Variety's Scores

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For 17,771 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 2.5 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: 9,130 out of 17771
  2. Mixed: 7,005 out of 17771
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17771
17771 movie reviews
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  1. Chicken Run
    Technically superb and witty in an old-fashioned, veddy British way that will delight many adults but will sail over the heads of young audiences.
  2. The Full Monty
    Bright and sassy, The Full Monty is a treat.
  3. Concert for George
    Film gathers together only those who knew, loved and made music with "the quiet Beatle."
  4. October Sky
    Immensely entertaining and unabashedly inspirational.
  5. Time Out
    Theater veteran Recoing is utterly compelling. Both the script and the resourceful, subtle actor provide enormous insight into the troubled character.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Score
    Meticulously detailed thriller.
  7. Tom Dowd & the Language of Music
    Dowd's graciousness and enthusiasm, and the enormous respect afforded him by industryites on record here, make this a thorough and satisfying acknowledgement of one man's unique contribution to popular music.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Trainspotting
    Scabrous, brutal and hip, Trainspotting is a "Clockwork Orange" for the '90s.
  9. Dahmer
    Jacobson produces a remarkably creepy piece of cinema that disturbs by suggestion, nuance and ambiguity.
  10. The Komediant
    Elegantly constructed, deceptively complex documentary.
  11. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
    George Lucas has reached deep into the trove of his self-generated mythological world to produce a grand entertainment that offers a satisfying balance among the series' epic, narrative, technological and emotional qualities.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Sunset Boulevard
    Performances by the entire cast, and particularly William Holden and Gloria Swanson, are exceptionally fine.
  13. Bon voyage
    A rousing, well-crafted romp packed with ingenuity, duplicity, close calls and heroic gestures, Bon Voyage is true to its title.
  14. One Last Kiss
    Craftily combining elements that speak directly to three different generations, this accomplished ensemble piece is shaping up to be the surprise homegrown hit of the season.
  15. State and Main
    A bona fide populist laugh riot.
  16. Beyond the Mat
    A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Shakespeare in Love
    Exquisitely acted, tightly directed and impressively assembled.
  18. The Tracker
    Think of an Anthony Mann Western made by an experimental film director and you get an indication of the challenging components of The Tracker, the story of a manhunt that is politically sensitive because of its depiction of atrocities perpetrated on aboriginals by a fanatical white cop.
  19. American Splendor
    Sad, tender, wise and beautiful film... It's a profound tribute to lives lived on the fringes of society -- to the introspective loners who are the most observant chroniclers of our times.
  20. Guinevere
    Wonderfully acted and slickly mad. Acutely written with an eye to the motivations and ambiguities involved on both sides in such a relationship.
  21. Nine Queens
    A seductively structured and superbly acted suspenser that breathtakingly piles swindle upon scam without giving away the game until the very end.
    • 95 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    La Dolce Vita
    The performances are uniformly excellent. Mastroianni is perfect in the key role of the basically good and honest boy who succumbs to the sweet life. Ekberg is a revelation as the visiting star, while Furneaux almost runs off with the picture as the reporter's instinctive, possessive mistress. (Review of original release)
  23. Japanese Story
    Develops into a powerfully emotional experience thanks to a career-best performance by Toni Collette.
  24. Va Savoir (Who Knows?)
    An entrancing ensemble piece, directed with calm assurance, acted by a fine ensemble, and structured and scripted with wit and precision.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Shawshank Redemption
    Central to the film's success is a riveting, unfussy performance from Robbins. Freeman has the showier role, allowing him a grace and dignity that come naturally.
    • Variety
  26. Far From Heaven
    An accomplished marriage of elaborate style and content.
  27. Run Lola Run
    A highly accomplished, compact feature, which, while it may be light on depth, is rich in humor, rhythm, energy and inventiveness.
  28. The Shape of Things
    Very much in line with his maiden screen efforts "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors"...ends with a satisfying shudder of recognition at the extreme cruelty possible within human relationships, particularly those conceived by Neil LaBute.
  29. Since Otar Left
    The film is traditionally and effectively made; it also is superbly acted.
  30. You Can Count on Me
    A sensitive, intimate, enormously touching drama.
  31. Blissfully Yours
    A rare example of indie filmmaking produced outside the Thai studio system, Blissfully Yours takes the good-humored nonsense of director Apichatpong Weeasethakul's first feature, "Mysterious Object at Noon," several steps further into the realm of non-communicative minimalism.
