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THE CALLMovie Reviews
Thriller about a 911 operator who takes a call from an abducted teen that forces her to confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life. Cast:Abigail Breslin, Halle Berry, Morris Chestnut, Ella Rae Peck, Michael Imperioli, Roma Maffia, Michael Eklund, Evie Thompson, Steven Williams, Justina Machado, David Otunga, José Zúñiga, Tara Platt, Jenna Lamia, Rakefet AbergelDirector:Brad AndersonRelease Date:March 15, 2013DVD Release:June 25, 2013From:Sony PicturesLength:1 hr 35 min
The Call opened to good not great reviews. • Bill Zwecker wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times, "...predictable.... [but] Anderson's fast-paced direction and ability to keep us on the edge of our seats provides the right tone a good thriller should deliver." More Reviews Below...
The Call Positive Reviews (31 Reviews, reviews below)
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...a rudimentary, almost old-fashioned 90-minute escape that manages to achieve its low ambitions.... Berry keeps the film rolling even when it veers off course."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 03/14/13
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...surprisingly good, and surprisingly gruesome, fun.... Michael Eklund makes the most of the maniac role, and Breslin is a sympathetic victim..."(See all of Keith Staskiewicz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 127 words, 03/15/13
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "Halle Berry gives a convincing performance.... But she can't save a story that is shot through with holes and grows more preposterous..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 03/15/13
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a breakneck, truly thrilling thriller, one that builds excitement through both brains and brutality, both shock and suspense.... swift and straight as a marksman's arrow..."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 03/13/13
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...so effectively constructed that it recalls enormous hits of decades past like 'Fatal Attraction' and 'The Silence of the Lambs'... Age 17."(See all of Jeffrey M. Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 03/14/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...clever.... it's fitting that Mr. Anderson uses old-fashioned filmmaking techniques to build tension, and old-school exploitation tricks to justify taking the story dark..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 03/15/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...high quality trash that both diminishes and is redeemed by all the talents who have deigned to bring it to life.... Brad Anderson has a firm handle on things..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 343 words, 03/15/13
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...semi-fresh.... It buzzes along for a while... [eventually] by-the-numbers implausibility, over-the-top valor and unsavory contrivances take over..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 03/15/13
Sara Stewart, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "I'll say one thing: Its ending is actually a bit of a surprise. Just when you think it couldn't get any stupider, pow! I'll be damned..."(See all of Sara Stewart's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 515 words, 03/15/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "What would happen if you mixed 'Phone Booth' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' with a Tyler Perry movie? The results could be a lot worse but no weirder..."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 313 words, 03/16/13
Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...predictable.... [but] Anderson's fast-paced direction and ability to keep us on the edge of our seats provides the right tone a good thriller should deliver."(See all of Bill Zwecker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 553 words, 03/15/13
Chris Packham, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "Berry goes all Clarice Starling inside the spooky cabin where the bad guy keeps his 'Saw' basement... a departure from the film's thin blue line of realism..."(See all of Chris Packham's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 03/21/13
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...trashy but entertaining.... Hello, emergency? There's an excitable movie loose at the multiplex, and it can't seem to find its way home."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 618 words, 03/15/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...a feature-length episode of 'Criminal Minds,' with all the lurid sadism, frantic hysteria and paper-thin characterizations you'd expect from a TV procedural."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 396 words, 03/15/13
KEY CITIES (7 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "That ethos of empowerment is commendable, but by the outlandish and weirdly perfunctory conclusion, it feels less honorable than conveniently self-serving."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 03/15/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...a sordid slice of abduction porn... at once shamelessly transparent, manipulative, and far-fetched, and impossibly suspenseful. You'll want to take a shower afterward..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 03/15/13
Roger Moore, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...a real edge-of-your-seat thriller.... It's only when the story needs to string out its finale that the film goes wrong..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 462 words, 03/15/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "90 minutes of effective, grueling, increasingly ugly, eventually ridiculous suspense... a genre exercise, which means the movie has to get dumber and dumber..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 522 words, 03/15/13
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "...you'll find a movie with two smart actresses, a couple of good shocks and an unexpected ending.... it's a lot better than you might expect a movie like this to be."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 592 words, 03/15/13
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...if it were any more intense it would require a complete physical and medical clearance for admission into the theater.... a thriller that actually thrills."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 03/15/13
Chris Packham, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "Berry goes all Clarice Starling inside the spooky cabin where the bad guy keeps his 'Saw' basement... a departure from the film's thin blue line of realism..."(See all of Chris Packham's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 03/21/13
Kristy Puchko, Cinema Blend: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a white-knuckled thriller that's more gruesome and graphic than most horror movies masquerading as a crime drama, and it will make you lose control..."(See all of Kristy Puchko's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 796 words, 03/15/13
Scott Tobias, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...sinks from a solid, meat-and-potatoes redemption thriller to a lurid, gratuitous, relentlessly silly revenge story.... morphs into a nasty exploitation movie..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 03/14/13
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: MODERATE(cg) "...less impressionistic, more conventional, than 'The Machinist,' 'Transsiberian,' and 'Session 9'.... the investigation of psyches is increasingly unfocused..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 850 words, 03/15/13
Calum Marsh, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...an often frustrating combination of cleverness and stupidity.... The worst offense here, however, lies in a nasty and brutish last-minute twist..."(See all of Calum Marsh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 634 words, 03/14/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...a feature-length episode of 'Criminal Minds,' with all the lurid sadism, frantic hysteria and paper-thin characterizations you'd expect from a TV procedural."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 396 words, 03/15/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...clever.... it's fitting that Mr. Anderson uses old-fashioned filmmaking techniques to build tension, and old-school exploitation tricks to justify taking the story dark..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 03/15/13
Ian Buckwalter, NPR: FAIR "...mostly taut if overly slick.... Common sense goes out the window as the movie is left to limp to its bizarre finish, without anyone to call for rescue."(See all of Ian Buckwalter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 642 words, 03/14/13
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...semi-fresh.... It buzzes along for a while... [eventually] by-the-numbers implausibility, over-the-top valor and unsavory contrivances take over..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 03/15/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Andrew Barker, Variety: FAIR "...awfully familiar... there's little to differentiate this high-pitched screamer from a particularly feverish 'Law and Order' rerun... veers toward the ickily exploitative..."(See all of Andrew Barker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 690 words, 03/11/13
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "A tight little thriller that gets silly when the bad guy gets home.... for the most part a tense extreme-jeopardy thriller that delivers the intended goods."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 825 words, 03/11/13
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...semi-fresh.... It buzzes along for a while... [eventually] by-the-numbers implausibility, over-the-top valor and unsavory contrivances take over..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 03/15/13
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has such a preposterous and lame narrative that even a skillful director like Brad Anderson cannot do much but service the material..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 547 words, 03/12/13
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...clever.... it's fitting that Mr. Anderson uses old-fashioned filmmaking techniques to build tension, and old-school exploitation tricks to justify taking the story dark..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 03/15/13
13.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Call's reviews are separated by an average 13.8 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.
The Call (31 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Call's reviews cover 44.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 16,127 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 520 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Call Coverage, Volume & Length (31 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 6.3 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Call's reviews on average broke 6.3 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 The Call's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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