Variety's Scores

Select another publication »
For 17,782 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 2.4 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: 9,136 out of 17782
  2. Mixed: 7,010 out of 17782
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17782
17782 movie reviews
view
per page
  1. I'm Reed Fish
    Pitch-perfect dialogue, quietly dynamic helming and small-scale action on a widescreen canvas make for a very appealing film.
  2. 12:08 East of Bucharest
    The buoyant little comedy 12:08 East of Bucharest puts its finger on the problem in the best tradition of East European humor, savvy but concrete, gentle but sharp as a knife.
  3. Hostel: Part II
    In this twist-filled sequel, the real shocker is just how smart and satisfying such degradation can be. There's no question "Part II" outgrosses the original "Hostel" in the blood-and-guts department.
  4. Surf's Up
    Every bit as entertaining as the early Christopher Guest efforts.
  5. Fido
    Brightly packaged and steadily amusing.
  6. Strike
    Continuing the late-career renaissance of historically urgent, politically engaged fiction filmmaking that began with 1999's "The Legend of Rita" and 2004's "The Ninth Day" German vet Volker Schloendorff stumbles slightly, but doesn't fall, with Poland-set Solidarity saga Strike.
  7. The Trials of Darryl Hunt
    Advocacy cinema at its most searingly direct, The Trials of Darryl Hunt is a powerful and unsettling chronicle of the 20-year struggle to free a man twice convicted of a crime he didn't commit.
  8. 1408
    For star John Cusack, it's a perfect fit.
  9. A Mighty Heart
    In his first studio venture, Michael Winterbottom coaxes forth a staggering wealth of detail from this terse, methodical account of Pearl's kidnapping and murder in Pakistan.
  10. Black Sheep
    Endearingly amusing horror pic.
  11. Broken English
    A pitch-perfect lead performance by Parker Posey and debuting feature writer-helmer Zoe Cassavetes' deft, low-key approach raise Broken English a couple notches above the usual run of lonely-single-woman-seeking-romance-in-the-big-city yarns.
  12. You Kill Me
    With an eclectic mix of strong-minded thesps all pulling in slightly different directions, this shape-shifting genre hybrid successfully commingles 12-step therapy, romantic comedy and hit-man thriller.
  13. Sicko
    An affecting and entertaining dissection of the American health care industry, showing how it benefits the few at the expense of the many.
  14. Vitus
    A natural for kidfests, pic is a fine example of old-fashioned story-telling and also will dance wherever detailed character development and leisurely-paced drama are appreciated.
  15. Introducing the Dwights
    Warm and entertaining enough, with Brenda Blethyn doing a variation on her "Little Voice" vulgarian amid appealing support perfs.
  16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
    Considerably grimmer and grittier than the previous pictures.
  17. Hula Girls
    Utterly predictable but it sure is a lot of fun.
  18. Interview
    Afforded a comparatively rare chance to stretch out in a complex lead role, Buscemi is excellent.
  19. My Best Friend
    Well-turned adult comedy.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tekkonkinkreet
    Strained metaphysics dovetail with urban and architectural nostalgia in the exquisitely realized, minutely detailed Japanese anime Tekkonkinkreet.
  21. Goya's Ghosts
    Ambitious script is stranded between entertainment and intellectualism, leaving us with a magnificent folly, thoroughly watchable for its visuals but ultimately hollow.
  22. Arctic Tale
    Queen Latifah proves an amiably authoritative narrator, and is allowed more personality than most script readers.
  23. No Reservations
    Agreeably prepared and attractively presented, this remake of the tasty 2001 German feature "Mostly Martha" bears too many earmarks of Hollywood packaging and emotional button-pushing, but doesn't go far wrong by closely sticking to the original's smart story construction.
  24. This Is England
    With its knockout lead perfs and taut if slightly familiar construction, this '80s-set dramedy about a skinhead gang reps Meadows' most fluently made film so far.
  25. Live-In Maid
    A fairly successful attempt at satire, though given the subject, there's a lot of darkness under the carpet.
  26. The Ten
    Second feature from duo David Wain and Ken Marino of comedy group the State is, like their "Wet Hot American Summer," uneven but often hilarious.
  27. The Devil Came on Horseback
    While the point of view of privileged, Anglo observers on African issues usually raises hackles, such is not the case with The Devil Came on Horseback, a tense account of former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle's witnessing of the genocide in Sudan's western province of Darfur.
  28. Them
    Romania-set scare-fest deploys the full cinematic vocabulary of creepy sounds and hostile intruders.
  29. Rocket Science
    This unusually voluble comedy is as eloquent about love, self-realization and adolescent angst as its protagonist is endearingly tongue-tied.
  30. Stardust
    Sprinkled with tongue-in-cheek humor, fairly adult jokes and some well-known faces acting very silly, this adventure story should have particular appeal to fans of "The Princess Bride," but in any event will never be mistaken for a strictly-for-kids movie.
  31. The Signal
    Borrowing heavily from the current trend in zombie comedy and apocalyptic horror but shifting it away from the usual undead norms, pic carves out a fresh angle in the crowded indie horror universe while blatantly stealing ideas from Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Pulse."
  32. Deep Water
    As it explores the limits of human endurance, the pic should suck even landlubbers into a whirlpool of gripping adventure, overblown ambitions and sheer human folly.
  33. Mr. Bean's Vacation
    This is a thoroughly Euro bedmate to the 1997 "Bean," with the Gauls rather than the Yanks as the butt of Bean's bumblings.
  34. The 11th Hour
    Presents the viewer with reams of depressing data, loads of hand-wringing about the woeful state of humanity and, finally, some altogether fascinating ideas about how to go about solving the climate crisis.
  35. The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun
    Using material shot sporadically over six years, TV-experienced helmer Pernille Rose Gronkjaer builds an affectionate but admirably unsentimental portrait of her eccentric, headstrong protagonists.
  36. Death Sentence
    Well-made, often intensely gripping genre piece.
  37. Sunflower
    With a commanding performance by Sun Haiying as the unbending, ornery father, and a glammed-down Joan Chen remarkable as the boy's devoted mom, pic serves up solid dramatic values instead of being yet another panorama of social and political changes in China during the late 20th century.
  38. Fierce People
    Whenever Sutherland comes on scene, any inadequacies in the film's depiction of the well-to-do become irrelevant.
  39. The Bubble
    Eytan Fox delivers another involving tale in The Bubble.
  40. The Hunting Party
    Alternately glib, superficial and amusing, pic vainly attempts to absorb some degree of Serbian irony into a story that's unavoidably lessened by its privileged American vantage point.
  41. Across the Universe
    All you need is love -- for the Beatles, for psychedelic visuals, for ideas about being young in the ‘60s -- to fully enjoy Across the Universe.
  42. King of California
    Douglas is a manic joy, and Wood manages to hang on for the ride.
  43. The Last Winter
    An imperfect but compelling thriller.
  44. The Jane Austen Book Club
    Cast is first-rate all around, unafraid to play up the annoying, insensitive or self-pitying aspects of their nonetheless likeable characters.
  45. Feast of Love
    Septuagenarian director Robert Benton brings his characteristically fine touch with actors and appreciation for the female form to this tastefully erotic ensembler, but compassion finally outstrips insight in a drama as soft-headed as it is soft-hearted.
  46. The Kingdom
    A realist thriller that mixes crowd-pleasing mayhem with provocative politics.
  47. For the Bible Tells Me So
    Filmmaker Daniel Karslake lobs a grenade into the culture wars with his heartfelt, provocative and unabashedly polemical For the Bible Tells Me So.
  48. The Good Night
    Though its forays into the subconscious may strike more adventurous cinematic palettes as precious and unimaginative, few will be able to resist Martin Freeman's appealing lead turn or the wry Brit wit that gives this fanciful confection a robust comic core.
  49. Michael Clayton
    Features strong performances and a solid story, drawn from the familiar well of faceless corporations grinding ordinary people through their profit-making machinery. Yet Gilroy's fidelity to his script comes at the expense of the pacing.
  50. My Kid Could Paint That
    The popular human-interest story of a child prodigy becomes an engrossing meditation on truth, media exploitation and the value of art in My Kid Could Paint That.
  51. Trick 'r Treat
    Trick ‘r Treat neatly apportions scary and campy elements while cleverly interlacing four storylines on Halloween night in an Ohio hamlet.
  52. The Darjeeling Limited
    Inventively staged picture should satisfy the upscale, youth and cult auds Anderson has developed, though it's unlikely to draw significantly better than his earlier work.
  53. Kurt Cobain About a Son
    Some fans will find the approach (which avoids Nirvana music and perf footage) too arty and indirect; but others will welcome the specialized theatrical release and the subsequent DVD.
