Variety's Scores

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For 17,765 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 IMAX: Hubble 3D
Lowest review score: 0 Divorce: The Musical
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9,125 out of 17765
  2. Mixed: 7,004 out of 17765
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17765
17765 movie reviews
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  1. Freaky Friday
    Genuinely clever switched-identities romp.
  2. Zero Day
    Consistently riveting. Anything but sensationalistic, pic powerfully illuminates the banality of evil, as realistically ordinary kids (played brilliantly by non-professional high schoolers) prepare to wreak havoc.
  3. And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
    A good-looking but slim confection that's short on the multi-characterisation and sense of entwined destinies that mark the great Lelouch sagas.
  4. The Secret Lives of Dentists
    Director Alan Rudolph achieves fresh as well as humorous insights into family life and strategies for keeping a damaged relationship from expiring. But a tiresome final act proves trying.
  5. Enemies of Laughter
    Indie comedy about an unsuccessful playwright who very nearly talks himself out of his last best chance for happiness recalls the early work of Woody Allen. But pic stands on its own merits as witty and well-observed grown-up fare.
  6. The Magdalene Sisters
    Mullan's increased maturity as a director is evident in his skill at manipulating light and dark dramatic tones, and shifting between moods of anger and plaintive melancholy.
  7. American Wedding
    The funny stuff continues for a quite satisfying conclusion during the wedding prep and ceremonies, which Stifler single-handedly transforms into his own personal gross-out comedy masterpiece.
    • 18 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Gigli
    Arrives carrying more baggage than a Greyhound bus, which may distract moviegoers from what is a silly but still an enjoyably written and performed romantic comedy.
  9. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
    Jolie is even hotter, faster and more commanding than last time around as the fearless heiress/adventuress, plus a little more human. The less welcome news is that most of the same shortcomings that cramped the first installment are still dogging the sequel, which delivers on action but dawdles through downtime.
  10. Mondays in the Sun
    A tough-but-tender movie driven by perfectly modulated performances, an accomplished script and naturalistic dialogue, all at the service of an oft-told message about overcoming circumstances.
  11. Buffalo Soldiers
    Had the young Jack Nicholson played such a character during the height of the Vietnam War, it would have been easy to go along for the ride. But skilled as Phoenix is at pulling off the individual scenes of Elwood's shenanigans, the actor doesn't come across as embodying rebellion to the marrow of his bones, which renders his scams arbitrary and disagreeably irresponsible.
  12. Hotel
    Though Hotel has brilliant moments, and an energetic first half, it falls away badly in the later stages.
  13. Seabiscuit
    Respectable when it should be thrilling, honorable when it should be rough and ready.
  14. Lucía, Lucía
    In a brilliant and precise reversal of Hollywood's current casting game of matching older male stars with younger female starlets, Roth takes hold of the mature end of a love affair with the ultra-handsome Becker and steers a course of vivid sexual and emotional power.
  15. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
    It's hard to dislike a movie this light-hearted, but there's something terribly ephemeral about it as well; it's a film of complete weightlessness.
  16. Camp
    A big-hearted, exuberant, compassionate film with a wicked sense of humor and terrific songs performed by some preternaturally talented kids.
  17. Masked and Anonymous
    Evinces no interest in such niceties as credible dialogue, character motivation or forward momentum.
  18. Cuban Rafters
    Noteworthy for its detail and evenhandedness.
  19. Johnny English
    An extremely silly but effective enough romp for family audiences.
  20. The Embalmer
    Director Matteo Garrone's measured approach and soulfully humane focus combine to dignify the characters, allowing the tale of solitude, longing and sorrow to inch quietly under the viewer's skin.
  21. How to Deal
    A bland romance that suffers from choppy development, dramatic overload and dearth of personality.
  22. Dirty Pretty Things
    An intelligent and extremely well-made romantic drama that tells an intriguing story with economy and insight.
