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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    • 80 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Dead Man Walking
    An intimate chamber piece for two, superbly acted by Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, this is a mature, well-crafted movie.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Richard III
    Spirited acting, machine-gun pacing and ominous Art Deco settings combine to rousing effect in this Richard III, a sure-fire crowd-pleaser among recent Shakespeare movies.
  3. Grumpier Old Men
    Grumpier is a welcome continuation that leaves you wanting for another chapter that's as rich in humanity and fun as the initial companion pieces.
  4. Cutthroat Island
    What seemed like a dubious proposition on paper plays even more dubiously onscreen, as Cutthroat Island strenuously but vainly attempts to revive the thrills of old-fashioned pirate pictures. Giving most of the swashbuckling opportunities to star Geena Davis, pic does little with its reversal of gender expectations and features a seriously mismatched romantic duo in Davis and Matthew Modine.
  5. Shanghai Triad
    Triad oozes a confidence that carries the viewer almost without pause to its shocking climax and ironic close.
  6. Heat
    Stunningly made and incisively acted by a large and terrific cast, Michael Mann's ambitious study of the relativity of good and evil stands apart from other films of its type by virtue of its extraordinarily rich characterizations and its thoughtful, deeply melancholy take on modern life.
  7. Jumanji
    The screenplay, however, denies the film a solid foundation. Jumanji is diverting in a splashy , eye-catching manner, but is about as substantive and durable as filigree.
  8. Cry, the Beloved Country
    A richly realized piece of Masterpiece Literature, director Darrell James Roodt's Cry, the Beloved Country has an admirable high polish. But more effort could have been made to address its underlying message and provide an emotional punch to equal the book's resonance.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The City of Lost Children
    A vibrant, bubbling cauldron of breathtaking f/x, gross-out humor and in-your-face imagery.
  10. Sabrina
    This new "Sabrina" is more fizzle than fizz. Although the revamping of one of Audrey Hepburn's most enchanting vehicles has its share of diverting scenes and dialogue, Sydney Pollack and his writers have uncomfortably tilted this Cinderella story to less than scintillating results.
  11. Sense and Sensibility
    Crucially for such an elaborately dressed production, the characters all come thoroughly alive with their ready wits and pulsing emotions, overcoming the two-century gap with seeming effortlessness.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Georgia
    Performed to maximum effect by a host of top-flight actors, Ulu Grosbard's strong character study is knit together by a tense subtext that underlies even the calmest moments.
  13. Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
    Tartly written and vividly performed by a fine ensemble cast, Gary Fleder's bracingly entertaining first feature covers familiar ground in a fresh, breezy way.
  14. Wild Bill
    Overall, the filmmakers’ take on the subject is highly esoteric and fails to suggest either why Wild Bill has remained such a famous figure, or the irony in the fact that he has done so.
  15. Toy Story
    The very good news is that, in addition to stylistic innovation, the film sports a provocative and appealing story that's every bit the equal of this technical achievement.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Casino
    Possesses a stylistic boldness and verisimilitude that is virtually matchless.
  17. The American President
    Genial middle-brow fare that coasts a long way on the charm of its two stars
  18. GoldenEye
    Most crucially, Brosnan makes the grade as 007. He handles the action capably and gets the standard quips out in a commendably straightforward way that's wry but not dismissive.
  19. It Takes Two
    Quite simply, It Takes Two is just too cute for words.
  20. The Crossing Guard
    Much of the film plays awkwardly, its tone veering undecidedly between volatile drama and contemplative psychological study.
  21. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
    It's a death-defying hodgepodge anchored by the complete confidence of star Carrey.
  22. Mighty Aphrodite
    A zippy, frothy confection that emerges as agreeable middle-range Woody.
  23. Home for the Holidays
    But Foster is unable to give the episodic, fragmented film a coherent feel; her prosaic, sometimes irritating picture proceeds scene by scene, with the requisite climaxes and anticlimaxes along the bumpy road.
    • 13 Metascore
    • 10 Critic Score
    Fair Game
    Fair Game is otherwise notable only for its jaw-dropping stupidity, the sort of action yarn that hopes nonstop mayhem will help cloud just how nonsensical it is.
  25. Total Eclipse
    A good biographical film about artists should, at the very least, inspire the viewer to learn more about its subjects and the work they created. Total Eclipse has totally the opposite effect, of making one never want to hear about its protagonists again. This misbegotten look at the mutually destructive relationship between the 19th century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaineis a complete botch in all respects.
  26. Leaving Las Vegas
    The film pulls no punches, takes no prisoners and flies in the face of feel-good pictures.
  27. Copycat
    Ending is on the conventional side, more so than anything else in the picture , but script by Ann Biderman and David Madsen keeps the tart surprises coming throughout most of the picture with only occasional lapses into red herrings and artificial manipulation.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Doom Generation
    A nihilistic comedy about a trio of alienated youngsters, pic is bold not only in its art design, but also in its narrative and tone, a mixture of satire and horror with heavy dosage of steamy sex and macabre violence.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Get Shorty
    Good, sly fun.
  30. Mallrats
    While admittedly ragged and ribald, it's a picture with an innate charm and honesty that should win over audiences.
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