The A.V. Club's Scores

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For 10,456 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 2.5 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: 5,593 out of 10456
  2. Mixed: 3,748 out of 10456
  3. Negative: 1,115 out of 10456
10456 movie reviews
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  1. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
    It makes for an ironically modest, tasteful tribute to two filmmakers who, in their finest and most moving moments, were anything but restrained.
  2. Sorry/Not Sorry
    Sorry/Not Sorry functions more aptly as a recap of a situation most people who would seek out the doc already know about.
  3. Dandelion
    While Dandelion begins on a promising note and intermittently strikes the right chords, this cinematic symphony sours during its crescendo when it should be intensifying, bringing its stirring sentiments together in resounding harmony.
  4. Sing Sing
    The strength of the cast alone can’t elevate Sing Sing to the realm of truly socially conscious cinema.
  5. National Anthem
    Though lushly lensed by cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi (Monica, Swallow), there isn’t much under the quietly glam veneer of National Anthem. Had Gilford hewed closer to the everyday folks that find freedom in queer rodeos, a more varied tapestry of this slice of subversive Americana would have shone through.
  6. Fly Me to the Moon
    Unless you can put aside everything you know about the space program, government, advertising, and television broadcasting, you may spend a good deal of the film’s two-hour runtime frustrated by its plot holes and contrivances.
  7. Longlegs
    Everything about it, from the performances to the production design to the sickly quality of the light in scene after scene, is designed to make us not just question what we’re seeing, but stand at a remove from it, like we’ve just seen a wild animal behaving strangely. Like that wild animal might just lash out and bite us if we get too close.
  8. Kill
    There’s something here about men becoming monsters, righteous goals, and so on, but the symbolism is inchoate; the violence, however stylized, never represents anything more than itself.
  9. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
    What this film provides is easy charms; luckily, those come plenty.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
    There is solid filmmaking to enjoy. It’s just hard to know what it’s all for.
  11. Despicable Me 4
    Good Enough is a few bland chuckles uttered in a vacuous 90 minutes you struggle to remember even as the credits start to roll. Good Enough is a black hole, of which Despicable Me 4 is the singularity.
  12. MaXXXine
    For all these films’ paeans to grime and sleaze, they’re controlled imitations rather than the uninhibited real thing.
  13. A Family Affair
    Directed by Richard LaGravenese, every moment in A Family Affair sits there as lifelessly as Gerard Butler’s character in LaGravenese’s most successful movie, P.S. I Love You. And that’s not just the fault of the expressionless romantic leads, regrettably cast opposite each other in a way that makes the whole film feel like Joey King’s vacation to the uncanny valley.
  14. The Devil's Bath
    Mileage will vary, dictated by your appreciation for methodical avalanches of sorrow driven by puritanical pressures. Everything is minimalistic, punctuated by the devastating context found in the research that helped shape Franz and Fiala’s screenplay. Some viewers will recognize dedication, others will have their patience tested.
  15. A Quiet Place: Day One
    Nyong’o, a prestige actress who moonlights as the world’s most expressive scream queen, does wonders with the nuances of Sam’s sorrow, the tug of war between acceptance and fighting for her life.
  16. Daddio
    There’s candor and insight here. But, much like Girlie and Clark, Daddio remains stuck despite the appearance of movement.
  17. Green Border
    What’s most marvelous about Green Border—aside from its resounding commitment to humanization, buttressed by a thrilling and harrowing narrative—is that it doesn’t let anyone off the hook.
  18. I Am: Celine Dion
    The documentary, taking its cue from Dion, is not merely looking backward; there’s a path ahead. What exactly that looks like is, as it turns out, being negotiated as the documentary unfolds.
  19. Trigger Warning
    The filmmakers frustratingly fail to dig into the familiar territory they’re traversing. What should serve as a warm welcome for Mouly Surya (helming her first English-language picture) and a kick-ass welcome back to lead roles for star Jessica Alba turns into a congealed mess of squandered potential.
  20. Firebrand
    The screenplay fails to bring any ingenuity in structure or dialogue, thus diminishing the power of Aïnouz’s characteristically operatic filmmaking.
  21. The Imaginary
    The Imaginary is an enchanting tale in which reality clashes with imagination in a battle to determine which is more powerful
  22. The Bikeriders
    It is too conventional to be an outlaw, but Nichols and the cast have a blast pretending.
  23. Thelma
    How often does a film come along that you can comfortably recommend to literally everyone in your life? Not often enough. For that reason alone, Thelma deserves to be celebrated.
  24. Janet Planet
    Few artists can so seamlessly transcend artistic labels, but Annie Baker has proven that she possesses the natural knack for quiet storytelling across mediums.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Fancy Dance
    While the grounded presentation is one of the movie’s greatest strengths, there are some chunks in the middle where things nod off.
  26. Chestnut
    Despite the actors’ best efforts, they can never quite overcome a script that simply doesn’t have anything new to add to the conversation.
  27. The Exorcism
    By the climax, The Exorcism is buried in plot points that obscure whatever the power of Christ is compelling us to do.
  28. Tiger Stripes
    Where it feels uninspired gore-wise, it similarly feels muddled in its message.
  29. Ghostlight
    While it connects as authentic and heartfelt, there’s also a sneaky profundity to match. Experiencing that in a theater alongside strangers is a very good thing.
  30. Inside Out 2
    You want to connect to these characters on a deeper level, but it never really lets you get fully invested in them.
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