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WASTE LANDMovie Reviews
Documentary about visual artist Vik Muniz, who assembles his art from trash, and his intersection with the people of Jardim Gramacho, an enormous landfill in Brazil. Cast:Vik MunizDirector:Lucy WalkerRelease Date:October 29, 2010DVD Release:March 29, 2011From:Arthouse FilmsLength:1 hr 35 min
Waste Land played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "...patient, emotionally thorough, and free of easy string-pulling... everyone here is complex and strong." • And Steven Rea wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...in more insightful, inspiring ways it is about what happens when an artist invites his subjects into a truly collaborative relationship." More Reviews Below...
Waste Land Positive Reviews (23 Reviews, reviews below)
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "I suggest the work of a garbage picker is more satisfying than that of a derivatives broker. How does it feel to get rich selling worthless paper to people you have lied to?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 888 words, 02/10/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...inspiring... Artist Vik Muniz has a mystical faith in the artistic power of transformation, as one thing becomes another and garbage is turned into art."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 746 words, 10/29/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "That a beautiful film could be set in the world's largest garbage dump sounds like an oxymoron, but acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker has pulled off precisely that..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 11/05/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "I suggest the work of a garbage picker is more satisfying than that of a derivatives broker. How does it feel to get rich selling worthless paper to people you have lied to?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 888 words, 02/10/11
Eric Hynes, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "A fascinating look at the complex intersections of art and charity, reality and perception... The resultant art and film are uncommonly moving..."(See all of Eric Hynes's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 10/27/10
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a fascinating adventure, populated by memorable characters.... It's sheer pleasure watching Muniz work - seeing him seized by mad impulses of delight."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 11/26/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...in more insightful, inspiring ways it is about what happens when an artist invites his subjects into a truly collaborative relationship."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 12/03/10
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "The subject is Brazilian garbage pickers, called catadores, and how an artist created striking portraits of a half dozen of them and transformed their lives."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 448 words, 11/19/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...reduces this global catastrophe to touchingly human scale.... an invaluable job of documenting the humanity of its subjects."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 368 words, 12/10/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "The transformative power of art has been a recurring theme in films and literature for centuries, but rarely has the subject been illustrated so precisely... inspiring, illuminating..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 375 words, 01/28/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Eric Hynes, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "A fascinating look at the complex intersections of art and charity, reality and perception... The resultant art and film are uncommonly moving..."(See all of Eric Hynes's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 10/27/10
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a photographic tribute to the thousands who pick through the mountainous trash at Rio de Janeiro's central landfill... One worker: 'I'm a person now -- before, I was a little mule.' "(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 147 words, 11/18/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...inspiring... Artist Vik Muniz has a mystical faith in the artistic power of transformation, as one thing becomes another and garbage is turned into art."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 746 words, 10/29/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "That a beautiful film could be set in the world's largest garbage dump sounds like an oxymoron, but acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker has pulled off precisely that..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 11/05/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD "...strongest when it's not actively pulling at your emotions. Especially mesmerizing are the wordless sequences of the garbage pickers at work..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 625 words, 01/29/10
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "A joy to watch despite the abject poverty it contains... as concerned with social and environmental issues as it is with the fine-art career that sets it in motion..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 532 words, 01/31/10
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "That a beautiful film could be set in the world's largest garbage dump sounds like an oxymoron, but acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker has pulled off precisely that..."(See all of Kevin Thomas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 11/05/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...inspiring... Artist Vik Muniz has a mystical faith in the artistic power of transformation, as one thing becomes another and garbage is turned into art."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 746 words, 10/29/10
9.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Waste Land's reviews are separated by an average 9.4 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.
Waste Land (23 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Waste Land's reviews cover 25.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 9,812 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 427 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Waste Land Coverage, Volume & Length (23 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 32 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Waste Land's reviews on average broke 32 days 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 Waste Land's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Waste Land (23 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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