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INKHEARTMovie Reviews
Adventure fantasy about a young girl's father who has the power to bring characters from books to life, and the power-hungry villain who steps out of a children's fable. Cast:Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Kathy Bates, Sienna GuilloryDirector:Iain SoftleyRelease Date:January 23, 2009DVD Release:June 23, 2009From:New LineRating:PGLength:1 hr 46 min
Inkheart played to fair reviews. • Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...the joys of losing yourself in reading are undermined by the movie's barrage of special effects and a convoluted plot." • And Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "...for a story devoted to the power of imagination and the supremacy of the written word, 'Inkheart' settles for a conventional action climax..." More Reviews Below...
Leah Rozen, People: WEAK(cg) "...uneasily juggles genres: heartwarming family tale; decibel-busting, special effects-heavy action flick; and 'Harry Potter' rip-off."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 136 words, 01/22/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "The mythology here is mind-bogglingly dense and, often, illogical. Maybe it worked better on the page; on the screen, it feels like an onslaught."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 01/22/09
Bradley Jacobs, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Fraser is quite flat in the CGI-filled adventure -- which never really makes sense... Paul Bettany stands out as a fire juggler who gets stuck in the modern world..."(See all of Bradley Jacobs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 79 words, 01/22/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the joys of losing yourself in reading are undermined by the movie's barrage of special effects and a convoluted plot."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 441 words, 01/23/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...aims for a blend of whimsy and tingly suspense but botches nearly every spell it tries to cast. Its opening scenes are more confusing than intriguing..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 676 words, 01/23/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) " 'The written word is a powerful thing.' Absolutely, kids.... crack open a book. The magic you'll find will certainly be better than this uninspired film."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 494 words, 01/23/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "Lots of screams, horrible fates almost happening, close scrapes, cries for help, special effects, monomania, quick thinking, pluck, fear and scrambling."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 686 words, 01/22/09
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "With no unifying sensibility, the magic thuds more often than it soars... that territory between the tangible and the imaginary never attains true vitality."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 01/23/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "Flying monkeys, a minotaur and the gravestone of Ebenezer Scrooge drop in and out like union workers who punch their time cards and then quit for the day."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 654 words, 01/23/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...for a story devoted to the power of imagination and the supremacy of the written word, 'Inkheart' settles for a conventional action climax (in the book, but still)..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 604 words, 01/23/09
Kamal Al-solaylee, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...lack of internal logic onscreen is staggering. I found myself spending as much time trying to guess at missing pieces of the plot as I did just watching the story unfold."(See all of Kamal Al-solaylee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 719 words, 01/23/09
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "It all smacks of that overdone 'passion for literature' common in English teachers who send any healthy-minded kid running from books."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 01/21/09
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Literary references abound, all geared to kids around 10. The pro-literacy and girl power messages nest comfortably in the story and never turn preachy."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 178 words, 01/22/09
KEY CITIES (16 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...for young teens in its demographic wheelhouse, 'Inkheart' packs a welcome amount of entertainment value, creating a genuinely original world of enchantment..."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 832 words, 01/23/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...passable, busily plotted... storybook Alpine vistas are lovely to behold, and bits of humor pop out in welcome moments... it never quite springs to life as intended..."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 01/23/09
Dale Roe, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: WEAK(cg) "...the script is maddeningly predictable.... the direction is scattershot... the characters are less dimensional than an illustration in a toddler's pop-up book."(See all of Dale Roe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 551 words, 01/23/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "You get the idea that there's a better movie lurking in 'Inkheart'... at least it may inspire kids to read, if for no other reason than to help make sense of it all."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 462 words, 01/23/09
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "There's no heart, no working metaphor to the story.... it's difficult to follow, probably because it doesn't make a viewer want to follow it."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 01/23/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...illustrates an obvious problem with making a movie about the joys of reading when the movie made is labored and sludgy looking: Why bother seeing it..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 596 words, 01/23/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...solid and joyless.... The overqualified cast gives its all but logical lapses and sober-sided direction siphon off the fun."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 01/23/09
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: MODERATE(cg) "...takes a great idea and then refuses to do much with that idea -- including, I'm afraid, explaining it clearly to the audience... structureless..."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 785 words, 01/23/09
Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a fast-moving, highly entertaining film for adults and children.... The computer-generated effects are grand but don't dominate the story. The scenery is splendid."(See all of Sarah Bryan Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 01/23/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: MODERATE(cg) " 'Someone's got to get us out of here and it won't be the writer,' a character exclaims, the most trenchant line in David Lindsay-Abaire's screenplay."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 01/22/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "You know a movie's not working when you see minotaurs, flying monkeys and Helen Mirren riding a unicorn -- all on the screen at the same time..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 427 words, 01/23/09
Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee: MODERATE(cg) "A few of the creatures, as well as one startling moment, might unsettle little ones in the audience. But the greater danger is that they'll fall asleep."(See all of Carla Meyer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 470 words, 01/23/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: MODERATE(cg) "Where's the fantasy? Where's the fun? Instead of a romp with book characters coming alive, it's as flat as the pages it's drawn from."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 732 words, 01/23/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "It all smacks of that overdone 'passion for literature' common in English teachers who send any healthy-minded kid running from books."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 01/21/09
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Parents may not enjoy it as much as their kids, but if these worlds within words drive a child to read, something's gone right.... It's familiar, to be sure, but a nice diversion..."(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 167 words, 01/22/09
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Literary references abound, all geared to kids around 10. The pro-literacy and girl power messages nest comfortably in the story and never turn preachy."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 178 words, 01/22/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...aims for a blend of whimsy and tingly suspense but botches nearly every spell it tries to cast. Its opening scenes are more confusing than intriguing..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 676 words, 01/23/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "...invincibly graceless... What the movie disgorges is an almost endless, and eventually meaningless, succession of bad guys from the book..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 01/23/09
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "With no unifying sensibility, the magic thuds more often than it soars... that territory between the tangible and the imaginary never attains true vitality."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 01/23/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: MODERATE "Despite abundant talent on both sides of the camera and a bevy of eye-catching supernatural beasties, it doesn't conjure much in the way of bigscreen magic."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 926 words, 12/11/08
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "With no unifying sensibility, the magic thuds more often than it soars... that territory between the tangible and the imaginary never attains true vitality."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 01/23/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...aims for a blend of whimsy and tingly suspense but botches nearly every spell it tries to cast. Its opening scenes are more confusing than intriguing..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 676 words, 01/23/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "...invincibly graceless... What the movie disgorges is an almost endless, and eventually meaningless, succession of bad guys from the book..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 01/23/09
18.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Inkheart's reviews are separated by an average 18.6 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.
Inkheart (38 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Inkheart's reviews cover 64.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,478 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 513 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 16.7 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Inkheart's reviews on average broke 16.7 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 Inkheart's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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