My goal with all this research and compilations is to show what the people from the Business really think about the acting skills of a 20 years old artist that has worked since a child and has already made more than 20 movies. A young woman who got in the middle of a true tsunami, the Twilight Saga Phenomenon. At the age of 18, became over exposed 24 hours a day and had her acting credentials questioned by people who do not know her besides from the Twilight world. Not that she has to prove her talent to anyone. But as an avid movie lover and an admirer of these talented women (actresses), I was totally mesmerized by this talented young lady who has so much potential that I could not stop doing something to help raise the awareness of other film goers, since so many movie critics praise her perfomance.
Kristen signed the contract the same day the first installment of the Twilight Saga arrived in the cinemas. Neither she, the producers or the director of The Runaways could predict what would happen with her after that day. She was just 18.
She started filming Twilight at 17 in 2008. She filmed Welcome to The Rileys just after finishing Twilight and before finishing the Welcome to the Rileys filming, she went in an international promo tour for Twilight and got a lot of backlash, a lot of bullying from people like Perez and became the center of the attention of entertainment and gossips blogs, sites and magazines. She was still just 18.
In the beginning of 2009, she filmed New Moon, the second installment of the saga. After that she had just two weeks before starting filming on The Runaways and after that she just had less than a week to start filming Eclipse. A few weeks after the wrap up of Eclipse, she started the international promo tour for New Moon and its premieres. New Moon started in November 2009 in the cinemas. So... she had just December 2009 to take a brake from everything.
Two years of hard work, harsh scrutiny, a lot of bullying and people mixing her attitude before all this media madness, all the paparazzi, fans and change of status, with her acting skills. People could not distinguish her work from her insecure teenager attitude before all of that.
Experienced adults have a hard time dealing with situations like that.
Can you imagine how her nerves were, what her feelings were when she went to Sundance in January 2010 at only 19, knowing that everybody would be there and would want to know how well the girl from Twilight would do in her two films of the festival? She was a nervous wreck, defensive and insecure but above all a professional! She went there, she promoted her movies, did two days of individual interviews, roundtables, red carpets and Q&As.
She was wide open, honest and raw, despite all of her natural adolescent insecurities, of her natural artistic insecurities and also through her willingness to just participate, as a normal person, of the party atmosphere that is the Sundance Film Festival (normal feeling of any 19 girl, by the way), something that she already had done three times before.
People from the media just saw all of that as a non-friendly attitude, backlashed her and put her in a box. Look at this article from Kris Lee from the LA Times in January 28, 2010 and you will see an example of that.
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| You just have to look at her face and you'll see all! |
Experienced adults have a hard time dealing with situations like that.
Can you imagine how her nerves were, what her feelings were when she went to Sundance in January 2010 at only 19, knowing that everybody would be there and would want to know how well the girl from Twilight would do in her two films of the festival? She was a nervous wreck, defensive and insecure but above all a professional! She went there, she promoted her movies, did two days of individual interviews, roundtables, red carpets and Q&As.
She was wide open, honest and raw, despite all of her natural adolescent insecurities, of her natural artistic insecurities and also through her willingness to just participate, as a normal person, of the party atmosphere that is the Sundance Film Festival (normal feeling of any 19 girl, by the way), something that she already had done three times before.
People from the media just saw all of that as a non-friendly attitude, backlashed her and put her in a box. Look at this article from Kris Lee from the LA Times in January 28, 2010 and you will see an example of that.
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| They did an amazing job! |
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| Two teenagers have fun! I love this pic! |
So lets start!
As promised, here we have the second compilation of all the professional film critic's reviews of Kristen Stewart's performance in "The Runaways" from data base sites as Rotten Tomatoes (RT) which had 168 reviews, Meta Critics (MC) 36 reviews, Movie Review Intelligence (MRI) 49 reviews, Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE) 119 reviews and all the others that were not included for a motive or another in at least one of these listings.
As I said in the first compilation, some of the reviews are in two, three or even the four listings, so the numbers of reviews will not be as great as if we added the addition all four lists.It is very important to understand that just professionals film critics are listed here!
P - Positive review (180 reviews)
P/N - Mixed review or not gave opinion or is indifferent (30 reviews)
N - Negative review (24 reviews)
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| This pic is a work of art! Amazing! |
P 01 - A. O. Scott - New York Times (Top Critic) - "“The Runaways,” which takes place mainly in Southern California in the mid-1970s, evokes its moment and milieu with affectionate, almost uncanny fidelity. It’s a sun-baked teenage wasteland of muscle cars and hamburger stands, and the two young 21st-century movie stars who play the main characters seem to fit right in. Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, who are Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, lead singer and guitarist for the band that gives the movie its name, were born a long time after the book had closed on the real-life Runaways, but the seriousness and self-confidence with which they tackle their roles goes a long way toward establishing a sense of authenticity. ....And Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul."
A. O. Scott & Michael Phillips At The Movies
P 02 - Aaron Peck - High-Def Digest - "'The Runaways' shines through with some solid performances... Stewart – yes she's still playing a brooding teenager – shows some deep emotional range. She's not that softy love stricken girl she plays in the 'Twilight' movies. Her Joan Jett would rip Edward to pieces. She puts on a hard-nosed edge that hasn't been seen in her acting repertoire until now."
P 03 - Adam Tobias - Watertown Daily Times - "Stewart proves she has the ability to do more than just bite her lip and sulk as Bella in the “Twilight” series, and I think it's safe to say Fanning is no longer the innocent little girl we've gotten used to seeing in such films as “Charlotte's Web” and 2005's “War of the Worlds.” (“Twilight” fans might gasp in horror when they see two of their favorite budding stars inhaling handfuls of drugs and taking part in a make-out scene together.) With “The Run-aways,” Stewart and Fanning have shown they have incredible range, and it appears as though the two have very promising careers ahead of them."
