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A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP (SAN QIANG PAI AN JING QI)Movie Reviews
Mandarin language comedy drama about a man, the owner of a noodle shop in China's remote Shaanxi Province, who plans to murder his adulterous wife and her lover. Cast:Honglei Sun, Dahong Ni, Ni Yan, Xiao Shen-Yang, Xiaojuan WangDirector:Zhang YimouRelease Date:September 3, 2010DVD Release:February 1, 2011From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:1 hr. 35 min.
FEBRUARY 1, 2011
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi), Moderate Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) played in key cities to moderate reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...a bizarre buffet of buffoonery, brutality and beautiful landscapes... Zhang leavens the lunacy with grace notes..." • And Allen Johnson wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...an easy film to watch and admire but a hard one to connect with, let alone love." More Reviews Below...
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) Positive Reviews (33 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: POOR(cg) "I wish I could say that the film is half as intriguing as it sounds, but it lacks the Coen brothers' diabolical game-board cleverness. It's a remake in shaggy outline only."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 235 words, 09/03/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "The Coens posit a universe without order or meaning... Zhang does not necessarily quarrel with this view, he treats it less as a cosmic joke than as a grim folk tale."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 955 words, 09/03/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...you won't feel as if you're watching a remake so much as a comical re-imagining... a quirky tale with just enough comic broth to make an amusing treat..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 09/03/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: POOR(cg) "It's patronizing, I suppose, to say of a talented director that a project is beneath that talent. But what else can you say here?... it's too, too much."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 319 words, 09/17/10
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...played for broad laughs... Zhang often seems more preoccupied with its visual qualities (which are extraordinary), than narrative momentum. Ultimately, it delivers."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 325 words, 10/01/10
Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...the most pictorially stunning blood-soaked burlesque comedy since Roman Polanski's 'The Fearless Vampire Killers,' or 'Pardon Me But Your Teeth Are in My Neck.' "(See all of Jim Emerson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 09/16/10
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "...a tipsy wedding of low hijinks and tiptoe-tense suspense stretches... you wish it would just sneak off in the desert night and become its own movie altogether."(See all of Geoff Pevere's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 313 words, 10/01/10
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...never finds its tone. Best reason to watch is the desert landscape, all curved shapes and colour bands that beguile the eye and imagination."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 226 words, 09/23/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "China's greatest living director chose to remake the Coen Brothers' 'Blood Simple' in feudal China. The result is akin to using a frayed shoestring to make a silk purse."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 476 words, 09/17/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: POOR(cg) "It's all wrong.... Zhang has turned a sardonic masterpiece of lust and betrayal into an exercise in bumbling slapstick."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 09/24/10
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...showing us how the identical plot works in China as well as Texas is to emphasize the ritual element of plot and its timeless universality. And maybe that is the real point."(See all of Richard Nilsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 09/24/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "At some point, you have to acknowledge that there's nothing at stake here. You don't care about the affair because you don't believe it."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 577 words, 09/17/10
Stephen Whitty, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE(cg) "Zhang makes these characters too ignorant. The Coens have always been overly fond of moronic heroes, but Zhang pushes things into vaudeville territory."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 492 words, 10/08/10
John Hartl, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "The plot is stripped-down film noir... But the action has moved from 1980s Texas to ancient China, and the tone is less sardonic than disengaged."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 09/10/10
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...it's easy, most of the time, to forget the whys and wherefores and enjoy a twisty, darkly comic story of greed, betrayal and murderous misunderstandings."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 09/17/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a bizarre buffet of buffoonery, brutality and beautiful landscapes... Zhang leavens the lunacy with grace notes... the film is heavy on seasoning and light on substance."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 10/01/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD(cg) "Director Yimou Zhang's reworking of the Coen brothers' 'Blood Simple'... there's little emotional impact -- not that there's supposed to be... a kick, but nothing more."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 318 words, 10/22/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "You never really get the sense Zhang is taking the movie seriously... proves that American filmmakers aren't the only ones who can bungle remakes of foreign movies."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 10/01/10
Keith Phipps, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "The film is all over the place, really, until the plot kicks in, at which point Zhang hits the dimmer and plunges everyone into darkness..."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 427 words, 09/02/10
Nick Schager, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the initial, overeager mood of slapstick goofiness is enough to make one cringe.... marked by gorgeous fairy-tale cinematography..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 411 words, 08/30/10
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...never finds its tone. Best reason to watch is the desert landscape, all curved shapes and colour bands that beguile the eye and imagination."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 226 words, 09/23/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...fairly closely follows 'Blood Simple's' plot, but its light-hearted treatment of its ensemble more closely resembles 'Raising Arizona' or 'The Ladykillers.' "(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 629 words, 09/24/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "The Coens posit a universe without order or meaning... Zhang does not necessarily quarrel with this view, he treats it less as a cosmic joke than as a grim folk tale."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 955 words, 09/03/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...you won't feel as if you're watching a remake so much as a comical re-imagining... a quirky tale with just enough comic broth to make an amusing treat..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 09/03/10
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD "Alternately comic and terrifying... there's no use getting all worked up over the bleakness of its destination -- we're all heading that way anyway."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 912 words, 09/03/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Derek Elley, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...ascetic, chamber-like... spiced up with some pratfall humor and visually enhanced by saturated lensing of the dusty red landscapes that slightly recalls Zhang's 'Hero.' "(See all of Derek Elley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 873 words, 02/19/10
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "A high-rolling but garish production with untranslatable regional ribald humor... crammed with exotic sight gags and colloquial wordplay..."(See all of Maggie Lee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 01/04/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...you won't feel as if you're watching a remake so much as a comical re-imagining... a quirky tale with just enough comic broth to make an amusing treat..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 09/03/10
Jeff Farr, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...bold... Zhang may be no Kurosawa, but 'A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop' visually and thematically shows the strong influence of the Japanese master."(See all of Jeff Farr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,047 words, 08/01/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "The Coens posit a universe without order or meaning... Zhang does not necessarily quarrel with this view, he treats it less as a cosmic joke than as a grim folk tale."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 955 words, 09/03/10
19.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi)'s reviews are separated by an average 19.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) (33 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi)'s reviews cover 36.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 14,988 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 454 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) Coverage, Volume & Length (33 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 29.2 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi)'s reviews on average broke 29.2 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) (33 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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