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ADORATIONMovie Reviews
Drama about an adolescent boy who reinvents his life on the internet, provoking strong reaction around the globe. Cast:Arsinée Khanjian, Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Noam Jenkins, Devon Bostick, Kenneth WelshDirector:Atom EgoyanRelease Date:May 8, 2009DVD Release:October 13, 2009From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:1 hr 40 min
Adoration played in key cities to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Justin Chang wrote in Daily Variety, "...a fascinating muddle... this ambitious think-piece ultimately smothers its good intentions in didactic revelations, earnest pleading and incessant violin music." • And Roger Moore called the film in the Orlando Sentinel, "...gimmicky, sad and beautifully acted..." More Reviews Below...
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Moody, provocative and intellectually ambitious... primed to elicit impassioned discussion among audiences.... Atom Egoyan's elliptical storytelling works well..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 05/08/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (8 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a profound and provocative exploration of cultural inheritance, communications technology and the roots and morality of terrorism..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/08/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Some viewers may find the film confusing; I found it absorbing.... you find yourself struggling to describe a fractured plotline..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 758 words, 05/21/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If it sounds like Egoyan has created something of a black hole with 'Adoration,' you would be right. When we look for illumination, all we find is chaos and darkness."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 607 words, 05/08/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...contains some really fine performances, including a surprising one from Canadian utility player Scott Speedman as the student's rough-hewn uncle and guardian."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 05/08/09
Kate Taylor, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "Egoyan has created a film that descends from ideas rather than experience, driven by theme rather than character, and he does both very well."(See all of Kate Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 756 words, 05/08/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...all the film's fractured chronology does is further obscure an already murky narrative... exasperating, exhausting nonsense, for acolytes only."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 05/07/09
KEY CITIES (11 Reviews)
Dan Zak, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Some might call this manipulation -- of character and of viewer. Others would rightly call it an exercise. A provocation of debate."(See all of Dan Zak's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 389 words, 06/05/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...makes use of both current forms of technology and the oldest to create a powerful meditation on moral responsibility and acceptance."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 05/29/09
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "Egoyan's films create a sense that absolutely everything in life hinges on discovering an essential truth... but you'll never get to it."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 492 words, 05/15/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Watching 'Adoration' is like juggling three tennis balls, a porcupine, and a graduate thesis, but eventually it finds a unifying theme..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 549 words, 05/15/09
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...ambitiously probes the overlapping of different memories and perceptions that build up around loss -- adding exotica, trauma and surprises on the journey of discovery."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 06/26/09
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a thoughtful, provocative film about life as we're coming to know it: an era in which knowledge is unlimited but understanding is scarce..."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 317 words, 06/19/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...after a promising start, this ambitious but ultimately clunky and unwieldy movie dissolves into a pile of ideas in dire need of dramatization."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 09/04/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: MODERATE(cg) "...plays like a post-9/11 talk show done as modernist cinema. All it does is relentlessly pose questions about terrorism, prejudice, family dynamics..."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 624 words, 09/18/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Much of 'Adoration's' early appeal derives from the fragmented narrative, disjointed chronology, and shifting points of view."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 580 words, 05/14/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...all the film's fractured chronology does is further obscure an already murky narrative... exasperating, exhausting nonsense, for acolytes only."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 05/07/09
Hilary Crowe, Washington City Paper: POOR "...brought to you by gratuitous Nokia and Apple product placement. Didactic to the point of being a slap in the face... about as gripping as Teflon."(See all of Hilary Crowe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 380 words, 06/11/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a profound and provocative exploration of cultural inheritance, communications technology and the roots and morality of terrorism..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/08/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If it sounds like Egoyan has created something of a black hole with 'Adoration,' you would be right. When we look for illumination, all we find is chaos and darkness."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 607 words, 05/08/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...a fascinating muddle... this ambitious think-piece ultimately smothers its good intentions in didactic revelations, earnest pleading and incessant violin music."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 876 words, 05/26/08
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "...remarkable... a haunting meditation on the nature of received wisdom and how it can warp individuals, damage families and even threaten society."(See all of Ray Bennett's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 450 words, 05/22/08
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If it sounds like Egoyan has created something of a black hole with 'Adoration,' you would be right. When we look for illumination, all we find is chaos and darkness."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 607 words, 05/08/09
Stephen Holden, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a profound and provocative exploration of cultural inheritance, communications technology and the roots and morality of terrorism..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 910 words, 05/08/09
20.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Adoration's reviews are separated by an average 20.6 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.
Adoration (26 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Adoration's reviews cover 30.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 11,797 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 454 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 7 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Adoration's reviews on average broke 7 days 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 Adoration's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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