P/N 04 - Alan Bacchus - Daily Film Dose - (He didn't talk about Kristen, so I'll put it as indifferent)
P/N 05 - Alex Billington - FirstShowing.net - (He didn't like the movie at all. He didn't talk about the acting, he just bashed the director, the script and the principal photography. So... I will put it as a "not gave opinion ")
P 06 - Allan Given - Pop Culture World News - "While there will of course be a lot of press given to the fact that Kristen Stewart (Joan Jett) cut her trademark hair into the iconic Joan Jett ragged look that she wears throughout the film, or that she and Dakota Fanning (Cherie Currie) share an on-screen kiss, the fact is, both actresses deliver amazing performances that beautifully capture the complexity both girls were experiencing as they were being thrust into the world of fame, money and drugs while at the same time trying to discover who they were as individuals. Stewart and Fanning each give memorable performances that are comprised of such a restrained emotionality of depth that it is hard to imagine any other actresses in either part. Stewart and Fanning make the characters their own and one never gets the sense that they are merely watching just a diluted caricature that is oftentimes seen when real life and iconic individuals are portrayed on the big screen. There is a vulnerability to each character and both Fanning and Stewart excel at balancing that vulnerability with the ferocious drive of their respective characters. The fact is, there are no weak, or even mediocre performances in "the Runaways", with Sigismondi getting the absolute best out of each of her cast members, including a tremendous performance by Academy Award® nominated actor Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) as record producer Kim Fowley."
P 07 - Allan Hunter - Daily Express - "Kristen Stewart’s ambitious, moody Jett is the force behind the band."
P 08 - Alynda Wheat - People - "The script lacks substance, but the actresses deliver on style, with the tense Stewart showing some oomph as Jett."
P 09 - Amber Wilkinson - Eye for Film - "...but most of all there is a blistering set of performances at the heart of the film." "...She (Fanning) is matched step for step by Kristen Stewart, who slips into the Jett role with ease,..."
P 10 - Amy Nicholson - I.E. Weekly - "...Stewart is steely and aloof. She graces us with her cool.,..."
P 11 - Andrew L. Urban - Urban Cinefile - "...Kirsten Stewart is also effective as the rocking Joan Jett who drives the band's heart and soul .,..."
P 12 - Andrew O'Hehir - Salon.com (Top Critic) - "...What kept them going? Well, the fire of rock 'n' roll, of course. Perhaps also the nebula-hot celebrity of Kristen Stewart, a phenomenon that seems to baffle the young lady in question but has produced unmanageable hordes of paparazzi at numerous screenings and parties, undermining any pretense that this is a trimmed-down and refocused Sundance. Playing laconic, androgynous rock legend Joan Jett in music-video director Floria Sigismondi's feature debut may have struck Stewart as an antidote to "Twilight's" demure Bella -- Jett would just kick those preening vampire dudes in the nuts and stomp away -- but it was Stewart's presence that turned what would already have been a hot-ticket premiere into a mob scene."
P 13 - Andrew Pragasam - The Spinning Image - "... while Kristen Stewart’s terse screen persona suits the role of Joan Jett."
P 14 - Angie Errigo - Empire Magazine (UK) - "Cringe-making fun for survivors of the '70s. For the younger majority: a familiar rise and fall of sex, drugs and rock & roll enlivened by the gender reversal and performances."
P 15 - Ann Hornaday - Washington Post (Top Critic) - "Kristen Stewart, making the most of her hunched, hooded persona, portrays Jett as the steady, serious and most sexually liberated member of the group. (Jett at one point teaches a bandmate to have an orgasm and later has an affair with Currie, an episode Sigismondi portrays in a hazy montage of drugs, rock-and-roll and roller skates.)
.... It's a shame that "The Runaways" is told mostly from Currie's point of view (she's the only character we see living a life outside rehearsals and performances), because it's Jett's drive and ambition that seem to have held the fragile ensemble together during its brief run and that made her a star after the Runaways broke up. She remains a cipher in a film that favors tone over characterization."
.... It's a shame that "The Runaways" is told mostly from Currie's point of view (she's the only character we see living a life outside rehearsals and performances), because it's Jett's drive and ambition that seem to have held the fragile ensemble together during its brief run and that made her a star after the Runaways broke up. She remains a cipher in a film that favors tone over characterization."
P 16 - Ann Thompson - Indiewire (Top Critic) - "While Stewart does what she can with an under-written role, Fanning seems limp-wristed as Currie; she does not rock, nor does the movie. (The girls sing their own songs.) .... Kristen is doing a very different role. It’s fairly edgy compared to Twilight"
N 17 - Annlee Ellingson - Moving Pictures Magazine - "Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, who also appear together in the Twilight movies, let go of those films teenage longing and angst and let it all out in this biopic about the Runaways meteoric rise and fall." "Nineteen-year-old Stewart, who hunches her shoulders and stalks like a caged animal, and 16-year-old Fanning, feral as she struts her stuff in lingerie, are game, but they're also somehow inaccessible, and the whole thing lacks energy. Despite the movie's R rating, when Fanning wraps a cord around her thigh and holds her microphone like a penis, it still feels as if she's holding back, and not just because they don't get naked."
P 18 - Anthony Quinn - Independent - "What keeps it going is the performances, Stewart's sulky and driven Jett and Fanning's druggy, jailbait princess kicking ass in all quarters and not averse to some Sapphic smooching after hours."
P/N 19 - Armond White - New York Press - "Well-cast Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie both look right, yet are too recessive."
P 20 - Barry Hertz - National Post - ".... the actress (Fanning) demonstrates impressive range here, at times even upstaging Stewart, the film’s ostensible star. (For those Twilight die-hards out there, the erstwhile Bella Swan still puts on a good show as the snarling Jett, but never matches the intensity of her co-stars.)
P 21 - Becky Bartlett - Skinny - "while Kristen Stewart is perfectly suited to play Jett,..."
P 22 - Ben Kenber - Musicouch - "“The Runaways” turns out to be a missed opportunity despite some strong performances and some kick ass rock and roll scenes. .... The acting for the most part though is very good, and it does make “The Runaways” worthy of a decent rental for some. “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart stars as Joan Jett, and she gets all the singing and guitar moves down in excellent fashion. I heard from somewhere that when the real Joan Jett got a tape of Kristen singing her songs and listened to them, she ended up thinking that a mistake had been made because Joan thought it was her singing. While she isn’t necessarily great in the film, she does acquit herself well and shares a strong chemistry with Dakota Fanning."
