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KITESMovie Reviews
Hindi language romantic thriller about the love affair between a man left for dead in the Mexican desert and the woman who rescues him, who happens to be engaged to another man. Cast:Hrithik Roshan, Bárbara Mori, Kangana Ranaut, Kabir Bedi, Nick BrownDirector:Anurag BasuRelease Date:May 21, 2010DVD Release:February 15, 2011From:Reliance BIG PicturesLength:2 hr. 10 min.
Kites played in regional release to good reviews. • Mick LaSalle wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "This is opera. This is the big stuff, folks.... 'Love! Love! Love!' Go in smirking, but by the time it's over, you'll believe." • And Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "...made in the violently schlocky spirit of Sam Peckinpah's 'The Getaway'... The pulp is served thick, with so much sincerely purple passion it's disarming." More Reviews Below...
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...made in the violently schlocky spirit of Sam Peckinpah's 'The Getaway'... The pulp is served thick, with so much sincerely purple passion it's disarming."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 98 words, 05/28/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "...a lovers-on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism, so devoted to diversion that you probably won't even notice the corn.... It's all completely loony..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 05/21/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets away with everything because of director Anurag Basu's visual bravura and unstinting passion and energy.... an exhilarating escapist entertainment..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 05/21/10
Frank Lovece, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...non-CGI car crashes, swipes from Charlie Chaplin and 'Thelma and Louise,' and a boldly old-fashioned, I'll-die-without-you, nobly self-sacrificing movie romance."(See all of Frank Lovece's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 289 words, 05/21/10
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...transplants the scale and style of epic Bollywood entertainment... Crossover fans of the genre ought to relish the side dishes of screen and score excess."(See all of Bill Stamets's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 05/21/10
David Chute, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "Not even the incoherent mish-mash of plot can entirely dim the appeal of this match-up between a blue-eyed Punjabi and a blue-eyed Mexican of almost equal comeliness."(See all of David Chute's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 263 words, 05/18/10
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a tale of star-crossed lovers, one from the East, the other from the West, a relentless villain, a terrifying chase and a film you won't soon forget."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 450 words, 05/21/10
Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...a violent Wild West gangster fantasy romance - with musical numbers, of course.... 'Kites' blows in too many directions."(See all of Jennie Punter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 453 words, 05/21/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...an improvement on your average Bollywood fare, but that's not much of a compliment.... earnestly tries to be a Tarantino-style homage to genre films."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 162 words, 05/20/10
KEY CITIES (5 Reviews)
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...observes the B-movie convention of giving the audience an embrace, explosion, or chase sequence at regular intervals. If you don't like the genre, wait three minutes."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 05/21/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...tells a simple story... It's all pure, all loving, all a matter of life and death, just the way you felt when you were a teenager."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 05/21/10
Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News: MODERATE(cg) "...a cliché-packed action-romance... complete with unfathomable chase scenes and a 'Thelma & Louise' ending that is laugh-out-loud hilarious."(See all of Manuel Mendoza's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 418 words, 05/21/10
Ted Fry, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the overblown action is all part of a piece in a giddy, hyperbolic style that has made Bollywood more popular than Hollywood to much of the world."(See all of Ted Fry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 05/21/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
David Chute, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "Not even the incoherent mish-mash of plot can entirely dim the appeal of this match-up between a blue-eyed Punjabi and a blue-eyed Mexican of almost equal comeliness."(See all of David Chute's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 263 words, 05/18/10
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...a comically overwrought but still generally fun time. The story mines some humor out of the fact that Roshan and Mori don't share a language..."(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 05/27/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...an improvement on your average Bollywood fare, but that's not much of a compliment.... earnestly tries to be a Tarantino-style homage to genre films."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 162 words, 05/20/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "...a deliriously gleeful misplaced-in-translation plot allows both stars to be sexy, funny and really charming.... Tarantino-style mayhem seems to lurk around every plot curve."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 209 seconds, 05/21/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "...a lovers-on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism, so devoted to diversion that you probably won't even notice the corn.... It's all completely loony..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 05/21/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets away with everything because of director Anurag Basu's visual bravura and unstinting passion and energy.... an exhilarating escapist entertainment..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 05/21/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...deliriously entertaining... aims to give Indian song-and-dance pics the same sort of crossover success 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' did for Asian martial-arts movies."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 699 words, 05/20/10
Lisa Tsering, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...a grand, action-packed love story set amid the garishness of Las Vegas and starring one of India's most charismatic actors... there's no point in being shy about it."(See all of Lisa Tsering's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 05/20/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...gets away with everything because of director Anurag Basu's visual bravura and unstinting passion and energy.... an exhilarating escapist entertainment..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 05/21/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD "...a lovers-on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism, so devoted to diversion that you probably won't even notice the corn.... It's all completely loony..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 05/21/10
16.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Kites's reviews are separated by an average 16.5 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.
Coverage:Kites's reviews cover 26.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 6,691 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 335 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 40.0 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Kites's reviews on average broke 40.0 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 Kites's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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