Room 237 (2013)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 120
Fresh: 112 | Rotten: 8
Mysterious and provocative, Room 237 is a fascinating journey into the world of obsessive cinephilles.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 3
Mysterious and provocative, Room 237 is a fascinating journey into the world of obsessive cinephilles.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 9,019
Movie Info
Many movies lend themselves to dramatic interpretations, but none as rich and far ranging as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. In LA filmmaker Rodney Ascher's ROOM 237, we hear from people who have developed far-reaching theories and believe they have decoded the hidden symbols and messages buried in the late director's film. Carefully examining The Shining inside out, and forwards and backwards, ROOM 237 is equal parts captivating, provocative and pure pleasure. It gives voice to the fans and
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All Critics (120) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (112) | Rotten (8) | DVD (3)
A curious and entertaining documentary.
Top CriticThe human brain is a marvellously suggestible organ.
[A] strange, frustrating, occasionally fascinating doc ...
"Room 237" evolves from an ode to movie love at its most delirious to a wry examination of the crackpot mind at work.
There's enough real evidence supporting the theory that Kubrick was a genius, and that's pretty entertaining all by itself.
It's about the human need for stuff to make sense - especially overpowering emotional experiences - and the tendency for some people to take that sense-making to extremes.
Inelegant in the way it assembles all this stuff ... but anyone who's ever obsessed over the subtext of a beloved movie will find it amusing.
An intellectual exercise, and an entertaining one, especially for those who don't want to label The Shining as just a ghost story.
It has the same entertainment value as listening to a late-night radio host indulge his listeners on Roswell, Area 51 and 9/11. Everything sounds completely crackers, until it all makes crazy sense.
What emerges from Room 237 is not a denigration of conspiracies, but a kind of celebration of our ability to create patterns where (perhaps) none exist.
"Room 237" could become an essential companion piece to "The Shining" from now on. For those who see both, it will be impossible to think about one without the other.
...all about the work of criticism - finding fresh avenues of delight.
Watching it makes you feel like you're attending a really entertaining film class where your classmates confidently let their freak flags fly.
It's an essay about the human need to reject the notion of a random universe and find order and meaning in existence. These people are developing their own creation myths, with Kubrick the mastermind responsible for the Intelligent Design.
Termitic film nerds could chow down for years on the wood chips.
You know when "Room 237″ starts getting really scary? When the people in the film start making sense.
Kubrick fans and movie geeks will want to check this film out as soon as possible
Kubrick fans will take 'Shining' to 'Room 237.'
The credibility of these theories ranges from faintly plausible to frankly ridiculous, but Ascher isn't interested in judging them; his movie is more about the joys of deconstruction and the special kind of obsession that movies can inspire.
Some of the interpretations seem more of a stretch than others but all are entertainingly presented by director Rodney Ascher. (The movie) serves as a testament to Stanley Kubrick's cinematic mastery.
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