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 5.3 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. The King and I
    Director Walter Lang does almost nothing to cinematize the show, but that's all right; King and I works fine as an act of theatrical preservation, and at some strange level the story, even with its abrupt ending, still has power. [27 Feb 1992, p.D7]
    • Washington Post
  2. Wes Craven's New Nightmare
    Happily, Craven knows just how to play off expectations and twist things past predictability.
  3. Starting Over
    There's no doubt about Burt Reynolds' skill. Starting Over finds Reynolds at a level of proficiency that approaches the awesome. [05 Oct 1979, p.B1]
    • Washington Post
  4. Trees Lounge
    The movie is bracing, bleak and funny, assuming you can appreciate the comedy in a story full of lowlifes, lushes and losers.
  5. Hooper
    His witty, endearing performance in the title role of Hal Needham's terrific new pick-me-up, Hooper, a rousing and sweet-tempered sentimental comedy about the professional vicissitudes and fellowship of movie stuntmen, should finally secure Reynolds a preeminent position in the affections of contemporary moviegoers.
  6. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
    You're going out with a touch of class: a slam-bang finale in 3-D -- make that Freddyvision; a gaggle of one-liners directed at the final crop of victims and a few in-jokes; some wonderfully bizarre dream sequences; and the possibility that while Freddy may be gone, some of his progeny may live on (we can say no more).
  7. Grease 2
    "Grease 2" is the most serendipitous sequel in recent memory. It is an ingratiating, jubilant improvement on a crummy original.
  8. The Turning Point
    The most attractive and persuasive movie about ballet performers ever created for a mass audience.
  9. Dave
    A case of art imitating the electorate, it's a comedy that rides in on Clinton's coattails, bringing with it a landslide of laughs.
  10. Personal Best
    Ironically, Personal Best emerges as one of the few sexually provocative movies that also manages to keep sexuality in a sane perspective...Personal Best is amusing and endearing because it represents a genuine expression of fondness for girl jocks. [26 March 1982, p.C1]
    • Washington Post
  11. Bat*21
    With both left and right wings flapping, it is a dandy thriller for political moderates... It's smart, but not too smart, like a Chuck Norris movie if Chuck got a PhD.
  12. Heaven Help Us
    This ensemble comedy, with its fine cast and clever writing, has more mass appeal than the conventional coming-of-age caper. The plot, though scattered, is tried and runs true. [8 Feb 1985, p.23]
    • Washington Post
  13. Enemy Mine
    If you are a science-fiction fan (and I am), Enemy Mine is a fun diversion, maintaining a precarious balance between laughable and melodramatic. But you do get the feeling they had hoped for an earth-shaking metaphor. [27 Dec 1985, p.21]
    • Washington Post
  14. True Confessions
    Whatever is wrong with the plot, there's nothing wrong with the dialogue. With the Dunne-Didion lines and the acting of Robert DeNiro (the priest) and Robert Duvall (the detective), the lack of a cohesive story doesn't seem terribly important. It's the contrast between the brothers that's the point. [9 Oct 1981, p.21]
    • Washington Post
  15. Heart Like a Wheel
    One of the best little slice-of-contemporary-Americana pictures to emerge from Hollywood in recent years. [01 July 1984, p.F1]
    • Washington Post
  16. American Pop
    The occasional use of real people on old film is jarring. But cumulatively, the effect is the strength of American pop to convey American mythology. [6 March 1981, p.15]
    • Washington Post
  17. Cutter's Way
    While you don't come out of this movie feeling pleased, you may come out feeling mysteriously affected, muttering to yourself, "This one is on to something . . ." [19 Nov 1981, p.C15]
    • Washington Post
  18. The Star Chamber
    Yaphet Kotto, as L.A.P.D. Detective Harry Lowes, and Larry Hankin, as his partner, pull the bench out from under the rest of the players. Show-stealing is their only crime -- they add the necessary guts and good humor to bring the Star Chamber down to earth. [5 Aug 1983, p.17]
    • Washington Post
  19. Project X
    The suspense drama is based on real-life military monkey tests, and it's as unabashedly political as "Silkwood" and unashamedly sentimental as "Lassie Come Home." Yet it remains taut and resists the temptation to paint the villains too broadly.
  20. Atlantic City
    It is a fine picture, sweet and pathetic, witty and tender. [17 Apr 1981, p.19]
    • Washington Post
  21. Local Hero
    Local Hero is as gentle as Capra corn and as magical as the Misty Isles. An insightful, international commentary -- badly named, but beautifully drawn -- takes us roaming in the gloaming and questing among stars. [01 Apr 1983, p.19]
    • Washington Post
  22. Beaches
    Whatever its failings, Beaches speaks to women. It makes girlfriends think of calling girlfriends they haven't seen in 10, 20, 30 years. You can live without love, but "you've got to have friends," as Midler sings.
  23. Bright Lights, Big City
    Director James Bridges (a last-minute replacement for Joyce Chopra) infuses this Manhattan drug-recovery tale with an appropriate rush of humor, pounding dance-club music and breakneck momentum.
  24. Bad Education
    Such stories of quiet malfeasance never get old. No matter how lovely and admired the neighborhood lawns may be, the idea that there’s a snake or two in the grass hasn’t lost its narrative potency — even now, in an era of constant, top-down deceit.
  25. The Killer
    Watching John Woo's The Killer may be like eating popcorn, but it's not just any old brand; it's escape-velocity popcorn, popcorn with a slurp of rocket fuel. Its story is a collision of exuberant pulp, samurai mythology and modern, urban noir.
  26. Ladyhawke
    A happy, scenic, sumptuous film. [12 Apr 1995, p.25]
    • Washington Post
  27. Hamburger Hill
    Had the filmmakers resisted the temptation to politicize their material they might have made a great war movie. They might also have thought to give us some indication of the strategic significance of the hill. As it is, they've managed to create a deeply affecting, highly accomplished film.
  28. The Professionals
    Written and directed by Richard Brooks, the picture is more style than content, but what style.
    • Washington Post
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bunny Lake Is Missing
    Working in crisp black-and-white, director Preminger, screenwriters John and Penelope Mortimer (adapting Evelyn Piper's novel) and cinematographer Denys Coop do an excellent job of externalizing Anna's heightened neuroses. [10 Feb 2005, p.M24]
    • Washington Post
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tom Jones
    Much of the rollicking and wenching in the countryside of 18th-century England is crafted into the story line, giving ample humor to many scenes even before a line is spoken. [08 Mar 1992, p.Y6]
    • Washington Post
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