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TAKE SHELTERMovie Reviews
Drama about a man whose disturbing ominous visions begin to weigh on his marriage and community as he constructs a heavily fortified storm shelter. Cast:Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea WhighamDirector:Jeff NicholsRelease Date:September 30, 2011DVD Release:February 14, 2012From:Sony PicturesRating:RLength:2 hr 0 min
Take Shelter played in key cities to outstanding reviews. • Ann Hornaday wrote in the Washington Post, "Taut, unsettling, haunting and powerful... stars Michael Shannon in a shattering performance as a man caught up in forces beyond his control." • And Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "...offers little refuge; instead, it holds up a mean mirror to our times. It is a disturbing, jittery, powerful portrait of now. See it." More Reviews Below...
Take Shelter Positive Reviews (46 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Shannon's performance is subtle, devastating... 'Take Shelter' is too slow and too long, but the performances make it indelible."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 102 words, 09/29/11
Richard Corliss, Time: EXCELLENT "...an eerie drama that blends impulses of the art film (family tensions seeking resolution) with those of the mainstream (a lone man facing great calamity).... rare..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 09/23/11
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Director Jeff Nichols achieves such a seamless balance and such a gripping, tense tone, it's hard to believe this is only his second feature film."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 667 words, 09/29/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Writer-director Jeff Nichols builds his elegantly shot, weather-sensitive horror story in waves of tension that crest as if pulled by tempests."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 79 words, 09/30/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "Shannon gives himself over completely to a complex role and leaves you shattered.... Chastain's quietly implosive performance breaks your heart."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 168 words, 09/30/11
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: OUTSTANDING(cg) "As impressive as the film's scares are, there's a lot more to 'Take Shelter' than the sensations it so successfully evokes."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 760 words, 09/27/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...remarkable.... a horror movie that will trouble your sleep not with visions of monsters but with a more familiar dread."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 945 words, 09/30/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Michael Shannon creates depth through careful restraint. If a performance this powerful isn't nominated for an Oscar, the world really might be upside-down."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 09/30/11
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It would be possible to appreciate Michael Shannon's fabulous work in 'Take Shelter' far better if the filmmaker lost a quarter of the two-hour running time..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 352 words, 09/30/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Shannon's formidable presence never crowds the larger, scarier riddles underpinning this spare tale of one man's psychic suffocation."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 10/07/11
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Chastain grounds the film by listening and responding, making it as much a portrait of a marriage as it is a portrayal of madness in crazy times."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 09/28/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Here's how Nichols described it: 'It's a snapshot of a feeling that's out in the world right now. It's a general sense of stress and anxiety and I think it's palpable.' Indeed it is."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 10/14/11
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...resonates with the Doomsday economic and environmental scenarios and the fear-mongering hyperbole of the airwaves."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 587 words, 10/14/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Shannon conveys the uncertain terror of a man who'd almost prefer to be losing his mind if it meant the rest of the world could keep going."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 10/13/11
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Taut, unsettling, haunting and powerful... stars Michael Shannon in a shattering performance as a man caught up in forces beyond his control."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 511 words, 10/14/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Jeff Nichols keeps the film crackling with anxiety, understanding that impending violence is the scariest kind."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 191 words, 10/14/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Our nightmares may not be as tactile, but they are every bit as real, and Shannon and Nichols capture that.... a fascinating character study... a kind of horror movie as well."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 10/28/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Shannon roots the character in a plainspoken decency that feels American and true. You can smell the sweat on this man's work shirt..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 971 words, 10/21/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the strange, gripping story... a movie that confronts its own hard challenges - and feels utterly, uncomfortably relevant in this new Age of Anxiety."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 547 words, 09/30/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a psychological ticking-clock movie that accumulates real terror on the back of Michael Shannon's powerhouse acting."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 10/21/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...one of 2011's best.... Shannon is perfectly cast, a creepily magnetic actor with an otherworldly calm, tight jaw and piercing, set-apart eyes."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 11/17/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...offers little refuge; instead, it holds up a mean mirror to our times. It is a disturbing, jittery, powerful portrait of now. See it."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 361 words, 10/28/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...depicts the day-to-day lives of the working class with precision and affection... contains some of the best dream sequences I've ever seen..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 541 words, 10/28/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Chastain grounds the film by listening and responding, making it as much a portrait of a marriage as it is a portrayal of madness in crazy times."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 09/28/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...doesn't have the ring of the 'I'm mad as hell!' tirade in 'Network'... wavers between the terrifying stasis of 'The Birds' and the bogus theatrics of 'The Happening.' "(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 180 words, 10/20/11
Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...so baldly metaphorical at its climax that it began to feel pretentious to me... There's an intriguing idea here, but it needed to be better disguised."(See all of Mike D'Angelo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 05/16/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: VERY GOOD(cg) "Shannon has certainly cornered the cuckoo-bird market, and how you feel about 'Take Shelter' will depend largely on how you respond to his patented nutcase technique."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 750 words, 09/29/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Shannon conveys the uncertain terror of a man who'd almost prefer to be losing his mind if it meant the rest of the world could keep going."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 10/13/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT(cg) "...harnesses the intensity of some superb actors as well as spine-chilling set pieces for a tense character study about the devastation caused by mental illness."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 10/28/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a dazzling piece of filmmaking... isn't the sort of film you'd seek out for fun and relaxation. It's ultimately a bleak vision, and a circumscribed one, but remarkable..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 09/30/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...remarkable.... a horror movie that will trouble your sleep not with visions of monsters but with a more familiar dread."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 945 words, 09/30/11
David Denby, New Yorker: OUTSTANDING "...a poetic apprehension of some unfathomable oncoming disaster.... a frightening movie, but it's so sensitively made that it's a compliment to the audience..."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 488 words, 10/10/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING "An intense psychological thriller that builds toward an explosive conclusion... may be the most powerful American film I've seen this year."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,055 words, 09/29/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...finds writer-director Jeff Nichols honing, polishing and amply confirming the raw filmmaking talent he displayed in 'Shotgun Stories.' "(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 01/25/11
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "...a masterfully controlled piece of work... from its precise modulation of mood to its piercing emotional accuracy, its impeccable craftsmanship and breathtaking imagery."(See all of David Rooney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 05/15/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...absorbing and impressively made... has a daunting cumulative power and eerie suggestiveness.... director Jeff Nichols creates a spellbinding psychological horror."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 899 words, 01/30/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...remarkable.... a horror movie that will trouble your sleep not with visions of monsters but with a more familiar dread."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 945 words, 09/30/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a dazzling piece of filmmaking... isn't the sort of film you'd seek out for fun and relaxation. It's ultimately a bleak vision, and a circumscribed one, but remarkable..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 09/30/11
13.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Take Shelter's reviews are separated by an average 13.4 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.
Take Shelter (46 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Take Shelter's reviews cover 86.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 23,610 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 513 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Take Shelter Coverage, Volume & Length (46 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 42.7 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Take Shelter's reviews on average broke 42.7 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 Take Shelter's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Take Shelter (46 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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