P 23 - Ben Umstead - Twitch Films - "Kristen Stewart axes her image as an angsty teenage vampire lover and gives a no frills, nuanced performance as a tough as nails but well rounded Jett. As she growls on stage and plays guitar, Stewart is utterly convincing as a determined teenager who is destined to be famous."
P 24 - Beth Wilson - Trespass - "Both Fanning and Stewart do well with the material, especially given the added component of singing and playing instruments. Stewart shows off a tougher persona than we usually see from her, proving she is far more than just a pout."
P 25 - Betsy Sharkey - Los Angeles Times (Top Critic) - "Instead of training the lens on the Runaways' artistic rebel who hung around and became legend, rocker Joan Jett, played with serious punk grrl power by Kristen Stewart, the movie focuses on the one who actually ran away, lead singer Cherie Currie, a kohl-eyed and sullen Dakota Fanning."
P 26 - Betsy Sherman - Boston Phoenix - "... and if Stewart’s Jett seems a bit subdued, that’s okay. Jett is in it for the long haul; she cares about the music, and about their legacy. Imperfect as it is, The Runaways might have a legacy as well."
P 27 - Bill Gibron - PopMatters - "... As played by Twilight talent Kristen Stewart, she’s a series of planned poses and power chords just waiting for a stage to dominate." "The acting is excellent and the first hour shimmers with some unsuspected surprises."
P 28 - Bill Goodykoontz - Arizona Republic (Top Critic) - "Stewart is surprisingly good as Jett; the head-down non-responsive attitude that is so annoying in the "Twilight" films is much more at home here. Jett is lost, after all, until she cranks up her guitar, at which point Stewart comes alive, as well." "What's lacking are surprises or any sort of different take on the traditional rags-to-rock-riches story. The performances help make up for that!"
P 29 - Bill Holdship - Metro Times (Detroit, MI) - "Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett is one of many killer riffs that makes The Runaways"
".... A large part of the movie's pre-release criticism suggested that Sigismondi should've used unknowns for her film's two main roles rather than famous current teen queens, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart. This writer heard initial reports (from someone who would know) that Sigismondi's screenplay was more The Hills or Beverly Hills 90210 than it was "punk rock" — which also seemed to justify those criticisms. And the notion of Twilight's Bella Swan as Joan Jett certainly may sound sacrilegious in concept and on paper. Stewart has seemed like a one-emotion actress thus far, even in the pretty good Adventureland. But Joan Jett's public persona has never exactly been multi-emotional — and it turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance.
I've seen at least two "female Brando" comparisons, and while that may be hyperbole, it's also not ridiculous. Besides, how can one not admire a character whose early stated purpose is to merge Suzi Quatro with Chuck Berry ... and who mentions Elvis within her first few moments onscreen? Yep. Stewart is a genuine rock star here."
"Make no mistake about it, though — Stewart and Fanning are the runaway stars here."
".... A large part of the movie's pre-release criticism suggested that Sigismondi should've used unknowns for her film's two main roles rather than famous current teen queens, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart. This writer heard initial reports (from someone who would know) that Sigismondi's screenplay was more The Hills or Beverly Hills 90210 than it was "punk rock" — which also seemed to justify those criticisms. And the notion of Twilight's Bella Swan as Joan Jett certainly may sound sacrilegious in concept and on paper. Stewart has seemed like a one-emotion actress thus far, even in the pretty good Adventureland. But Joan Jett's public persona has never exactly been multi-emotional — and it turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance.
I've seen at least two "female Brando" comparisons, and while that may be hyperbole, it's also not ridiculous. Besides, how can one not admire a character whose early stated purpose is to merge Suzi Quatro with Chuck Berry ... and who mentions Elvis within her first few moments onscreen? Yep. Stewart is a genuine rock star here."
"Make no mistake about it, though — Stewart and Fanning are the runaway stars here."
P 30 - Bill Weber - Slant Magazine - "And for much of its first half, veteran music video director Floria Sigismondi's feature debut gives the story a buzzing, underdog energy, transcending the genre's well-worn basics due principally to a pair of nervy impersonations: Kristen Stewart as shag-coiffed, slouching guitar goddess Joan Jett, whose will and ambition can't be denied by a teacher's refusal to let her plug into an amp; and ..."
"But the plot's focus on Currie rather than Jett is a serious imbalance, particularly given the magnetism gap between the two young actors' characterizations; Fanning's spacey waif can't carry much weight opposite Stewart's persuasive, working-class leather siren, who's capable of both confronting Fowley and teaching her drummer how to masturbate with a showerhead. Finally parted by the incompatibility of Joan's lifer noise-queen chops and Cherie's vulnerability, the two young women could've been the spine of a more daring, unconventional drama, but the film's closing minutes make the whole project primarily seem an origin story for Jett's long-lasting stardom."
"But the plot's focus on Currie rather than Jett is a serious imbalance, particularly given the magnetism gap between the two young actors' characterizations; Fanning's spacey waif can't carry much weight opposite Stewart's persuasive, working-class leather siren, who's capable of both confronting Fowley and teaching her drummer how to masturbate with a showerhead. Finally parted by the incompatibility of Joan's lifer noise-queen chops and Cherie's vulnerability, the two young women could've been the spine of a more daring, unconventional drama, but the film's closing minutes make the whole project primarily seem an origin story for Jett's long-lasting stardom."
P 31 - Bill Wine - KYW Newsradio (Top Critic) - "Stewart and Fanning are more than credible: they are downright authentic."
P 32 - Bob Grimm - Reno News & Review - "Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are phenomenal as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, founding members of the legendary all-girl rock band The Runaways. They look the parts, they do their own flat-out fantastic singing, and they come to the movie party guns a blazin’." "...That said, Fanning’s version of “Cherry Bomb” is remarkable stuff, and I thought she was lip-synching Currie. Ditto for Stewart, who nails every aspect of Jett. It pisses me off that the movie lets them down."
P 32 - Bob Grimm - Reno News & Review - "Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are phenomenal as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, founding members of the legendary all-girl rock band The Runaways. They look the parts, they do their own flat-out fantastic singing, and they come to the movie party guns a blazin’." "...That said, Fanning’s version of “Cherry Bomb” is remarkable stuff, and I thought she was lip-synching Currie. Ditto for Stewart, who nails every aspect of Jett. It pisses me off that the movie lets them down."
