Variety's Scores

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For 17,760 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:
  1. Positive: 9,121 out of 17760
  2. Mixed: 7,003 out of 17760
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17760
17760 movie reviews
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  1. Prefontaine
    This first dramatic feature by "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James has one foot still squarely planted in the docu aesthetic and notably lacks any psychological interest or emotional depth.
  2. Albino Alligator
    Spacey makes an honorable and intelligent helming debut with less-than-dazzling material.
  3. Beverly Hills Ninja
    This sweet saga of an underachiever who makes good is surprisingly appealing and sure to broaden the portly comic's fan base.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Metro
    Murphy and the filmmakers clearly want to establish Murphy as an action hero in the mold of Stallone and Van Damme (Carter wrote the Stallone starrer “Tango & Cash” and co-scripted the Van Damme feature “Nowhere to Run”), but they lack the courage of their convictions. Pic is bracketed by scenes of Eddie the funny man, just in case anybody forgets the performer’s roots.
  5. The Relic
    Still, this strikingly proficient production boasts genuinely scary thrills and first-rate visual and creature effects.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ghosts of Mississippi
    Tepid and two-dimensional in the manner of many telepics, this “Ghost” bodes to haunt the vid shelves after a short theatrical life.
  7. The People vs. Larry Flynt
    Vastly entertaining.
  8. Evita
    Director Alan Parker has done a dazzling job creating screen images to accompany the wall-to-wall music, resulting in a musical fresco that is much closer to a sophisticated filmed opera than to any conventional tuner.
  9. Michael
    John Travolta's charismatic screen presence is the only element that propels Michael over its rough narrative spots and scattered direction.
  10. Thieves
    An abrupt change of pace from Wild Reeds, director Andre Techine's Cannes-competing Thieves (Les Voleurs) elevates a seemingly routine police drama into a Rashomon-style exploration of family and amorous ties. Handsomely and meticulously made, the film nonetheless appeals mostly to a rarefied audience.
  11. The Portrait of a Lady
    A literary adaptation of exceeding intelligence, beauty and concentrated artistry, but one that remains emotionally remote and perhaps unavoidably problematic dramatically.
  12. Scream
    Though the material is more intelligent than the norm and has an unusual third-act twist, it also employs some very clunky stereotypes.
  13. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
    Has some genuinely amusing moments of dumb and dumber silliness.
  14. Marvin's Room
    The whole film is laced with shards of humor and irony, which proves helpful, considering the basically downbeat nature of the material.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Bastard Out of Carolina
    The pic is a quality item earmarked for serious auds by its nonexploitative handling of potent material, the strong work of debuting helmer Anjelica Huston and striking perfs from young newcomer Jena Malone, Jennifer Jason Leigh and others.
  16. Jerry Maguire
    An exceptionally tasty contempo comedic romance.
  17. Mars Attacks!
    The picture is lacking in the uproarious humor that might well have ensued from the material, which instead inspires occasional laughs but, much more often, bemused fascination and wonderment at the bizarre imaginations and impressive skill of the filmmakers.
  18. Daylight
    Daylight is a lower-echelon disaster thriller, in which the best character is knocked off early on and the leading man runs out of ideas with a third of the picture still to go. Noisy, technically proficient actioner about a group of people trapped in the Holland Tunnel after an explosion gets off a few decent blasts, but is just too limited in scope, imagination and excitement to burst out as a major B.O. winner domestically.
  19. Sling Blade
    Marked by some powerful scenes, fine performances and colorful dialogue, this talented directorial debut by actor-writer Billy Bob Thornton has its effectiveness diluted by serious overlength and a rather monotonous, unmodulated tone.
  20. 101 Dalmatians
    Where the film misses its biggest bet, however, is in depriving the animals of the voices they had in the animated version.
  21. Star Trek: First Contact
    Having earned his stripes by directing a few TV episodes, Frakes makes an auspicious debut as a feature filmmaker, sustaining excitement and maintaining clarity as he dashes through a two-track storyline.
  22. Jingle All the Way
    Based on an idea similar to the premise of Home Alone, though not nearly as accomplished or entertaining, and produced by that film's director, Chris Columbus, this family comedy-adventure is decidedly not a vintage Schwarzenegger kidpic on the order of Kindergarten Cop.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Ridicule
    Resplendent and intelligent from start to finish, Ridicule strikes a winning balance between humor and heart as it pillories an era in France (the court of Louis XVI, circa 1780) when wit was the most valuable currency and a man's fortune and reputation could be made or undone on the strength of a single remark.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Shine
    An unconventional biopic about a brilliant young pianist.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The English Patient
    A respectable, intelligent but less than stirring adaptation of an imposingly dense and layered novel.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Blue Juice
    Absolutely charming, unabashedly offbeat Blue Juice is a quirky comedy billed as Britain's first surf pic.
  27. Space Jam
    Cute, rambunctious, generally amusing rather than outright funny, this clever mix of live action, highlighted by the unequaled skills of basketball superstar Michael Jordan, and animated Looney Tunes antics will be a must-see for kids.
  28. Breaking the Waves
    Watson is a major find as Bess. Graced with delicate, expressive features, she gives an extraordinary performance.
  29. Ransom
    Although the story is built around the automatically emotional situation of an imperiled kid, scripters Richard Price (who appears briefly as an uncomfortably handcuffed victim of Sinise in the early going) and Alexander Ignon and director Ron Howard largely steer clear of milking the easy melodrama.
  30. The Secret Agent
    A dour study of terrorism, 1880s style, The Secret Agent represents an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's only London-based novel, the fidelity of which to the original text does not yield a terrifically exciting film.
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