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Bubble

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Bubble (2006)

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Reviews Counted:100

Fresh:71

Rotten:29

Average Rating:6.3/10

Consensus: This rigorously stripped down, seemingly mundane little film still manages to be engrossing and creepy.

Runtime: 73 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $70,664

Synopsis: With BUBBLE, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh proves that one doesn't need a huge Hollywood budget and larger-than-life actors to craft an affecting motion picture. Following his... With BUBBLE, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh proves that one doesn't need a huge Hollywood budget and larger-than-life actors to craft an affecting motion picture. Following his star-studded spectacle OCEAN'S TWELVE, Soderbergh returns to the small-scale roots of his breakout hit SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and his no-budget romp, SCHIZOPOLIS. The result is a genre-bending exercise that is a truly original cinematic experience. Set in and around a doll factory on the Ohio/West Virginia border, the film tells the story of Martha (Debbie Doebereiner) and Kyle (Dustin James Ashley), coworkers who have formed an unlikely friendship. But when the pretty Rose (Misty Dawn Wilkins) arrives, hidden layers of emotion begin to surface, culminating in an unspeakable tragedy. Like a gifted documentarian, Soderbergh uses his nonprofessional cast to present a slice of everyday American life that is unflinchingly, achingly honest. Combined with Coleman Hough's more traditionally crafted plot, BUBBLE becomes something wholly inventive. Shot on digital video by Soderbergh, and featuring a score from former Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard, BUBBLE resonates long after the credits have rolled. At only 72 minutes, the film nonetheless casts a strangely haunting spell. This is the first of several low-budget digital video projects that Soderbergh plans to shoot all across America. [More]

Starring: Debbie Doebereiner, Misty Dawn Wilkins, Omar Cowan, Laurie Lee

Starring: Debbie Doebereiner, Misty Dawn Wilkins, Omar Cowan, Laurie Lee, Kyle Smith, Dustin James Ashley

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Coleman Hough
Producer: Gregory Jacobs
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Reviews for Bubble

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Bubble is an intriguing work for other reasons, though: in some ways, Soderbergh takes us back to his iconic debut, sex, lies and videotape, where realism was the film's most powerful weapon.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
04/11/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
03/30/07
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Both self-sufficient and utterly incomplete

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/30/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Soderbergh artlessly presents America's concealed poverty that drives the paltry ambitions of many of its citizens.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/16/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

"Bubble" is paced very deliberately, like a slowly dripping faucet. Scenes do not seem to be performed, but rather captured like surveillance videos.

Full Review Source: Beyond Hollywood | comment Comment
04/19/08
Brian Holcomb
Brian Holcomb
Beyond Hollywood

Appears at first glance to be either a violent attack on the white working poor, or not aggressive enough in its critique of the cultural degradation of that social class.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
02/01/08
Karina Longworth
Karina Longworth
Cinematical

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Not quite Hitchcock, but a satisfying flick, and proof positive that you don't need a big budget or A-list talent to make a decent whodunit.

Full Review Source: DallasBlack.com | comment Comment
05/20/07
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
DallasBlack.com

Life and death among the working poor. Critics hated it because it lacked entertainment value. That's more of a condemnation of them than the film.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
02/04/07
Louis Proyect
Louis Proyect
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Bubble is best considered as a failed-but-occasionally-nifty experiment.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
11/27/06
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
AV Club

The local atmosphere, filmed on the Ohio-West Virginia border, is rigorously authentic and so is the cast, none of whose members have acted before.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
10/14/06
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

The film is called Bubble, but it represents the first time in ages Steven Soderbergh has worked outside of his personal territory.

Full Review Source: Stylus Magazine | comment Comment
09/06/06
Sky Hirschkron
Sky Hirschkron
Stylus Magazine

Versatile director Steven Soderbergh leaves the bright lights of Las Vegas far behind for this quiet, stark tale of friendship and murder in a small Midwestern town.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
09/01/06
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com

Fascinante estudo de personagens, Bubble não é um filme marcado por ações, mas por sutilezas.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
07/06/06
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

I was blown away.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Soderbergh simply displays ordinary people as they are and challenges us to determine why smiles become rare blips on the blue-collar radar.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
05/04/06
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

... A great film by any standard.

Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | comment Comment
03/04/06
Greg Maki
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

There is an admirable rigor to Soderbergh's technique here, but it leads to a generally unsatisfying experience.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
02/27/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Sans être son effort le plus créatif à ce jour, Bubble demeure une entrée courageuse dans la filmographie d'un réalisateur si bien ancré dans le paysage hollywoodien.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
02/24/06
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for Bubble

July 20, 2007: Catalina Sandina Morena Joins Soderbergh's Che Films
Did you know that Steven Soderbergh was making a movie about Che Guevara? Starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role? Yeah, me too. But somehow I missed the news that he was... More...

November 28, 2006: RTIndie: "Little Miss Sunshine," "Half Nelson" Lead Indie Spirit Award Noms
It's time again to celebrate the best that indie-land has to offer. The Spirit Award nominees are out, with "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Half Nelson" leading... More...

July 26, 2006: Magnolia Digs Into the Crayon Box
You probably know Magnolia Pictures as the distributor of foreign/arthouse fare like "District B13," "Bubble," and "Capturing the Friedmans" -- but... More...

January 26, 2006: Critical Consensus: Annapolis and Momma Disappoint, While Nanny Casts an Innocuous Spell
Annapolis, the renowned naval military school, is an institution steeped in history; unfortunately, the movie can lay claim to that as well. Starring James Franco as a new... More...

See All

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