N 33 - Boo Allen - Denton Record Chronicle (TX) - "As Jett, Stewart continues to show that at this point, she can do little more than pout. Fanning’s Currie is a little more expansive but hardly enough to elicit sympathy, or interest."
N 34 - Brad Brevet - RopeofSilicon - "... and a chance for Kristen Stewart to brood on screen with a character that calls for the actress's expected dead-eyed acting chops."
P 35 - Brandon Lee Tenney - FirstShowing.net - "Kristen Stewart captures the intensity, angst, and presence of Joan Jett."
P 36 - Brent Simon - Shared Darkness - "... that chiefly connects courtesy of a nervy, burgeoning adult performance by Kristen Stewart, and a smart, economical sense of period style."
P 37 - Bret McCabe - Baltimore City Paper - "Fanning, Stewart, and Shannon feel like they do much more with their characters than what's on paper. Stewart, as she did in 2009's Adventureland, puts a young face trying to be stoic on an inner struggle that's dying to get out."
P 39 - Brian MacClelland - Serious Movie Lover - "This was great casting—Kristen Stewart IS the young Joan Jett, showing a way more nuanced talent than her OTT CrazyAngst (TM) Twilight performances would have led you to believe her capable of, and Dakota Fanning was way better than most critics will tell you. Why do people hate Dakota Fanning? (Why, Kimberly?!) And across the board, from Tatum O’Neal as Mom Curry to the dude who weirdly played the very weird Rodney Bingenheimer, there’s not a single actor acting in sight—just funny, sad, pissed, and/or heartbroken characters as far as the eye can see.
And there’s something in this movie for everyone, really, as I discovered with my 13-year-old son’s enthusiastic endorsement: “That movie was awesome,” adding: “I just saw Kristen Stewart making out with Dakota Fanning.”
And there’s something in this movie for everyone, really, as I discovered with my 13-year-old son’s enthusiastic endorsement: “That movie was awesome,” adding: “I just saw Kristen Stewart making out with Dakota Fanning.”
N 40 - Brian Orndorf - BrianOrndorf.com - "Stewart and Fanning are drywall as Jett and Currie, staring blankly at the camera as their way of conveying a besieged mentality befitting overwhelmed rock stars (at least in Japan). Matters sour further when time comes for the pair to perform, displaying a stiff, inhibited stage presence when the real deal was far more animalistic and chaotic. The singing is even worse, though I give Fanning credit for even trying to match Currie’s corkscrew vocal work. She fails cringingly short, but it’s a brave shot."
P/N 41 - Brian Prisco - Pajiba - "Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are decent enough,..." "... That’s the problem at the core of The Runaways. What should have been empowerment becomes a crusty stain on your boxers. These young actresses are better than this. If it was acting out, if it was proving that they’re more than just sparkle-whores, the fact of the matter is they’ve already done that in other films. If it was just harmless fun, making a few extra bucks and shaking it for the hell of it, then good on them. Hopefully they got it out of their systems, and now they can move on to bigger and better things."
P 42 - Brian Salisbury - Hollywood.com (Top Critic) - "A paint-by-numbers rock biopic elevated only by very strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning and, surprisingly, Kristen Stewart." " have to admit I was completely wrong about Stewart’s ability to play the goddess of punk. Stewart clearly did her homework, because she is fantastic. It’s not just the eerie physical resemblance; Stewart inhabits Jett with every movement she makes. In her first few scenes, the lines coming out of her mouth sounded more petulant than rebellious, and I was worried. But as the movie progresses, the character begins to communicate more with movement than with words and it is phenomenal. The strongest part about her performance is that she captures Joan’s raw, uncompromising love for rock music."
P 43 - Carolyn Oakes - Film Monthly - "The Runaways (directed and written by Floria Sigismondi) is a satisfying film (based on Cherie Currie’s book) about girls and rock n’ roll, that is worth seeing for the outstanding performances..."
"While this story is powerful and important, especially for those who love music and are fascinated with its’ history, this film lacks a fervor and a specific direction. Luckily, standout performances by Michael Shannon and Kristen Stewart (out of left field) are enough to keep us watching, and to keep us caring about these young women and their mission. Stewart’s Joan Jett is a truly startling surprise. Joan Jett herself is quite an interesting and powerful persona all on her own, and yet this portrayal injects mystery and intrigue that makes her the most provocative character on screen. Stewart needs to do so little to convey Jett as she was: strong, massively talented, and a force to be reckoned with – the type to speak softly but carry a big stick. This film will leave you wanting to know even more about Jett, and that is a tribute to both Stewart and Jett herself."
"Fanning is good but not great which is what we have come to expect from the impressive resume she has amassed in just 16 years. This is not her best work, and I feel certain she will prove she is a force with time. The talent is there, but it is less apparent in this portrayal then in films past. She is up to par as Currie, but still not as striking or impactful as Stewart, who steals every scene right out from under the pretty blond."
P 44 - Carrie Rickey - Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic) - "On the one hand, it's a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place, and boasts mesmerizing performances, including that of a tranced-out Fanning, a prickly Stewart, and an outlandish Michael Shannon as Fowley."
P 45 - Catherine Bray - Film4 - "... Currie and Jett make an entertaining screen pairing, and actors Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are more charismatic here than in anything else to date, as they drink, snort, play and perform with giddy abandon." "... the performances are excellent and the live performances feel suitably live, not polished and dubbed."
P 46 - Charlie Lyne - Ultra Culture - "... but Kristen Stewart is as good as ever and manages to go the entire 106 minute runtime without biting her lip, which is definitely something to be proud of."
P 47 - Charlie McCollum - San Jose Mercury News (Top Critic) - "Dakota Fanning's porcelain-doll features were swathed in exotic makeup and her blond hair coifed into a feathery shag; she raised her umpteenth shot of sake and cast a knowing glance at Kristen Stewart. The "Twilight" star held Fanning's gaze briefly and toasted back, looking every inch the tough rocker chick, with her matching black shag hairdo, spiked bracelet and razor-blade charm necklace. Rock 'n' roll story." (His review doesn't show up on the site anymore. You have to pay to have access to the archive. If anyone have it please post it here.)
