The Globe and Mail (Toronto)'s Scores

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For 7,291 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 48% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 49% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.1 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 62
Highest review score: 100 The Red Turtle
Lowest review score: 0 The Mod Squad
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,349 out of 7291
  2. Mixed: 1,826 out of 7291
  3. Negative: 1,116 out of 7291
7291 movie reviews
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  1. Up
    Disney has historically peopled cartoons aimed at children with violent, gruesomely animated villains. For all its delicious whimsy, Up is no exception.
  2. Drag Me to Hell
    An unabashedly schlocky, expertly executed blend of jack-in-the-box jolts and humour.
  3. Departures
    Departures is, well … a nice film. It breaks no new ground, offers no audacious insights or rude revelations.
  4. Dance Flick
    An entertaining, moderately irreverent comedy that launches the silly movie season on a sure foot.
  5. O'Horten
    In a better entertainment world, Owe would have won a special Buster Keaton Great Stoneface award at last year's Academy Awards.
  6. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
    Unfortunately, once these creatures do come to life for a second outing, the promise soon evaporates and the clever comedy, built largely on crisscrossing anachronisms and various sly cultural references, is not enough to sustain a romp that is all rather predictable.
  7. The Girlfriend Experience
    This is one of the director's small, experimental, semi-improvised provocations, and if it doesn't push too deep, it's pointed enough to leave a mark.
  8. Easy Virtue
    Shot in country fields and interiors of fading Georgian glory, Easy Virtue has enough traces of Coward's wit to keep you hoping for the first hour or so, but then the film collapses under the weight of too many misguided innovations.
  9. Terminator Salvation
    Though competent in its B-movie way, Terminator Salvation lacks the humour, heart-tugging moments and visual pleasure that made the first two movies of the series modern pop masterpieces.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land
    It's a very sad film to watch.
  11. Angels & Demons
    Though complete redemption of Brown's fiction may not be possible, Howard's new film at least represents an upgrade from a mortal to a venal movie sin.
  12. The Brothers Bloom
    The old carnival phrase "Close, but no cigar" comes to mind when watching The Brothers Bloom , a globetrotting heist film that starts off terrifically and then progressively deflates.
  13. Summer Hours
    It is filmmaker Assayas who is the star here. France's most important contemporary director has created a work of almost magisterial calm.
  14. Adoration
    Though there are moments when the drama turns into intellectual debate, the film is also emotional, moving with a fluid, mounting tension and moments of anguish and strange, startling humour.
  15. Little Ashes
    Anyone interested in hearing the artist's heart-to-hearts properly translated is encouraged to seek out Leonard Cohen's flamenco serenade, "Take This Waltz."
  16. Rudo y Cursi
    It's really a lazy comedy that is content telling a crude and corny Hollywood story with a Mexican accent.
  17. Star Trek
    Smart and youthful, with a well-balanced package of humour, romance, crisp action and character-based drama, Star Trek gives popcorn movies a good name.
  18. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
    Isn't just ordinarily lame, it easily exceeds any normal requirements for witless sleaze.
  19. The Limits of Control
    Only a few events happen in this minimalist film, and most of them keep getting repeated through most of its running time.
  20. Revanche
    A little bit of "Crime and Punishment" and a whole lot of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," Revanche, the Austrian candidate for last year's Best Foreign Language Film, is a surprisingly unruffled tale of love, thievery, murder and revenge.
  21. Three Monkeys
    Though Three Monkeys feels conventional compared with Ceylan's other work, it maintains its auteurist imprint, especially the rich colour palette and suggestive HD camerawork that helped Ceylan take the best-director honours at Cannes this year.
  22. Fighting
    Fighting is a crude love letter to seventies' New York cinema but set in the present.
  23. Il Divo
    Fortunately, there's always the fascination of watching actor Toni Servillo, who does a brilliant job of playing Andreotti (known as Beelzebub) as a kind of devil with a clown's exterior.
  24. The Soloist
    As a drama, The Soloist is stuck before it starts.
  25. Tyson
    An absorbing and not-too-uncomfortable experience, so long as you remember there's a camera lens and a big distance between you and the film's violent subject.
  26. Earth
    By hiring James Earl Jones to narrate, Disney has prepared youngsters to understand that man is equally capable of heroism and villainy.
  27. State of Play
    Those Hollywood tricksters have managed to shorten the story while slowing the pace -- all of a sudden, minutes are passing like hours.
  28. Crank: High Voltage
    The movie feels like a form of aversion therapy designed to take the fun out of dumb.
  29. 17 Again
    This mix of titillation and sentimentality can pass as family entertainment because 17 Again is so weightless, a succession of one-liners, sincere monologues and logical absurdities.
  30. Every Little Step
    An uncommonly tender and observant documentary on the phenomenon that is "A Chorus Line."
  31. Lemon Tree
    Often refuses to adhere to the formula, sometimes offering a tantalizing ambiguity, other times aspiring to a more complex drama it cannot entirely deliver.
  32. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
    Surprisingly touching and funny.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    Hannah Montana: The Movie
    Music, naturally, is a big part of this movie -- Disney has a soundtrack to sell -- with both Cyruses, Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts performing.
