Washington Post's Scores

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For 11,478 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 46% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 52% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 5.2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 60
Highest review score: 100 Oppenheimer
Lowest review score: 0 Dolittle
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6,014 out of 11478
  2. Mixed: 3,069 out of 11478
  3. Negative: 2,395 out of 11478
11478 movie reviews
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  1. American Hustle
    The warmth that courses through American Hustle makes it irresistible, with Russell’s affection for his characters and his sharp-eyed evocation of their recessionary times, honoring their struggle, however dishonest, rather than denigrating it.
  2. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
    Star Wars had all the right stuff, and unlike its confounding progenitor, "2001: A Space Odyssey," it was fairy-tale simple: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," good met evil. [Special Edition]
  3. Persepolis
    The movie, while no fun, faces hard truths and asks hard questions.
  4. The Age of Innocence
    Though lovely to behold, this film isn't meant to send you home with a song in your heart.
  5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    Neither wholly cynical nor wholly romantic, Kaufman's story is a balance of smarts and sentiment. It's the most fully realized working out of his two favorite obsessions: the subjective nature of experience and the psychological mysteries of pair bonding.
  6. The Best of Youth
    Works as both historical allegory and moving family drama.
  7. The Overnighters
    The Overnighters is commendable for many reasons, not the least of which is the way it allows complex issues to remain complex.
  8. Whiplash
    The dynamic between Fletcher and Andrew makes for highly pitched drama, which strains for credibility during two climactic scenes.
  9. The Lives of Others
    To watch "Lives" is not just to enjoy a fabulously constructed timepiece; it's to appreciate a deft cautionary tale.
  10. House of Flying Daggers
    The sheer joy of letting go as a tale overwhelms your senses and drives the known world away -- that's the story.
  11. 63 Up
    Binge-watching the first eight installments before you settle into this one isn’t strictly necessary, but I wouldn’t discourage it, either. They’re that good.
  12. Searching for Bobby Fischer
    A wonderfully acted, heartwarming family film, it suffers from a goopy score, but not in the least from its potentially stalemated subject matter. Zaillian can make a chess tournament look like the Threepeat.
  13. Two Days, One Night
    As a parable on karma, capitalism and Darwinian corporate politics, Two Days, One Night can often feel brutal. As a testament to connection, service, sacrifice and self-worth, it’s a soaring, heart-rending hymn.
  14. Killers of the Flower Moon
    There’s no doubt that Killers of the Flower Moon reflects a shift in energy that is defensible — even necessary — from an ethical point of view. Narratively, that pivot results in a film that, it must be said, feels leeched of the energy and vigor viewers associate with Scorsese at his most exhilarating.
  15. National Gallery
    National Gallery could have used a few more edits; its long run time may limit its appeal. But the film is remarkably engaging and, with close looks at so many important pieces of art, bursting with beauty.
  16. Man on Wire
    Thanks to Marsh's sensitive storytelling, Man on Wire manages to put Petit's performance into another, more ineffable realm: What began as a caper turned into poetry, and poetry became a prayer.
  17. Y Tu Mamá También
    There are so many good things to say about this film it's hard to find a statement that really nails it. Perhaps we can leave at this: Y Tu Mama Tambien is originality writ large.
  18. For Sama
    For Sama is a before-and-after portrait, both literally and figuratively. What begins as a brash, bold, giddily optimistic love story devolves into something far darker, as viewers begin to question why al-Khateab is willing to endanger her child in the name of doomed principles.
  19. The Hidden Fortress
    Perhaps the most satisfying and endearing aspect of The Hidden Fortress at this juncture of movie history is that it so persuasively lends meaning to a high adventure format, using the stimulation to enhance ideals of individual valor and group solidarity.
  20. Elle
    Elle would be too clever by half — not to mention fatally offensive — were it not for Huppert, who in her portrayal of Michèle owns the movie from its opening moments to its bizarre, but not entirely surprising, denouement.
  21. Still Walking
    One of the more accomplished and beautiful films released thus far this year.
  22. Thelma & Louise
    It spins its wheels in a giddy sort of way, then puts the pedal to the mettle, lays rubber and fairly takes wing.
  23. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
    The result is a perfect combination of slapstick and satire, a Platonic ideal of high-and lowbrow that manages to appeal to our basest common denominators while brilliantly skewering racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and that peculiarly American affliction: we're-number-one-ism.
  24. Minari
    It’s a good movie, executed with affectionate humor, wistful honesty and tender care.
