Variety's Scores

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For 17,791 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: 9,139 out of 17791
  2. Mixed: 7,015 out of 17791
  3. Negative: 1,637 out of 17791
17791 movie reviews
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  1. Standing by Yourself
    In the post-Columbine era, Koury's film has its finger on something particularly potent.
  2. Ultimate X: The Movie
    Most impressive in an objective sense, as a technical exercise -- its staccato technique preventing greater involvement.
  3. Blackwoods
    Tries to salvage its dopey premise with frantic final-reel plot contortions.
  4. Janice Beard
    Starts out on an exhilarating high but gradually loses steam, Janice Beard 45 WPM tries hard to overcome its inconsistency with relentless whimsy.
  5. The Lady and the Duke
    History comes alive with verve and cold-sweat suspense in The Lady and the Duke.
  6. Unfaithful
    This refitting of Claude Chabrol's 1968 classic "La Femme Infidele" is less concerned with suspense and dramatic fireworks than is the usual American "erotic thriller," and much more devoted to nuances and the minutiae of how men and women behave, pretend and lie in duplicitous situations.
  7. The New Guy
    Overall aroma of movie junk food.
  8. Diamonds and Rust
    Expertly edited chronicle doesn't lead to any major explosion, but reveals plenty -- little of it pleasant -- en-route.
  9. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
    Neither pure masala musical nor pure masala meller, Lagaan is an involving, easily digestible hunk of pure entertainment that could be the trigger for Bollywood's long-awaited crossover to non-ethnic markets.
  10. A Man's Gotta Do
    A cut above the average Aussie crazy-clan comedy.
  11. Home Movie
    A modest charmer.
  12. The Mystic Masseur
    Succeeds as light entertainment -- even if at the cost of the material's greater potential.
  13. A Shot at Glory
    Mediocre, dramatically flat picture.
  14. The Captive
    An elegant but empty and frustrating meditation on desire, obsession, love and possession, The Captive intellectualizes those subjects almost beyond the level of art-film parody.
  15. Dirt Boy
    Intelligent, low-key suspenser.
  16. Warm Water Under a Red Bridge
    A film with a terrifically engaging concept that overstays its welcome by quite a stretch.
  17. ABC Africa
    Kiarostami shoots Africa with an uncanny verisimilitude, coming close here to his idea of a "poetic cinema" indebted more to poetry and music than the theatrical novelistic storytelling tradition.
  18. Hollywood Ending
    For those always on the lookout for the "funny" Allen, this one definitely has its moments, but too much of the picture is flat, dispiriting and frankly unbelievable in fundamental ways that defy the granting of poetic license.
  19. Fleeing by Night
    An embarrassing failure at almost every level.
  20. Spider-Man
    Pic's happiest surprise is Tobey Maguire in the title role, as the young actor provides an emotional openness and vulnerability that gives this $120 million production its most distinctive flavor.
  21. Circuit
    All-encompassing drama.
  22. Sex with Strangers
    Doesn't compare favorably with David Schisgall's similarly themed "The Lifestyle," released to arthouses last year.
  23. Vulgar
    Inexplicably mixing lamer-than-lame "bad taste" comedy with yea worse traumatized-assault-victim histrionics, pic's only entertainment value lies in viewer weighing whether pic is primarily a.) offensive b.) amateurish c.) pathetic or d.) a cry for help.
  24. Dogtown and Z-Boys
    A fascinating story, albeit with some missed opportunities in the telling.
  25. Life or Something Like It
    A deeply metaphysical film by contempo Hollywood standards, this middlebrow trifle may engage the emotions of a certain tier of young professional women.
  26. Jason X
    Further proof that titular antagonist Jason Voorhes is ready for retirement -- to videostore shelves.
  27. The Salton Sea
    This extremely plot-thickened tale finally offers little more than the usual genre elements pushed to the kind of extremes that recall the acrid "The Way of the Gun."
    • Variety
  28. Some Body
    Has a quasi-verite, improvisational feel that appears truthful. But it doesn't lend much sympathy, or depth, to characters who never seem worth knowing.
  29. Freshmen
    There's nothing remotely original about Freshmen, but this somewhat formulaic comedy-drama about four college newbies has a lot of charm and sincerity going for it.
  30. Facing the Music
    Isn't only an outstanding documentary -- it's also a powerful personal drama.
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