Not everybody is going to love every movie that receives an Oscar nomination. And not everybody is going to hate movies that receive no recognition whatsoever. That's why we have Rotten Tomatoes. Below, I've included negative and positive reviews (plus Rotten Tomatoes scores and my personal grades) for every movie nominated for an Oscar, minus the short films, because I couldn't find many reviews for those.
The Adventures of Tintin
Thumbs Up: "[Spielberg] has used the form itself like a brand-new tool in his filmmaking kit, and the effect is exhilarating." -- Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Thumbs Down: "Spielberg's first animated film is hampered by a fan-pandering script, and is dragged down by a boring hero who would have been better served remaining on the page." -- Tom Clift, Cut Print Review
RT Score: 74%
My Grade: B-
Nod(s): Original Score
Albert Nobbs
Thumbs Up: "That the film manages to be touching without being maudlin, and to be smart without being mean-spirited, is perhaps what really seals the deal." -- Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress
Thumbs Down: "Nobbs is so closed-off, so understated, that we're never given a chance to empathize with or understand him ... The movie is as unrealized and unexpressed as its protagonist." -- Jeff Meyers, Metro Times
RT Score: 53%
My Grade: B-
Nod(s): Actress, Supporting Actress, Makeup
Anonymous
Thumbs Up: "I felt absolutely drawn along in this film. I had a really boisterous, Elizabethan good time." -- Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies
Thumbs Down: "All in all the dreary script creates a glass ceiling that the film could never bust through, more laugh-inducing than controversy-inspiring." -- Grae Drake, Movies.com
RT Score: 47%
My Grade: D+
Nod(s): Costume Design
The Artist
Thumbs Up: "It's easy to be captivated by this unique, universal piece that above all makes us care for its characters as we journey through a maze of emotions." -- Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
Thumbs Down: "Ignores everything that's fascinating and memorable about the silent-film era, focusing instead on a patchwork of general knowledge, so eroded of inconvenient facts that it doesn't even qualify as a roman à clef." -- Jaime N. Christley, Slant Magazine
RT Score: 97%
My Grade: A
Nod(s): Actor, Supporting Actress, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Editing, Original Score, Picture, Original Screenplay
Beginners
Thumbs Up: "A quietly moving, delicately mounted romantic drama that touches the heart with resorting to melodrama or an over-reliance on conflict." -- Jim Schembri, The Age
Thumbs Down: "All the gimmicks in the storytelling ... can't camouflage the fact that the story itself was never quite worked out." -- Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
RT Score: 84%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Supporting Actor
A Better Life
Thumbs Up: "A movingly simple and simply moving father-son drama set in downtown LA, refreshingly free of pretentious narrative pyrotechnics. Have a hankie up your sleeve and hang your cynicism up at the door." -- Film4
Thumbs Down: "I had the feeling I was supposed to marvel at the authenticity with which Weitz constructs his mawkish Bicycle Thieves update, but instead I kept noticing how utterly one-dimensional all the characters are." -- Norman Wilner, NOW Toronto
RT Score: 95%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Actor
Bridesmaids
Thumbs Up: "There is real depth to the characterizations and friendships. It is so funny because it is all so painfully real." -- Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express
Thumbs Down: "Cringe-inducing, uneven, juvenile, overlong and painfully unfunny. It's a witless blend of crudeness, rudeness and lewdness which sets a new low for American comedy." -- Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
RT Score: 90%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay
Bullhead
Thumbs Up: "Part of the response comes from the excitement of discovery: an unknown writer-director making his feature debut, and creating a gritty crime story (with strong emotional currents) set against an unlikely backdrop." -- Leonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Picks
Thumbs Down: "Bullhead proves that you can make an underworld movie pumped up with pretension." -- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
RT Score: 81%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Foreign Film
A Cat in Paris