  54. Gone Baby Gone
    Moral ambiguity is the real star of Ben Affleck's helming debut, Gone Baby Gone, an involving Boston-set tale of mixed motives, selflessness and perfidy in the wake of a 4-year-old girl's disappearance.
  55. Out of the Blue
    Chilling, often moving docudrama focuses not so much on the mayhem or murderer, but on the bewildered, occasionally courageous reactions of ordinary citizens caught in the inexplicable violence.
  56. Music Within
    Helmed by Steve Sawalich, this real-life dramedy is anchored by Michael Sheen’s captivating performance as the severely handicapped, profoundly acerbic Art Honeyman.
  57. Lars and the Real Girl
    Helmer Craig Gillespie's sweetly off-kilter film plays like a Coen brothers riff on Garrison Keillor's "Lake Woebegone" tales, defying its lurid premise with a gentle comic drama grounded in reality.
  58. Terror's Advocate
    Sure to inspire debate in France and Germany and of obvious interest to anyone who follows the roots of modern international terrorism, doc probes gray areas in the colorful life of its controversial, limelight-courting subject.
  59. Why Did I Get Married?
    Though fans might miss Perry's genre-exploding daring, the excellent cast injects enough pathos and zing to keep picture percolating.
  60. We Own the Night
    Adequately acted and flecked with the required quota of action to satisfy genre fans, pic recalls numerous good police dramas of the 1970s, but mostly in superficial ways that bring nothing new to the table.
  61. Martian Child
    Knockout performances by John Cusack and child actor Bobby Coleman help legitimize a whimsical but sententiously moralizing script.
  62. King Corn
    No doubt inspired to some degree by "Super Size Me," this equally engaging, slightly better-crafted documentary deftly balances humor and insight.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    This Christmas
    A rare holiday treat, a package that's both thoughtfully selected and sure to please its intended recipients.
  64. Oswald's Ghost
    Oswald's Ghost impresses as a concise, intelligent and rigorously well-researched piece of work.
  65. Eleven Men Out
    A non-pandering crowd-pleaser whose character quirks and small stabs at poignancy feel refreshingly earned.
  66. Margot at the Wedding
    This study of a disastrous reunion of two sisters feels more like a collection of arresting scenes than a fully conceived and developed drama.
  67. Elegy
    Sparse, low-budget drama, helmed by Spaniard Isabel Coixet, intelligently translates Roth's meditation on lust and mortality without soft-pedaling its narrator's brutally honest, unabashedly sexist views.
  68. Grace Is Gone
    Although clearly coming from an antiwar perspective, the story's emotional effectiveness and family grounding give the film a real shot at connecting with general audiences across the political spectrum.
  69. The Walker
    Even if this isn't Schrader's best, it's hardly his worst.
  70. I Am Legend
    Remarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects, I Am Legend stands as an effective but also irksome adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic 1954 sci-fi novel.
  71. The Great Debaters
    Tailor-made for maximum inspirational, historical and educational impact, The Great Debaters shines a bright spotlight on a remarkable example of black achievement long forgotten in the sorry history of the Jim Crow South.
  72. The Killing of John Lennon
    Anchored by a fearless, commanding lead perf by newcomer Jonas Ball as deranged assassin Mark David Chapman, The Killing of John Lennon is a harrowing, impressionistic, widescreen tour-de-force that unfolds with the propulsive urgency of a scrapbook thrown into a howling wind.
  73. City of Men
    Despite its sudsy storyline, this second tour through the punk-infested Rio slums could attract more mature arthouse auds, drawn by character rather than the minutiae of guns 'n' drugs, though it's unlikely to match "God's" muscular $7.5 million U.S. take.
  74. 27 Dresses
    Frothy, funny and formulaic, 27 Dresses is a pleasantly predictable romantic comedy that sees Katherine Heigl following “Knocked Up” with smooth moves at the wheel of her first starring vehicle.
  75. Taxi to the Dark Side
    Photos and video of torture at Bagram and Abu Ghraib are the most viscerally disturbing elements of Taxi to the Dark Side, but the way soft-spoken soldiers were transformed into beasts with the tacit approval of the higher-ups is just as profoundly chilling.
  76. How She Move
    Title refers not only to its heroine's physical gyrations but also her moral maneuverings as she strives to break out of her lower-class surroundings in this moody, intelligent take on conventional material.
  77. Untraceable
    Unfolding like a better-than-average episode of a first-rate TV police procedural, Untraceable is a satisfying slice of solidly crafted meat-and-potatoes filmmaking.