P 48 - Charlotte O'Sullivan - This is London - "... What we get, instead, is a love story between the blonde, damaged, doll-like Cherie (Dakota Fanning) and dark-haired, down-to-earth rhythm guitarist Joan Jett (Twilight’s Kristen Stewart; excellent).
P 49 - Chaterine Humble - The Telegraph [UK] - " Kristen Stewart’s quiet toughness and devotion to wayward Cheri casts a tender look at female intimacy."
P 50 - Chris Bumbray - JoBlo's Movie Emporium - "While she's really playing second banana to Fanning, Kristen Stewart makes an excellent Joan Jett. Truthfully, I wish THE RUNAWAYS had focused on Jett, as she was the one who really broke out after the band's dissolution (her I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL album is a classic) and, to me anyways, her arc was just as interesting as Fanning's, all though considering Jett didn't have the same drug problems, it probably wasn't as attractive to the filmmakers." "... As much as I dislike the TWILIGHT films, if she continues to use her clout from that franchise to get films like these made, than she's on the right path. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Stewart seems to want to build a good body of work, which is the key to longevity."
P 50 - Chris Bumbray - JoBlo's Movie Emporium - "While she's really playing second banana to Fanning, Kristen Stewart makes an excellent Joan Jett. Truthfully, I wish THE RUNAWAYS had focused on Jett, as she was the one who really broke out after the band's dissolution (her I LOVE ROCK N' ROLL album is a classic) and, to me anyways, her arc was just as interesting as Fanning's, all though considering Jett didn't have the same drug problems, it probably wasn't as attractive to the filmmakers." "... As much as I dislike the TWILIGHT films, if she continues to use her clout from that franchise to get films like these made, than she's on the right path. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Stewart seems to want to build a good body of work, which is the key to longevity."
P 51 - Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) - St. Paul Pioneer Press - Audio
P 52 - Christopher Null - Filmcritic.com (Top Critic) - "Like most people, I was seriously worried about whether Fanning or Stewart had the chops for these roles, but both acquit themselves admirably. Stewart is admittedly better."
P 53 - Claudia Puig - USA Today (Top Critic) - "The film is anchored by a trio of strong performances: Dakota Fanning's Cherie Currie, Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett and Michael Shannon's megalomaniacal and sadistic music producer, Kim Fowley." "Stewart's trademark low-key surliness works well for the part. She projects a convincing blend of swagger and smarts."
P 54 - Clay Cane - BET.com - "There is one strong force in the film, which is Joan Jett, and the story might’ve been stronger if this was a movie solely about her, and The Runaways secondary. Kristen Stewart plays Joan Jett, and she surprisingly transcends the teen melodrama of “Twilight” and manages to push out a strong, risky performance. Joan Jett is an executive producer, so I doubt she would allow Bella to ruin her on screen; you can tell Stewart studied Jett and had a goal to make her proud. Any Joan Jett fan would give two thumbs up to Stewart."
P 55 - Clint O'Connor - Cleveland Plain Dealer - "Kristen Stewart, hitting more of the high notes we glimpsed in her pre-Bella days, is Jett, dark-haired, guitar-strumming, glue-sniffing "tough girl" who wants to beat the boys at their own raunch-rock game."
"It also earns authenticity points because Stewart and Fanning actually play and sing. Each delivers an impressive, stripped-down raw intensity attuned to the band's garage, er, trailer, roots."
P 56 - Cole Smithey - ColeSmithey.com - "the band's bi-sexual lead singer to Kristen Stewart's tomboy-channeling of guitarist Joan Jett. Jett's overshadowing solo career after the Runaways 1979 break-up makes you want the movie to be more about her."
N 57 - Colin Covert - Minneapolis Star-Tribune - "You get the sense she doesn't know how to get the best from her actors yet. Stewart scowls and acts with her shoulders. Fanning is mysteriously closed, yet her face tells you everything. And Shannon's performance turns the volume up to 11."
P 58 - Colin Harris - The Critical Critics - "Kristen Stewart, as Jett, fares even better. Do not dismiss this actress lightly just because she’s the star of the teen-favorite Twilight series; she nails Jett’s style perfectly. Watching her perform Jett’s hunched guitar style onstage was spookily accurate."
P 59 - Colin Jacobson - DVD Movie Guide - "Though the top billed actor, Stewart often feels left on the sidelines. Currie gets most of the on-screen attention, and Fowley’s wildness means that he becomes prominent whenever the camera smells him. Jett comes across without much personality, but Stewart still manages to enliven the role as written. She makes me wish poor Joan had more to do, and since the real Jett acted as executive producer, I’m a bit surprised the movie character plays such a relatively small role. But she does, and the flick suffers for it."
P 60 - Craig Kennedy - Living Cinema - "Kristen is a hit as Jett"
N 61 - Curt Holman - Atlanta Creative Loafing - "The Runaways' contrite tone may not have been Jett or writer/director Floria Sigismondi's intention, but a consequence of the (mis)casting of Twilight's Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as the two leads." ".... Stewart nicely replicates Jett's hooded bangs and hunched posture, but doesn't come close to capturing her provocative energy. Stewart's passivity makes Jett seem more like Fowley's accomplice than Currie's ally."
P/N 62 - Cynthia Fuchs - PopMatters - "But her incarnation by Stewart seems a little too cool for this movie—at least until you remember that the real Jett executive-produced this fictional and rather conventional version of the band’s life."
P 63 - Dan Hudak - Hudak on Hollywood - "To give credit where it’s due, Stewart and Fanning are very good. Both did their own singing, and Stewart’s energy proves that she can play more than a distraught, moping teenager."
P 64 - Dan Lybarger - eFilmCritic.com - "As the annoyingly passive Bella in the Twilight films, Stewart seems lost and vacant. As the feisty Jett, however, she’s right at home. Not only can she carry a tune and wear Jett’s androgynous outfits credibly, her steely eyes indicate that she’s not going to let smug, sexist buffoons keep her from being the Queen of Rock. At the same time, Stewart gives Jett a nurturing heart, so that it’s easy to hope she’ll get fame on her own terms."