Thumbs Up: "A Cat in Paris is animation, yes, but the story, its many threads and mature theme is aimed squarely at the adult and older teen audience that can appreciate a stirring drama in anime form." -- Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Thumbs Down: "A Cat in Paris is easy enough on the eyes yet never quite justifies feature-length status." -- Jordan Mintzer, Variety
RT Score: 86%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Animated Feature Film
Chico & Rita
Thumbs Up: "Remarkably sexy for its genre (it's not for kids at all), it's nostalgic about a time and place that rarely gets treated on film ("Godfather II" touched on it), and it has an emotional pull that may catch you by surprise." -- John Hartl, Seattle Times
Thumbs Down: "There's an outline of an epic love story here, but the screenwriters never bother to fill it in all the way." -- Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
RT Score: 94%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Animated Feature Film
The Descendants
Thumbs Up: "A non-preachy exploration of the depth, width and complexity of life, love and relationships, and this great gift we call humanity." -- Gary Wolcott, Tri-City Herald
Thumbs Down: "Hawaii's lush and luminous landscape is well appreciated, but it does nothing to mask the maddeningly irrational plot-points Payne expects us to swallow in the name of an alleged skewering social commentary." -- Jordan Hiller, bangitout.com
RT Score: 89%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Actor, Directing, Editing, Picture, Adapted Screenplay
Drive
Thumbs Up: "Buckle up for the existential bloodbath of Drive, a brilliant piece of business that races on a B-movie track until it switches to the dizzying fuel of undiluted creativity." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Thumbs Down: "An artsy, self-conscious, existentialist stillness reigns - or, more accurately, tedium. Hyper-stylish, it idles in, then stalls out." -- Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate
RT Score: 93%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Sound Editing
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Thumbs Up: "This movie hasn't been in the conversation of the best films of the year, but it deserves to be. It's a viscerally enthralling story about a singular boy trying to find his place in the world when his only anchor is ripped away." -- Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Thumbs Down: "The situation is wrenching in too many ways at once. You sit there, first cringing, then fighting back, out of primitive self-respect." -- David Sexton, This is London
RT Score: 46%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Supporting Actor, Picture
Footnote
Thumbs Up: "Joseph Cedar's Footnote is a wry, wise little film that revels in the cataclysmic import of a life's most ostensibly trivial details." -- David Ehrlich, Boxoffice Magazine
Thumbs Down: "Joseph Cedar's Footnote is a sour, rather unpleasant affair that hinges on acts of Jews behaving badly." -- Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
RT Score: 89%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Foreign Film
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Thumbs Up: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" will leave its mark on you. Dark, brutal and intriguing, this version is as troubling and memorable as its Swedish counterpart. Its disturbing tone begins in the opening credits and continues to the last frame." -- Linda Cook, KWQC-TV
Thumbs Down: "This studio version is, oddly enough, far less commercial and only about a quarter as lushly mysterious as the superior overseas original." -- Dustin Putnam, DustinPutnam.com
RT Score: 87%
My Grade: A
Nod(s): Actress, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Mixing & Editing
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II
Thumbs Up: "...a brilliant finish to the series, an action-packed finale with elements of darkness and beautifully integrated moments of humor and heroism." -- Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly
Thumbs Down: "There's visual overstatement, stone-heavy exposition, self-seriousness (masquerading as maturity), CGI-laden plot (falling short of spectacle), and predictable action sequences." -- Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly
RT Score: 96%
My Grade: A
Nod(s): Art Direction, Makeup, Visual Effects
Hell and Back Again
Thumbs Up: "Dennis's film attempts something few documentaries have: to inhabit the psyche of its subject." -- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Thumbs Down: None!
RT Score: 100%!