  25. The Farewell
    The Farewell pays delightful, insightful homage to the facades and pretenses nearly everyone adopts in the name of compassion.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 88 Critic Score
    Marty Supreme
    None of this would work were it not for the swaggering, high-wire performance of Chalamet.
  27. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
    A gorgeous, magical and melancholy fantasia about the joy and pain of human existence.
  28. Great Freedom
    Gradually, a story of bittersweet beauty and unexpected tenderness emerges.
  29. No End in Sight
    Ferguson builds a compelling case of bad judgment, error, stubbornness and arrogance.
  30. The Madness of King George
    Riotous adaptation of Alan Bennett's comedy about monarchal frailty.
  31. Phoenix
    Hoss’s breathtaking portrayal, especially in the film’s final minutes, makes it clear why director Christian Petzold has made a habit of working with her.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Magellan
    At 160 minutes, “Magellan” is one of the shortest and most accessible of Diaz’s films, which for the past decade have tended to fall between four and eight hours...But the scale of the film remains resolutely epic, in part because Diaz is patient and in part because he’s insistent on telling this story of conquest and domination on his terms.
  33. Goodbye Solo
    Goodbye Solo is visually simple and stunning, especially the haunting nightscapes of Solo's perambulations. But more important, Goodbye Solo is driven by deep feeling and sensitivity. Don't miss it.
  34. Gunda
    Surprisingly, it isn’t heavy-handed, moralizing, polemical or sentimental. And you can enjoy the film without knowing any of that.
  35. The Power of the Dog
    Once again demonstrating her own strong, clear vision — not to mention superb control of her craft — Campion proves her ability to illuminate hidden truths and let us see what was hiding in plain sight all along.
  36. Columbus
    The drama is a realistic and methodical meditation on family obligation, personal sacrifice and — of course — the power of architecture. That makes Columbus as lovely to look at as it is to ponder.
  37. The Artist
    The Artist is anything but mute, with a lush orchestral score and a little sonic wink at the the end; fewer movies this year reward listening - and watching - so lavishly.
  38. The Piano
    The Piano is dark, sublime music, and after it's over, you won't be able to get it out of your head.
  39. Cameraperson
    In a mesmerizing series of images, encounters and delicate juxtapositions, Cameraperson testifies to a world in which it would be clear to see that we’re all connected, if only we took the time to look at one another with reverence and simply listen.
  40. Dick Johnson Is Dead
    Plenty of movies are wish-fulfillment fantasies, but Kirsten Johnson has created a first: a dread-fulfillment fantasy that brims with love, humor and, of all things, life.
  41. Quai des Orfèvres [re-release]
    It is in fact a traditional mystery more reminiscent of Agatha Christie than the reigning film noir aesthetic of 1947. But it's fabulously entertaining.
  42. High Noon
    A terrific piece of filmmaking. It's taut, believable as it unspools. It's charismatic, with a slow buildup of tension in near-real time that finally explodes into a blast of violence.
  43. The Quiet Girl
    The Quiet Girl is that rare thing: a work of storytelling that speaks most loudly when it is saying nothing.
  44. Letters from Iwo Jima
    In the last half-hour, the story, like the Japanese, loses its way; lacking any clear-cut goals except survival, the film becomes repetitive. Letters From Iwo Jima is a necessary movie; too bad it's not a great movie.
  45. Anomalisa
    Whether or not Kaufman’s meticulously accumulated details add up to a grand unified conclusion, there’s no doubt he’s getting at something painfully familiar beneath his movie’s self-conscious artifice.
  46. I'm Going Home
    Viewers who come to this delicate creation with expectations of just another quaint or sad story are in for a surprise.
  47. Three Minutes: A Lengthening
    Three Minutes: A Lengthening unspools like a not-so-minor miracle. It’s a work of poetry, power and ruminative grace.
  48. The Lion King
    Shakespearean in tone, epic in scope, it seems more appropriate for grown-ups than for kids. If truth be told, even for adults it is downright strange.
  49. Crime + Punishment
    For the most part, the film balances its outrage with objectivity.
  50. Paddington 2
    A charmer from its first action-packed frames to its over-the-top jailhouse-musical scene during the end credits.
  51. The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid is only passable. Even at its highest points, it cannot claim a place next to even the least of the great Disney classics.
  52. City Hall
    With City Hall, Wiseman brings his quiet observational skills to the day-to-day operations of local government, which is why the film is so well-timed for this particular moment.
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