The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Drama · Comedy · 2012
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways as the residents find new purpose in their old age.
Movie details
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
“Share the journey. Share the laughter.”
2012 Drama · Comedy 2h 4m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways as the residents find new purpose in their old age.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
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Three Wise Men and a Baby
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The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Drama · 1972
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Scrooge
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Ebenezer Scrooge malcontentedly shuffles through life as a cruel, miserly businessman, until he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve who show him how his unhappy childhood and adult behavior has left him a selfish, lonely old man.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Madden
Written by
Ol Parker
Bill Nighy
Douglas Ainslie
Maggie Smith
Muriel Donnelly
Tom Wilkinson
Graham Dashwood
Judi Dench
Evelyn Greenslade
Dev Patel
Sonny Kapoor
Penelope Wilton
Jean Ainslie
Celia Imrie
Madge Hardcastle
Court is in session
Put The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.