David Rooney, Variety
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For 243 reviews, this critic has graded:
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56% higher than the average critic
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3% same as the average critic
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41% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 4 points higher than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
David Rooney's Scores
- Movies
| Average review score: | 63 |
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| Highest review score: |
Critic Score
100
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| Lowest review score: |
Critic Score
10
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 134 out of 243
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Mixed: 94 out of 243
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Negative: 15 out of 243
243
movie reviews
- By critic score
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David Rooney 70
Despite a series of disclaimers about the treatment of Jews in the 16th century, there's even less disguising onscreen than onstage that this is an uncomfortably anti-Semitic play and somewhat problematic for contempo audiences. -
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David Rooney 70
A big-hearted, exuberant, compassionate film with a wicked sense of humor and terrific songs performed by some preternaturally talented kids. -
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David Rooney 70
The impressive filmmaking craftsmanship and sharp storytelling skills make this two-hour-plus epic fly by. -
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David Rooney 70
Will Ferrell graduates to his first solo leading role with flying colors in Elf, a disarming holiday comedy about a clueless innocent who saves Christmas and fosters a renewed sense of family in his reluctant father. -
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David Rooney 70
Clever but distancing, this existential comedy bounces along on the backs of its tasty cast, witty writing and stylistic verve. -
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David Rooney 70
This sassy if wildly uneven comedy navigates the treacherous high school jungle that separates cool cliques from wannabes, wading through some nasty behavior before delivering its moral message. -
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David Rooney 70
Writer-director Joshua Marston's strikingly confident debut maintains an unblinking focus and sustains an almost unbearable level of tension. -
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David Rooney 70
Tough, cogent and resonantly chilling, this slow-burning drama continues the vein of harsh realism seen in recent Gallic cinema including "La Vie de Jesus" and "More Than Yesterday." -
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David Rooney 70
A witty script and strong performances hoist Metroland beyond the confines of its rather standard, TV-style approach. -
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David Rooney 70
While it's clear where the filmmaker's sympathies lie, the view presented is relatively balanced. -
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David Rooney 70
The brooding, well-constructed drama gets considerable mileage out of the schizoid twin dynamic. -
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David Rooney 70
An ensemble drama laced with lighter moments that depicts the vitality, resilience and moral dilemmas of the people of Tel Aviv, the film is absorbing and at times moving. -
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David Rooney 70
Its honest, unshowy performances and textured depiction of life in a working-class community in a nowhere Southern Illinois town make this modest indie feature an affecting experience. -
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David Rooney 70
The intimately personal chronicle is more impressive for Famiglietti's disarming self-exposure than for any fully formed cinematic style or consistency of tone, but the modest production has a genuine, warm spirit. -
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David Rooney 60
While the director's penchant for extended silences and stagy character positioning make it all seem rather studied, the drama nonetheless is compellingly unsettling. -
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David Rooney 60
Like the symmetrical word that supplies its title, the mordant comedy-drama recovers ground to become a boldly intriguing if not entirely satisfying subversion of American family values. -
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David Rooney 60
This oddball tale of a small-town gangster's troubled girlfriend hovers uncertainly on the edge of an absurdist universe. -
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David Rooney 60
While Second Best is mildly engaging thanks largely to an appealingly self-effacing turn from Joe Pantoliano, writer-director Eric Weber's script could have used an extra polish or two. -
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David Rooney 60
The film goes more and more off-kilter, with its jumble of black comedy and bloodshed and its mild-mannered protagonist embroiled in violent crime making it an unsophisticated foray into Coen brothers territory. -
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David Rooney 60
Starts out bracingly but gradually loses focus. Ecuadorian writer-director Sebastian Cordero's screenplay trades in underdeveloped conflicts and blank characters, hinting far too early at the killer's probable identity. -
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David Rooney 60
Ambling drama shows an exasperating lack of economy and a weakness for diatribe dialogue, but becomes progressively more involving after a laborious start. -
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David Rooney 60
Director Chris Columbus has pasted the grungy "La Boheme" update onto film with slavish respect for the original material but a shortage of stylistic imagination and raw emotions. -
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David Rooney 60
A bigscreen feature executed with a cookie-cutter small-screen sensibility, this often charming but untextured fact-based period piece is buoyed along by the redoubtable Judi Dench. -
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David Rooney 60
While it tips its hat to screwball comedy, Puccini for Beginners owes more to contemporary sitcom. It also has way more in common with "Sex and the City" than "The L Word." None of that is entirely a bad thing in a film that never really soars but has enough breezy humor. -
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David Rooney 60
As an eco-political inquiry, the film is compelling even if its grounding in scientific fact could be more solid. -
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David Rooney 60
While devotees expecting Moretti's wry worldview may feel shortchanged, others will find this a profoundly moving experience, giving it fuel to cross borders into the arthouse niche. -
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David Rooney 60
A flawed and overlong but ultimately affecting account of one man's struggle to regain control of his life. -
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David Rooney 60
Jolie is even hotter, faster and more commanding than last time around as the fearless heiress/adventuress, plus a little more human. The less welcome news is that most of the same shortcomings that cramped the first installment are still dogging the sequel, which delivers on action but dawdles through downtime. -
