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CROSSING OVERMovie Reviews
Drama about immigration enforcement officers and the desperate immigrants who test their humanity looking for the American dream and the reality they find instead. Cast:Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta, Sean Penn, Cliff Curtis, Jim Sturgessmore castDirector:Wayne KramerRelease Date:February 27, 2009DVD Release:June 9, 2009From:MGM/UARating:RLength:1 hr. 53 min.
Crossing Over played to fair reviews. • Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...a collection of characters who feel more like types than real people and a story filled with coincidences. It would work much better with about half as many plotlines." • And Bill Goodykoontz wrote in the Arizona Republic, "There are good performances here, but the sheer number dilutes their power..." More Reviews Below...
Crossing Over Positive Reviews (33 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: MODERATE(cg) "While competently acted, 'Crossing' moves its characters about with all the subtlety of a football coach diagramming plays on a blackboard."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 104 words, 02/26/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...a multi-stranded, narrative-collage message movie... a diverting anthropological melodrama, with enough coincidence to keep the action unified."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 374 words, 02/27/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "The best we can say is that writer-director Wayne Kramer means well... heavy-handed, absurdly contrived and, sometimes, unintentionally hilarious..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 549 words, 02/27/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...a collection of characters who feel more like types than real people and a story filled with coincidences. It would work much better with about half as many plotlines."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 414 words, 02/27/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "If Mr. Kramer's outrage felt honest, his film would be easier to respect. But time and again, he undermines his own righteousness by pumping up the violence..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 02/27/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...feels less like a thoughtful exploration of the plight of illegal immigrants and more like a feature-length Public Service Announcement."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 02/27/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If you're looking for plausibility and resist manipulation, you'll object... But sometimes movies are intriguing, despite their faults, and you want to keep on watching."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 705 words, 03/12/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...offers crass manipulation in the place where honesty is supposed to be.... stands in a long line of exploitation melodramas that just want to get a rise out of audiences."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 02/27/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...the issues are not explored in any depth. They get less time than the movie's comic-relief story line... Jim Sturgess poses as an expert in Judaism to get his green card."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 02/27/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...establishing so many intersecting lines of fate... halfway through you wonder: Is this film going to include every single Angeleno who wasn't in 'Crash'?"(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 03/13/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: FAIR "...as cornball as it is, I like 'Crossing Over' better than Haggis's multiple-Oscar winner 'Crash,' which was both cornball and reductionist..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 706 words, 02/23/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...treats the subject of illegal immigrants coming to (and from) Los Angeles with the same vulgarity Kramer brought to his 2006 children-in-peril thriller, 'Running Scared'..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 02/25/09
Bob Strauss, Orange County Register: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...starts off with richer characters and stories... ends up puttering into a familiar cinematic Southland junkyard of used ideas and worn-out parts."(See all of Bob Strauss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 02/27/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "Wayne Kramer wants to explore the complex subject of immigrants in America through several interwoven narratives.... mawkish, dramatically preposterous..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 03/12/09
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...the kind of movie that gives Hollywood liberalism not a bad name, nor a good name, but an irritating, self-righteous and ultimately fatuous name."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 03/13/09
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "Wayne Kramer has attempted to make a movie in the 'Crash' and 'Babel' genre, a multi-cast film that explores a political issue through multiple storylines.... a mess."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 614 words, 03/13/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a responsible message movie wrapped in an irresponsible exploitation flick that cries fire in a crowded theater."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 615 words, 03/13/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "If it is less self-congratulatory than 'Crash' about confronting its designated problem, it's just as inept at dramatizing the complex ways that problem unites and divides us."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 03/13/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Wayne Kramer earned some fans for his 2003 sleeper, 'The Cooler'... He's certainly good with actors, but he tends to push the big tear-jerker moments."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 460 words, 03/13/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "A watchable, sometimes moving, sometimes infuriating blend of grounded melodrama and risible self-righteousness... it doesn't come together into something coherent."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 544 words, 04/24/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...borders on the sensationalistic, with people delivering summation speeches at gunpoint, committing uncharacteristic acts of physical, sexual or emotional violence..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 03/20/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it's all a bit too interlocking, a cable series jammed into a couple of hours. Often the movie is vexingly Kafkaesque. (It is also violent.)"(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 03/20/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...treats the subject of illegal immigrants coming to (and from) Los Angeles with the same vulgarity Kramer brought to his 2006 children-in-peril thriller, 'Running Scared'..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 02/25/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has the vibe of a movie that's been kicked around -- hard.... Sean Penn shot a small part that has now been eliminated. Why?"(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 436 words, 02/20/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "Attorney Denise takes on Taslima's case while her adjudicator hubby, Cole, extorts sex from Aussie actress Claire in return for a green card. And so on."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 162 words, 03/12/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "Wayne Kramer wants to explore the complex subject of immigrants in America through several interwoven narratives.... mawkish, dramatically preposterous..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 03/12/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "If Mr. Kramer's outrage felt honest, his film would be easier to respect. But time and again, he undermines his own righteousness by pumping up the violence..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 02/27/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "Some immigrants make it while others don't, some are deserving while others are not, but that's the extent of the script's wisdom.... 'Crossing Over' has nothing to declare."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 02/27/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...offers crass manipulation in the place where honesty is supposed to be.... stands in a long line of exploitation melodramas that just want to get a rise out of audiences."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 02/27/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: FAIR "...the way the picture dwells almost exclusively on cinematically exploitable elements gives it a sordid patina that even the classy, able thesps can't offset."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 921 words, 02/17/09
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "...frequently strains credulity. Kramer contrives the unlikely encounters in order to tug at the audience's heartstrings, and sometimes he succeeds in forcing a tear or two..."(See all of Stephen Farber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 577 words, 02/17/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...offers crass manipulation in the place where honesty is supposed to be.... stands in a long line of exploitation melodramas that just want to get a rise out of audiences."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 02/27/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: POOR "If Mr. Kramer's outrage felt honest, his film would be easier to respect. But time and again, he undermines his own righteousness by pumping up the violence..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 02/27/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "Some immigrants make it while others don't, some are deserving while others are not, but that's the extent of the script's wisdom.... 'Crossing Over' has nothing to declare."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 02/27/09
14.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Crossing Over's reviews are separated by an average 14.3 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.
Crossing Over (33 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Crossing Over's reviews cover 60.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 17,122 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 519 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Crossing Over Coverage, Volume & Length (33 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 50.2 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Crossing Over's reviews on average broke 50.2 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 Crossing Over's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Crossing Over (33 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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