  23. The Anarchist Cookbook
    An ill-conceived effort that starts OK but quickly goes off the rails.
  24. Bad Boys II
    As overblown as it is overlong, Bad Boys II is an enervating case of more is less.
  25. September 11
    A sober, thought-provoking response to a tragedy of worldwide import and a much better film than one might expect from the pre-release publicity.
  26. Garage Days
    Visually inventive and refreshingly witty, pic provides an insider's look at the contempo Sydney music scene and showcases a smart young cast.
  27. The Room
    The Room marks the writing-directing-acting debut of Tommy Wiseau, who's not just one of the most unusual looking and sounding (with an unidentifiable Eastern European accent) leading men ever to grace the screen, but a narcissist nonpareil whose movie makes Vincent Gallo's "The Brown Bunny" seem the apotheosis of cinematic self-restraint.
  28. An Injury to One
    Wilkerson's indictment is unapologetically agitprop. He sees Butte history as a testimony to "capitalist class" exploitation, corruption and environmental disaster.
  29. A Housekeeper
    Leads Jean-Pierre Bacri and Emilie Dequenne establish an awkward yet tender odd-couple dynamic, their accomplished work serving to distinguish the familiar material.
  30. Km. 0 - Kilometer Zero
    Consistently amusing, candy-colored sex romp -- about romantic match-ups in Madrid that go both wrong and right.
  31. Northfork
    Love it or hate it, Northfork is a cinematic vision (visually and textually) unlike any with which most moviegoers, even arthouse regulars, will be familiar.
  32. The Cuckoo
    Charming, smart and funny.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    I Capture the Castle
    Fywell has transformed this autobiographical novel into a perceptive, wholly engaging drama, infusing the proceedings with a light tone that almost qualifies the film as a comedy, yet never loses sight of the unpredictability of human emotions.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Holy Land
    Offers an occasionally fascinating look at the complex social, religious and political dynamics that help define the sacred city of Jerusalem.
  35. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    Robinson's script is alive to the material's literary roots, although there is a sense that the brakes have been applied so as not to push into territory perceived as too esoteric for American teenagers.
  36. Madame Satã
    While it's a little shapeless and dramatically overwrought, the film remains entertaining thanks to its fascinating subject, sharp visuals and fiercely proud central performance.
  37. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
    The picture's constant forward movement and breezy sense of amusement about itself provide a certain mild sort of diversion.
  38. Tattoo
    Slick, grisly and determinedly umbral, German cop thriller Tattoo is a largely effective "Se7en" wannabe that gradually develops its own character after an over-derivative start.
  39. Confusion of Genders
    Despite a few potholes of ennui along the way, pic has enough entertainment value to cross borders and titillate auds with its plentiful nudity and uninhibited sexual mores.
  40. La Commune (Paris, 1871)
    Taped in stark black-and-white and clocking in 15 minutes shy of six hours, invigorating pic is big, passionate and brimming with compelling human details and broad sociopolitical idealism.
  41. Gasoline
    Playing like a moribund hybrid of "Thelma and Louise" and "The Trouble With Harry," lesbian-themed thriller Gasoline lacks sex drive.
  42. Swimming Pool
    Working predominantly in English for the first time, the French director has crafted an absorbing tale about the merging of fiction with reality, propelled by contrasting performances from Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier.
  43. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
    T3 delivers the goods. A hard-hitting, straight-ahead sci-fi actioner with none of the pretentions and ponderousness that have put at least a portion of the public off of "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Hulk."
  44. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
    In its animated work, DreamWorks has repeatedly flip-flopped between the hip and the square. This time out, it's as if the company tried to apply a hip approach to a square subject, with unresolved results.
  45. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
    The script here just doesn't have sufficient smarts to pull off Elle's political triumph. But Witherspoon again makes a valiant show of selling it.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
    Bigger, sleeker and better than the first, sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a joyride of a movie that takes the winning elements of the year 2000 hit to the next level.
  47. 28 Days Later...
