Variety's Scores

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For 17,782 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: 9,136 out of 17782
  2. Mixed: 7,010 out of 17782
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17782
17782 movie reviews
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  1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    This odd, epic tale of a man who ages backwards is presented in an impeccable classical manner, every detail tended to with fastidious devotion.
  2. Juno
    An ultra-smart-mouthed comedy about a planned adoption that goes weirdly awry.
  3. Murderball
    A blast and a half -- as entertaining as mainstream American docus get.
  4. Oldboy
    A wild, intensely cinematic ride into two men's burning desire to get even.
  5. Little Miss Sunshine
    Pic's distinguished by a flawless cast, a gentle spirit of rebellion and a smart script by first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt that knows never to push its character quirks too hard.
  6. The Edge of Heaven
    Superbly cast drama, in which the lives and emotional arcs of six people -- four Turks and two Germans -- criss-cross through love and tragedy.
  7. House of Flying Daggers
    The tangled tale of love and disguise is awesome in its action sequences but doesn't touch the heart to the same degree.
  8. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
    Well-shot and edited, Anvil! is an underdog saga even non-metalheads will root for. It tows that fine line between chuckling at its protags' somewhat absurd situation and celebrating their sheer unwillingness to give up.
  9. Away from Her
    What Away From Her achieves is quite admirable-- a low-key, intelligent setting for performances marked by those same qualities.
  10. Casino Royale
    Craig comes closer to the author's original conception of this exceptionally long-lived male fantasy figure than anyone since early Sean Connery.
  11. Gladiator
    John Mathieson's widescreen cinematography is magnificent, and the pacing across 2½ hours is well modulated.
  12. Sugar
    Sympathetic, genial and exceedingly wholesome, it's a film that, once seen, will permanently and favorably influence the way viewers regard the characters' real-life counterparts.
  13. The Host
    On almost every level, there's never quite been a monster movie like The Host. Egregiously subverting its own genre while still delivering shocks at a pure genre level, and marbled with straight-faced character humor that constantly throws the viewer off balance.
  14. The Boys Are Back
    This is polished yet authentically moving.
  15. Ong Bak
    Strongly recalls Hong Kong kung-fu movies of the late '60s and '70s, with physical grit, over-the-top heroics and inventive fight choreography providing the entertainment.
  16. Fear X
    A supremely elegant, meditative thriller.
  17. Machuca
    Richly human in focus, the drama steadily cranks up its political and emotional charge.
  18. Head-On
    Fine, gritty, contempo love story.
  19. Arakimentari
    Offers a fast, efficient and richly satisfying look at an iconoclastic artist and his groundbreaking work.
  20. The Nomi Song
    An absorbing homage to obscure but fascinating late '70s-early '80s German stage artiste Klaus Nomi.
  21. Nabbeun namja
    The most emotionally satisfying pic to date by Korean iconoclast Kim Ki-duk.
  22. Up and Down
    A vibrant, immediate treatise on love and cultural identity in a complex new world of fluid borders and deep suspicions in the stunning new Czech drama Up and Down.
  23. Dear Frankie
    Material that might have turned to standard dysfunctional family treacle in other hands is given stirring poignancy, warmth and emotional insight in Shona Auerbach's assured first feature.
  24. Robots
    It's meant as high praise to say that, very early in Robots, the extraordinary starts to seem perfectly ordinary.
  25. The Upside of Anger
    Increasingly exhibits a desire to amuse and distract rather than go deep, which ultimately generates disappointment in light of its announced intentions.
  26. Don't Move
    In his second outing as a director, top thesp Sergio Castellitto (also playing the surgeon) takes the viewer on an emotion-filled ride and brings a violently masculine perspective to the story. However, it is Penelope Cruz who gives the film's knockout performance.
  27. Melinda and Melinda
    Radha Mitchell stirs memories of complex Allen heroines from Annie Hall on down, even if the action is dispersed via a larger ensemble cast which he currently favors.
  28. Mondovino
    Consistently fascinating material provides an uncommonly eloquent, provocative statement against globalization that's sure to stimulate thinking audiences.
  29. Sin City
    For geeks, action freaks and sensation-seeking teenage boys of all ages, the price of admission will provide a one-way ticket to hard-boiled heaven.
  30. Dust to Glory
    With its exceptional multicamera coverage and dynamic editing, pic provides an amazing ride across the dusty roads and stunningly varied terrain of what could be the world's most demanding vehicle race.
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