P/N 65 - Dana Stevens - Slate (Top Critic) - "Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett is similarly underwritten, but instead of radiating unmitigated nastiness, she radiates unmitigated cool. Whether shouting down a square music teacher who tell her, "Girls don't play electric guitar," or snorting coke in an airplane bathroom, or teaching her bandmates how to masturbate while envisioning Farrah Fawcett, Joan is at all times the picture of hip rocker detachment (which Stewart's performance translates into mild, mumbling disaffection)"
"The wispy insubstantiality of The Runaways can't be blamed on its cast—Fanning, Stewart, and Shannon are all good in their roles, even if their range is never tested."
P 66 - Danny King - Film Stage - "In the film’s best performance, Kristen Stewart breathes Joan Jett. She looks every bit like the influential rock star, and I couldn’t bring myself to take my eyes off of her. I was disappointed that she wasn’t used more. ....
The film also uses the music as a main character, featuring many recorded performances from both Fanning and Stewart. I like the fact that they sang their own music. Not only does it emphasize the authentic ’70s feel to the film, but it makes the band scenes seem livelier, and without that, the film could have easily run into trouble with its pacing.
The main attraction here is Stewart, and I recommend this film for the sole pleasure of seeing this talented actress begin her development into something special. She has an electric screen presence, and I can’t get over how awesome she looks in the film. My hat goes off to costume designer Carol Beadle for helping create a character with such a memorable look. Part of me wants to see Stewart take another crack at the role a few years down the line, focusing solely on Jett’s career after The Runaways. We only see about five minutes of Jett after the band splits, and, not surprisingly, they are some of the best minutes this film has to offer."
P/N 67 - David D'Arcy - Screen International - ( I am putting it as indifferent because his review is not online anymore and I could not find it in any archive or other site. If anyone has it, please post it here)
The film also uses the music as a main character, featuring many recorded performances from both Fanning and Stewart. I like the fact that they sang their own music. Not only does it emphasize the authentic ’70s feel to the film, but it makes the band scenes seem livelier, and without that, the film could have easily run into trouble with its pacing.
The main attraction here is Stewart, and I recommend this film for the sole pleasure of seeing this talented actress begin her development into something special. She has an electric screen presence, and I can’t get over how awesome she looks in the film. My hat goes off to costume designer Carol Beadle for helping create a character with such a memorable look. Part of me wants to see Stewart take another crack at the role a few years down the line, focusing solely on Jett’s career after The Runaways. We only see about five minutes of Jett after the band splits, and, not surprisingly, they are some of the best minutes this film has to offer."
P/N 67 - David D'Arcy - Screen International - ( I am putting it as indifferent because his review is not online anymore and I could not find it in any archive or other site. If anyone has it, please post it here)
P/N 68 - David Edelstein - New York magazine (Top Critic) - (He didn't like the movie and didn't express a opinion about Kristen's performance, so... I will put it as "not gave a opinion")
P 69 - David Edwards - Daily Mirror [UK] - "As far as music biopics go this is conventional fare, while the songs - like the fashions - haven't aged well. But with both women giving their all, you can't fault the enthusiasm."
P 70 - David Germain - Associated Press (Top Critic) - "For Stewart as Jett and Fanning as Runaways singer Cherie Currie, the movie is a smart showcase to help them break out of their molds as they take on more adult roles, Stewart aiming for life after "Twilight" and Fanning seeking to graduate from her position as Hollywood's doe-eyed princess of child stars. Both have done other mature roles - Stewart was a stripper and hooker in the upcoming "Welcome to the Rileys," Fanning played a teen rape victim in "Hounddog." Yet "The Runaways" will be an eye-opener for their fans, with Stewart and Fanning hurling themselves into the roles, their descent into the seedy 1970s world of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll including a passionate kiss they share in a love scene. .... Stewart is the steady hand, her Jett certainly more impassioned than mopey Bella in the "Twilight" movies but muted next to the outrageous antics Fanning gets to carry out. ....Stewart and Fanning handle the vocals admirably, their live performances blending seamlessly with actual Runaways recordings on the soundtrack."
P 71 - David Kempler - Big Picture Big Sound - ""The Runaways" is fun, lively, and well-executed, but it's a little on the sanitized side of reality. .... The performances are there and the story is there but the guts are somewhat lacking. It's still a real good flick but it left me wondering what if."
N 72 - David Medsker - Bullz-Eye.com - "Stewart was a pitch-perfect choice for the role of Joan Jett for her looks alone. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the chops to be the Serious Actress she wants to be."
P/N 73 - David Michael Brown - Empire Magazine Australasia - (He did a very little review praising the movie but not express any opinion about the performances. So, I put it as indifferent.)
P 74 - David Nusair - Reel Film Reviews - "There's little doubt that The Runaways benefits substantially from the impressive efforts of its eclectic cast,..... Sigismondi's refusal to effectively flesh out the majority of the supporting figures proves disastrous, as talented performers like Stewart and Shawkat are left with little to do but strike sneering, rebellious poses (and this is to say nothing of Fanning's flat-out inability to wholeheartedly step into the shoes of her hard-bitten character)."
P 75 & P 76 - David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz - At the Movies (Top Critic) (Australia) - "Casting DAKOTA FANNING as Currie was a bold stroke and she is eye-opening in the role, she's growing up fast that girl. KRISTEN STEWART is terrific as Joan Jett and the relationship between the two is actually touching."
"DAVID: Well, I don't know that I should. I don't think there's very much to tell, actually. But so I went into the film with that kind of background knowledge. I found it totally fascinating and I think you're absolutely right that the two - particularly the two central woman, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, are amazingly good. I think they're really terrific.
MARGARET: Well, do - I think it's interesting that Kristen Stewart really has to establish herself outside the TWILIGHT series.
DAVID: Yes. Yes, sure.
MARGARET: And I think this was actually a really bold and clever move on her part.
DAVID: I agree.
MARGARET: ...going into a what is basically an independent film and really she underplays everything really, but she does it so well here. I was very impressed by her."
