The New York Times' Scores

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For 20,323 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 46% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 49% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 61
Highest review score: 100 Short Cuts
Lowest review score: 0 Gummo
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9,408 out of 20323
  2. Mixed: 8,448 out of 20323
  3. Negative: 2,467 out of 20323
20323 movie reviews
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  1. Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes
    A fairly tough-minded film until the end, when several commentators who have been critical suddenly turn misty-eyed and suggest that underneath it all, Holmes was really a sweetie.
  2. Afraid of Everything
    The writer and director, David Barker, discards the didactic tone of so much American independent filmmaking in favor of a character study that leads to no easy conclusions.
  3. The Season of Men
    The movie isn't entirely despairing. Near the end, it suggests that contemporary Tunisian women with enough fighting spirit can achieve a measure of autonomy, although the personal cost may be bitter. And the movie's sun-drenched views of life on the southern Tunisian island of Jerba are beautiful.
  4. The Youth
    Mr. Ratnam is a dynamic, natural filmmaker who happily uses every device at his disposal, from rapid-fire MTV editing to sped-up action scenes that recall silent serials, to keep his lengthy film moving at a brisk pace. The film flags only when Mr. Ratnam must turn his attention to the soggy romantic subplots.
  5. Chop Suey
    Though undoubtedly a vanity project -- the music clearances alone must have cost much more than the film could ever hope to gross -- it functions pleasantly enough as an exercise in free association.
  6. Story of the Eye
    It is a strange, beautiful, disturbing and at times literally painful work, an original and distinctive expression by a gifted young Philadelphia-based filmmaker who here confirms the talent he displayed in his 2001 film, "A Chronicle of Corpses."
  7. Massoud, the Afghan
    I was struck by how personal this movie is, and by the delicate symbiosis that develops between biographer and subject. Mr. Ponfilly's presence in the film (mostly on the soundtrack and once or twice on camera) does not overshadow Massoud so much as filter our understanding of him.
  8. Imelda
    As a personality study Imelda is a devastating portrait of how power begets self-delusion. It must be said, however, that through it all Mrs. Marcos exudes considerable charm and even a flickering sense of humor.
  9. Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
    A documentary 10 times as engrossing as the film that is its subject.
  10. Ticket to Jerusalem
    It has an air of melancholy humor as its characters fumble toward normalcy.
  11. James' Journey to Jerusalem
    As social criticism -- not only of Israel, but of other affluent countries as well -- James' Journey is both potent and a little didactic.
  12. Crying Ladies
    Its most winning attribute is a kind of sloppy, unassuming friendliness, a likability aptly reflected in its characters.
  13. AmnesiA
    The first feature written and directed by Martin Koolhoven. It reveals him as a skillful manipulator of disturbing visual images (much of the film is washed in inky blue) and a screenwriter adept at sustaining a mood of impending doom.
  14. The Letter: An American Town and the 'Somali Invasion'
    Mr. Hamzeh's film is responsible and intelligent, though, and important as a record of a disturbing incident.
  15. With Friends Like These...
    Originally released seven years ago on home video, is only now surfacing as a theatrical release. Although it's no classic, it's a cut or two smarter than the average Hollywood comedy. At its best, it plays like a less acerbic, less Jewish triple episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." (review of re-release)
  16. The Red Orchestra
    Films like "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" immerse viewers in the bleakness of that time. The Red Orchestra is set in a sunnier world, which seems more frighteningly false. The bright, quotidian landscape seems a facade that threatens to tumble at any moment.
  17. David Hockney: The Colors of Music
    Over all, this deferential film salutes Mr. Hockney's artistry as an elixir for creaky texts, a hallucinogen for orthodox opera fans, and an antidote to his own senescence. As much as he lets the filmmaker be present, he successfully avoids real intimacy, keeping his personal life comfortably backstage.
  18. Voices in Wartime
    Rick King's stirring documentary Voices in Wartime is not, as you might guess from the title, a compilation of soldiers' battlefield letters to their families back home. This intense little film is about poetry, and not just Homer's "Iliad."
  19. Raging Dove
    Bruising but illuminating documentary.
  20. Another Road Home
    Moving and ultimately hopeful, Another Road Home makes no effort to soften or simplify its prickly themes.
  21. Wild Safari 3D
    The cinematic safari's simple pleasures are best experienced with the littlest ticket-holders, who get an edifying thrill ride and a computer-assisted sense of a wider world.
  22. The War on the War on Drugs
    The movie is 74 minutes of hilarious pro-drug vignettes, loosely strung together like a themed episode of "Saturday Night Live."
  23. Almost Brothers
    Despite being edited in a style that jarringly blurs the past and the present by switching from one to the other without preparation, Almost Brothers is strong stuff.
  24. A Sidewalk Astronomer
    An inspiring film about an inspired teacher. It should leave all viewers with an ounce of curiosity eager to hit the streets with Dobsonian telescopes of their own.
  25. Lustre
    Lustre is a post-Sept. 11 love letter to a New York past that Mr. Jones clearly mourns.
  26. Answering the Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers
    The resulting film is a record of indefatigably focused activity that began with the simple goal of rescue but evolved into a therapeutic tool for resolution and acceptance.
  27. Hard Goodbyes: My Father
    Considering the delicate and weighty subject matter, the film's tone is surprisingly light, sometimes even humorous, which helps to balance the harsh sentiments that death inevitably brings.
  28. I am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth
    Interspersing shots from the original film - many of which are justly famous for their power and complexity - with interviews, Mr. Ferraz has produced a welcome piece of historical explication.
  29. Santo Domingo Blues
    Without losing sight of the music's essential energy, Mr. Wolfe peppers his film with quietly resonant shots.
  30. Three Days of Rain
    A quiet, thoughtful film about isolation and separation.
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