    Shows a rather arrogant disdain for its audience in between occasional flashes of flair.
  48. War and Peace
    Though long-winded and discursive, the professionally assembled material is of immense interest and importance in reminding the viewer of the threat to world peace posed by the continuing posturing on the subcontinent.
  49. My Terrorist
    Sometimes first-person to a borderline-indulgent fault, docu still offers potent spur for discussion on the blurry line between forgiveness and tolerance toward terrorism.
  50. Wash Dry and Spin Out
    A pathetically conceived drama that wastes the serious theme of how emotionally and sexually inadequate men abuse others.
  51. Francis Ford Coppola Presents: The Legend of Suriyothai
    The frequently confusing story does eventually pull together; but there's still a lack of any strong emotional center, and the character gallery remains over-populated.
  52. Alex & Emma
    A desperately slight romantic comedy marked by contrived romance and little comedy.
  53. Hulk
    This impeccably crafted piece of megabuck fantasy storytelling aims to pull off the tricky feat of significantly reworking the superhero format while still providing the expected tentpole-type entertainment thrills for the international masses.
  54. From Justin to Kelly
    The most resounding thuds in From Justin to Kelly, however, come from the musical numbers.
  55. Manito
    Furiously paced -- just shy of the sensory-overload point -- pic duly merits comparison to its spiritual granddaddy "Mean Streets," not in the usual imitative sense but rather in the freshness, character acuity and low-budget high style brought to a different NYC ethnic milieu.
  56. The Hard Word
    Hard-boiled entertainment in the Tarantino mold is leavened with a distinctively Aussie sense of humor in The Hard Word.
  57. Pistol Opera
    Too abstract and self-referential for the average action fan's comprehension. But buffs will be delighted by a package that finds the near-80-year-old helmer giddily tipping hat to the genre conventions, themes and over-the-top aesthetics that long since lent him mad-visionary status.
  58. Jet Lag
    Stays resolutely grounded thanks to miscasting of Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno as the leads and a script that contrarily breaks every rule of the genre.
  59. The Heart of Me
    Solidly entertaining for those who like their dialogue crisp and with a main verb in every sentence.
  60. No Turning Back
    Competently made but unconvincing melodrama.
  61. Hollywood Homicide
    An attempt to merge a semi-jokey buddy movie with a more realistic account of cops' messy private lives, Hollywood Homicide falls short on both counts.
  62. Rugrats Go Wild
    Screechily abrasive and sorely lacking in elements that engage the imagination.
  63. Tycoon: A New Russian
    A savvy, fast-paced political thriller dealing with the meteoric rise and fall of a new Russian businessman.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Herod's Law
    Provocative, well-shot and vastly entertaining in its malice.
  65. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
    Fitfully amusing prequel.
  66. Love the Hard Way
    Doesn't ring true as a love story between a cocky scam artist and a clever biology student, despite a game effort by Charlotte Ayanna in an impossible role and Adrien Brody at his loosest.
  67. 2 Fast 2 Furious
    While this John Singleton-directed sequel provides a breezy enough joyride, it lacks the unassuming freshness and appealing neighborhood feel of the economy-priced original.
  68. Whale Rider
    Combines straightforward coming-of-age narrative with Maori mysticism to most engaging effect.
  69. Garmento
    Michele Maher's Garmento appears more shocked at the fashion industry's cynical side than moviegoers are likely to be, making its drama of corruption a preordained snooze.
  70. The Weather Underground
    Assembled in a straightforward, television-style presentation that gets the better of it.
  71. The Three Marias
    Fresh and offbeat tale of vendetta.
  72. The Era of Vampires
    Has the stench less of rotting flesh than the whiff of a thoughtless quickie.
  73. Together
    The plucky music student who overcomes adversity is a staple subgenre of mainland cinema and, though Chen Kaige directs with greater slickness and more finesse and humor, there's still little to differentiate Together from any other state-studio pic.
  74. The Italian Job
    The forthcoming line of high-octane summer entertainments will be hard-pressed to top this one for both thrills and wit.
  75. Wrong Turn
    The clear ambition here is to recapture the raw, explosively violent atmosphere of such hallmark 1970s shockers as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Hills Have Eyes." Nice try, but no cigar.
    • Variety
  76. Capturing the Friedmans
    There's a kind of rawness on the screen that most movies never approach.
  77. Finding Nemo
    Very clever and imaginative indeed, and its pictures are so gorgeous that they alone could warrant a second viewing.
  78. The In-Laws
    The 2003 edition written by Nat Mauldin and Ed Solomon and helmed by Andrew Fleming places the Douglas-Brooks combo inside a much more complicated if not quite as funny world.
  79. That's My Face
    Harris effectively interweaves home movies of his 8th birthday party and his two-year stay in Tanzania into a mesmerizing autobiography.
  80. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
    It's shiny, amusing, incessantly clever, but sometimes a tad too snarky for its own good.
  81. Grazia's Island
    Crialese's first feature in his native Italy is a small but distinctive drama that displays a firm command of his cast, an arresting visual sense and an admirable avoidance of facile sentiment or cliche.
  82. Bruce Almighty
    There's remarkably little done with a premise snatched from high-concept heaven, adding yet another file to the growing cabinet of under-realized comedies.
  83. Ichi the Killer
    Completely over-the-top yakuza actioner -- featuring nonstop mayhem, gore, torture and S&M -- duly reflects its comic book origins in both style and barely coherent narrative frenzy.
  84. Pursuit of Happiness
    As weak and banal as its thoroughly uninvolving central character.
  85. Everybody Says I'm Fine!
    Too stylistically scattered to appeal to all tastes…but its unique combo of slick art direction, sweet romance, supercharged eros, low comedy and out-there melodrama –--
  86. The Sea
    Though solidly crafted, with a host of well-etched performances, film is unable to establish a consistent, engaging tone.
  87. Friends and Family
    Unusually slick, mini-budgeted and broad piece of slapstick that liberally borrows from Neil Simon and "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight'' with the twist that gay hit men are the romantic heroes.
  88. Cinemania
    An unsparing, if light-touched, look at obsession, denial and where to find the cheap seats in Manhattan.
  89. Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
    Their interwoven stories, backgrounded by concise narration, well-chosen archival imagery and an evocative score by John Zorn, make for an absorbing and revealing examination of the ties that bind.
  90. Pokémon Heroes
    Demonstrates no improvement or enhancement. But the action this time is even less inspired than past battles
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    A Woman Is a Woman
    Only intermittently bright. Too much homage to Yank musicals and comedies point up the lack of polish.
  92. Sweet Sixteen
    Rendered deeply moving by the director's peerless capacity to combine humor and compassion with honesty and despair.
  93. The Matrix Reloaded
    Delivers enough thrills, kicks and cool moments to satiate geeks, fans and mere general viewers worldwide -- until the "Revolutions" installment wraps up the trilogy in November.
  94. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary
    Though it sounds like an offbeat idea even for horror fans, the tech work is so well done that it could disarm unwary buffs attracted by the campy title.
  95. A Family Affair
    Sharp wit but shaky storytelling.
  96. Washington Heights
    Believable characters trump the retread plot and hokey message.
  97. Only the Strong Survive
    Less an historical flashback than a present-tense valentine.
  98. The Trip
    The cataclysmic changes in attitude and lifestyles the characters pass through at irregular intervals from 1973 to 1984... seem to consist wholly of changes in hairstyle that look as wildly stereotyped and inauthentic as the gestures and lines that accompany them.
  99. Man on the Train
    The comedy-drama hinges on the captivating dynamic between the two men, combining gentle humor and charm with a melancholy undercurrent of yearning.
  100. Daddy Day Care
    Scarcely more amusing than spending 90 minutes in a pre-K classroom.
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