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CASE 39Movie Reviews
Horror thriller about a social worker who gets more than she bargained for when she comes to the aid of a 10 year-old girl whose parents are suspected of child abuse. Cast:Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper, Kerry O'Malley, Adrian LesterDirector:Christian AlvartRelease Date:October 1, 2010DVD Release:January 4, 2011From:ParamountRating:RLength:1 hr. 49 min.
Case 39 played to poor reviews. • Roger Moore wrote in the Orlando Sentinel, "...spirals into cheap jolts that don't work (alarm clocks interrupting the silence, dogs leaping out of the shadows at the camera) and special effects that you can see on any given weekend..." • And Jordan Mintzer called the film in Daily Variety, "...ludicrous..." More Reviews Below...
Case 39 Positive Reviews (15 Reviews, reviews below)
Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: POOR(cg) "...even if you've never sat through 'The Omen' or 'The Bad Seed' or 'Orphan' or 'Joshua,' you've seen this hackneyed, hell-spawn hooey before."(See all of Chris Nashawaty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 316 words, 10/02/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (6 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...throwaway thriller from the German director Christian Alvart tosses a bone to Renée Zellweger, who chews it to a nub as Emily Jenkins, a harried social worker."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 10/02/10
Leigh Paatsch, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...so self-combustingly bad it could never be good.... It is universally terrible in virtually every department, save for the creepy charisma displayed by young Jodelle Ferland..."(See all of Leigh Paatsch's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 302 words, 10/01/10
John Anderson, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a strange and yet strangely affecting thriller... the film is less successful finding a groove than it is about distilling moments of purified terror."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 240 words, 10/02/10
Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly: POOR "...has some genuinely creepy moments, but it's way too long, and often slows to a crawl... talk, talk, talk... Has there ever been a more inept trio of big-city caseworkers?"(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 10/07/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "Zellweger, forced to play a character who lurches from rational to absurdly credulous, loses credibility by the minute... McShane is even worse off."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 548 words, 10/01/10
Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "Introduce the supernatural, and anything goes. Here, everything does. And that's a problem no one can solve. At least it wasn't called 'Case 666.' "(See all of Ethan Gilsdorf's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 10/02/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly: POOR "...has some genuinely creepy moments, but it's way too long, and often slows to a crawl... talk, talk, talk... Has there ever been a more inept trio of big-city caseworkers?"(See all of Chuck Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 10/07/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...unremarkable except for its subversive subtext.... proposes that a woman who opts for a career over a family isn't pathetic but rather has escaped a life of enslavement..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 151 words, 10/07/10
Rob Humanick, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...supernaturally tinged tale only goes skin-deep and is proud of it, wasting little time in establishing narrative basics and getting to the good stuff."(See all of Rob Humanick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 10/03/10
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "...overly familiar, wholly unoriginal... provokes few reactions outside of boredom and -- in, sadly, too few moments -- derisive laughter."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 307 words, 10/03/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...throwaway thriller from the German director Christian Alvart tosses a bone to Renée Zellweger, who chews it to a nub as Emily Jenkins, a harried social worker."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 10/02/10
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "Ray Wright's by-the-book screenplay only serves as a reminder of the innumerable demon-child movies that have preceded this one."(See all of Frank Scheck's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 10/01/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...throwaway thriller from the German director Christian Alvart tosses a bone to Renée Zellweger, who chews it to a nub as Emily Jenkins, a harried social worker."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 10/02/10
19.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Case 39's reviews are separated by an average 19.6 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.
Case 39 (15 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Case 39's reviews cover 19.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,167 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 344 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Case 39 Coverage, Volume & Length (15 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 30.1 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Case 39's reviews on average broke 30.1 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 Case 39's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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