation of a 10th-century folk tale is less sumptuous than Ghibli maestro Hiyao Miyazaki’s surreal classics, yet it’s also more affecting than most of them. An allegory about the irrecoverable joys of childhood, it may make parents hug their kids now.
  55. Rudderless
    William H. Macy has pitch-perfect instincts as an actor. As a movie director, he’s bound to do better than his first feature, this big-hearted, nicely paced but ho-hum character study.
  56. Fury
    Fury excels in showing the ground-level, guttural intensity and claustrophobia of battle.
  57. Young Ones
    Director Jake Paltrow’s stark sense of place fades as familiar genre elements are introduced. It winds up like “There Will Be Blood,” but with H2O, not oil. It’s food for thought, nothing more.
  58. Felony
    Strong acting all ’round helps, but unfortunately this is just a slow ride to nowhere.
  59. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
    It’s undeniably thrilling to watch Gonzalez Iñárritu and Keaton aiming so high. Whenever they’re brave enough to leap into the unknown, Birdman soars.
  60. Camp X-Ray
    OK, haters: Here’s the movie meant to silence your complaints about Kristen Stewart’s acting range. And it might, if you can sit through all of it.
  61. Listen Up Philip
    Schwartzman and Pryce are compelling in their self-regard. But it’s no coincidence that the lovely, empathetic Moss is who we root for.
  62. Dear White People
    Comparisons to Spike Lee’s movies are unavoidable, particularly with a setting that recalls Lee’s “School Daze” and a conclusion that echoes “Do the Right Thing.” But Dear White People is a film of the moment, and an essential one at that.
  63. The Judge
    Speaking of committed: Duvall, at age 83, nearly steals the show. Always the most inscrutable of the great ’70s actors, Duvall uses his great, unassuming American face to convey pride, confusion, pain and compassion — sometimes all at once.
  64. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
    Just another loud, boy-centric comedy aimed at ’tweens. The movie turns a slight children’s book — in this case, Judith Viorst’s 1972 fave, from which it takes mainly the title — into a charmless mishmash.
  65. I Am Ali
    “Boxing was just something he did,” Foreman says, referring to all the worlds encompassed in the life of the now-72-year-old Ali. Indeed.
  66. Autómata
    The performances range wildly from high (Banderas) to low (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Jacq’s pregnant wife) to you-must-be-kidding (Melanie Griffith as both a scientific genius and a prostitute android).
  67. St. Vincent
    Murray is always a delight, but his films with kids (“Meatballs,” “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”) give his unencumbered playfulness even more room to roam.
  68. Kite
    As for Jackson, he strolls through the nonsensical story so casually, one suspects his mind is on other things — like what he’ll do with his paycheck. He has probably already moved on. We’ll happily do the same.
  69. Whiplash
    Teller delivers a career-making performance as Andrew Neyman, a 19-year-old jazz drummer who wants to be great. Like Buddy Rich great.
  70. You're Not You
    The sort of movie that’s not good enough to embrace, but not quite bad enough to dismiss.
  71. Dracula Untold
    The CGI — mostly Evans transforming into fightin’ bats — look muddy and cheap, but the weapons, Turkish helmets and Romanian interiors are all gorgeous. If only the rest of this “Lord of the Rings” wanna-be were at the same level.
  72. Keep On Keepin' On
    The movie hits a beautiful, celebratory note.
  73. Stephen King’s A Good Marriage
    This one has a screenplay by Stephen King, adapting his own short story. Unfortunately, that can’t save this low-budget thriller.
  74. The Good Lie
    It’s hard to fault a movie like The Good Lie for its intentions. But it can be faulted for pandering, both to its subject and to audiences.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Annabelle
    Wallis is commendably restrained and Alfre Woodard adds class as Mia’s wise ally. But Annabelle is a vortex of visual clichés beyond rescue.
  76. 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.
  77. 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.
  78. The Hero of Color City
    For parents looking to get their preschoolers out of the house, The Hero of Color City will be good enough.
  79. Harmontown
    We never do find out what really went on behind the scenes of “Community.” But the delightful success of a charismatic loner like Crittenden could be considered one of Harmon’s greatest accomplishments.
  80. Drive Hard
    Cusack and Jane look like they’re improvising much of the time, and while that doesn’t lead to a better movie, the off-the-cuff approach is the best thing in the film.
  81. The Liberator
    Even Ramírez cannot liberate this movie from a clichéd script.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nas: Time Is Illmatic
    The album lives as a touchstone, and a turning point, in New York hip hop. The film may be far less significant, but it does bear witness to the music’s greatness.
  83. Left Behind
    This failed epic — really, an epic failure — would barely be noticed, were it not for former Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage taking on a “Sharknado”-quality remake of a Kirk Cameron movie.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pride
    Among the actors, potential Oscar nominee Nighy is deeply affecting, but everyone in this rousing movie impresses.
  85. The Two Faces of January
    If you wait for the grift, you’ll only be disappointed. There are no jolting twists or shocking reveals. The reward lies mostly in accepting each character on his or her terms.
  86. Jimi: All Is by My Side
    Ridley and Benjamin have done more than capture Hendrix’s moves and sounds. They’ve captured his spirit.
  87. Gone Girl
    Fincher is a fearless filmmaker who understands his audience’s intelligence (not to mention their cinematic blood lust). By the end of Gone Girl, we feel like we’ve lived through about four movies, not just one. Good luck letting go of any of them.
  88. Two Night Stand
    Teller is, by far, the best thing about this easygoing, stubbornly generic independent romance from Max Nichols (son of Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols).
  89. The Boxtrolls
    Kids who get a kick out of the macabre will enjoy this exquisitely crafted but tedious film.
  90. Days and Nights
    In a movie, nothing good ever seems to happen at a country house. And when it comes to this film, nothing very interesting happens, either.
  91. The Equalizer
    The movie is tense and coiled for its first hour, then becomes routine in its second half.
  92. A Walk Among the Tombstones
    With the combo of Neeson’s natural solemnity and his action chops, “Tombstones” treads compellingly amongst lesser thrillers.
  93. The Maze Runner
    No, there’s nothing new here. But sometimes it’s enough to be merely entertained, rather than amazed.
  94. Tracks
    The scenery is stunning and the story compelling, but some viewers will find it easier to admire Tracks than to engage with this meditative tale of Robyn Davidson (played beautifully by Mia Wasikowska).
  95. Reclaim
    There are no twists or even surprises, except the final realization that director Alan White is taking his culturally clueless, ineptly shot B-movie totally seriously. Judging from the uniformly underwhelming performances, he’s the only one.
  96. Hector and the Search for Happiness
    Hector wants to connect to our inner child, but it feels more like a long story from a good-hearted but dull grandparent.
  97. The Zero Theorem
    This all feels like an homage to Gilliam’s “Brazil,” though Zero Theorem also has shadows of “12 Monkeys” and other films in the onetime Monty Python animator’s cinematic carnival.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    This Is Where I Leave You
    They say any group is only as strong as its weakest link. Well, the weak link in This Is Where I Leave You is the film in which the appealing cast members are stuck.
  99. Tusk
    Tusk is alternately amusing, appalling and frustrating. It’s also unique.
  100. No Good Deed
    No Good Deed is an example of the worst kind of exploitative thriller — and it’s being released during the worst possible week.
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