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OCEANSMovie Reviews
Documentary about ocean creatures around the world. Cast:Jacques Perrin, Lancelot PerrinDirector:Jacques Perrin, Jacques CluzaudRelease Date:April 22, 2010DVD Release:October 19, 2010From:DisneynatureRating:GLength:1 hr 24 min
Oceans played to very good reviews. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "Having spent seven years working on 'Oceans,' including four years gathering footage, Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud created countless how'd-they-get-that? shots." • And Norman Wilner wrote in Toronto Now, "...spectacular stuff... doesn't shy away from the harsher realities of life in the wild." More Reviews Below...
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Having spent seven years working on 'Oceans,' including four years gathering footage, Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud created countless how'd-they-get-that? shots."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 04/22/10
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Just when you're certain that you've gawked at the oddest life-form that 2 million years of evolution has ever coughed up, this will dazzle you with something even stranger..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 04/23/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a lovely, meditative dive into the life aquatic. Celebrating the waters that cover 70% of our planet and the teeming life within them is a terrific way to observe Earth Day."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 373 words, 04/22/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "All the crystalline imagery and poetic immediacy that we have come to expect... almost too soothing.... Pierce Brosnan's narration is excruciatingly bland..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 04/22/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: EXCELLENT "...manages to show us things we've never seen and make what we have already seen look different and new.... This is not just another world, it's an alien universe..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 643 words, 04/22/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "It isn't just the marvelously rich photography that makes 'Oceans' such a sensuous, invigorating documentary... seems like it was imagined by Martin Scorsese."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 04/22/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "...sticks to safe generalities, ignoring hot-button issues like whaling and global warming. Pollution gets barely a nod; the fishing industry gets a light knuckle-rap."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 04/22/10
Bryant Manning, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud's gloriously photographed -- if somewhat aimless -- film is mostly confident in its power to dazzle rather than to preach."(See all of Bryant Manning's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 441 words, 04/22/10
Michelle Orange, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "An almost miraculously photographed showcase of some of the seven seas' least seen and most incredible specimens... a jaw-dropper as a visual travelogue..."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 04/21/10
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...delivers an astonishing look at life below the waves... an urgent message about the need to protect a world where abounding life is under threat as never before."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 04/22/10
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Disney has promised to make a contribution to The Nature Conservancy to save coral reefs... Somewhere a garden eel may be doing a dance of gratitude."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 04/22/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...spectacular stuff... doesn't shy away from the harsher realities of life in the wild.... parents may want to run through the circle-of-life speech before the lights go down."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 04/22/10
KEY CITIES (8 Reviews)
Rachel Saslow, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...does nothing to engage the brain. The narrator, Pierce Brosnan, rarely tells viewers about the wildlife's mating rituals, hunting tricks or even which ocean they live in."(See all of Rachel Saslow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 04/23/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "The dramatic high point has to be a frenzied jam of dolphins and whales, gulls and sharks, all feeding furiously on a giant school of sardines."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 512 words, 04/22/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the movie magic here -- mammals and fish, corals and crustaceans so strange, whimsical and blessedly numerous -- is all Mother Nature's own."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 317 words, 04/23/10
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Whereas 'Earth' told its ecological message through the lives of animals struggling through a season... 'Oceans' is more of a random collection of images from the deep."(See all of Cary Darling's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 393 words, 04/22/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) " 'What is the ocean?' asks Pierce Brosnan in narration that smells of existential ponderousness and cognac.... Come for the oceans. Stay for the critters."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 04/22/10
Stephen Whitty, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE(cg) "...beautifully shot and has some how'd-they-get-that closeups. And it certainly means well. But it also feels just a little dull and too determinedly good-for-you..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 367 words, 04/22/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Narrated soothingly by Pierce Brosnan -- almost too soothingly; those ocean waves seem to have made him a little sleepy -- 'Oceans' is a quiet pleasure."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 04/23/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a visually exquisite film that doesn't ignore the truths of pollution and predatory survival.... inherently valuable."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 04/22/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Michelle Orange, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "An almost miraculously photographed showcase of some of the seven seas' least seen and most incredible specimens... a jaw-dropper as a visual travelogue..."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 04/21/10
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...any film offering images of the bizarre Chinese sheepshead fish and the underwater turf war between rival crab gangs is worth a look."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 154 words, 04/22/10
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...it comes to American theaters saddled with narration by Pierce Brosnan, who purrs through the gratingly vague script like the world's plummiest old half-drunken uncle."(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 438 words, 04/22/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...spectacular stuff... doesn't shy away from the harsher realities of life in the wild.... parents may want to run through the circle-of-life speech before the lights go down."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 04/22/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "All the crystalline imagery and poetic immediacy that we have come to expect... almost too soothing.... Pierce Brosnan's narration is excruciatingly bland..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 04/22/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...manages to show us things we've never seen and make what we have already seen look different and new.... This is not just another world, it's an alien universe..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 643 words, 04/22/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Jay Weissberg, Daily Variety: OUTSTANDING "...even viewers who don't care about fish will find plenty to exclaim about. Though there's a formlessness to it all, the wow factor will thrill the 'Earth' crowd..."(See all of Jay Weissberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 11/17/09
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...an ambitious, impressively filmed documentary... dramatic scenes of death on the high seas and creatures so amazing they seem to have swum out of a sci-fi novel."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 515 words, 11/06/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...manages to show us things we've never seen and make what we have already seen look different and new.... This is not just another world, it's an alien universe..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 643 words, 04/22/10
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "All the crystalline imagery and poetic immediacy that we have come to expect... almost too soothing.... Pierce Brosnan's narration is excruciatingly bland..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 04/22/10
15.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Oceans's reviews are separated by an average 15.9 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.
Oceans (28 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Oceans's reviews cover 43.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 11,088 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 396 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Oceans's reviews on average broke 3 days 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 Oceans's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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