|
|
 |
|
|
Richard Corliss, Time: WEAK "There's a word for the strenuous, shameless plucking of an audience's emotions that this movie traffics in: cornography." (Read the full review...) 1,074 words, 12/23/11 Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...sentimental and overlong... But everyone is so good in it -- especially Damon, who brings real emotional truth to his character's grieving process -- that it's hard not to be won over." (Read the full review...) 605 words, 12/22/11 Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Majestic animal scenes aside, the film (cowritten and directed by Cameron Crowe) is hindered by an overload of cliches and precious lines like 'You gotta let the sunlight in!' " (Read the full review...) 81 words, 12/22/11 Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD (cg) "...like 'Doctor Dolittle' remade as a therapeutic sudser. By the end, it got to me." (Read the full review...) 250 words, 12/02/11 Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD (cg) "Don't confuse the film's modest goals with a lack of gravity.... There's a lot of fun waiting at 'We Bought a Zoo,' but it's the feelings that run through every scene that'll make you glad you came." (Read the full review...) 440 words, 12/23/11 Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...this menagerie of genres doesn't mesh." (Read the full review...) 408 words, 12/23/11 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Not that the film is without charms... [Still,] the pieces go together too easily, the plot is too inevitable, and we feel little real energy between the players." (Read the full review...) 765 words, 12/23/11 Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: VERY GOOD (cg) "...an accessible wannabe family crowd-pleaser... where 'We Bought A Zoo' earns its stripes is in the process of getting all of its characters to relate to and accept each other." (Read the full review...) 734 words, 12/16/11 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD (cg) "...heartfelt but safe.... may founder a little when it comes to its narrative trajectory but its emotional impact is on-course." (Read the full review...) 820 words, 12/21/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "The creaks, groans and clichés of the screenplay are outstripped by the attractiveness of the performers..." (Read the full review...) 834 words, 12/23/11 Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK (cg) "...neither fish nor fowl; a 'guy-gets-his-life-right' rom-com runs smack into a 'kids-with-animals' lark." (Read the full review...) 436 words, 12/23/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...an intelligent family film, a rarity, and while not quite Crowe at his absolute best, it carries his humanistic imprint and benefits from a strong acting ensemble that keep emotions in check." (Read the full review...) 734 words, 12/23/11 Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "One of our great humanist directors, Crowe deals with difficult emotional issues, but always with a light, sure and honest hand." (Read the full review...) 530 words, 12/23/11 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Pap, but easygoing pap with a cast you can live with for a couple of hours... Damon, thank the family-friendly-movie gods, really knows how to hold his head above the corn." (Read the full review...) 418 words, 12/23/11 Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE (cg) "Pat, corny and perfectly packaged... a decent cast makes it tolerable." (Read the full review...) 358 words, 12/23/11 David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD "...enchanting... formulaic... Damon and Colin Ford as his teen son have an affecting hesitancy, their hearts hovering between the living and the dead." (Read the full review...) 127 words, 12/26/11 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Not that the film is without charms... [Still,] the pieces go together too easily, the plot is too inevitable, and we feel little real energy between the players." (Read the full review...) 765 words, 12/23/11 Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...a sweet, sincere, utterly affable kids' movie about how parents are all kinds of screwed up and unable to tell their kids what they want or show them how they feel..." (Read the full review...) 675 words, 12/21/11 Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "What it lacks in animal magnetism, it makes up for in some ways, but it's not enough to elevate this beyond an average movie..." (Read the full review...) 604 words, 12/23/11 Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...a crowd-pleaser... Snakes get loose, tigers get sick, government inspectors get nasty, and money gets thin. Of course, as they do, an old heart finds new purpose." (Read the full review...) 624 words, 12/23/11 Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK (cg) "...finds whimsical solutions to the incredible challenges the Mee family faces, which makes it that much harder to believe it's based on a true story." (Read the full review...) 195 words, 12/15/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "...moves through its requisite stages - grief, acceptance, zany sights gags and healing - with smooth, entertaining efficiency.... a heartening celebration of second acts, even at their most unwelcome." (Read the full review...) 536 words, 12/23/11 Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...family entertainment in the spirit (and fur) of 'Marley & Me'... a freewheeling account of parents, children, animals, life, death, grief, and moving on.... pleasant if insubstantial." (Read the full review...) 446 words, 12/23/11 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK (cg) "...pure canned sentiment sold at a volume discount... two hours of cute kid close-ups and NatGeo animal portraiture in a montage of 'awwww' moments." (Read the full review...) 501 words, 12/23/11 Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT (cg) "...without an actor as credible and likable as Damon in the central role of the father who does, indeed, buy a zoo, the film would sink in a sea of sentimentality." (Read the full review...) 570 words, 12/23/11 Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE (cg) "...when the writing is slack and the outcome preordained, there's little to hold the interest. Kindness by itself isn't enough to sustain a movie..." (Read the full review...) 665 words, 12/23/11 Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...just Cameron Crowe coasting -- and nice guy though he is, it's not much of a ride." (Read the full review...) 