Variety's Scores

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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
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  1. The Chameleon
    Like last year's "All Good Things," this fictionalized take on a still unresolved true-crime case of deception and disappearance can't help but intrigue, though the execution falls short of its full potential.
  2. Fading of the Cries
    The connective tissue between its separate segments is so tenuous and unconvincing that "Cries" almost suggests a failed anthology.
  3. Farmageddon
    Racks up damning anecdotal evidence without substantially altering the discussion.
  4. Zookeeper
    Ultimately, it's a marketing pitch in search of a movie that proves punishingly flat.
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
    With its accelerated rhythm, relentless flow of incident and wizard-war endgame, "Part 2" will strike many viewers as a much more exciting, involving picture than the slower, more atmospheric "Part 1."
  6. Horrible Bosses
    The manner in which the central scheme plays out is predictably moronic, vulgar and juvenile, though the parties involved just about make up for it.
  7. Summer of Goliath
    Pereda moves into territory where atmosphere and tone are more important than story or character.
  8. Ironclad
    Ironclad might be the perfect actioner for gorehound fanboys gaga for medieval trappings, but all others may find this British-American-German co-production a bit of a drag.
  9. Rapt
    The issues come clashing together in an explosive package that, despite some snafus, remains fairly riveting to the end.
  10. Septien
    Duly offbeat without ever being very compelling in content or aesthetic.
  11. The Ward
    Fans excited to see John Carpenter back in bigscreen action after nine years' absence will find limited cause for joy in The Ward, a horror opus that briskly -- maybe too briskly -- charts ghostly doings at a nuthouse.
  12. Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness
    Joseph Dorman's intelligent if conventional bio-doc of Sholem Aleichem proves particularly revealing, since the famed, dandyish Yiddish writer led a life as full of colorful ironies as the motormouth schlemiels that populate his stories.
  13. Project Nim
    A provocative and surprisingly emotional saga that ranges from wrenching to downright hilarious as it spans more than a quarter-century of unpredictable twists, "Nim" reaches far beyond mere scientific curiosity to become compelling human drama.
  14. The Ledge
    There's a great deal of on-the-nose talk here about faith, rationality, sin and so forth. But Chapman's sincerity is undercut by the crudely melodramatic explanations of why his principals believe as they do.
  15. Winnie the Pooh
    The desire to stay true to what was lovable and enduring about the originals is palpable throughout, down to the amusing storybook conceit of having the characters interact not only with the narrator (voiced by John Cleese), but also with the letters and punctuation marks on the page.
  16. Another Earth
    Out there, to say the least, but rescued from risibility by its well-matched lead performances and crazy low-budget ambition.
  17. Welcome
    Though the issue of illegal immigration is nothing new in French cinema, Welcome makes auds care deeply for its absorbing characters.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Monte Carlo
    A frothy, innocuous smorgasbord of girlhood wish fulfillment that scores a direct hit with its target demo.
  19. Delhi Belly
    A smartly paced, highly entertaining Bollywood gagfest. No comic masterpiece, perky pic nevertheless boasts likable characters, colorful villains, well-timed gags and Ram Sampath's extremely catchy tunes, all woven into a seamless, escalating whole.
  20. Small Town Murder Songs
    It's a rare film that feels too short, but Small Town Murder Songs leaves one wanting more -- more murder story, mystery and revelations from lead thesp Peter Stormare and virtuoso helmer Ed Gass-Donnelly.
  21. Polytechnique
    A weaker "Elephant," Quebecois director Denis Villeneuve's school-shooting drama Polytechnique nevertheless distinguishes itself by endeavoring to comprehend the 25-year-old man who murdered more than a dozen female students at Montreal's Polytechnique School in 1989.
  22. Larry Crowne
    Movie stars may be less valued than they used to be, but it's still puzzling to see Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts stuck in a romantic comedy as flat-footed and tone deaf as Larry Crowne.
  23. Crime After Crime
    Although helmer Yoav Potash's approach is low-key and only vaguely cinematic, each instance of judicial malfeasance -- and there are many -- is allowed to toll loudly in its own moral echo chamber.
  24. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
    The result may still be a big, bloated spectacle, but it's a big, bloated spectacle you can just about follow.
  25. Terri
    Jacobs' slow-building portrait of a late bloomer makes this poetic picture an outsider even among outsider movies.
  26. The Perfect Host
    Just when the picture seems to be settling into torture porn, it begins pulling a series of clever twists -- although they lose some punch when you realize the script depends on one whopping coincidence.
  27. Beginning of the Great Revival
    A Chinese propaganda film without the heavy dogma and dour treatment that would have been expected a generation ago, Beginning of the Great Revival is a slick and lavish historical epic charting the 1921 formation of the Chinese Communist Party.
  28. A Love Affair of Sorts
    Tedious enough to serve as a cautionary example of the pitfalls of DIY filmmaking.
  29. The Best and the Brightest
    Offering a fitfully funny sitcom plot clumsily stretched to 90 minutes, then goosed with increasingly tiresome doses of smuttiness and political incorrectness, The Best and the Brightest is neither.
  30. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
    The biggest laughs and most intriguing revelations are provided offstage in this slickly produced documentary, as O'Brien -- often pushing himself to the point of exhaustion before, during and after performances -- plays for keeps while playing for laughs.
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