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UPSIDE DOWN (2013)Movie Reviews
Science fiction fantasy about childhood sweethearts who live on twinned planets with gravities that pull in opposite directions, keeping them apart. Cast:Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess, Timothy Spall, Agnieshka Wnorowska, Neil Napier, Jayne Heitmeyer, Frank M. Ahearn, Heidi Hawkins, James Kidnie, Holly O'Brien, Larry Day, John Maclaren, Don Jordan, Vincent Messina, Holden WongDirector:Juan Diego SolanasRelease Date:March 15, 2013DVD Release:June 18, 2013From:Millenium EntertainmentRating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 45 min.
Upside Down (2013) opened in key cities to fair reviews. • Peter Keough wrote in the Boston Phoenix, "...earnest dopiness.... Worth a look if only for the Caspar David Friedrich-inspired imagery and shots of Timothy Spall's teeth." More Reviews Below...
Upside Down (2013) Positive Reviews (25 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: FAIR "...boasts a beguiling mirror-world premise.... Absent any emotional grounding, the film is a gorgeous, sterile construction, like a dream city unoccupied by humans."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,038 words, 03/15/13
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: FAIR(cg) "...a fancy piece of junk.... organized around a visual stunt so annoying that you can just tell how clever director Juan Solanas must have thought it was."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 162 words, 03/15/13
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media: WEAK(cg) "...will surely wow audiences with its awesome visuals but floor them with its terrible storytelling.... By the time the final narration kicks in, it's hard not to groan... Age 13."(See all of Jeffrey M. Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 03/12/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...murky.... The novelty of the idea quickly wears thin. The production design is too busy, and the film's desaturated palette is forbiddingly austere.... simply awful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 03/15/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Kirsten Dunst is the only participant who understands the need for a light hand, but she's unable to connect with her aggressively earnest leading man."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 327 words, 03/15/13
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Though the film's sociopolitical messaging is less compelling and original than its eye-popping imagery, the fanciful film is worth the leap."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 03/15/13
Kyle Smith, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...the bland love story never keeps up with the effects. The movie is like an exquisitely made china cabinet built to house paper plates and a spork."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 287 words, 03/15/13
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Is the film something to look at? Yes.... But that's not enough for a full-length, full-bodied, romance.... it ends up exactly where it shouldn't go: sideways."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 03/15/13
Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...despite a lovely performance by Dunst and a very earnest one by Sturgess, the script's huge holes turn this beautifully filmed production into a stylish mishmash."(See all of Bill Zwecker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 03/15/13
Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The picture's best moments are often the simplest... Dunst is radiant, as always, though it's radiance with depth... there just isn't enough of her."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 241 words, 03/13/13
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "The hardest thing of all to suss is why filmmakers still consider British actor Jim Sturgess to be leading man material. His default mode is bland earnestness..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 696 words, 04/26/13
James Adams, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "While Dunst is radiant throughout, well worthy of Adam's quest, Sturgess's Adam is too much the puppy dog to be a convincing suitor."(See all of James Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 593 words, 04/26/13
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...the cinematography is simply gorgeous. But the rest of the movie ultimately gets weighed down by its own ponderous, and increasingly contradictory, logic."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 03/15/13
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...gives you four movies for the price of one. You get sci-fi.... you get a love story.... You get a dystopian fantasy.... Finally, you get political allegory."(See all of Mark Feeney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 03/15/13
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "...it starts off well enough, and Solanas has a marvelous sense of space and style. But it doesn't really develop its story, or its themes."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 03/15/13
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "Brilliant premise, so-so story.... the love-story plot, between Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess, is only serviceable."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 03/15/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The picture's best moments are often the simplest... Dunst is radiant, as always, though it's radiance with depth... there just isn't enough of her."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 241 words, 03/13/13
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...earnest dopiness.... Worth a look if only for the Caspar David Friedrich-inspired imagery and shots of Timothy Spall's teeth."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 177 words, 03/15/13
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: POOR(cg) "...the most embarrassing, hilarious, obliviously stupid movie since M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening'... Exasperating idiocy abounds throughout..."(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 715 words, 03/14/13
Alexa Camp, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...it's difficult to become engaged in these star-crossed lovers' plight when the film possesses such a fundamental misunderstanding of the laws of gravity..."(See all of Alexa Camp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 392 words, 03/13/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "...goes all the way with a madly chancy concept... the look -- along with the sound -- gives the film its distinction.... it's beguiling if you're willing to invert disbelief."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 03/15/13
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...murky.... The novelty of the idea quickly wears thin. The production design is too busy, and the film's desaturated palette is forbiddingly austere.... simply awful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 03/15/13
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Though the film's sociopolitical messaging is less compelling and original than its eye-popping imagery, the fanciful film is worth the leap."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 03/15/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
John Anderson, Variety: FAIR "...half the cast is always upside down. It's a notion that ultimately demands too much heavy lifting for a movie that's supposed to be a flight of fantasy."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 03/14/13
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...dizzyingly loopy... boasts visual imagination to spare even as its logistical complexities and heavy-handed symbolism ultimately prove off-putting."(See all of Frank Scheck's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 03/13/13
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "Though the film's sociopolitical messaging is less compelling and original than its eye-popping imagery, the fanciful film is worth the leap."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 03/15/13
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...murky.... The novelty of the idea quickly wears thin. The production design is too busy, and the film's desaturated palette is forbiddingly austere.... simply awful."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 03/15/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "...goes all the way with a madly chancy concept... the look -- along with the sound -- gives the film its distinction.... it's beguiling if you're willing to invert disbelief."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 03/15/13
15.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Upside Down (2013)'s reviews are separated by an average 15.5 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.
Upside Down (2013) (25 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Upside Down (2013)'s reviews cover 41.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 11,813 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 472 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 41.5 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Upside Down (2013)'s reviews on average broke 41.5 hours after 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 Upside Down (2013)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Upside Down (2013) (25 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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