Part-espionage thriller, part-documentary.
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10/23/09
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The Cove (2009)
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Reviews Counted:107
Fresh:102
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8/10
Consensus: Though decidedly one-sided, The Cove is an impeccably crafted, suspenseful expose of the covert slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
Theatrical Release:Jul 31, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $619,467
Synopsis: The Cove is an astounding piece of investigative journalism with the heart of an action thriller. Led by Louie Psihoyos, leader of the Ocean Preservation Society, and Richard O'Barry, an... [More]
Director: Louie Psihoyos
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Reviews for The Cove
Beyond the high-stakes game of cat and mouse, the film explores the mysterious relationship between humans and dolphins and the unexplainable connection between our two species.
08/07/09
There are certain films that you'll never be able to erase from your memory, and without a shadow of a doubt The Cove is definitely one of them.
08/28/09
Facts, stats and grim archive footage help build up a convincing if one-sided case, but it is the film’s revelatory covert recording that encapsulates the true power of documentary cinema.
10/23/09
[An] impassioned piece of agit-prop, which goes to great lengths to penetrate Taiji's tight security to expose this problem in gruesome detail.
10/23/09
An involving and persuasive film that remains frustratingly one-sided as it bandies about unsubstantiated accusations, fails to follow up on key issues and leaves you wanting to know much more.
10/23/09
What makes The Cove so powerful is that it's not just an ecological horror show -- it's a real-life thriller that's as suspenseful as anything cooked up by Hollywood.
07/28/09
Psihoyos and his team got the footage they were after -- thanks to meticulous planning, lots of furtive sneaking around and the judicious placement of underwater microphones and cameras disguised as rocks.
08/07/09
Skillful, unsparing and blessed with a great protagonist, The Cove is smart enough to stir up as much interest in its cause as Who Killed the Electric Car? did with the shuttered EV1, provided its post-festival word of mouth continues to build.
06/19/09
Directed by Louie Psihoyos, this well-intentioned documentary exposes the harvesting of dolphins by Japanese fishermen, yet its theatrics suggest a cross between reality TV and Mission: Impossible.
08/07/09
Horror film, spy thriller, disaster movie, corruption expose and more, The Cove is a gripping and devastating indictment of Japan's barbaric and secretive dolphin harvesting program
08/08/09
The effectiveness of The Cove also comes from its explosive cinematic craft, its surprising good humor and its pure excitement.
07/30/09
Top CriticIt's extremely disturbing and will upset many viewers, but it gets the message across. This could have been the year's best Documentary if it wasn't for the meandering middle section.
08/16/09
A bold, captivating, riveting and well-edited documentary that finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them intellectually as well as emotionally.
08/02/09
Unapologetically subjective, and a piece of social activist cinema all the way, but also thrilling and truly heartbreaking, The Cove is pieced together like a Steven Soderbergh heist flick, not some staid non-fiction film.
08/28/09
Cove is a stirring call to arms, providing the damning dolphin massacre argument forcefully and creatively. I can't say the film will change the world, but it certainly will make those trips to Sea World more awkward.
07/30/09
A gripping thriller about dolphin trafficking, The Cove is an eco-mentary that's as passionate and persuasive an argument for change as An Inconvenient Truth.
08/06/09
Top CriticThe great strength of this documentary about the covert killing of wild dolphins in Japan is its aesthetic: artful edits, zippy music, even a few jokes. Radical stuff for an eco-documentary.
10/23/09
Self-aware and just a little too coy
07/30/09
It's not often that documentaries pack as much suspense as action flicks (and even rarer that one does so without re-enactments), but The Cove is a mighty exception.
08/07/09
Latest News for The Cove
November 19, 2009:
Academy Releases Documentary Shortlist 
Awards season is just around the corner, and to prove it, the Academy just released its list of the 15 films still vying for a Documentary Feature Oscar. More...
August 13, 2009:
Green Docs Finding Box Office a Hostile Environment
They have timely topics, great buzz, and meaningful messages -- so why are environmental documentaries like "The Cove" struggling to find theatrical audiences? More...
July 30, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Funny People Is Ambitious But Uneven
This week at the movies, we've got the tears of a clown (Funny People, starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen), extra-terrestrial visitors upstairs (Aliens in the Attic, starring... More...
June 21, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
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