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RED LIGHTS (2012)Movie Reviews
Thriller about a team of paranormal researchers determined to discredit their adversary, a legendary psychic, as a fraud. Cast:Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Toby Jones, Joely Richardson, Elizabeth Olsen, Craig Roberts, Adriane Lenox, Leonardo SbaragliaDirector:Rodrigo CortésRelease Date:July 13, 2012DVD Release:October 2, 2012From:Millenium EntertainmentRating:RLength:1 hr. 59 min.
Red Lights (2012) played in key cities to weak reviews. Reviews were mixed. • MaryAnn Johanson wrote for Flick Filosopher, "...all over the place in every way a movie can be... The entire endeavor is laughable and ludicrous, a victim of its own misplaced earnestness." • And Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "...gets some mileage out of its novel premise." More Reviews Below...
Red Lights (2012) Positive Reviews (32 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: POOR "...reaches for a 'The Sixth Sense'-style twist and whiffs it completely.... characters appear so randomly that it seems there has to be more to them..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 802 words, 07/11/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "...a melodramatic, gimmicky mess, full of noisy scares and needless cuts.... seems more interested in fooling us with sleight of hand, distractions and mumbo jumbo..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 592 words, 07/12/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...gets some mileage out of its novel premise.... highly influenced by the 'Is magic real?' games of Christopher Nolan's 'The Prestige'..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 87 words, 07/13/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...it's mystifying how such a muddled and silly movie drew the talented cast it did.... The original script must have read better than the final version."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 07/12/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For its first two acts, the movie had me in its grip. Then it comes apart. Is there a fatal compulsion that draws movies into unnecessary action scenes?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 433 words, 07/27/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "...a discordant thing that shouldn't be there, or here, or anywhere. Stultifying from start to finish... supremely incoherent -- plot-, dialogue- and character-wise."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 687 words, 07/10/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "Cortés's smart, talky screenplay and tense direction hold our attention.... [but] they should have known that a levitating De Niro was simply a séance too far."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 07/13/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...set in a world of mystics, mind-benders and various and sundry fake-psychic gobbledygook... all the fun gets lost in a bottom-drawer 'X Files' story."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 262 words, 07/13/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If only Cortés would disregard the conceptual window-dressing and focus on the core elements of storytelling, he might yet make a more complete and satisfying movie."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/13/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...preposterous and incoherent.... Weaver, in a role that inadvertently summons memories of 'Ghostbusters,' is the only thing saving it from a zero-star rating."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 07/13/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...not enough goes right... proceeds in such a halting manner, with De Niro's speeches going on and on and on, that before long you'd kill for an easy scare."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 327 words, 07/27/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: POOR "...borders on so-bad-it's-good-ness in a way that makes you wonder if it might be an intentional goof -- a sort of ridiculously mannered gothic melodrama..."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 728 words, 07/13/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For its first two acts, the movie had me in its grip. Then it comes apart. Is there a fatal compulsion that draws movies into unnecessary action scenes?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 433 words, 07/27/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...a thriller in which suspense depends on keeping both viewer and protagonist teetering... the film is pocked with holes through which a first-drafty wind blows."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 808 words, 07/11/12
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...bolstered by three great performances.... a textured and intricate puzzle, a film equal parts mystery and tragedy, that will leave you unsettled but satisfied."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 08/10/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...finds the director of 'Buried' expanding well beyond the man-in-a-box gimmick of that airtight thriller. But he's overreached drastically with this creeper..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 08/09/12
KEY CITIES (6 Reviews)
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "There was probably a good movie in here at some point, or there certainly could have been... it would take someone with real extrasensory powers to find it..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 08/03/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: WEAK(cg) "...a loud and often hysterical mess... full of jumping tables and exploding light bulbs but minus anything approaching consistent characters or decent dialogue."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 453 words, 07/13/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...for all its flaws, 'Red Lights' is certainly never dull; there are so many engaging actors chewing so much scenery."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 08/03/12
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...spooky... Sigourney Weaver is forbiddingly grim and focused... Cillian Murphy is the personification of haunted unease... De Niro is at once diabolical and silken..."(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 08/10/12
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: FAIR(cg) "By the time the film reaches its convoluted, bombastic and preposterous climax, any sense of real magic that it once conveyed has utterly vanished."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 194 words, 08/03/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR(cg) "Rodrigo Cortés is too good of a filmmaker not to learn from his sophomore slump. He'll bounce back. 'Red Lights,' though, can't be forgotten quickly enough."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 08/03/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...a thriller in which suspense depends on keeping both viewer and protagonist teetering... the film is pocked with holes through which a first-drafty wind blows."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 808 words, 07/11/12
Patrick Z. McGavin, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "...poetry of terror gives way to a wildly baroque and incident-packed plot that proves hyperbolic, mannered, and ridiculously overwrought."(See all of Patrick Z. McGavin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 07/26/12
Noel Murray, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the movie just sort of... peters out, as the fights between good and evil become less intellectual and more physical, and thus more common.... bizarre."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 01/21/12
Marisa LaScala, Pop Matters: MODERATE(cg) "...works its way to an impressive ending... Still, all of the smoke and mirrors that come before this finale might leave viewers feeling skeptical about the whole thing."(See all of Marisa LaScala's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 654 words, 07/23/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...weds an earnest, simplified exploration of the nature of faith with a goofy, gussied-up B-movie plot... Its most operatic moments are actually its weakest."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 923 words, 07/12/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...finds the director of 'Buried' expanding well beyond the man-in-a-box gimmick of that airtight thriller. But he's overreached drastically with this creeper..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 08/09/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "...all over the place in every way a movie can be... The entire endeavor is laughable and ludicrous, a victim of its own misplaced earnestness."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 06/15/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "Cortés's smart, talky screenplay and tense direction hold our attention.... [but] they should have known that a levitating De Niro was simply a séance too far."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 07/13/12
Mark Jenkins, NPR: MODERATE "Cortes continues to challenge magical thinking, but ultimately submits to it. The only mystery is which of the characters will turn the screw of the twist ending."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 07/12/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If only Cortés would disregard the conceptual window-dressing and focus on the core elements of storytelling, he might yet make a more complete and satisfying movie."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/13/12
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: WEAK "...works best when it sticks to deconstructing the tactics of psychics and mesmerists... [but] once credibility vanishes, the whole house of cards collapses..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 01/21/12
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...discerning audiences will heed the title as sufficient warning.... looks good but has a sense of self-importance that makes it all the easier for it to sink of its own weight."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 515 words, 01/26/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "If only Cortés would disregard the conceptual window-dressing and focus on the core elements of storytelling, he might yet make a more complete and satisfying movie."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 07/13/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "Cortés's smart, talky screenplay and tense direction hold our attention.... [but] they should have known that a levitating De Niro was simply a séance too far."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 07/13/12
23.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Red Lights (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 23.8 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.
Red Lights (2012) (32 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Red Lights (2012)'s reviews cover 58.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 15,459 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 483 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Red Lights (2012)'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 Red Lights (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Red Lights (2012) (32 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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