Variety's Scores

For 17,777 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:
17777 movie reviews
  1. Sheds valuable light on a complex period of post-World War II Czechoslovakia.
  2. A crackerjack serial-killer chiller in "Seven" mold, Tell Me Something cleverly disguises its thoroughly generic content and leaps of logic with highly honed technique and an involving approach to narrative.
  3. Few recent movies have conceived their central female character more contemptuously -- a fanatic for a lifestyle that appears to have come from the bestselling "The Rules."
  4. A handsome but ho-hum swashbuckler that springs to life only during a few spirited scenes of acrobatic swordplay.
  5. A horror movie without horror, a spook pic without spookiness and a metaphysical drama without the slightest spiritual tug, Soul Survivors virtually dwindles away on the screen.
  6. Schroeder's first non-American film in 16 years feels like a rejuvenation; his adaptation of Fernando Vallejo's 1994 novel has a naturalistic freedom and ease that is both refreshing and direct in the way it tells a deeply disturbing story.
  7. Feels particularly like old news after the risks of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle were laid out for the previously uninformed in last year's "Almost Famous."
  8. Its screaming-queen stereotypes will look pretty retro in most Western markets, even if an earnest pro-tolerance message disarms potential offense.
  9. Music has always played a vital role in the films of Tony Gatlif, and in Vengo it finally threatens to take over, submerging the frail, familiar vendetta plotline.
  10. Unfortunately that blast-off heralds an orbit to nowhere, with initial delight fading as pic runs out of ideas all too soon, never building a sense of momentum or narrative thrust.
  11. Emerges as the most conventional and least imaginative of the recent crop of high-class fright movies that includes "The Others," "Session 9" and "Wendigo."
  12. A warm-blooded winner with equal emphasis placed on taste buds and heartstrings.
  13. A wannabe romantic comedy with miscast leads and a script in desperate need of a good editor.
  14. Haphazard mix of boisterously crude comedy, romantic entanglements, class-conscious clashes and intensely competitive hardball.
  15. This deliberately pre-'90s slice of rock 'n' roll-tinged sci-fi horror, decorated with anything but the latest in special effects, seems particularly grungy and marginal.
  16. Certainly not a piffle, nor an impressive departure into a new filmmaking realm, Allen's second film in a row about crooks ranks in the middle range of his work.
  17. A lighthearted yarn designed to stand out by virtue of its intricate structure and trippy time-travel element. But the fanciful material wears thin pretty quickly, the air leaking out of the balloon long before party's over.
  18. This represents at least as much of an artistic setback for Smith as "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma" were advances.
  19. Seems bent on creating equal-opportunity offense to many groups, but more often than not is appalling simply for its silliness and lack of comedic control.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A powerful, heartfelt and funny documentary that serves as a respectful nod to the aging generation of WWII survivors.
  20. A case of means exceeded by ambition.
  21. Sadly symbolizes the decline of the Western. The 36th bigscreen version of the exploits of the James-Younger Gang is one of the least convincing.
  22. Strikes too many false notes on the dramatic side to add up to a satisfying emotional experience.
  23. A lineup of comic actors running on empty long before the dust settles.
  24. A humanistic, warts-and-all battle of wills between a dissolute father and an emotionally ravaged daughter.
  25. In one of the most accessible versions of Hamlet yet committed to film, Campbell Scott's self-helmed Great Dane is more than ever a man for our time.
  26. Calculated yet undeniably skillful melodrama.
  27. A real-life inspirational comedy that should beguile viewers regardless of their operatic taste (or distaste).
  28. Lightweight but likable romantic comedy about two mismatched gay singletons who are, of course, made for each other.
  29. A remarkably boring comedy.

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