Variety's Scores

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For 17,760 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: 9,121 out of 17760
  2. Mixed: 7,003 out of 17760
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17760
17760 movie reviews
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  1. I Dreamed of Africa
    Visually gratifying but dramatically weak, the film falls short of its aspiration to be a sweeping romantic epic.
  2. Up at the Villa
    This least affected of their (Haases) movies is also the most dramatically and emotionally convincing.
  3. Human Traffic
    Well cast, engagingly played and directed with a stylistic pedal to the metal, Human Traffic is a lot of energy adding up to very little.
  4. Michael Jordan to the Max
    Arguably the finest athlete in living memory deserves better than Michael Jordan to the Max, an honorific but unmoving portrait of the Chicago Bulls' No. 23.
  5. Into My Heart
    So understated as to sometimes lack a pulse.
  6. Frequency
    An oddly schizophrenic fantasy thriller that ultimately succumbs to a fatal case of sentimentality.
  7. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
    Silly script, broad slapstick and overstated lead perfs by B-team cast might be acceptable to target audience.
  8. Bossa Nova
    Imagine a '30s screwball comedy played to a sensuous Brazilian beat and you're ready for Bossa Nova, a delightfully amusing romantic roundelay.
  9. Where the Heart Is
    Banal and trite where it could have been insightful and emotionally truthful, this Fox release is also notable for featuring the first disappointing performance by teen star Natalie Portman.
  10. Timecode
    If the satire feels familiar, and the dramatics often contrived, there's rarely a moment here when something funny, intense or cleverly interconnected doesn't keep one's synapses firing on overdrive.
  11. The Last September
    Like hard-edged "Masterpiece Theater."
  12. U-571
    The submarine goes deep but the story never does in U-571, a good old-fashioned WWII picture that is exciting in only the most superficial way.
  13. The Virgin Suicides
    Humor prevails throughout, but it doesn't deflate the disturbing elements of the tale, which miraculously manages to stay droll, heartfelt and poignant to the end.
  14. Love & Basketball
    The pic is so well directed and lead performance by Sanaa Lathan so charismatic that audiences will overlook the script's flaws and root for the central duo.
  15. Where the Money Is
    Newman's charismatic, multishaded performance elevates the hodgepodge caper comedy a couple of notches above its preposterous plotting and self-consciously movieish texture.
  16. Keeping the Faith
    Norton directs with assurance.
  17. East Is East
    A sprightly acted, warm and often extremely funny ensemble comedy.
  18. American Psycho
    Pace is sleek, airless and apt.
  19. Return to Me
    A simplistic, highly contrived romantic comedy about the mysterious workings of fate.
  20. Rules of Engagement
    A broad and obvious approach to ambiguous material that's virtually all plot mechanics with little nuance or characterization.
  21. Est - Ouest
    Too often caught between trying to be a sweeping period drama and intimate love story at the same time, with a script that's never fully satisfying on either count.
  22. Ready to Rumble
    Rates a notch below the KISS-centric "Detroit Rock City" and a couple above Jerry Springer's "Ringmaster" -- in other words, closer to stupid-fun than stupid-toxic.
  23. Price of Glory
    May hold some appeal for Latino auds in the Southwest but will fold after a couple of rounds in the big arena.
  24. The Road to El Dorado
    A strained and pallid concoction that won't fire the collective imaginations of modern children.
    • 24 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    The Skulls
    A silly, hackneyed college suspenser put across with all the contrived banality of a bad '70s TV movie.
  26. High Fidelity
    Trenchantly witty and acutely insightful.
  27. Here on Earth
    Young teen girls will flock to pic in droves, dragging their boyfriends or other girlfriends.
  28. Whatever It Takes
    Makes little impression and is sure to leave few memories for a teen.
  29. Erin Brockovich
    Snappy and unusually funny under fundamentally serious circumstances, without being contrived or sitcomy.
  30. Final Destination
    Generates a respectable amount of suspense and takes a few unexpected turns while covering familiar territory.
  31. Beyond the Mat
    A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem.
  32. The Disappearance of Finbar
    Brit filmmaker Sue Clayton's muddled feature bow is full of intriguing ideas and incidental charms that fail to come together into a cohesive whole.
  33. Mission to Mars
    In outer space, no one can hear you scream -- of boredom.
  34. The Ninth Gate
    This is really a shaggy devil story whose giddy, ironic tone may throw viewers expecting a scary movie.
  35. The Next Best Thing
    Likely lack of much critical enthusiasm or positive word-of-mouth will induce quick theatrical falloff, with better news likely down the line for rental merchants.
  36. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
    The gambits in Ghost Dog seem simply like literary and cinematic games devoid of any larger meaning.
  37. Drowning Mona
    A white-trash black comedy, a caustic working-class whodunit in which the solution to the murder mystery takes a distant back seat to countless barbs and jibes tossed in the direction of the mostly imbecilic cast of characters.
  38. What Planet Are You From?
    Good for a few lascivious titters but quite lacking in the sort of comic bite and social satire one hopes for in the work of Mike Nichols.
  39. 3 Strikes
    Exuberantly rude and crude, but generally more frantic than genuinely funny.
  40. Judy Berlin
    Numerous lovely, quirky moments.
  41. Reindeer Games
    With a far-fetched script that might barely have passed muster at the B units in the old studio days, this Dimension release will command a certain up-front attention due to cast topliners.
  42. The Closer You Get
    Another tale of out-of-it working-class men cooking up a harebrained scheme to improve their lot in life.
  43. Wonder Boys
    Massively inventive, Wonder Boys is spiked with fresh, perverse humor that flows naturally from the straight-faced playing.
  44. Boiler Room
    Begins extremely well as a saga of greed and conspicuous consumption, but gradually loses its bite.
  45. Hanging Up
    A shamelessly sappy family meller that bears the schmaltzy sensibility of Nora Ephron.
  46. The Whole Nine Yards
    A crudely funny farce that covers no new ground but sees its talented players running some surefire plays.
  47. Pitch Black
    Mildly scary but not particularly engaging on any other level.
  48. The Tigger Movie
    By far the least ambitious, and certainly the least interesting, animated feature to come out of Disney in quite some time.
  49. The Beach
    Visually resplendent but dramatically uneven.
  50. Gun Shy
    A textbook case in which the parts are greater than the whole.
  51. Scream 3
    A crafty and well-crafted wrap-up that really does bring a satisfying sense of closure to the franchise.
  52. Eye of the Beholder
    A mixed-genre detective pic, thriller and love story that shifts gears too often and doesn't know when to end.
  53. Grizzly Falls
    Lame stuntwork and subdued thrills indicate not just a low-budgeter, but a blindness to what target aud demands.
  54. Isn't She Great
    Isn't even unintentionally funny enough to qualify as guilty pleasure a la "Valley of the Dolls."
  55. Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
    A collection of five femme-oriented vignettes that are not intricately linked dramatically but overlap characters, this observant, emotionally acute drama is distinguished by a pronounced poetic sensibility.
    • 13 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Down to You
    Something oddly appealing about this mushy romantic tale, but first-time feature writer-director Kris Isacsson doesn't have the skills to raise it far above its formulaic foundation.
  57. The Boondock Saints
    More interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs, (the film) is stuffed with effects that have no lasting impact.
    • 19 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Supernova
    Appears headed for a deep-space rendezvous with audience indifference.
  59. My Dog Skip
    Superior family entertainment.
  60. Next Friday
    A few good laughs but few surprises in Next Friday, an amiably unfocused sequel.
  61. Fantasia 2000
    Like a light buffet of tasty morsels rather than a full and satisfying meal; all the episodes are more or less agreeable, but as a whole it lacks a knockout punch, one dynamite sequence that will galvanize viewers.
  62. The Hurricane
    In what's easily his most zealous and fully realized performance since "Malcolm X," Washington elevates the earnest, occasionally simplistic narrative to the level of a genuinely touching moral expose.
  63. Play It to the Bone
    A woefully under-realized story of small-time boxers enjoying perhaps their last moment in the spotlight.
  64. Titus
    Taymor makes the action clear and easy to follow with her bold physicalization of the story and forceful direction of an astutely chosen cast.
  65. Galaxy Quest
    One of the holiday movie season's more pleasant surprises. A mischievously clever and slickly commercial sci-fi comedy.
  66. The Talented Mr. Ripley
    Performances are aces top to bottom
  67. Snow Falling on Cedars
    Impeccably crafted but dramatically dull.
  68. Angela's Ashes
    Artfully evokes the physical realities of Irish poverty, but mostly misses the humor, lyricism and emotional charge of Frank McCourt's magical and magnificent memoir
  69. Any Given Sunday
    (Stone's) most accessible and purely enjoyable film in years.
  70. Man on the Moon
    Never comes close to making the case that its subject is worthy of the viewer's interest.
  71. Girl, Interrupted
    A solid central performance by Winona Ryder and a captivating wild turn by Angelina Jolie in the yarn's flashiest role.
  72. Jing Ke ci Qin Wang
    A string of striking set pieces hung on a dramatically shaky clothesline.
  73. Bicentennial Man
    Columbus' approach is intended to cloak such topics as mortality and human identity in the warm glow of greeting card sentiment, which renders the prescription palatable for mass consumption but hopelessly diluted.
  74. Simpatico
    An unbeatable cast lends satisfying emotional texture.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Stuart Little
    Given what a tricky proposition it is to adapt a classic children's book for the screen, this take on E.B. White's Stuart Little does a more-than-passable job of resurrecting the story for a new generation.
  76. Topsy-Turvy
    This beautifully crafted and lively romp around the 1880s stage world should enjoy its longest life as a vid classic.
  77. Anna and the King
    Her (Foster's) performance is contained in a schmaltzy, ultra-elaborate, overly long production.
  78. Magnolia
    A remarkably inventive and audacious film that almost overcomes its flaws.
  79. The Cider House Rules
    A touching, old-fashioned charmer that ultimately satisfies.
  80. Cradle Will Rock
    Succeeds far more often than not in delivering a credible, kaleidoscopic portrait of creative, and often famous, individuals.
  81. Stir of Echoes
    Koepp does a masterful job of grounding his intimations of the supernatural in a totally persuasive down-to-earth context.
  82. The Green Mile
    An intermittently powerful and meticulously crafted drama that falls short of its full potential due to considerable over-length and some shopworn, simplistic notions at its center.
  83. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
    A sign that the Sandler comedy empire is expanding and reaching new depths of pure gross-out stupidity.
  84. Clouds of May
    Though it moves more slowly than the tortoise prominently featured in one sequence, Clouds of May is the kind of film that creeps up on the patient viewer.
  85. Holy Smoke
    Original in every sense.
  86. The End of the Affair
    A faithful adaptation that captures the haunting spirit and religious nature of the 1951 novel.
  87. Sweet and Lowdown
    The almost wall-to-wall music is glorious, with solo guitarist Howard Alden doing a sock job. Penn, incidentally, utterly convinces in the scenes in which he's seen "playing" the guitar.
  88. Flawless
    Schumacher takes a step in the right direction with Flawless, a small-scale, intimate serio-comedy.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tumbleweeds
    Has what it takes to becomes the year's first heartfelt sleeper.
  90. End of Days
    It's good to see Schwarzenegger doing his thing again after what, for him, was a long sabbatical.
  91. Ride with the Devil
    Lee has made a brutal but sensitively observed film about the fringes of the Civil War.
  92. Toy Story 2
    Toy Story 2 is to "Toy Story" what "The Empire Strikes Back" was to its predecessor, a richer, more satisfying film in every respect.
  93. The World Is Not Enough
    007 is undone by villainous scripting and misguided casting and acting in a couple of key secondary roles.
  94. All About My Mother
    An emotionally satisfying and brilliantly played take on the ups and (mostly) downs of a group of less-than-typical female friends.
  95. Sleepy Hollow
    An entertainingly eccentric horror tale that envelopes the audience in a dreamy and bloody nightmare.
  96. Mansfield Park
    But there's little sense of a longer dramatic arc stretching across the characters: Rozema can't seem to hold a single tone for more than a few minutes, and she has too many other axes to grind besides just getting the story up on the screen.
  97. Liberty Heights
    Barry Levinson goes deep with Liberty Heights, and the result is a grand slam.
  98. Anywhere But Here
    With half a dozen roles to her credit, Portman is a natural performer who brings rough edges to any role she plays -- the movie is inconceivable without her.
  99. Felicia's Journey
    Mounted as an art film and is likely to divide both critics and the helmer's fans.
  100. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
    The lack of a plausible leading lady is enough to sink what is otherwise an eye-catching, although heavily '90s-style, telling of one of history's most frequently filmed stories.
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