The A.V. Club's Scores

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For 10,422 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 51% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.6 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 62
Highest review score: 100 Badlands
Lowest review score: 0 A Life Less Ordinary
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,575 out of 10422
  2. Mixed: 3,739 out of 10422
  3. Negative: 1,108 out of 10422
10422 movie reviews
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  1. The Prestige
    For all its surface dazzle, The Prestige shares with this year's earlier "The Illusionist" a certain core hollowness. Maybe that's a natural consequence of even the best magic shows: You can't help but feel duped.
  2. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
    While Jonestown lacks the power of revelation, it's a first-rate piece of journalism, as fascinating and thorough as any magazine article.
  3. Requiem
    Though its heroine's mysterious seizures and blackouts are terrifying in the way they undermine her quest for self-determination, Requiem isn't a horror movie so much as a thwarted coming-of-age story, like "Carrie" without the bloody reckoning.
  4. 51 Birch Street
    The joys of watching a man carry out his own therapy onscreen are fairly limited.
  5. Justice
    Because Justice is from the Wiseman school of documentaries, there's no narration and people don't share their thoughts with the camera, which means the movie can come off as a little hollow.
  6. The Grudge 2
    While the film deserves some credit for creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere, it doesn't matter much when the plot doesn't go anywhere, and here, it winds toward the most arbitrary, nonsensical final scene in recent memory. But, hey, they're ghosts. They can do some pretty crazy shit.
  7. Man of the Year
    If there's anything sadder than a satire without teeth, it's a thriller without thrills. Even sadder is the rare movie that fails at both genres simultaneously. That, and that alone, makes Man Of The Year exceptional.
  8. The Marine
    While The Marine proves a poor showcase for the charisma-impaired Cena, it's a terrific vehicle for world-class heavy Patrick, who is clearly enjoying himself as the kind of deranged lunatic who interrupts a long string of felonies to confirm the details of his new cable package.
  9. Deliver Us from Evil
    When victims and their families talk about having their lives wrecked by a sexually abusive priest in the forceful documentary Deliver Us From Evil, that destruction is as much spiritual as psychological.
  10. Infamous
    Ultimately, the problem with Infamous isn't that it revisits Capote's turf--it's that it does the same things well, and leaves the same unsatisfying holes.
  11. Tideland
    It's no "trip through the dark to appreciate the light." It's a nightmare from start to finish.
  12. Zerophilia
    All the nudity in Zerophilia is either prosthetic or body-doubled. Which means the sex scenes--and the feeling and meaning behind them--are just as phony.
  13. Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
    Rourke's hammy, eyeliner-enhanced acting alone almost makes Alex Rider worth a look.
  14. So Much So Fast
    The movie captures the way scientists sometimes make breakthroughs simply by attempting the impossible.
  15. The Departed
    When a director of Scorsese's caliber is working at the top of his game, it's a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place.
  16. Little Children
    Decades removed from his dreamy Kelly in the "Bad News Bears" movies, Haley pulls off the remarkable feat of bringing childlike vulnerability to his character while still suggesting ungodly menace.
  17. Employee of the Month
    A symptom of cinematic de-evolution run amok.
  18. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
    It's really gory and really dull. Mostly just dull.
  19. 49 Up
    While all the "Up" films hold a fascination akin to a Christmas letter from an almost-forgotten friend, 42 Up didn't show much progress from "35 Up." Even fans of the series had to wonder whether the faces of England were going to remain permanently frozen.
  20. Black Gold
    There's been a proliferation of "globalization sucks" documentaries over the past couple of years, but few have been as blunt as Black Gold.
  21. Shortbus
    Developed by Mitchell and the actors, the characters don't always seem consistent from moment to moment, but a sharp sense of humor and comfortable performances by a committed and--it must be said--remarkably limber cast help smooth over the rough edges.
  22. The Queen
    Mirren begins the film having her portrait painted, looking every inch the monarch and proud to play the part. By the end, she's let the pressure of one week, and maybe a lifetime, show in her eyes.
  23. The Guardian
    Tries tremendously hard to win audiences over with manly derring-do, exciting action, and impossible-obstacles-overcome uplift. And it's undeniably compelling for minutes at a time
  24. Open Season
    No one makes it out of this laughless mess unscathed.
  25. School for Scoundrels
    As usual, Thornton remains fully committed to the performance. Viewers could make a game of scanning his face for even the slightest hint of warmth. By the end of the film, that may be the surest source of entertainment.
  26. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
    The film feels like an earnest retread over old territory, albeit one that intermittently comes to life thanks to an amazing cast, expressive cinematography by French master Eric Gautier (Irma Vep), and Montiel's obviously heartfelt sentiments.
  27. loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies
    The documentary dashes any lingering hope that Pixies would ever record a new album, even though it makes no definitive statement to that effect.
  28. The Last King of Scotland
    The Last King Of Scotland makes a stronger case when it's demonstrating how opulent power-lunches corrupt absolutely.
  29. All the King's Men
    The movie's more damnable problem is it irrelevance.
  30. Flyboys
    There's something almost perversely old-fashioned about Flyboys.
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