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IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEYMovie Reviews
Bosnian language drama about the complex relationship between a Serbian soldier and a Bosnian woman held captive in the camp he oversees. Cast:Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Rade SerbedzijaDirector:Angelina JolieRelease Date:December 23, 2011DVD Release:April 3, 2012From:FilmDistrictRating:RLength:2 hr 7 min
APRIL 3, 2012
In the Land of Blood and Honey, Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
In the Land of Blood and Honey played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Tom Meek wrote in the Boston Phoenix, "Jolie's narrative power has limitations, but thanks to the cast and chaotic historical backdrop, the horror of hate and war takes on a compelling human face." • And Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "...necessarily wearying and grim, but also well-made and thoughtful." More Reviews Below...
In the Land of Blood and Honey Positive Reviews (38 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...explores the complicated grey areas between captor and captive.... the most compelling, heartfelt movie Jolie has made in years. She isn't in it, but she's all over it."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 892 words, 12/23/11
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "The heavy-handed touch of Angelina Jolie's directorial debut is evident right from the start... a movie whose narrative feels like a fictionalized United Nations presentation."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 631 words, 12/22/11
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...the cinematic equivalent of eating your vegetables.... The romance hardly rivets, and the film's brutality (there are multiple rapes) feels gratuitous."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 102 words, 01/05/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...when it comes to a topic like Bosnia, there's still a big difference between telling it like it is and telling it compellingly."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 346 words, 01/06/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "At times, Jolie rises to the pulpit when she should stay on the ground. Her theme is too complex for her scattered screenplay... It's as a director that Jolie shines."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 01/06/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I found 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' to be moving and involving, but somehow reduced by its melodrama to a minor key."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 01/06/12
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: MODERATE(cg) "...the film strains and struggles with its weight of portent and pain.... It may have more in ambition than it does in execution, but it deserves to be taken seriously..."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 767 words, 12/19/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...introduces the idea that war is very much about the violent domination of women... The film moves briskly and easily holds your attention..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 748 words, 12/23/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...gripping... a movie that is often harrowing, never less than intense but important, one unafraid of moments too many have chosen to forget."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 376 words, 12/23/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Its core story is less compelling than its overall atmosphere.... Yet the fact remains that this is a first film and Jolie has accomplished a great deal in a difficult area."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 12/23/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "Jolie has potential as a director... Like many a director before her though, she must also master another skill: learning how to fire a writer."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 12/23/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "As a director, Jolie rarely flinches in showing us the worst of the worst. As a writer, she's still learning how to impart background information..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 01/06/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I found 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' to be moving and involving, but somehow reduced by its melodrama to a minor key."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 01/06/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...a United Nations extra-credit project about the Bosnian War... a sanctimonious vanity commercial for Angelina Jolie's own good intentions."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 12/21/11
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Jolie knows how to hold an audience's attention and sets up shots with style and patience.... But the same can't be said of her writing, and that's the main flaw of her film..."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 01/20/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...nothing if not ambitious.... Jolie's picture is so glutted with spelled-out meaning that there's no space to breathe - what tries too hard to be informing ends by suffocating."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 01/20/12
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Unfortunately, Jolie's take isn't consistently nuanced.... But she does shed light on a vicious conflict and the way war compromises even the most courageous person's values."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 01/19/12
KEY CITIES (9 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If viewers are left feeling as impotent as many of the characters, that may be precisely what Jolie intended... asks nothing more of its audience than to bear witness."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 01/13/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a brave undertaking on Jolie's part. It's impressively steady filmmaking for a first-timer, and a powerful, powerfully disturbing subject to take on."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 01/06/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "Too many coincidences and, ultimately, too narrow a focus. But it is a genuinely noble effort, a worthy attempt to make some sense of the inexplicable."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 01/13/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "An agonized romantic melodrama.... Jolie has a mission and a story she thinks is strong enough to hold it; what she doesn't have, yet, is the filmmaking force of will."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 01/06/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "...with its literal filmmaking and dutiful speeches feels more like one of those overly scripted appearances celebrity activists are always making in front of Congress."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 12/23/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...a mix of the powerful and the ridiculous, and eventually the ridiculous wins.... the ill-conceived fictional elements take the picture right off the rails."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 01/06/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...handsomely and confidently filmed... many of the film's quiet moments are beautifully handled.... in terms of storytelling, the film doesn't entirely add up..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 385 words, 01/06/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The Bosnian war was the worst calamity to hit Europe in 50 years, and even two decades later, the wounds haven't healed."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 336 words, 02/03/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...a United Nations extra-credit project about the Bosnian War... a sanctimonious vanity commercial for Angelina Jolie's own good intentions."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 12/21/11
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Jolie's narrative power has limitations, but thanks to the cast and chaotic historical backdrop, the horror of hate and war takes on a compelling human face."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 150 words, 01/05/12
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: WEAK(cg) "...a film of shuddering earnestness and fevered good intentions gone awry, a dreary slog of a message movie with little but noble if unfulfilled aspirations to commend it."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 12/22/11
Alison Willmore, Movieline: VERY GOOD(cg) "Jolie's narrative debut arrives surrounded by a halo of good intentions and the sense that celebrity is being used as the spoonful of sugar to make the didacticism go down."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 922 words, 12/22/11
Andrew Schenker, Slant: WEAK(cg) "After a while, Jolie's catalogue of horrors begins to feel less like a necessary addition to an underconsulted historical record and more like a numbing assault on the viewer."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 673 words, 12/18/11
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Unfortunately, Jolie's take isn't consistently nuanced.... But she does shed light on a vicious conflict and the way war compromises even the most courageous person's values."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 01/19/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: EXCELLENT(cg) "...there is nothing 'Hollywood' about this film: it stars local actors and is in the local languages, and it shies not one whit from the horrors of the war."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 343 words, 02/24/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...introduces the idea that war is very much about the violent domination of women... The film moves briskly and easily holds your attention..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 748 words, 12/23/11
Mark Jenkins, NPR: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...serious... well-made... the director, as might be expected, elicits nuanced performances. There's only so much the actors can do, however, with Jolie's script."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 12/23/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Its core story is less compelling than its overall atmosphere.... Yet the fact remains that this is a first film and Jolie has accomplished a great deal in a difficult area."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 12/23/11
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...alternately disturbing and titillating picture reps a dramatically misguided attempt to renew public awareness of the 1992-95 Balkan conflict."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 946 words, 12/16/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...impressively mounted... gradually reveals itself first and foremost as a compendium of atrocities, a catalogue of pointless abuse and killings no one did much to stop..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,121 words, 12/16/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Its core story is less compelling than its overall atmosphere.... Yet the fact remains that this is a first film and Jolie has accomplished a great deal in a difficult area."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 12/23/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "While visually the movie does not look like a first work, narratively and dramatically, it suffers from some serious weaknesses.... the melodrama becomes contrived..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 12/22/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...introduces the idea that war is very much about the violent domination of women... The film moves briskly and easily holds your attention..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 748 words, 12/23/11
16.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
In the Land of Blood and Honey's reviews are separated by an average 16.6 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.
In the Land of Blood and Honey (38 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:In the Land of Blood and Honey's reviews cover 72.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,250 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 559 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
In the Land of Blood and Honey Coverage, Volume & Length (38 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 8 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
In the Land of Blood and Honey's reviews on average broke 8 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 In the Land of Blood and Honey's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
In the Land of Blood and Honey (38 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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