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CATFISHMovie Reviews
Documentary about a photographer in New York who begins a virtual relationship with an 8 year-old girl in Michigan and her family, after she sends him one of her paintings. Cast:Nev Schulman, Henry Joost, Ariel SchulmanDirector:Henry Joost, Ariel SchulmanRelease Date:September 17, 2010DVD Release:January 4, 2011From:UniversalRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 27 min
Catfish played in key cities to very good reviews. • A.O. Scott wrote in the New York Times, "...a fascinating document, at once glib, untrustworthy and strangely authentic.... one of the most intriguing movies of the year." • And Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...of all the twists in 'Catfish' the most surprising of all is what an honest and thoughtful film it turns out, against all odds, to be." More Reviews Below...
Mary Pols, Time: VERY GOOD "Yes, its subjects are manipulated in the name of lively filmmaking, but we also see some things we might not expect from the Facebook generation."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 740 words, 09/17/10
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "You should see the film, and you should force yourself to learn as little about it as possible beforehand.... breathtaking."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 09/16/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...more interesting as a dissection of how documentaries are made and what they represent than it is as a feature-length narrative reality show."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 968 words, 09/22/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...a fascinating document, at once glib, untrustworthy and strangely authentic.... one of the most intriguing movies of the year."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,183 words, 09/17/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an intricately constructed, perceptive movie about identity in the internet age that unfortunately suffers from its reliance on a final big reveal."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 09/17/10
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...built to charm, not indict, and on that front it makes for a diverting seriocomic wade into the pitfalls of Internet-based immediacy..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 09/17/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a delicate portrait... captures a glimpse into another America, far from downtown Manhattan's creative class, that will stay with you and possibly touch you."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 09/17/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...any documentary able to provoke such mixed feelings on a single viewing is doing something right, even if you're not sure, in the end, what that thing is."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 09/24/10
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "A sort of low-budget, nonfiction suspense thriller that rides an edge between cruelty and sympathy, offering a particularly melancholic view of the virtual existence."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 268 words, 09/24/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "...marvelous... Although opportunistic, even borderline exploitive, it gets at -- by indirection, through the back door -- the magic-carpet aspect of this scary new medium."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 09/13/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...serves as a cautionary tale for the perils of living too much of your life online, without benefit of proper reality checks. It's also a fairly serviceable thriller..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 09/24/10
Dave McGinn, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "The film is so filled with unexpected twists and wild revelations that to provide more details would only spoil the many shocks it offers."(See all of Dave McGinn's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 09/24/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "This tricky little number addresses one of the ironies of the Facebook Era: that sharing your life on a computer screen doesn't necessarily bring you closer..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 09/24/10
G. Allen Johnson, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...sure is a talker, whether you like the film or not.... so much of what makes this film successful or unsuccessful would depend on the surprise revelation..."(See all of G. Allen Johnson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 577 words, 09/24/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...total change in tone in the final act is gripping and effective even if we see it coming a mile (or a reel or two) off."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 447 words, 10/01/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...affecting, surprising, heartbreaking (though not, despite the marketing campaign that would lead you to believe otherwise, scary)."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 503 words, 09/24/10
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: VERY GOOD(cg) "A mildly intriguing exercise in guerrilla filmmaking, lapsed ethics and the potential for social-networking deception... has a lot more sizzle than steak."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 09/24/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Clever as this is, no larger point is made: This is just how their generation processes the world. One wonders whether the three would even exist without their electronic mirrors."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 498 words, 09/24/10
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...raises provocative questions about the Internet age, in which it's easier than ever to meet people but often hard to determine whether they can be trusted."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 333 words, 09/24/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...riveting... a snapshot of a rapidly changing era in which the more we Tweet and Facebook about ourselves, the more other people are compelled to do the same."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 672 words, 09/24/10
Noel Murray, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "...absolutely riveting, and even nerve-wracking... a tense, more-than-a-little-disturbing study of the relationship between artists and their fans..."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 386 words, 09/16/10
Andrew Schenker, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...chiefly illustrates the difficulty of moving beyond the obvious platitudes inherent in any cinematic work that attempts to definitely expose the Way We Live Now."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 750 words, 09/12/10
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...an exhilarating film in its intimacy, its boundary-pushing, its emotional rawness.... Everyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis needs to see this film..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 987 words, 10/07/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...a fascinating document, at once glib, untrustworthy and strangely authentic.... one of the most intriguing movies of the year."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,183 words, 09/17/10
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...built to charm, not indict, and on that front it makes for a diverting seriocomic wade into the pitfalls of Internet-based immediacy..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 09/17/10
Dana Stevens, Slate: VERY GOOD "...of all the twists in 'Catfish' the most surprising of all is what an honest and thoughtful film it turns out, against all odds, to be."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 09/17/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...helmers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman innovate a style that effectively mirrors the emotional state of 'e-stalking'.... satisfying..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 01/25/10
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...a doc whose makers lucked into an intrigue far more twisted than anything they could have expected at the outset. Jaw-dropping and surprisingly kind-hearted..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 01/28/10
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...built to charm, not indict, and on that front it makes for a diverting seriocomic wade into the pitfalls of Internet-based immediacy..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 09/17/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...a fascinating document, at once glib, untrustworthy and strangely authentic.... one of the most intriguing movies of the year."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,183 words, 09/17/10
19.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Catfish's reviews are separated by an average 19.4 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.
Catfish (44 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Catfish's reviews cover 82.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,362 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 486 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 20.3 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Catfish's reviews on average broke 20.3 hours before 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 Catfish's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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