  32. The Rainmaker
    As carefully constructed, handsomely crafted and flavorsomely acted as a top-of-the-line production from Hollywood's classical studio era, Francis Ford Coppola's screen version of John Grisham's The Rainmaker would seem to represent just about all a filmmaker could do with the best-selling author's patented dramatic formulas without subverting them altogether.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dead Man Walking
    An intimate chamber piece for two, superbly acted by Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, this is a mature, well-crafted movie.
  34. Gosford Park
    Taking advantage of a splendid cast, a sharply focused script and the fresh English setting, "Gosford Park" emerges as one of the most satisfying of Robert Altman's numerous ensemble pictures.
  35. Topsy-Turvy
    This beautifully crafted and lively romp around the 1880s stage world should enjoy its longest life as a vid classic.
  36. To Be and to Have
    Any negative stereotypes viewers might harbor about education in rural communities are sent packing by this magnificently lensed and cumulatively touching account from documaker Nicolas Philibert.
  37. Sense and Sensibility
    Crucially for such an elaborately dressed production, the characters all come thoroughly alive with their ready wits and pulsing emotions, overcoming the two-century gap with seeming effortlessness.
  38. Orgazmo
    Massively inventive and spiked with perversely wicked humor.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Bad Lieutenant
    Abel Ferrara's uncompromising Bad Lieutenant is a harrowing journey observing a corrupt NY cop sink into the depths, with an extraordinary and uninhibited performance by Harvey Keitel in the title role.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Boys Don't Cry
    The poignant and candid Boys Don't Cry can be seen as a "Rebel Without a Cause" for these culturally diverse and complex times, with the two misfit girls enacting a version of the James Dean/Natalie Wood romance with utmost conviction.
  41. Fargo
    In the darkly humorous Fargo, iconoclastic filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen manage the precarious balancing act of respecting genre conventions and simultaneously pushing them to an almost surrealistic extreme. Very funny stuff.
  42. House of Sand and Fog
    A faithful, powerful and superbly acted adaptation of Andre Dubus III's international bestseller.
  43. Spider
    This slow but brilliantly sustained journey into madness is fronted by a remarkable performance from Ralph Fiennes and superb backup from Miranda Richardson in a triple role.
  44. Election
    Brandishes the sort of intelligent wit and bracing nastiness that will make it more appealing to discerning adults than to teens who just want to have fun.
    • 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.
  46. American Beauty
    A script as fresh and distinctive as any produced in the States in recent memory.
  47. Best in Show
    A barkingly funny new "mockumentary" that does for those canine pageants what the helmer's 1996 "Waiting for Guffman" did for smalltown theatrics.
  48. Boogie Nights
    Darkly comic, vastly entertaining and utterly original.
  49. The Cooler
    Wayne Kramer's sexy and often humorous feature directorial debut surrounds its sweet center with the energy, flash and risk of the gambling capital. Sterling performances by William H. Macy and Maria Bello as the long-shot lovers and Alec Baldwin as a temperamental casino operator.
  50. Distant
    An arthouse film par excellence, a consummately made study of loneliness and frustration.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Godfather: Part II
    Al Pacino again is outstanding as Michael Corleone, successor to crime family leadership.
  52. The Hours
    Considerable intelligence and strategic finesse have been brought to bear on this handsomely mounted adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which was hardly a natural for the bigscreen.
  53. Memento
    Deconstructs time and space with Einstein-caliber dexterity in the service of a delectably disturbing tale of revenge.
  54. Road to Perdition
    Sam Mendes' much-anticipated second effort after his Oscar-winning "American Beauty" finds him working in a very different key while displaying an even more pronounced attentiveness to tone, genre variations and artistic niceties.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Iron Giant
    Despite its p.c., humanistic overtones, the film manages to integrate the humor and action of a kid’s adventure tale and the message of a political allegory without beingheavy-handed.
  56. Changing Lanes
    Captures the excitement of lightning in a bottle.
  57. The Bourne Identity
    A first-rate thriller with grit and intrigue to spare.
  58. Training Day
    Ominously atmospheric study of police corruption dangles danger and sinister motives at every turn.
  59. The Last Seduction
    Pacing is on the button, and the film moves inexorably, without any flat moments, toward the suspenseful, if morally indefensible, finale.
  60. Antz
    A dazzling delight.
  61. Amadeus
    Loaded with pleasures, the greatest of which derive from the on location filming in Prague, the most 18th century of all European cities.
  62. Everything Put Together
    Riveting, often haunting.
  63. 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.
  64. Toy Story
    The very good news is that, in addition to stylistic innovation, the film sports a provocative and appealing story that's every bit the equal of this technical achievement.
  65. Liberty Heights
    Barry Levinson goes deep with Liberty Heights, and the result is a grand slam.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Godfather: Part III
    Part III matches its predecessors in narrative intensity, epic scope, socio-political analysis, physical beauty and deep feeling for its characters and milieu.
  67. Moolaadé
    This richly textured parable feels every inch the work of a master.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Thelma & Louise
    Even those who don't rally to pic's fed-up feminist outcry will take to its comedy, momentum and dazzling visuals.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Lilya 4-Ever
    Hard-hitting, dark and tragic story that rarely lets up.
  70. Red Lights
    Splendidly sinuous twister Red Lights sees Gallic helmer Cedric Kahn ("Roberto Succo") take his game to the next level with this inky comic thriller.
  71. Strayed
    A taut, suspenseful, linear approach, and a trio of excellent performances.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dances with Wolves
    Costner's directing style is fresh and assured. A sense of surprise and humor accompany Dunbar's adventures at every turn, twisting the narrative gently this way and that and making the journey a real pleasure.
  73. Elizabeth
    Superior historical soap opera that shrewdly sidesteps all the cliches of British costume drama with its bold, often modern approach.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Full Metal Jacket
    An intense, schematic, superbly made Vietnam War drama.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    This Is Spinal Tap
    A vastly amusing satire of heavy metal bands.
  76. Springtime in a Small Town
    Exquisitely made love story.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    A Room with a View
    Distinguished by superb ensemble acting, intelligent writing and stunning design.
    • Variety
  78. Adaptation.
    All but stealing the film is Cooper, who seizes a rare opportunity as an extroverted, rather than buttoned-up, character to bust loose like an uncaged alligator.
  79. Pieces of April
    A Thanksgiving family reunion comedy that sparkles with acerbic wit, original characters and genuine heart.
  80. Red Dragon
    Audiences will be excused for any feelings of déjà vu the new film might inspire. That won't prevent them from watching it in rapt, anxious silence, however, as the gruesome crimes, twisted psychology and deterministic dread that lie at the heart of Harris' work are laid out with care and skill.
  81. 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.
  82. Eyes Wide Shut
    A riveting, thematically probing, richly atmospheric and just occasionally troublesome work, a deeply inquisitive consideration of the extent of trust and mutual knowledge possible between a man and a woman.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Reservoir Dogs
    An intense, bloody, in-your-face crime drama about a botched robbery and its aftermath, colorfully written in vulgar gangster vernacular and well played by a terrific cast.
  84. Fierce Creatures
    A hilarious farce.
  85. Touching the Void
    Uses first-person on-camera accounts of the adventure by Simpson and fellow climber Simon Yates to backdrop newly shot you-are-there footage that brings home the awesome and harrowing aspects of their feat.
  86. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
    This is not "E.T.," nor is it a kid's film nor even necessarily a major mass-audience film, although Spielberg's name, high public anticipation and the child-oriented campaign will make it perform like one.
  87. Capturing the Friedmans
    There's a kind of rawness on the screen that most movies never approach.
  88. Come Undone
    The elusive, quicksilver nature of young love is often reduced to crude simplicities by the movies, but director Sebastien Lifshitz and writing partner Stephane Bouquet have observed it with a superb balance of aesthetics and insight in Come Undone.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
    The Harrison Ford-Sean Connery father-and-son team gives Last Crusade unexpected emotional depth, reminding us that real film magic is not in special effects.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Seven
    This weirdly off-kilter suspenser goes well beyond the usual police procedural or killer-on-a-rampage yarn due to a fine script, striking craftsmanship and a masterful performance by Morgan Freeman.
  91. Titanic
    A spectacular demonstration of what modern technology can contribute to dramatic storytelling.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Big Red One
    It's a terrific war yarn, a picture of palpable raw power which manages both Intense intimacy and great scope at the same time. (Review of Original Release)
  93. Bowling for Columbine
    The sparks fly thanks to Moore's patented blend of curveball research, expedient juxtaposition, genuine satire and bottomless chutzpah.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Brazil
    Chillingly hilarious.
  95. Breaking the Waves
    Watson is a major find as Bess. Graced with delicate, expressive features, she gives an extraordinary performance.
  96. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    Brilliance of the action and effects are supplemented by a consistently superior and resourceful score by Tan Dun.
  97. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    The script is faithful, the actors are just right, the sets, costumes, makeup and effects match and sometimes exceed anything one could imagine.
  98. Rushmore
    Wickedly funny.
  99. Girl with a Pearl Earring
    An intelligent, visually ravishing adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's best-selling novel.
  100. Fight Club
    Bold, inventive, sustained adrenaline rush of a movie.
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