Story: Spanish language documentary about how filmmaker Pamela Yates' work in Guatemala intertwined with the country's turbulent history of genocide. Cast:Rigoberto Menchu, Pamela Yates, Almudena Bernabeu, Fredy Peccerelli, Kate Doyle, Antonio Caba Caba, Alejandra GarciaDirector:Pamela YatesOpened:September 14, 2011From:IFCLength:1 hr. 43 min.
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator, Fair Reviews (Doc) Limited
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator played in limited release to fair reviews. • Rene Rodriguez wrote in the Miami Herald, "...erratically paced, often static and dry, and occasionally dull. But the subject matter keeps you intrigued.... an uneven but undeniably powerful condemnation..." • And Paul Brunick wrote in the New York Times, "...systematically avoids difficult issues... often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism." More Reviews Below...
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator Positive Reviews (9 Reviews, reviews below)
Paul Brunick, New York Times: MODERATE "Director Pamela Yates systematically avoids difficult issues... Like its dictator-nailing subtitle, 'Granito' often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism."(Read the full review...) 370 words, 09/14/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...sober if only intermittently effective.... there's a naggingly studied tone to the whole enterprise that makes it feel like history class rather than a complex, urgent reckoning."(Read the full review...) 238 words, 09/30/11
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...both a humanitarian legal thriller and a quest to find justice through cinema.... Voiceover narration is usually cheap shorthand for crafting the dramatic structure of a documentary..."(Read the full review...) 234 words, 09/14/11
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...verges on being a meta-cinema case study: a documentary about the practical purposes a documentary can serve.... so scattershot and unfocused that it fails to do justice to these important people."(Read the full review...) 198 words, 12/01/11
KEY CITIES (1 Review)
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...erratically paced, often static and dry, and occasionally dull. But the subject matter keeps you intrigued.... a loosely structured legal document, an uneven but undeniably powerful condemnation..."(Read the full review...) 320 words, 02/03/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...both a humanitarian legal thriller and a quest to find justice through cinema.... Voiceover narration is usually cheap shorthand for crafting the dramatic structure of a documentary..."(Read the full review...) 234 words, 09/14/11
Chuck Bowen, Slant: WEAK(cg) "Boring and a little pompous... ultimately one of those obnoxiously earnest movies you wish you liked, but, in reality, don't."(Read the full review...) 598 words, 09/11/11
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...verges on being a meta-cinema case study: a documentary about the practical purposes a documentary can serve.... so scattershot and unfocused that it fails to do justice to these important people."(Read the full review...) 198 words, 12/01/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Paul Brunick, New York Times: MODERATE "Director Pamela Yates systematically avoids difficult issues... Like its dictator-nailing subtitle, 'Granito' often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism."(Read the full review...) 370 words, 09/14/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...sober if only intermittently effective.... there's a naggingly studied tone to the whole enterprise that makes it feel like history class rather than a complex, urgent reckoning."(Read the full review...) 238 words, 09/30/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Robert Koehler, Daily Variety: FAIR "...follow-up to filmmaker Pamela Yates' landmark 1984 pic on Guatemala's civil war, 'When the Mountains Tremble'... doubly disappointing for how dull and conventional it is."(Read the full review...) 567 words, 02/09/11
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...a meaty, self-reflexive doc about the tragic history of Guatemala.... unique.... not just an investigation of social injustice but a commentary on the documentary filmmaker's role in the events he or she chronicles."(Read the full review...) 527 words, 01/31/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...sober if only intermittently effective.... there's a naggingly studied tone to the whole enterprise that makes it feel like history class rather than a complex, urgent reckoning."(Read the full review...) 238 words, 09/30/11
Paul Brunick, New York Times: MODERATE "Director Pamela Yates systematically avoids difficult issues... Like its dictator-nailing subtitle, 'Granito' often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism."(Read the full review...) 370 words, 09/14/11
11.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator's reviews are separated by an average 11.1 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.
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator (9 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Granito: How To Nail A Dictator's reviews cover 8.6% of potential readers (average is 68.2%). Volume:The film's reviews total 3,286 words involume (average is 19,979 words). Length:The film's reviews average 365 words in length (the norm is 512 words).
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator Coverage, Volume & Length (9 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 12 Days Before Release (Norm is 0.2 Release)
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator's reviews on average broke 12 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 0.2 hours after. 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 Granito: How To Nail A Dictator's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Granito: How To Nail A Dictator (9 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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