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TYRANNOSAURMovie Reviews
Drama about an unemployed widower with a drinking problem and violent temper and a seemingly happy married woman who become one another's unlikely saviors. Cast:Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Ned Dennehy, Sally CarmanDirector:Paddy ConsidineRelease Date:November 18, 2011DVD Release:April 10, 2012From:Strand ReleasingLength:1 hr 31 min
Tyrannosaur played in key cities to good reviews. • Patrick Z. McGavin wrote for Cinema 24/7, "A searing meditation on the nature of good and evil.... a good film about furious and unsettling people trying to make good in a world without much light." • And Steven Rea wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...the experience of watching this skillfully made film is, well, exhausting." More Reviews Below...
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the first feature film directed by the great actor, Paddy Considine... Peter Mullan's performance here is muscular and unrelenting."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 12/02/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Paddy Considine's style is low-key and generous toward his actors.... a very human story that offers a view of life through clear lenses..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,277 words, 04/10/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "The characters are trapped, suffocated, pushed through a story that gives them very little room or time to figure themselves out... the wan stuff of fable."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 488 words, 11/18/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman give hard-as-nails, lived-in performances... isn't easy viewing, and surely isn't pretty, but director Paddy Considine's actors are remarkable."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 178 words, 11/18/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of film that leaves you limp, exhausted and feeling battered by the end. But its wrenching performances make the beating worth weathering."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 11/18/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...a sorry British art-house exploitation picture... What is the message of this film, which features several gruesome beatings and a man urinating on a sleeping woman?"(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 170 words, 11/18/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...hammers home the impoverished emotional lives of its characters.... The result is a picture that is baldly manipulative yet weirdly sentimental..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 12/02/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the first feature film directed by the great actor, Paddy Considine... Peter Mullan's performance here is muscular and unrelenting."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 12/02/11
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: EXCELLENT "...consists of modulated quiet, tentative communion, ramshackle absurdity, and selective flashes of sadism.... Olivia Colman's performance comes as a revelation."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 03/23/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...you won't find two finer performances in recent times than those by Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman... they search for humanity amidst the social ruins."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 01/27/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...steeped in the tradition of kitchen-sink realism, the Brits do grim quite well.... this version takes the form of an unlikely love story..."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 696 words, 01/27/12
Melissa Anderson, LA Weekly: WEAK "British miserablism at its most numbingly brutal and blunt.... a relentless, near-gratuitous wallow in other people's pain.... At best, an actor's showcase..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 11/17/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...there's a sense, as one awful event piles atop the last, that the filmmaker is trying to outdo Leigh and Loach for cinematic suffering. And that gets wearying."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 122 words, 01/26/12
KEY CITIES (5 Reviews)
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a character study steeped in the British (and Irish) tradition of social realism, and the experience of watching this skillfully made film is, well, exhausting."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 257 words, 10/28/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...cruelly frank about the ways damage cascades down to the powerless, but while it's not for the fainthearted (or for animal lovers), rewards are there."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 03/02/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The actors are superb, and stylistically, Considine's direction is both controlled and inventive... If only Considine was not so intent on trying to shock us."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 538 words, 11/18/11
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: EXCELLENT "...consists of modulated quiet, tentative communion, ramshackle absurdity, and selective flashes of sadism.... Olivia Colman's performance comes as a revelation."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 03/23/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "It sounds like an exercise in miserabilism, but Considine extracts black comedy, compassion, and dignity from his downtrodden characters and their blighted setting."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 158 words, 02/23/12
Melissa Anderson, LA Weekly: WEAK "British miserablism at its most numbingly brutal and blunt.... a relentless, near-gratuitous wallow in other people's pain.... At best, an actor's showcase..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 11/17/11
Keith Phipps, AV Club: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Paddy Considine directs with the confidence of a veteran, giving his actors room to work while letting an ominous, overcast mood hang over almost every scene."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 559 words, 11/17/11
Simon Abrams, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "Considine goes to such great lengths to sensationalize his unlovable protagonist's myriad acts of violence that it's almost impossible to take him seriously.... almost."(See all of Simon Abrams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 668 words, 03/25/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...there's a sense, as one awful event piles atop the last, that the filmmaker is trying to outdo Leigh and Loach for cinematic suffering. And that gets wearying."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 122 words, 01/26/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "The characters are trapped, suffocated, pushed through a story that gives them very little room or time to figure themselves out... the wan stuff of fable."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 488 words, 11/18/11
Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: VERY GOOD "At its tortured heart, 'Tyrannosaur' is a love story disguised as blunt instrument.... this bruising slice of urban life rewards our patience. Hope flickers feebly, but it's there..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 11/17/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of film that leaves you limp, exhausted and feeling battered by the end. But its wrenching performances make the beating worth weathering."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 11/18/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Charles Gant, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "Brit thesp Paddy Considine makes a strong writing-helming feature debut... Character, dialogue, storyline and production values exude grit..."(See all of Charles Gant's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 718 words, 01/21/11
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "Propelled by performances full of scalding anger and pain... a shattering drama about surviving violence, even when it comes from within."(See all of David Rooney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 936 words, 01/28/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of film that leaves you limp, exhausted and feeling battered by the end. But its wrenching performances make the beating worth weathering."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 11/18/11
Patrick Z. McGavin, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "A searing meditation on the nature of good and evil.... a good film about furious and unsettling people trying to make good in a world without much light."(See all of Patrick Z. McGavin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 968 words, 02/06/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "The characters are trapped, suffocated, pushed through a story that gives them very little room or time to figure themselves out... the wan stuff of fable."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 488 words, 11/18/11
17.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Tyrannosaur's reviews are separated by an average 17.6 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.
Tyrannosaur (25 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Tyrannosaur's reviews cover 24.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 12,488 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 500 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 6 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Tyrannosaur's reviews on average broke 6 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 Tyrannosaur's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Tyrannosaur (25 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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