Variety's Scores

Select another publication »
For 17,779 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: 9,134 out of 17779
  2. Mixed: 7,009 out of 17779
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17779
17779 movie reviews
view
per page
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    A River Runs Through It
    A skilled, careful adaptation of a much-admired story, A River Runs Through It is a convincing trip back in time to a virtually vanished American West, as well as a nicely observed family study.
  2. Under Siege
    Under Siege is an immensely slick, if also old-fashioned and formulaic, entertainment. Steven Seagal fans and action buffs should eat up this taut suspenser, which is set entirely on board a battleship.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    1492: Conquest of Paradise
    All Ridley Scott's vaunted visuals can't transform 1492 from a lumbering, one-dimensional historical fresco into the complex, ambiguous character study that it strives to be.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Romper Stomper
    Romper Stomper is a Clockwork Orange without the intellect.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Mighty Ducks
    Helmer Stephen Herek endows a familiar story with a crisp look and swift tempo, seldom allowing sanctimonious tale to linger too long or gags to get too tiresome.
    • Variety
  6. Of Mice and Men
    Well-mounted and very traditional, Of Mice and Men honorably serves John Steinbeck’s classic story of two Depression-era drifters without bringing anything new to it. Fine performances down the line and sensitive handling justify this attempt to introduce a new generation to the small tragedy of George and Lennie, although lack of any edge or fresh motivation to tell the tale will keep enthusiasm, and B.O. results, at a moderate level.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Hero
    Third-act heroics help but can't rescue filmmaker Stephen Frears' most concerted mainstream push. Muddled effort cleverly skewering media and societal fascination with heroes doesn't create compelling characters for its big-name leads.
    • 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.
  9. Glengarry Glen Ross
    But it doesn't quite all come together here as it did onstage, and relentless scabrousness, heavy claustrophobia and a vaguely dated feel are among the elements that will keep mainstream audiences away.
  10. The Last of the Mohicans
    [The Last of the Mohicans] blends pure adventure with a compelling central romance.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Innocent Blood
    Teens and genre fans should eat up John Landis' latest mix of horror and camp comedy. They will 'ooh' at the various gross-out scenes and nifty special effects, 'aah' at the film's sensuality and Anne Parillaud's easy nudity, and savor the numerous in-jokes and horror references, from cameos by other goremeister directors to clips from various late-show staples.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    South Central
    As a cautionary tale about the nihilistic life of street gangs, South Central speaks eloquently to black kids desperately in need of straight talk. A profoundly moving story of a father's attempt to save his son from his own mistakes, Steve Anderson's film has performances by Glenn Plummer and young Christian Coleman that will touch any viewer.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Singles
    [A] dynamite romantic comedy.
  14. Husbands and Wives
    This is definitely his edgiest, rawest work in a good while. Acting is of a very high caliber across the board, but Judy Davis, in a very meaty part compared to her previous walk-on for Allen in “Alice,” is incandescent, revealing a whole new side to her personality that has never surfaced onscreen before.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Wind
    The elements prove far more stimulating than the people in Wind, a sail-racing saga that could have used a great deal more dramatic rigging.
    • Variety
    • 50 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
    Well-produced effort is an effective combination of imaginative special effects with the strangeness of author Clive Barker's original conception, on which the characters are based.
  17. Sneakers
    Director Phil Alden Robinson demonstrates an agreeable flair for low-key comedy, changing tones, and the orchestration of complicated logistics until falling into the black holes of gaping plot gaps and an insincere jokiness worthy of Sinatra's Rat Pack.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Where the Day Takes You
    Attempting a hard-hitting pic on the grimy realities of Hollywood Boulevard street life, and blessed with a cast bursting with up-and-comer names and a technically adept cameraman, Where the Day Takes You inevitably winds up giving the runaway's life the kind of romantic-tragic scope that appeals to troubled teens.
  19. Bob Roberts
    Both a stimulating social satire and, for thinking people, a depressing commentary on the devolution of the American political system.
  20. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
    Engagingly intriguing throughout most of its slightly overlong running time, and perhaps the strangely mesmerizing mood Lynch has orchestrated for the entire "Twin Peaks" undertaking should not be underestimated at this juncture. But the feeling persists that, to a considerable degree, Lynch is marking time with this project, creating new riffs and variations on themes he had already largely worked out.
    • 35 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Pet Sematary II
    Pet Sematary Two is about 50% better than its predecessor, which is to say it's not very good at all. The latest incarnation relies more on gore than genuine chills and is sorely lacking in subtlety.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Honeymoon in Vegas
    Writer-director Andrew Bergman has a rare talent for intelligently conceived farce, and he has plenty of fun with the premise of "Honeymoon in Vegas," an adult twist on Damon Runyon's "Little Miss Marker." Sarah Jessica Parker is the saucy, sympathetic prize in a poker game between her divorce-detective fiance Nicolas Cage and sharkish Vegas gambler James Caan. The Columbia release is a bit rough around the edges but should make merry at the B.O.
  23. The Living End
    As a portrait of late-millennial nihilism, The Living End rejects the sympathetic bent of every afflicted-by-AIDS portrayal before or since.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Johnny Suede
    One-time cameraman, DiCillo exploits pastel colors to advantage in order to flesh out Johnny's fantasy world. Brad Pitt, fresh from stealing scenes in Thelma & Louise, gives Johnny the right kind of innocent appeal, and the rest of the cast surround him with loving care.
  25. Single White Female
    Despite excellent lead performances and numerous memorable scenes, this still feels like two different movies in one.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Stay Tuned
    Hyams’ lensing and Philip Harrison’s production design are slick, and Peter E. Berger’s editing works hard to simulate the zapping effect of cable remote control, but technical cleverness can’t overcome the deadly lack of intellectual invention on display in this mechanical exercise.
  27. Unforgiven
    Clint Eastwood has crafted a tense, hard-edged, superbly dramatic yarn that is also an exceedingly intelligent meditation on the West, its myths and its heroes.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Raising Cain
    In 1976’s Paul Schrader-scripted Obsession (also featuring Lithgow), DePalma proved he could handle honest sentiment without sending it up. Here he tips the balance toward self-satire.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Death Becomes Her
    Central problem is that this treat for somewhat specialized tastes must be marketed to the widest possible public due to its clearly big-time budget, and general audiences are very unlikely to warm to this wickedly cold-hearted tale of jealousy, spite and revenge despite the abundance of eye-popping effects.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Enchanted April
    A slim comedy of manners about Brits discovering their emotions in sunny Italy, Enchanted April doesn't spring many surprises. Strong cast's reliable playing is undercut by a script that dawdles over well-trod territory
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »