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KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (KONGEN AV BASTØY)Movie Reviews
Norwegian language drama based on the true story of an inmate rebellion at the Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility. Cast:Benjamin Helstad, Trond Nilssen, Kristoffer Joner, Stellan Skarsgård, Magnus Langlete, Morten Lovstad, Ellen Dorrit PetersenDirector:Marius HolstRelease Date:November 18, 2011DVD Release:March 12, 2012From:Film MovementRating:RLength:1 hr. 56 min.
MARCH 12, 2012
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy), Good Reviews Limited
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) played in limited release to good reviews. • Walter Addiego wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...surprisingly effective, and affecting... Director Marius Holst employs old-school means - thick atmospherics, ripe acting and a straightforward narrative arc." • And Liam Lacey wrote in the Toronto Globe & Mail, "...conventional but well-made..." More Reviews Below...
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) Positive Reviews (14 Reviews, reviews below)
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: VERY GOOD(cg) "Stellan Skarsgard is quite effective as Bestyreren... The film plays well, and is involving, but in one form or another, this is a story often told."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 01/20/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Its refusal to adopt a single point of view may be conceptually ambitious, but it keeps the drama unfocussed, and slightly off balance."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 11/18/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Marius Holst's solid storytelling balances the heavy-handed symbolism. Skarsgård is excellent as always, but it's really Helstad who grounds this unsettling tale."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 174 words, 11/18/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...reform school movie tropes of a hundred predecessors are unfortunately allowed to take over.... an austere and occasionally stirring yarn."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 242 words, 02/03/12
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has many of the conventions of movies about sadistic prisons... Marius Holst gives the proceedings a fresh look, thanks to sturdy acting, direction and cinematography."(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 205 words, 11/18/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Stellan Skarsgard is quite effective as Bestyreren... The film plays well, and is involving, but in one form or another, this is a story often told."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 01/20/12
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...follows the resonant 'Cool Hand Luke'/'Cuckoo's Nest' formula pretty closely until the prison uprising (which this microgenre often avoids) blows up stirringly..."(See all of Michael Atkinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 11/16/11
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...reminds us yet again of how little penal systems have ever been about reform and perhaps how little has changed in nearly a century."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 323 words, 03/16/12
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...conventional but well-made... Skarsgard excels as the archetypal whited sepulchre, the man whose upstanding social status hides an inner world of shame and corruption."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 03/16/12
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...there's nothing particularly new about this competent but inelegant prison drama, at least not to an audience familiar with 'Brute Force' or 'The Shawshank Redemption.' "(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 03/15/12
KEY CITIES (2 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Recent Scandinavian films, culminating in the 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' series, have been steadily carving out a gloomy cinematic niche... add this to that list."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 12/16/11
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...surprisingly effective, and affecting... Director Marius Holst employs old-school means - thick atmospherics, ripe acting and a straightforward narrative arc."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 209 words, 01/06/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...follows the resonant 'Cool Hand Luke'/'Cuckoo's Nest' formula pretty closely until the prison uprising (which this microgenre often avoids) blows up stirringly..."(See all of Michael Atkinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 11/16/11
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...there's nothing particularly new about this competent but inelegant prison drama, at least not to an audience familiar with 'Brute Force' or 'The Shawshank Redemption.' "(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 03/15/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Its refusal to adopt a single point of view may be conceptually ambitious, but it keeps the drama unfocussed, and slightly off balance."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 11/18/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...reform school movie tropes of a hundred predecessors are unfortunately allowed to take over.... an austere and occasionally stirring yarn."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 242 words, 02/03/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (3 Reviews)
Alissa Simon, Daily Variety: GOOD "...turns the story of a 1915 uprising at a brutally run boys' reform school into old-fashioned epic drama. Watchable if not entirely engrossing..."(See all of Alissa Simon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 02/10/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...reform school movie tropes of a hundred predecessors are unfortunately allowed to take over.... an austere and occasionally stirring yarn."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 242 words, 02/03/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Its refusal to adopt a single point of view may be conceptually ambitious, but it keeps the drama unfocussed, and slightly off balance."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 11/18/11
7.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy)'s reviews are separated by an average 7.4 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.
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) (14 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy)'s reviews cover 16.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,331 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 381 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) Coverage, Volume & Length (14 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 31 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy)'s reviews on average broke 31 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 King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) (14 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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