Variety's Scores

For 17,765 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 2.3 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:
17765 movie reviews
  1. The star in this case is Martin Lawrence, who is not only thoroughly upstaged by nemesis Danny DeVito but is completely boxed out of his comfort zone for broad physical comedy.
  2. While the slender idea feels stretched at feature length and fails to brings its themes of societal chaos together in a fully cohesive way, the film is fresh and lively enough to score further festival bookings, particularly at events devoted to new talent.
  3. Sally Potter, who leapt to critical attention with her 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" -- makes a serious misstep with The Man Who Cried.
  4. Takes the simplest of stories and weaves a seductive, extremely moving portrait of a young woman’s unshakable love.
  5. Just compare their superficiality to the complex characters in "From Here to Eternity" and what's missing here becomes terribly clear.
  6. Boasts engaging characters, inventive situations and a series of satisfying punchlines that will send viewers out with a smile.
  7. Technically raw, and amusing only in hit-and-miss fashion, the no-budget independent production recalls too many other entries about erudite young adults wrestling with questions of love and sex.
  8. Darts back and forth from being a psychological thriller to a vaguely metaphysical drama to a fate-driven romance -- it all becomes a blur.
  9. A tour de force of artifice, a dazzling pastiche of musical and visual elements at the service of a blatantly artificial story.
  10. This spirited and often very funny lark accomplishes something that most films in the bygone Hollywood studio era used to do but is remarkably rare in today's world of niche markets: It offers entertainment equally to viewers from 4 to 104.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Co-director Nicolas Roeg’s lensing is tricky, the characters gamey, the dialog dull, performances flat, impact none.
  11. When Sordid Lives does what it does best -- showing Southern gals in the full flight of rabid self-denial -- it's as screamingly funny as this subgenre can get.
  12. Topical film, which goes beyond its potentially dry diet of facts to incorporate the juicy human drama of Machiavellian manipulations, ambition, torn loyalties and crushing betrayal.
  13. Simultaneously gritty and cerebral.
    • 27 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Bland animated musical offers little to charm adults with fond memories of the book, and even tykes are likely to become bored by the halfway point.
  14. Its politics and dramatic line are familiar and far from convincing.
  15. Traditionalists and older viewers in general will scoff, while pop culture addicts will no doubt go with the flow.
  16. Unlike "Four Weddings," which ultimately was moralistic and conservative in its message --—About Adam is a frolic free of any judgments, and marked by Stembridge's sparkling wit.
  17. A memorable portrait of an unbearable personality.
  18. Fails to stir the emotions despite its heavily melodramatic drive.
  19. An exquisite reflection on personal bereavement.
  20. Builds steadily through a series of masterfully orchestrated modulations to a final act without shattering revelations or lofty dramatic peaks but with a quiet, formidable power.
  21. An almost plotless effort that features charismatic stars and plentiful scenes of finely choreographed mayhem.
  22. Virtually bursts with visual goodies, and writer-director Stephen Sommers scarcely allows the actors, or the audience, a moment to take a breath during the nonstop action of the final hour.
  23. A disappointingly mild re-creation of true events.
  24. In its overwhelmingly artificial depiction of the street gangs that ruled Brooklyn's mean streets in the 1950s, Deuces Wild draws from a phony deck.
  25. An ultimately moving drama about a displaced people. But its emotional kick is muffled by long-windedness, sentimental overkill and an overpopulated character gallery.
  26. Chalk it up as a middling B-pic that, with a bit more wit and style, could have been at least a cult item.
  27. Feels like a film from several years ago, one of the many made in the wake of "Pulp Fiction" that tried and failed to be as clever as its progenitor.
  28. Director Renny Harlin has unfortunately adopted a let's-try-anything attitude that translates into a chaotic and unattractive visual style.

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