P 77 - David Van Der Haeghen - DVD Town - "Thankfully, Stewart, Fanning and Shannon are all strong as leads. You could argue that "The Runaways" was a space for Stewart and Fanning to get away from being boxed in for their work on those "Twilight" films, or that thanks to the "Twilight" films they can´t even get away from one another in a rock n´ roll movie. This debate aside, Stewart fits the bill as a talented, cold and committed Joan Jett, while Fanning almost rewrites the dictionary definition on jailbait as she comes of age playing Cherie Currie."
P 78 - Dennis Harvey - Variety - (Top Critic) - "Though sometimes her usual neurotic tics distract, "Twilight's" Stewart is a good fit for the tough but good-natured Jett, who carried on as frontwoman after Currie left, then launched a far more successful solo career."
P/N 79 - Devin Faraci - CHUD.COM - ".... And the actresses making up the movie version of The Runaways give convincing period look, something that’s surprisingly rare. .... If there’s anything that makes the second half of the film tolerable it’s the actresses. Kristen Stewart doesn’t truly step up, playing Joan Jett with her usual stoned fuzziness,..."
P 80 - Diva Velez - TheDivaReview.com - "Sigismondi spends much camera time in close-ups of meaningful stares, because at fifteen years old, those stares are often the only expression a teenage girl ever displays. ....Great performances are what really elevate The Runaways. Kristen Stewart is a standout as Joan Jett. Mimicking perfectly Jett’s gangly, hunched posture and raccoon-eyed glare, Stewart is a dead ringer for the guitarist. Never remotely impressed with her work in the Twilight films {Click for our reviews of Twilight and New Moon}, Stewart displays actual chops here, ranging from steely intensity in the face of The Runaways’ many obstacles (- including the girls’ inability to communicate with each other), to pulling ballsy, smart-alecky pranks on those fool enough to underestimate her, to pure, hell-bent rage when things irrevocably fall apart. It’s an amazing portrayal of the deceptively tough, vulnerable teenager who will become Joan Jett and Stewart completely pulls it off."
P 81 - Doug MacLean - Home Theater Info - "Even if you are not in this demographic you will still be highly entertained by synergetic performances and some stellar performances. .... All child stars have to face the transition to mature roles. Fanning and Stewart hit the ground running here. The casting is perfect for a story about a manipulative man trying to launch ‘jail-bait’ rock only to discover these young women not only had the talent to make it without him but the drive to make him superfluous."
P 82 - Dragan Antulov - rec.arts.movies.reviews (Serbian) - "Many things about the film series twilight are regrettable, but most of all grief caused to the front of the cameras together not only young, but talented cast that you could expect a beautiful future. Similar history of Hollywood mega-franchise, however, shown that their success can be fatal for the careers of many actors, forced constantly to interpret one and the same types of characters in a vain attempt to repeat the commercial "magic". Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, however, have shown a certain determination in an effort to avoid such a fate, which explains their joint appearance in the biopic The Runaways, the realization that without a lot of imagination be called a kind of antithesis Twilight.
The Runaways what seems worthy of attention is primarily the cast that out of these trying to get the maximum potential.
For Kristen Stewart almost see how desperately trying to peel off from Bella Swan and enjoy explaining how a character who, for a change, in dramatic terms of a multicellular organism. Even more enthusiasm can be seen by Dakota Fanning, a former child-actress who has for years caused antipathy as "pretty girls" in the standard Hollywood trash. In this film simply enjoys interpreting a character that was discovered sexuality and adulthood and are attempts to explore it all, including destructive ways, but those points off the scene where her character briefly and Stewartin "explore their own sexual orientation. " Great job was done and Michael Shannon in the role of unscrupulous rock producer who, accidentally or intentionally, it looks exactly like Edward Cullen would look to him any chance plays a bad make-up old man. Because of all this is The Runaways has recommended, although primarily for those who have previously been forced to watch twilight, or for therapeutic reasons. (Translated by Google translator engine. Anyone with a better translation, please, put it in the comment or contact me on twitter @luacheia99)
P 83 - Duane Dudek - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - "But Stewart's glue-huffing Jett, wearing a shag haircut, stovepipe jeans and a leather jacket, is the band and film's sparkplug. ....That Jett outlasted them to control her life, image and music is the real act of empowerment here. Both musicians were exhibitionists, and it's a little unsettling to watch a pale and thin Fanning, who just turned 16 in real life, prance around in panties and corset. But the same mumbling intensity that the sullen, sneering and heavy-lidded Stewart brought to "Twilight" fits Jett's iron-butterfly image like a glove."
P 84 - Dustin Putman - DustinPutman.com - "Beyond the haze of 1970s sexual freedom and rising equality comes both an intoxicating excitement—on-stage performances such as Joan Jett's "I Love Playing with Fire" and Cherie Currie's "Cherry Bomb," courageously sung by the actors, pop with a rattling and catchy sense of empowerment—and, ultimately, the poignancy and danger of innocence manipulated and stolen. .... The rightful star attractions, though, are Dakota Fanning (2009's "Push") and Kristen Stewart (2009's "Adventureland") as Cherie Currie and Joan Jett. In her most adult role to date, ....
.... Not to be outdone, Stewart is raw, real and amazingly assured as Joan Jett, getting the look, the voice and the body language down pat. Consider this just one more reason why she desperately needs to finish the "Twilight" series of movies and concentrate on better, more personal projects."
N 85 - Elizabeth Weitzman -New York Daily News - "Though the real Jett is as charismatic as a rock icon should be, she's played with such bland anonymity by Kristen Stewart that she barely registers."
(How do some film critics have the courage of doing do an article without do their homework? She is not the first of this listing but I could not let this past without an observation... This woman clearly don't know that this move is based in the Cherie Currie's autobiography and this is the story through her perspective and besides Joan Jett, the others members of the original band or were dead or did not sign on an agreement with the production. This way, they could not be accurately retreated in the script. So... of course, all the characters were support characters of Cherie's character, including Joan Jett's character. It was not an option of the screenwriter and director.)
P 86 - Elliott Noble - Sky Movies - "Dakota Fanning and Twilight’s Kristen Stewart are splendidly cast as Lolita-ish singer Cherie Currie and moody guitarist Joan Jett, while Michael Shannon delivers the sleazy goods as their manager Kim Fowley. .... But with Fanning expertly treading the line between vulnerability and selfishness, Stewart pushing her hitherto twilit talents into the limelight, and Shannon a constant source of sleazy amusement, The Runaways performs best when the leads are on stage."