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Documentary Feature
The Help
Thumbs Up: "Part conscience-searing history lesson, part shamelessly manipulative melodrama, Tate Taylor's adaptation sinks its teeth in early and never lets go ... Do I hear Oscar calling?" -- Glen Lovell, CinemaDope
Thumbs Down: "It's not a particularly original story and not sold with much integrity. A few wonderful performances aside, The Help is a maddeningly distracted film, occasionally flirting with utter irresponsibility." -- Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
RT Score: 76%
My Grade: A
Nod(s): Actress, Supporting Actress [2], Picture
Hugo
Thumbs Up: "An utterly beautiful film -- both visually and emotionally -- and itself an enchanting gift from Scorsese to film fans everywhere." -- Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
Thumbs Down: "It's as if David Copperfield wandered into a History of Film lecture. Maybe it isn't a great idea to wait till you're nearly 70 to make your first kid movie." -- Kyle Smith, New York Post
RT Score: 93%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Editing, Original Score, Picture, Sound Editing & Mixing, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay
The Ides of March
Thumbs Up: "As a portrait of power, hubris and the systematic corruption of integrity, The Ides of March makes for compelling viewing. It's well-crafted, wonderfully scored and solidly acted across the board." -- Alice Tyran, The Vine
Thumbs Down: "The problem is that the news the story brings may be perfectly accurate, but it isn't particularly original, and it's certainly not what we hunger for in these dispiriting, cynical times." -- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
RT Score: 85%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Adapted Screenplay
If a Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Thumbs Up: "As emotive and far-reaching as the issues involved are, this incisive feature is most potent when capturing Daniel McGowan's life and mind dismantling." -- Simon Foster, sbs.com.au
Thumbs Down: "McGowan's views on the environment have taken several turns, but none of them is illustrated in the film, in which he comes off as passive and a little whiny." -- Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press
RT Score: 88%
My Grade: B+
In Darkness
Thumbs Up: "What sounds like standard glossy fare is handled with cold candour." -- Alan Bett, The Skinny
Thumbs Down: "The idea seems to be to try and make the experience of the 12 Polish Jews who hid in a sewer for 14 months as uncomfortable for the audience as it was for them." -- Michelle Orange, Movieline
RT Score: 87%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Foreign Film
The Iron Lady
Thumbs Up: "Whichever side you are on, you will be full of admiration for Streep's masterclass. Long may this particular ruler remain in her Hollywood 'office'." -- Graham Young, Birmingham Mall
Thumbs Down: "The movie is remarkably free of complexity and depth, sidestepping any attempt to delve. The magnificent Streep deserves better. Then again, we all do." -- Kimberly Gadette, Doddle
RT Score: 53%
My Grade: B-
Nod(s): Actress, Makeup
Jane Eyre
Thumbs Up: "Screenwriter Moira Buffini sticks pretty closely to the novel, and director Cary Fukunaga conjures a drab tone that nicely sets off the characters' violent but rigidly controlled passions." -- J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Thumbs Down: "(The movie) lacks the larger-than-life emotional grandeur that the gothic romance is supposed to elicit." -- Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier
RT Score: 85%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Costume Design
Kung Fu Panda 2
Thumbs Up: "The best animated film of the year, Kung Fu Panda 2 plays as a solid kids' film, a great kung fu actioner, and an emotionally centered drama." -- R.L. Shaffer, IGN DVD
Thumbs Down: "It focuses too heavily on flashy action sequences and lacks the amusing banter that I remember fondly from the original." -- Matthew Toomey, ABC Radio Brisbane
RT Score: 81%
My Grade: A-
Margin Call
Thumbs Up: "Margin Call takes what could have been a complex and boring subject and serves it up as gripping entertainment." -- Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs
Thumbs Down: "A film like this -- with a large cast and a big subject -- needs a clear, concise vision, a strong hand, and Margin Call just doesn't have it." -- Ignatly Vishnevetsky, Ebert Presents at the Movies
RT Score: 90%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris
Thumbs Up: "[A] work of genius... [B]ecomes the butt of its own gentle joke... one that wraps up a paralyzing self-awareness in a redemptive self-deprecation to, finally and splendidly, laugh with great good humor at itself." -- MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
Thumbs Down: "A frail conceit that Allen fills out with humor that's surprisingly obvious and broad...a mildly diverting fantasy, executed without much style." -- Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
RT Score: 93%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Art Direction, Directing, Picture, Original Screenplay
Moneyball
Thumbs Up: "With razor sharp wit and delivery, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are sensational together, hitting Moneyball clean and out of the park." -- Mark Sells, The Reel Deal
Thumbs Down: "Those who enter the cinema unstirred by either the sport or by the joys of stats are unlikely to come out converts." -- Catherine Shoard, Guardian
RT Score: 94%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Actor, Supporting Actor, Editing, Picture, Sound Mixing, Adapted Screenplay
Monsier Lazhar
Thumbs Up: "Monsieur Lazhar is a tender and touching drama that captures the pulse of both primary school politics and Canadian immigration." -- Radheyan Simonpillai, NOW Toronto
Thumbs Down: None!
RT Score:100%!
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Foreign Film
The Muppets
Thumbs Up: "Director Bobin milks laughter and tears in generous, equal measures, leaving us hankering for more." -- Liverpool Echo
Thumbs Down: "Overall I found the movie a bit too cloying and self-aware to distinguish itself from the mass of kiddie flick pap." -- Phil Villarreal, OK! Magazine
RT Score: 96%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Original Song
My Week with Marilyn
Thumbs Up: "Michelle Williams' glowing performance, at times touching, tragic, innocent and sultry, rekindles Monroe's magic. Her British co-stars, especially Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench, are memorable even in Monroe's light." -- John Wirt, Advocate
Thumbs Down: "A hacky, obvious biopic, directed with a crabbed lack of visual flair, and marching through its predetermined story with stentorian dullness." -- Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
RT Score: 84%
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Actress, Supporting Actor
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Thumbs Up: "What's bound to be overlooked is how "Purgatory" is a triumph of actual filmmaking." -- Stephen Salto, Premiere Magazine
Thumbs Down: None!
RT Score: 100%!
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Documentary Feature
Pina
Thumbs Up: "Pina is a tribute of an artist by an artist, a friend to a friend. But its great genius comes from the mournful, as well as celebratory, reckoning of the performers Bausch pushed, collaborated with and inspired." -- Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Thumbs Down: "With cinemas already overrun with rubbish 3D movies, Wim Wenders' first foray into faux-immersive filmmaking distinguishes itself by featuring the worst use of the technology thus far." -- Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
RT Score: 95%
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Documentary Feature
Puss in Boots
Thumbs Up: "With Banderas' scene-stealing feline finally getting his own film, the franchise now has a worthy successor to the two original Shrek movies." -- Matt Neal, The Standard
Thumbs Down: "Nothing new, nothing strange, absolutely nothing unexpected, even for a five-year-old." -- Kelly Vance, East Bay Success
RT Score: 84%
My Grade: B-
Nod(s): Animated Feature
Rango
Thumbs Up: "Set in a surreally off-kilter version of the Wild West populated entirely by animals, computer-animated Western Rango is both a witty spoof and loving homage to the genre." -- Jason Best, Movie Talk
Thumbs Down: "Rango never shuts up, but he never has anything funny or touching or clever to say." -- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
RT Score: 88%
My Grade: B-
Nod(s): Animated Feature
Real Steel
Thumbs Up: "Featuring sharp performances from its cast (both human and metal) and some outstanding special effects, 'Real Steel' is best described as 'Rocky' meets 'The Iron Giant.'" -- Michael A. Smith, MediaMikes
Thumbs Down: "Its remote-controlled emotional responses leave little room for genuine uplift." -- Bruce Diones, New Yorker
RT Score: 59%
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Visual Effects
Rio
Thumbs Up: "The urban/tropical landscapes and Carnival backdrop add vibrancy to a smart romance-adventure that borrows from classic Bob Hope suspense-comedies and even Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps'..." -- John Belfuss, Commercial Appeal
Thumbs Down: "Calling Rio creatively bankrupt is a massive understatement." -- Matt Pais, Red Eye
RT Score: 71%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Original Song
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Thumbs Up: "In what is easily one of the better films of the year, director Rupert Wyatt, with a first-rate screenplay, melds thrills with wit and state-of-the-art special effects to create a flick you're ready to watch again as soon as it ends." -- Brandon Judell, CultureCatch
Thumbs Down: "For 90 minutes, it could be a super-sized Hallmark Channel flick. The ape revolution teased in the trailer, all 30 minutes of it, is an afterthought. There are scrap-booking conventions with more action." -- Mike Ward, Richmond.com
RT Score: 83%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Visual Effects
A Separation
Thumbs Up: "'A Separation' is a great movie, a look inside a world so foreign that it might as well be another planet, yet so universal that its observations are painfully familiar to anyone, anywhere." -- Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Thumbs Down: "The progressively tedious atmosphere ultimately prevents the film's final scenes from making any real emotional impact..." -- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
RT Score: 99%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Foreign Film, Original Screenplay
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Thumbs Up: "The film has intrigues, shootings, infidelities and clues -- lots of clues -- which we ponder, along with the poker-faced Smiley, played with Oscar-nominated perfection by Gary Oldman." -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Thumbs Down: "This bloodless, bloodthirsty John Le Carré adaptation doesn't hang together." -- Leo Robson, Financial Times
RT Score: 84%
My Grade: B+
Nod(s): Actor, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Thumbs Up: "Transformers 3 is the archetype of a summer blockbuster-all explosions and chest-swelling bravado and snarky sidekicks and big guns and hot chicks and hero shots." -- Lisa Ann Cockrel, Christianity Today
Thumbs Down: "...it takes a certain talent to create as much action as Bay does without generating an ounce of excitement." -- John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
RT Score: 35%
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Sound Editing & Mixing, Visual Effects
The Tree of Life
Thumbs Up: "Writer/director Terrence Malick has defied the odds and created a masterpiece of harrowing truth and deeply felt emotion." -- S. James Wegg, JWR
Thumbs Down: "For me, this is a pretty crushing disappointment, something that's hard to admit and even harder to write." -- Drew McWeeny, HitFix
RT Score: 84%
My Grade: A-
Nod(s): Cinematography, Directing, Picture
Undefeated
Thumbs Up: "Undefeated chronicles a championship season but covers turf that extends miles beyond the football field." -- Claudia Puig, USA Today
Thumbs Down: "If the film had something to say about football as football instead of football as life, I'd be interested. It doesn't." -- Kyle Smith, New York Post
RT Score: 92%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Documentary Feature
War Horse
Thumbs Up: "A uniquely moving odyssey that subtly outlines both the suffering of the First World War and the humanity amid so much loss of life." -- Alan Jones, Radio Times
Thumbs Down: "Tonally jarring and structurally disjointed, it's a punishingly long and bumpy ride" -- Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies
RT Score: 77%
My Grade: A
Nod(s): Art Direction, Cinematography, Original Score, Picture, Sound Editing & Mixing
Warrior
Thumbs Up: "Trumping even genre classic Rocky, Warrior packs a grand emotional wallop thanks to top-tier performances and the fact that you don't want either fighter to lose." -- Shaun Munro, What Culture
Thumbs Down: "A sports film whose promise of a more nuanced take on familiar genre tropes ends up battered and bruised." -- Tim Grierson, Screen International
RT Score: 83%
My Grade: B
Nod(s): Supporting Actor
W.E.
Thumbs Up: "W.E. is rather better than expected; it's bold, confident and not without amusing moments." -- David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
Thumbs Down: "Certainly, W.E. is the work of a woman who apparently hasn't spent time with normal human beings in a while." -- Karina Longworth, Village Voice
RT Score: 13%
My Grade: N/A
Nod(s): Costume Design
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