New York Observer's Scores

  • Movies
For 365 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 48% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 6.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 55
Highest review score:
Critic Score 100
Lowest review score:
Critic Score 0
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 96 out of 365
365 movie reviews
    • Metascore: 64
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    A flawless film of heartrending realism about the eternal chord that binds parents and children and the emptiness when they are separated.
    • Metascore: 56
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Everything works miraculously here, making Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky one of the most bountiful experiences of the year.
    • Metascore: 79
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    I Am Love fuses the past with the changing future in a marvelous traditional narrative without a shred of the sloppy trends of contemporary filmmaking.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Resonating with warmth and sardonic wit and containing a majestic performance by Robert Duvall.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    This first-cabin director returns to top form, with this revelatory film his best in years. More than that, Mao's Last Dancer is a masterpiece.
    • Metascore: 82
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    For a story about a man who cannot move, the ordeal unfolds at a pace that keeps you breathless.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 100
    Made in Dagenham is a retro romp with heart, smarts, soul and wit that will restore your faith in the power of the picket line.
    • Metascore: 88
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    As the actor of the year in the film of the year, I can't think of enough adjectives to praise Firth properly. The King's Speech has left me speechless.
    • Metascore: 82
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    A true masterpiece of visual enchantment. One of the most original and unique geniuses in cinema today, Mr. Chomet directed, wrote, illustrated and composed the music for this holiday jewel, an homage to the sweet, sad melancholia of the legendary French comic Jacques Tati.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Blue Valentine is about real life, warts and all, over narrative conventions like action and plot mechanics. It is brutal, compassionate, beautiful in its ugliness and one of the bravest films of the year.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    No matter where your political leanings lie, the great thing about The Conspirator is that Mr. Redford is wise enough to let the audience decide what the parallels are. See it, enjoy a ripping good yarn and learn something.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    In a film so ripe with temptations for posturing, exaggeration and satirical overacting, nobody is anything less than natural, unpretentious and funny as hell.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    A grisly, authentic, meticulously researched, pulse-quickening political chiller about a hot-button topic that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    What an extraordinary thrill to leave a movie exhilarated instead of drained, sated instead of empty, rejuvenated instead of depressed. It's a magical experience.
    • Metascore: 89
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Get ready for a smash hit. Gimmicky but delicious, this is a valentine to the movies I promise you will cherish.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    War Horse is a don't-miss Spielberg classic that reaches true perfection.
    • Metascore: 87
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Wake in Fright is the closest a movie can get to a primal scream.
    • Metascore: 86
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Argo is a triumph. It has tension, sincerity, mystery, artistic responsibility, entertainment value, technical expertise, a narrative arc and a thrilling respect for the tradition of how to tell a story with minimum frills and maximum impact. It's a great footnote to history, one of the best films of 2012 and a sure-fire contender on Oscar night.
    • Metascore: 79
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    The Sessions is fascinating, informative, engaging and heartbreaking stuff. Its easygoing, matter-of-fact tone makes it subtle and rewarding, not weird. Roses all around to all and sundry for one of the year's most captivating films.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    This is one of the best movies of 2012. With rich performances, a riveting and articulate screenplay, meticulous direction and enough grounded emotional intensity to keep your pulse pounding, Hitchcock grabs you by the lapels like a suspense classic by Hitch himself - a knockout from start to finish.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    In beauty, tone, technical achievement and cinematic artistry on every level, Hyde Park on Hudson is a movie unto itself - funny, believable, historic and hugely entertaining.
    • Metascore: 73
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Put a staggering accomplishment called The Impossible, from Spanish director J. A. Bayona, at the top of the season's must-see list.
    • Metascore: 94
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Don't let Amour join the legion of "Best Films You Never Saw." I urge you to share its sweetness and wisdom, and learn something.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Exactly what you might expect from the fearless, controversial director of "Pulp Fiction" - it's overlong, raunchy, shocking, grim, exaggerated, self-indulgently over-the-top and so politically incorrect it demands a new definition of the term. It is also bold, original, mesmerizing, stylish and one hell of a piece of entertainment.
    • Metascore: 76
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    It’s a remarkable accomplishment.
    • Metascore: 68
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    I think you’ll find it as fresh, original and breathlessly exciting as I did.
    • Metascore: 57
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    It’s only April, but this is one of the best films of 2013.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Reviewed by
      Rex Reed
      100
    Acutely observed, subtly but sharply written and expertly acted.
  1. Every complex member of the writer’s legacy has an agenda, with varying gains and losses, and the power of the film rests in the way it captures so many tangled lives as they cross and intersect at curious angles. The camera is literal, so the film sometimes fails to escape its roots of literary inspiration. This did not bother me. How many times do you get the chance to curl up with a good movie?
  2. Among the most gripping, well-paced, acted and directed, and generally thrilling of anything that I've seen (yet) this year.