Variety's Scores

Select another publication »
For 17,831 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: 9,163 out of 17831
  2. Mixed: 7,031 out of 17831
  3. Negative: 1,637 out of 17831
17831 movie reviews
view
per page
  1. The Decomposition of the Soul
    A thorny subject is handled with care in this meticulous reconstruction of life inside the East German police state, as boiled down to the experiences of just two ex-inmates -- one man and one woman --- of a notorious Stasi prison. Overall effect is poetically thought-provoking, not depressing.
  2. Notes on Marie Menken
    Handsome tribute is paid to the eponymous experimental filmmaker in Notes on Marie Menken, the fourth feature by Austrian docu helmer Martina Kudlacek, who previously made "In the Mirror of Maya Deren."
  3. Cocaine Angel
    Pitch-perfect central perf (by scribe and co-producer Damian Lahey), total lack of dramatic artifice and surreally situational humor make for a minor-key vignette of unmistakable, if unstable, authenticity.
  4. The Border Post
    A flashback to the playfully tender East Euro cinema of yore with a forceful if predictable punch in the closing reel, Rajko Grlic's Border Post marks a virile comeback for the Croatian veteran after his weak-kneed "Josephine."
  5. Blockade
    Told without voiceover, explanatory subtitles or any other contextualizing material, Russian docu Blockade looks unlikely to show up on the History Channel as it stands now. Nevertheless, this absorbing account of the 900-day siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during WWII, told entirely through re-edited archive footage with freshly made sound, reps poignant viewing as it focuses on the daily lives of the city's inhabitants.
  6. Words of My Perfect Teacher
    Thoughtful, surprisingly fast-moving documentary.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Surviving Picasso
    Latest Merchant Ivory production (produced with David Wolper) is a winner in spite of relatively modern look to the film.
  8. Stephanie Daley
    A taut, provocative, sometimes overreaching but always absorbing thriller.
  9. Severance
    Escalating blend of black humor and grisly goings-on in the wilds of Hungary fully delivers in its latter half.
  10. Diggers
    Basically "Diner" in wading boots, it feels very familiar in conceit and unadventurous in execution, but offers the undeniable pleasures of a well-observed, well-played modest seriocomedy.
  11. The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez
    Sensitively and methodically tells the story of the first U.S. soldier killed in the 2003 Iraq invasion.
  12. Disappearances
    A frequently mesmerizing if exceedingly strange coming-of-age odyssey.
  13. Inlaws & Outlaws
    Lovingly rendered talking-heads effort puts emphasis on basic tenets on basic human connection, not on sexual orientation or social attitudes.
  14. Provoked: A True Story
    Mixed Indian and Western cast --turn the true story of a case that changed British law into an old-style melodrama (in the best sense) complete with a feel-good ending.
  15. Brand Upon the Brain!
    Billed as a silent film, Guy Maddin's Brand Upon the Brain! is actually closer to a live theatrical event -- a feature-length motion picture screened with the accompaniment of a live orchestra, plus Foley artists, sound effects technicians and assorted vocalists, too. Together, they provide the elaborate soundscape for a typically frenetic, Maddin-esque amalgam of the autobiographical, Freudian and willfully absurd.
  16. Duck
    A small, affecting road movie peopled with sharp vignettes.
  17. The Wendell Baker Story
    A loose-knit, character-driven comedy that percolates with good-vibe amusement, often earning industrial-strength guffaws with sneaky one-liners and tossed-off non-sequiturs.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Trust
    Long Island filmaker Hal Hartley progresses from his debut feature, The Unbelievable Truth to this bleak, off-center comedy about dysfunctional families in working class suburbia.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Memories of Tomorrow
    Pulses with firm conviction and gentle sincerity. For Western audiences, opening reels may seem a tad melodramatic, but by journey's end there won't be a dry eye in the house.
  20. Flirt
    Slight but sleek, Flirt is still fun.
  21. The Boss of It All
    For all its slightness, pic is helmer's least pretentious and most sheerly enjoyable for years.
  22. Steel City
    Its honest, unshowy performances and textured depiction of life in a working-class community in a nowhere Southern Illinois town make this modest indie feature an affecting experience.
  23. White Palms
    An uncommonly resonant sports drama in which a talented yet troubled gymnast comes to terms with a turbulent past.
  24. Longing
    Big emotional themes come hidden in a deceptively small package in Longing, a mightily impressive feature debut by German writer-director Valeska Grisebach.
  25. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox
    Tyro helmer Sara Lamm satisfyingly stitches together the family soap opera into a comfortable crazy quilt without sacrificing its unique, oddly topical edge.
  26. The Method
    Smartly and seamlessly blending a cast of talented Argentine and Spanish thesps, Pineyro seems to be testing how much cinema he can derive from a restricted space.
  27. Drama/Mex
    An unerring compositional eye plus firm control of an inventive structure keep Drama/Mex well within the attention span, even when the script wanders without seeming to know why.
  28. Your Mommy Kills Animals
    There are no good guys or bad guys in this propulsive film, but there's enough in the way of odd characters and bad behavior to amuse and inform auds who only marginally care about the content.
  29. The Sugar Curtain
    Those on both sides of the great Cuba divide should find food for thought in these sober, realistic reflections.
  30. Chak De India!
    Shaky handheld lensing, terrific cutting and uplifting music build to a grandstand finish in which the main characters are bound tightly into the physical drama. It ain't subtle, but it packs a punch at a simple emotional level.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »