The New York Times' Scores

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For 20,335 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: 9,412 out of 20335
  2. Mixed: 8,455 out of 20335
  3. Negative: 2,468 out of 20335
20335 movie reviews
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  1. Alice Sweet Alice
    Mr. Sole, whose first feature this is, knows how to direct actors, how to manipulate suspense and when to shift gears: the identity of the killer is revealed at just that point when the audience is about to make the identification, after which the film becomes less of a horror film than an exercise in suspense.
  2. Tightrope
    A suspenseful, involving detective drama with one of the screen's most durable tough-guy heroes, doing what he does best and still managing to show something new.
  3. All Is True
    While All Is True might not brim with excitement, it’s beautifully acted, richly photographed (by Zac Nicholson) and blessedly free of histrionics. Between them, Branagh and Elton have concocted a respectful story of loss, regret and wistful genius.
  4. F.I.S.T.
    F.I.S.T. is a big movie that benefits more from the accumulation of small, ordinary detail than from any particular wit or inspiration of vision. It's also played with great conviction by its huge cast.
  5. Deadly Blessing
    A better-than-average horror film, in large part because it isn't about terrified coeds being stalked by an ax wielding loon. Its story is more original than that -although where horror-movie ingenuity is concerned, it's only a thin line that separates the original from the bizarre.
  6. Car Wash
    A cheerful, somewhat vulgar, very cleverly executed comedy about what goes on in a single 10-hour period in a Los Angeles car wash.
  7. The Living End
    Doing himself a great disservice, the writer and director Gregg Araki labels his work "an irresponsible movie" when in fact it has the power of honesty and originality, as well as the weight of legitimate frustration. Miraculously, it also has a buoyant, mischievous spirit that transcends any hint of gloom.
  8. Totally F***ed Up
    This feisty, disjointed film finds something compelling in its characters even when they're so druggy they can barely stand.
  9. Firstborn
    It is to the credit of Mr. Apted, and to a cast including some very believable young actors, that Firstborn moves swiftly and smoothly enough to dispel much nitpicking about plot points, at least for a time.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Newly Single
    An examination of the unconscious racial bias embedded in Izzy and Astor’s interactions would have made for a more revelatory take on relationship dysfunctions. Still, Izzy’s despair and self-loathing force Astor to confront his own, redeeming an often insufferable protagonist and ultimately salvaging the film.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Jeremiah Johnson
    There are momoments of great beauty and terror and deeply earned pathos. There are as well such not-so-incidental pleasures as John Rubinstein's lovely and serviceable musical score, and a cast of excellent supporting actors.
  12. Fyre
    Fyre needs another layer. You can locate in it this national moment of brashness and effrontery.
  13. House
    It has a style that is unexpectedly snappy. Scares are not its strong suit, but it has a trim, bright look and better performances than might be expected. William Katt, looking weathered and sounding very Robert Redfordlike as Roger Cobb, brings some conviction to his role, and George Wendt is funny as a nosy next-door neighbor named Harold.
  14. Outland
    Outland is what most people mean when they talk about good escapist entertainment. It won't enlarge one's perceptions of life by a single millimeter, but neither does it make one feel like an idiot for enjoying it so much.
  15. Strange Days
    Only when it comes time to justify its excesses and deliver on a promise of wider revelation does the otherwise audacious screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks look too specific and small.
  16. The Changeover
    Thanks to fine performances and a narrative that doesn’t hang about to admire itself, the movie goes down as easily as a love potion at a coven.
  17. Hard to Kill
    Mr. Seagal is effective for both his novelty value and his ability to be both literally and figuratively disarming. And the film itself is a lively one for its genre, ambitious enough to do more than simply string fight scenes together.
  18. The Breaker Upperers
    This collaboration between Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami — who wrote, directed and star together — exhibits their fairly irresistible comic chemistry, even if the conceit of the movie wears a bit thin.
  19. The Hummingbird Project
    As the geological, financial and personal barriers the cousins face grow increasingly absurd, the movie works up a satisfying sweat.
  20. Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
    More than a few moments here are new, and real grabbers.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
    A title like Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski suggests a breadth and depth that’s difficult to live up to, which makes it all the more remarkable that this Netflix documentary by Irek Dobrowolski manages to deliver.
  22. Soni
    Ayr does not offer any tension-releasing catharsis, making his film efficiently disquieting in its own unassuming manner.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    SpaceCamp
    The outcome is pretty predictable, but it's done well, and the actors do a good job of transforming general types into individuals whom we grow to like. It is also hard to resist Jinx, the funny little computer responsible for all the trouble.
  24. Fire Down Below
    A superior Seagal film, a smooth blend of action, character and noble environmental message. Credit is owed to the screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Philip Morton, which provides strong supporting roles; the photography, directed by Tom Houghton, which brings out the beauty of the landscape violated by the villains, and the lively country music, which is attributed to Nick Glennie-Smith. [6 Sept 1997, p.18]
    • The New York Times
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Someone Great
    The hooks on which Someone Great chooses to hang its emotional hats are a little clichéd, but Rodriguez, Snow and Wise have enough chemistry to pull it all off.
  26. The Batman
    I can’t say I had a good time, but I did end up somewhere I didn’t expect to be: looking forward to the next chapter.
  27. The Witches
    Zemeckis improves on the first film adaptation, a 1990 oddity directed by Nicolas Roeg. There’s more heart in the new version and more emotion, qualities which can go missing in those Zemeckis movies that get lost in his technical whiz-bangery.
  28. A Vigilante
    Daggar-Nickson gestures in certain directions, but for the most part she avoids deeper, troubling questions about retribution and violence. Instead, she concentrates on the genre basics, as in the movie’s admirably hard-core final face-off.
  29. The Farewell
    Its affection for its characters feels protective; the film is reluctant to spill any secrets or cause any embarrassment. There is admirable kindness and impressive loyalty in this approach, but it also puts a bit of a damper on the party.
  30. Light From Light
    Light From Light reveals it’s far more interested in human concerns than metaphysical ones.
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