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CASINO JACKMovie Reviews
Biographical comedy based on the shenanigans of infamous Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Cast:Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Kelly Preston, Rachelle LefevreDirector:George HickenlooperRelease Date:December 17, 2010DVD Release:April 5, 2011From:ATO PicturesRating:RLength:1 hr 48 min
Casino Jack played in key cities to moderate reviews. • Joy Tipping wrote in the Dallas Morning News, "Spacey has pulled off the seemingly impossible.... He's created a character who, while often despicable, also comes off as ingenious, charming and sympathetic." • And Michael O'Sullivan wrote in the Washington Post, "...merely a rehash of a well-worn scandal." More Reviews Below...
Casino Jack Positive Reviews (36 Reviews, reviews below)
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Spacey's manic and abrasive characterization comes off as unsympathetic... the movie swings between broad comedy and glib political satire."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 84 words, 01/06/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Kevin Spacey has a ball and then some playing the devil inside Jack Abramoff... the movie nearly flies off its already shaky handle. Spacey holds center. He's a bonfire."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 12/16/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "Spacey is the reason to see 'Casino Jack.' This movie will stand alongside 'The Usual Suspects' and 'American Beauty' as examples of what the actor is capable of..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 12/15/10
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Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "The actors -- especially Pepper and Lovitz -- overplay their roles unnecessarily, and the generically slick visual style looks more appropriate for a TV movie."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 12/17/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: WEAK "Though the film is peppered with one-liners tailor-made for Spacey to sling with stinging effect, it doesn't so much leave you laughing as just weary..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 12/17/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...hilariously entertaining... Hickenlooper does a good job of briskly explaining the complex scams at work, and there is fine supporting work by Kelly Preston..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 365 words, 12/17/10
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "...a convoluted tale about the exploits of disgraced Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, coupled with a zealous-if-misguided performance from Kevin Spacey..."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 01/28/11
Kate Taylor, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The facts really get in the way of the portrait... we are left hungry for more Spacey and more insight into a man with the hubris to wonder if he has disappointed God."(See all of Kate Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 658 words, 01/28/11
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Once you get past the clichés, the unfortunate screenplay with its dependence on expository dialogue and even some of the lesser performances, it's a lot of fun."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 01/27/11
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "...merely a rehash of a well-worn scandal.... In the end, much like its charismatic but inscrutable antihero, the film ends up taking the Fifth."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 502 words, 12/22/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...overinflated... the actorSpacey's Abramoff comes off as a smug smoothie.... It's a slick but soulless performance."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 01/07/11
Walter Addiego, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...anchored by a pair of amusing performances... It's a movie of sporadically entertaining scenes that add up to a vaguely unsatisfying whole."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 03/04/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's hard to 'follow the money'... and if there's anything Watergate taught us, that's what you do when you're figuring out a Washington scandal."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 714 words, 01/28/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "Smug when it should be stiletto-sharp, fast-paced yet tedious... tries to encompass all of Abramoff's encyclopedic chicanery and chokes on the sheer volume."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 01/14/11
Joy Tipping, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Spacey has pulled off the seemingly impossible.... He's created a character who, while often despicable, also comes off as ingenious, charming and sympathetic."(See all of Joy Tipping's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 12/31/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's a heck of a character to chew into, and Spacey, never afraid to play a devil, enjoys himself a great deal... it is more lurid than damning, more splashy than refined."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 01/07/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...more successful at entertaining than informing or enraging us, but such a tart soufflé may be the best way for a fed-up public to digest this distasteful story."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 01/07/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it's either particularly gutsy or particularly stupid that 'Casino Jack' was made. Who wants to hang out with Jack Abramoff?"(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 01/07/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...never boring, and there's great fun in watching an energized, rakish Spacey cutting loose again. But the picture is a muddle..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 01/07/11
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Kevin Spacey's bravura performance really sells the story.... Portraying this ugly American is the actor's best work since 'American Beauty.' "(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 225 words, 01/06/11
Scott Tobias, AV Club: WEAK(cg) "Spacey has made a career out of projecting the smarmy elitism of the powerful, but 'Casino Jack' is so painfully clunky that he gets dragged down along with it."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 363 words, 12/16/10
Andrew Schenker, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...there's little reason to prefer this film to Gibney's more informative -- and dramatically superior -- documentary treatment of almost exactly the same material."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,219 words, 12/12/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Once you get past the clichés, the unfortunate screenplay with its dependence on expository dialogue and even some of the lesser performances, it's a lot of fun."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 01/27/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Though the film is peppered with one-liners tailor-made for Spacey to sling with stinging effect, it doesn't so much leave you laughing as just weary..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 12/17/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Robert Koehler, Daily Variety: WEAK "Spacey's performance is misconceived in both detail and tone, resulting in a character few will care about, and yet is also not delicious in his amorality."(See all of Robert Koehler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 836 words, 09/15/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "Though the film is peppered with one-liners tailor-made for Spacey to sling with stinging effect, it doesn't so much leave you laughing as just weary..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 12/17/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "...doesn't succeed as an intriguing biopic of a man who's now in prison, or a cautionary morality tale about the vices of American capitalism."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 12/17/10
17.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Casino Jack's reviews are separated by an average 17.4 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.
Casino Jack (36 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Casino Jack's reviews cover 58.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 17,346 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 482 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Casino Jack Coverage, Volume & Length (36 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 11 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Casino Jack's reviews on average broke 11 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 Casino Jack's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Casino Jack (36 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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