  78. Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
    Functions swimmingly as both a bigscreen inflation of smallscreen icons and a fairly hilarious stand-alone.
  79. Caramel
    Fresh from commercials and musicvids, novice helmer (and star) Nadine Labaki gathers five women around a Beirut beauty salon to address a range of issues facing Lebanese women -- from extramarital affairs to religious dictates. Low on calories and not especially original but always diverting.
  80. Praying with Lior
    What makes this involving beyond its subject's slightly freakish fascination is helmer Ilana Trachtman's capturing of a complex family dynamic in which Lior isn't the only intriguing personality.
  81. The Band's Visit
    A warm and delightful take on cross-cultural relations that proves that sometimes a light touch is just what's needed to address serious topics.
  82. In Bruges
    Closer to pics like “The Hit” and “Miller’s Crossing” than to McDonagh’s bristling, funny plays, this half-comic, half-serious account of two Irish hitmen who are sent to the titular Belgian burg to cool their heels after a job is moderately fair as a nutty character study, but overly far-fetched once the action kicks in.
  83. Definitely, Maybe
    A pleasingly non-formulaic romantic seriocomedy, Definitely, Maybe has charm and some depth.
  84. The Spiderwick Chronicles
    A work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty, grounded in a classically Spielbergian realm where childlike wonderment crosses paths with the tough realities of young adulthood.
  85. Step Up 2: The Streets
    Rather than mixing classical and modern styles the way "Step Up" did, this hip-hop-powered sequel is all about new moves, which should keep the kids coming back after the pic's initial Valentine's Day crush.
  86. Jodhaa Akbar
    A long-limbed story that is utterly simple in structure, but decorated with enough character interplay and side plots to keep the movie ticking over to a powerful finale.
  87. The Witnesses
    Despite its grim subject, the powerful storytelling projects the strongly affirmative message that it's a miracle to be alive and bear witness to those who did not survive. This memorable film, one of Techine's best, is in no way limited to gay viewers.
  88. The Counterfeiters
    The moral quandary of Nazi complicity is revisited in taut drama The Counterfeiters, which tells the true story of a disparate group of imprisoned artists, financiers and swindlers secretly assembled in a concentration camp to forge millions of pound and dollar notes to support the German war effort.
  89. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation
    Sensitive, delicate and involving.
  90. Chop Shop
    Ultimately, the pic will be noted and remembered not for any inherent drama or analysis but for its simply having so thoroughly documented a strange place most people have never seen and never knew existed.
  91. Chicago 10
    A vibrantly crafted evocation of a convulsive moment in 20th century American history, Chicago 10 is far less interested in offering a fresh, probing look at what took place on the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the circus trial that followed than it is in celebrating the stars of the anti-war movement and rallying the current generation to follow their examples.
  92. The Other Boleyn Girl
    A sexy, good-looking political bodice-ripper with an almost flawless cast at the top of its game.
  93. Semi-Pro
    Very much in the tradition of "Slap Shot," George Roy Hill's raucously funny and foul-mouthed 1977 laffer about the misadventures of a minor-league hockey team, Semi-Pro scores big laughs with the rowdy play-by-play of hard-luck hoopsters struggling for professional survival.
  94. Married Life
    The tone, casting and material form a less-than-perfect match in Married Life, a period domestic drama that never quite decides if it wants to be a credible marital study, a noirish meller or a sly comedy.
  95. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
    McDormand's performance slowly builds a solid integrity, and contrasts well with Adams' more flamboyant turn.
  96. Doomsday
    Neil Marshall's flair for visceral action more than compensates for his script's lack of conceptual novelty in Doomsday. Principally South Africa-shot tale of a post-apocalyptic Great Britain cobbles together large chunks of "Escape From New York," "The Road Warrior," "28 Days Later" and "Resident Evil," but those with a taste for revved-up, splattery fantasy thrills won't be complaining.
  97. Horton Hears a Who!
    The real stars of the movie are the animators, who imbue even the overgrowth in Horton's jungle with a certain floppy Seuss-ishness.
  98. Blindsight
    The deceptively complex picture gradually grows sharp edges and snowballs into a compelling study in culture clash, with spectacular scenery to boot.
  99. Heartbeat Detector
    Both pertinent and discomfiting, this sober, well-cast drama remains quietly riveting, despite its 140-minute running time.
  100. Shelter
    A pleasant romantic drama that works best when focused on the romance -- or on the waves, since the principal characters spend a lot of time surfing.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »