Variety's Scores

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For 17,807 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: 9,148 out of 17807
  2. Mixed: 7,022 out of 17807
  3. Negative: 1,637 out of 17807
17807 movie reviews
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  1. A Serious Man
    One doesn't know how (auto)biographical any or all of this is, but there's a tartness to the telling of what amounts to a well-shaped series of anecdotes that bespeaks distant pain or, at least, wincing memory twisted into mordant comedy by time and sensibility.
  2. Whip It
    Laced with good-natured hipster kitsch and endearingly goofy girl power, director Drew Barrymore's roller-derby dramedy, Whip It, is a gas.
  3. Zombieland
    Benefiting from the very different but very appealing comedy styles of Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg even when the script's wit runs thin, this should be catnip to jaded genre fans.
  4. The Invention of Lying
    While it never tops the explosive hilarity of its first 20 minutes, The Invention of Lying is a smartly written, nicely layered comedy that, like last year's underappreciated "Ghost Town," casts Ricky Gervais as a mild-mannered schlub who manages, in spite of himself, to make the world a better place.
  5. More Than a Game
    A kind of classic of American sports history.
  6. A Beautiful Life
    A waste of a talented, earnest cast, this borderline offensive indie, set for an Oct. 2 limited release, shouldn't take up too much valuable theater space before fading away.
  7. Afterschool
    Unsettles without illuminating, marred by narcotic pacing and a blank lead performance.
  8. Chelsea on the Rocks
    A skittery, rambling but often absorbing portrait.
  9. Do Knot Disturb
    Vet helmer David Dhawan's big-budget sitcom is a major, slumdogging step in the right direction, with nosebleed-inducing production values, infectious musical sequences and some astoundingly beautiful actors.
  10. L'ennemi intime
    Visceral and engrossing.
  11. Surrogates
    Mostow's smart speculative suspenser imagines a time when people can live through ideal versions of themselves while they sit wired up at home.
  12. Paranormal Activity
    Paranormal succeeds in staying unnervingly "real."
  13. Pandorum
    Special effects are none too convincing, while sound effects are of the cheaply jolting variety favored by producer Paul W.S. Anderson in his films as director ("Resident Evil," "Event Horizon"). Other tech credits are, like the pic as a whole, lazily derivative.
  14. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
    Distinguishes itself from such last-fling-before-the-wedding comedies as "The Hangover" with the grittiness of its Texas locales and the smug intelligence of its unapologetically narcissistic protagonist.
  15. Coco Before Chanel
    More sentimental than chic, Gallic biopic Coco Before Chanel nonetheless knits a convincing portrait of the designer's journey from her humble beginnings as a provincial seamstress to the halls of Parisian haute couture.
  16. The Boys Are Back
    This is polished yet authentically moving.
  17. Fame
    This PG-rated offering thus dances along a fine line -- one that suggests a shelf-life well short of its "I wanna live forever" anthem.
  18. Blind Date
    A sometimes hilarious, often wrenching pas de deux between actors Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson.
  19. The Blue Tooth Virgin
    Simultaneously insightful and idiotic.
  20. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
    It's a very academic movie about academics that belongs in academia, not movie theaters.
  21. Mary and Max
    Has its share of deadpan amusements, but its combo of mordant whimsy and tearjerker moments winds up curdling in an unappetizing fashion.
  22. Capitalism: A Love Story
    Whether Capitalism matches "Fahrenheit 9/11" or underperforms like "Sicko" will depend on how much workers of the world are ready to unite behind the message.
  23. Irene in Time
    Breezy and indulgent, his is a style that lives or dies on the appeal of his characters and performers, and this time he is mostly let down by both.
  24. In Search of Beethoven
    Beautifully lensed and intelligently crafted.
  25. The Informant!
    Amusingly eccentric rather than outright funny.
  26. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
    Eye-popping and mouth-watering in one, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs spins a 30-page children's book into a 90-minute all-you-can-laugh buffet.
  27. Love Happens
    Excise the love story, and there's a pretty good movie buried within Love Happens struggling to get out, mostly to little avail.
  28. Jennifer's Body
    This high school horror romp tackles its bad-girl-gone-really-bad premise with eye-rolling obviousness and, fatally, a near-total absence of real scares.
  29. The Burning Plain
    Many of the weaknesses and few of the strengths of Guillermo Arriaga as a scripter are evident in his directing debut, The Burning Plain.
  30. Disgrace
    Anchored by another marvelously quirky yet deadly serious performance from John Malkovich, and likely to be relished by the fan base of J.M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel, this is a strong, perceptive, old-school arthouse picture.
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