  34. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
    Remember the final page of Gatsby, a real American tragedy, when the green light beckons us into an ever-receding future? Now that was a mystery. This is, well, Pittsburgh.
  35. Observe and Report
    One of those comedies that is more peculiar than actually funny.
  36. Lymelife
    There's a whole lot of "American Beauty" and "The Ice Storm" packed into Lymelife.
  37. Fast & Furious
    Brian and Dom could drive from L.A. to Mexico City and back blindfolded, but would require a GPS to find the zipper of a dress. The only time they smile here is when they are alone in a garage, tinkering with their dream cars.
  38. Adventureland
    Yes, the delight of this movie lies in these devilish details, and it's clear that writer-director Greg Mottola knows them well.
  39. Bart Got a Room
    Here's something you don't see every day: a high-school comedy for old poops.
  40. Sugar
    Mainly, though, the film's strength is reportorial, sensitively exploring a theme that has grown ever more prominent with the globalization of sport.
  41. Tulpan
    Funny, fascinating, utterly unclassifiable film.
  42. Monsters vs Aliens
    Despite the 3-D gadgetry, there's a musty odour to the script.
  43. Goodbye Solo
    At heart, though, every moviegoer can recognize a love story, no matter how unusual the context.
  44. The Haunting in Connecticut
    C'mon, in matters of haunted-house inhabitation, settling into an ex-mortuary is like renting above a dentist's office -- ashen faces and ghastly screams come with the territory.
  45. Shall We Kiss?
    Perhaps the film's biggest weakness is that all the characters are so naive and petty you can't really work up much fervour about who sleeps with whom. That would never be a question in a movie like "Casablanca."
  46. The Education of Charlie Banks
    What doesn't work so persuasively is Elkoff's script, particularly the overuse of voice-over.
  47. I Love You, Man
    Both Rudd and Segel have splendid comic timing and their improvised scenes leap out from the script.
  48. Duplicity
    So this is a light/bright movie that actually illuminates our dull grey lives, reminding us that intrigue can be, well, intriguing. And damn sexy too.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Knowing
    A catalogue of made-in-America delusions, hallucinations and cosmic catastrophes that draws on environmental fear-mongering in one reel and evangelical lore the next.
  50. Sin Nombre
    Thrilling and beautifully crafted.
  51. Valentino: The Last Emperor
    Superficial but giddily entertaining backstage documentary.
  52. The Last House on the Left
    Horror fans anticipating grisly laughs are in for a jolt. Because the new Last House, though terrifying, is never, ever fun.
  53. Race to Witch Mountain
    Young male earthlings should like everything about Race to Witch Mountain. Just make sure you race your caffeinated charges to the washrooms right after the movie to defuel so there won't be any accidents on the space shuttle home.
  54. Sunshine Cleaning
    It's like an elevated form of sitcom acting, which may be inevitable because this movie, and all its quirky/heartfelt kin, are an elevated version of the sitcom itself.
  55. Tokyo Sonata
    Turns out to be one of the most compelling, finely orchestrated and oddly enchanting films of the year so far.
  56. Watchmen
    Like the writings of William Burroughs or Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," Watchmen falls into the category of what might be called meta-pulp, a multilayered fiction that serves as a parody and commentary on our collective bottom-feeding fantasies.
  57. Tokyo!
    Perhaps it is inevitable as three foreign directors train their lenses on that unique island culture of the East that all three are propelled by fantasy or science fiction, and suggest more alienation from Tokyo than affection for the great city.
  58. 12
    Yes, Mikhalkov has set himself quite the agenda, but in the end the film is too much of a piece with its topic, intensely fascinating yet seriously flawed. The verdict? Guilty, with extenuating circumstances.
  59. Crossing Over
    Had Crossing Over chosen to tell one of them well, rather than seven badly, it would have made for a fine movie. Instead, all we get is a mess of good liberal intentions loosely anchored to a mass of pure Hollywood hokum.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
    Not only does the 3-D format grant you a front row seat at this Jonas Brothers concert, but it puts sweet, sweaty Joe (he's the cute one) practically in your lap. For most JoBro fans, that alone is worth the price of admission.
    • 31 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Fired Up!
    The movie has a sharper and more acerbic screenplay than you normally find in bargain-basement, D-list teen comedies.
  62. Katyn
    There's no redemption here. Indeed, if anything is redemptive about Katyn , it's the fact of the film itself.
  63. Friday the 13th
    Despite an evident appetite for mayhem, however, Bay is not the right guy to produce slasher movies. Horror requires intimacy.
  64. Gomorrah
    An unforgettable portrayal of the unglamorous gangster life, which is often short and never sweet.
  65. Two Lovers
    Two Lovers is two movies – the complex, alluring one we want, and the simple, pedestrian one we'll settle for.
  66. Under the Sea 3D
    Like its predecessors, Under the Sea is family-friendly viewing -- the great white shark swims by, as opposed to tearing prey to shreds. Its goal is to show biodiversity and offer information on how reefs grow, reminding us of threats to these environments.
  67. Coraline
    Presented the usual way, the film would be enchanting. In 3-D, however, Coraline is completely engrossing. Selick uses the technique brilliantly to enhance the comedy and horror that mingle in his more "family-friendly" version of Gaiman's dark story.
  68. He's Just Not That Into You
    Pretty routine, pretty forgettable. Don't know how else to say this, so best to be frank: I'm just not that into He's Just Not That Into You.
  69. The Pink Panther 2
    The story, of course, is a line on which to pin the comic set-pieces, and that's where Pink Panther 2 comes up lustreless. Zwart has no discernible sense of comic rhythm, beyond managing to punctuate scenes with a wall crashing in.
  70. Push
    Suggestive of "X-Men," "The Matrix" and the television show "Heroes," Push is one of those time-mangling thrillers that manages to seem both complicated and superficial.
  71. Fanboys
    Turns out a movie about an infatuated bunch of Star Wars nerds can really set your teeth on edge.
  72. Confessions of a Shopaholic
    I think that the perfect name for the chick in a chick flick is Rebecca Bloomwood. I know that if Charles Dickens had possessed the good sense to write chick flicks, he could not have done better than Rebecca Bloomwood.
  73. The International
    An action thriller with some decent action and a few thrills, but all embedded in a yarn so hopelessly tangled that even the loose threads have knots.
  74. New in Town
    As for the locals, they speak like extras from "Fargo," although, on this go-round, that weird Swedish accent has somehow lost its power to amuse.
    • 49 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Inkheart
    This is a stunning-looking film with a dark romantic cloud (quite literally) hanging over its every shot.
  76. Chandni Chowk to China
    At two hours and 34 minutes, CC2C is too much by a half: too much dancing and fighting and too much footage of the Great Wall of China. It does, however, have a vulgar energy and many of the jokes work.
  77. Hotel for Dogs
    It's like flipping through five years of dog calendars.
  78. Notorious
    Notorious isn't, not even remotely.
  79. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
    Thanks to a tight script and brisk pacing from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Doolittle 2), there's little fat in Mall Cop, save the a yawn-inducing parade of fat-guy jokes.
  80. Bride Wars
    The movie pretty much blows.
  81. Silent Light
    Much of what happens in Silent Light can feel painstakingly mundane: milking cows, harvesting wheat, a long drive at night in and out of shadows. Yet throughout, there's a sense of something ominous impending, and while it remains gentle, the ending is genuinely startling.
  82. Defiance
    What is puzzling is how Edward Zwick has taken an extraordinary real-life story about a handful of people who defied huge odds, and turned it into an utterly conventional war movie.
  83. Revolutionary Road
    Though Revolutionary Road is a less stringent work than Yates's book, it also feels like a more tolerant and humane one.
  84. The Spirit
    What a shame that The Spirit isn't nearly as good as it looks.
  85. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    Perhaps the movie might have made more sense if the actors could have taken each other's roles: Pitt always seems light and ageless, while Blanchett never seems to have been young.
  86. Bedtime Stories
    Bedtime Stories does divide into two types of comedy: There's the story comedy, in which Skeeter dresses in costume when he performs slapstick and insults people, and then there are the real-life scenes, when he does the same things in regular clothes.
  87. Last Chance Harvey
    Distinctly middling, London-set romance.
  88. Marley & Me
    Never brilliant but always solid and often wry, Marley & Me is what it celebrates -- an amiable overachiever.
  89. Valkyrie
    The result is a fairly co-ordinated effort that, despite a few miscues, yields a consistently watchable film.
  90. Waltz with Bashir
    Profound, and profoundly affecting.
  91. The Tale of Despereaux
    The movie is a freakish creature, with lush, painterly animation inspired by Dutch and Flemish masters, attached to a convoluted, gloomy narrative punctuated with scenes of sadism that rival "The Dark Knight."
  92. Yes Man
    Yes Man puts him back in the same old quandary and, once again, Carrey lacks an identity. Alas, this time, he also lacks a script.
  93. The Class
    The Class is simultaneously old school and new, familiar in its themes but unique in design and, at its best, riveting in execution.
  94. Seven Pounds
    There's a head-pounding, gob-smacking literalness to this flick, extending from the title right through to the recurring imagery.
  95. The Wrestler
    The excesses are easy to forgive, both for the humour and charisma of Rourke's outsized performance and Aronofsky's canny low-key direction, which make for a combination that is irresistible.
  96. The Day the Earth Stood Still
    As a message movie, it's preachy without being serious; for an action movie, there's a lot of racket but not much fun.
  97. Delgo
    Delgo is blocky and hastily coloured in. Characters are stiff; there is little variety in movement. It's a cheapo product ideally suited for a Saturday-morning pyjama vigil in front of a small screen. And the film suffers from a poverty of imagination to boot.
  98. Doubt
    This movie sticks.
  99. Gran Torino
    Gran Torino skids into the narrative ditch. By the time it jolts to an ending, followed by Clint rasping a tune to the closing credits, you're more likely to be rolling your eyes than dabbing them.
  100. Nothing Like the Holidays
    Most of the cast range from tolerable to appealing (especially Molina and Pena), with a conspicuous exception. Debra Messing, as the career-driven outsider, is consistently stilted.
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