565 words, 12/23/11 Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD (cg) "The film is sweet.... although it doesn't rank among Crowe's greatest films, it's a better, tighter, more disarming piece of grief work than his baggy and zigzaggy 'Elizabethtown.' " (Read the full review...) 410 words, 12/23/11 Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD (cg) "...take 'Zoo' moment to moment, and its minor exterior yields to lovely rewards..." (Read the full review...) 330 words, 12/23/11 Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: MODERATE (cg) "...a modestly charming family crowd-pleaser despite too-broad characterizations by many in the supporting cast." (Read the full review...) 305 words, 12/23/11 Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a comeback film for Cameron Crowe... he seems to be making baby steps into new territory, both stylistically and emotionally." (Read the full review...) 326 words, 12/23/11 Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Expert schmaltz and nothing else, delivered by someone from whom we expect more.... Crowe sells out." (Read the full review...) 444 words, 12/22/11 Tom Long, Detroit News: WEAK (cg) "...so filled with artificial sweetener that it may cause cancer." (Read the full review...) 288 words, 12/23/11 Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...the most formulaic movie Cameron Crowe has ever made -- it is so generic, you could review it with a flow chart -- and yet it still seems heartfelt and genuine." (Read the full review...) 976 words, 12/23/11
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...a sweet, sincere, utterly affable kids' movie about how parents are all kinds of screwed up and unable to tell their kids what they want or show them how they feel..." (Read the full review...) 675 words, 12/21/11 Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "While the film as a whole earns its emotional impact, there are definite moments where Crowe is manipulating the audience a bit too much." (Read the full review...) 617 words, 11/28/11 Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE (cg) "...earnest and manipulative... Minus the corn, it's almost good." (Read the full review...) 153 words, 12/22/11 Keith Phipps, AV Club: MODERATE (cg) "...an odd, unsatisfying combination that moves from mopey drama one moment to a reaction shot of a monkey smacking his forehead in exasperation the next." (Read the full review...) 493 words, 12/22/11 Alison Willmore, Movieline: MODERATE (cg) "...despite moments of promise it never kicks into gear, never gets us attached to either the animal park or the family trying to save it..." (Read the full review...) 850 words, 12/22/11 Nick Schager, Slant: POOR (cg) "Clichés and contrivances and corniness, oh my!... writer-director Cameron Crowe dives headfirst into the schmaltzy slop barrel..." (Read the full review...) 613 words, 12/11/11 Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK (cg) "...finds whimsical solutions to the incredible challenges the Mee family faces, which makes it that much harder to believe it's based on a true story." (Read the full review...) 195 words, 12/15/11 MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: MODERATE (cg) "I was gonna say that whatever edge Cameron Crowe once had is officially gone, if he's now giving us pallid, pleasant sitcoms. But suddenly I'm starting to wonder if Crowe ever had any edge at all." (Read the full review...) 367 words, 01/05/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "What holds the film together is its genuine sense of family.... 'We Bought a Zoo' is a movie you want to like, and a movie you can enjoy if you cut its slackness some slack." (Read the full review...) 231 words, 12/23/11 Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "The creaks, groans and clichés of the screenplay are outstripped by the attractiveness of the performers..." (Read the full review...) 834 words, 12/23/11 David Denby, New Yorker: GOOD "There are so few examples in the movies of normal romantic behavior that the slow, hesitating, unremarkable but warming courtship of Damon and Johansson feels like a revelation." (Read the full review...) 448 words, 01/09/12 Bob Mondello, NPR: GOOD "Cameron Crowe lays on the charm with a trowel.... Damon proves amiable and appealing.... The movie deals thoughtfully with loss and family dynamics..." (Read the full review...) 448 words, 12/21/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...an intelligent family film, a rarity, and while not quite Crowe at his absolute best, it carries his humanistic imprint and benefits from a strong acting ensemble that keep emotions in check." (Read the full review...) 734 words, 12/23/11 Dan Kois, Slate: WEAK "...marked by a desperate eagerness to please.... made me glad to return from Cameron Crowe's world to the real world, where things aren't quite so simple." (Read the full review...) 794 words, 12/22/11
Rob Nelson, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...an odd bird, warm-blooded but largely lifeless.... overlong pic works hard to deliver intermittent pleasures, most of which derive from Matt Damon's affable lead turn." (Read the full review...) 779 words, 11/27/11 David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...it doesn't dodge the potholes of earnest sentimentality... But the uplifting tale has heart, humanity and a warmly empathetic central performance from Matt Damon." (Read the full review...) 886 words, 11/27/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...an intelligent family film, a rarity, and while not quite Crowe at his absolute best, it carries his humanistic imprint and benefits from a strong acting ensemble that keep emotions in check." (Read the full review...) 734 words, 12/23/11 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...marks Cameron Crowe's first film in over a decade that's half decent and mildly engaging." (Read the full review...) 519 words, 12/23/11 Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "The creaks, groans and clichés of the screenplay are outstripped by the attractiveness of the performers..." (Read the full review...) 834 words, 12/23/11 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "What holds the film together is its genuine sense of family.... 'We Bought a Zoo' is a movie you want to like, and a movie you can enjoy if you cut its slackness some slack." (Read the full review...) 231 words, 12/23/11
Thank you for following MovieReviewIntelligence.com |
Opening Soon (Early Figures)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