N 87 - Eric D. Snider - EricDSnider.com - "Fanning and Stewart, playing the two leads, are timid and lifeless much of the time, even during "intense" scenes."
P 88 - Eric Grandy - The Stranger - "Kristen Stewart's Jett is believably tough and pouty in a way that her Twilight heroine has never been (and the scenes of her making out with Currie or teaching her bandmate how to masturbate to the thought of Farrah Fawcett should be instructive for fans of chaste, crypto-Mormon vampire melodramas)."
P 89 - Eric Melin - Scene-Stealers.com - "In the new 1970s-set rock biopic “The Runaways,” Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning tap into major reservoirs of their own angst from being thrust into the spotlight at an early age. .... And it’s eerily effective."
P 90 - Erin Free - FILMINK (Australia) - "Eschewing the traditional rock biopic format, the film evocatively recreates the era and the pitch-perfect performances capture the high emotions of the time. .... The film begins in the heady mid-seventies, with tomboy wannabe rocker Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart is just the right mix of vulnerability and jutting-chin aggression as this future rock icon) looking to make her mark on the music scene. .... From the actresses gamely doing their own singing, to the grubby, fumbling sex scenes, The Runaways breathlessly seethes with hard fought authenticity."
N 91 - Ethan Alter - NYC Film Critic - "She (the director) also would benefit from more experience working with actors; while Fanning is quite good as Currie, Stewart wears one expression throughout the whole movie and Shannon is allowed to rant and rave like he’s still playing his brain-addled character from Revolutionary Road."
P 92 - Frank Swietek - One Guy's Opinion - "As to the performances, Stewart rouses herself from her “Twilight” doldrums as Jett"
P 93 - Frank Wilkins - ReelTalk Movie Reviews - "With the exception of gender, the film is your basic VH1 rags-to-riches-to-rags rock ‘n roll story, but soars under the strength of the heavyweight performances of Stewart and Fanning who do a great job channeling the power that rock music carried in the ‘70s. .... Stewart’s brooding, mumbly mannerisms play nicely into Jett’s withdrawn but determined persona. It’s exciting to see her come alive on stage when she cranks up her guitar. And yes folks, that’s really Stewart singing and strumming."
P 94 - Fred Topel - Can Magazine - "The Runaways is a vehicle for intense performances, but it’s really good. Those performances serve not only the real life characters in the story, but serve a narrative that actually has something positive to say about music."
P 95 - Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat - Spirituality and Practice - "Writer and director Floria Sigismondi has fashioned a spunky music-based bio-picture with three intriguing performances by Kristen Stewart as the single-minded rocker Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as the singer who realizes that she's in over her head, and Michael Shannon as their over-the-top and flamboyant producer."
P 96 - Gary Thompson - Philadelphia Daily News - ""The Runaways" works best when the music is allowed to speak for itself. Stewart and Fanning do their own playing/singing, bringing life to the sound."
P 97 - George Varga - San Diego Union-Tribune - "The strong performances of “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart and precocious film veteran Dakota Fanning — who portray Runaways guitarist-singer Joan Jett and lead singer Cherie Currie, respectively — should draw viewers who weren’t born until several decades after this band imploded in 1978 after only two albums."
P 98 - Giles Hardie - Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) - "Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, most recently scene sparkling across Twilight red carpets, are immediately convincing and captivating as the screwed up teenagers turned rock stars Joan Jett and Cherie Currie."
P 99 - Glenn Gamboa - New York Newsday - "Stewart and Fanning are excellent..."
P/N 100 - Graham Young - Birmingham Post - (he didn't talk about the acting, so... I'll put it as "indifferent"!)
N 101 - J. R. Jones - Chicago Reader (Top Critic) - "Onscreen, this contradiction is heightened by the fact that Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) steals his every scene as the aphorism-spouting Fowley while Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning often fade into the 70s wallpaper as guitarist Joan Jett and front woman Cherie Currie."
P 102 - James Berardinelli - ReelViews (Top Critic) - "The three leads provide convincing performances,... ..... Kirsten Stewart veers as far away from Twilight's Bella as one can imagine, making a pronounced statement that the actress does not want to be defined by her best-known role.
Indeed, Stewart has shown a wellspring of talent over the years, little of which is evident in the vampire movies, but a portion of which is on display here. She and Fanning, who are also appearing opposite each other in the Twilight series, show solid chemistry, making the foundation of The Runaways the relationship between Jett and Currie. .... Although neither Fanning nor Stewart are vocally equal to their cinematic alter-egos, they do their own singing and the passion they put into belting out the lyrics allows us to forget that they aren't Currie and Jett."
Indeed, Stewart has shown a wellspring of talent over the years, little of which is evident in the vampire movies, but a portion of which is on display here. She and Fanning, who are also appearing opposite each other in the Twilight series, show solid chemistry, making the foundation of The Runaways the relationship between Jett and Currie. .... Although neither Fanning nor Stewart are vocally equal to their cinematic alter-egos, they do their own singing and the passion they put into belting out the lyrics allows us to forget that they aren't Currie and Jett."
P 103 - James Verniere - Boston Herald (Top Critic) - "Stewart, who was terrific earlier this year in the neglected Joan Jett biopic “The Runaways,..."
P 104 - Jamie S. Rich - DVDTalk.com - "Kristen Stewart plays Jett as a restless, skulking hunter. She is not a predator, that is Fowley's job, but she's clearly a girl searching for something. Her shoulders hunched, her head down, staring out from under black bangs, she is an alluring enigma."
P 105 - Jane Crowther - TotalFilm - "And for the most part it works, thanks to painstaking recreations of hazy disco-era dive bars, faded roller rinks and seedy motels, plus a ballsy performance by Kristen Stewart. .... Hunched hungrily over her axe, dirty-s exy and growling her lines, she won’t please the Twi-hards, but it’s a welcome switch-up for anyone suspecting talent does indeed lurk among the vampires. .... Apart from some evocative scenes of the band performing (with creditable singing from Stewart and Fanning) and ...."
P/N 106 - Janos Gereben - Entertainment Insiders - (His review is not more online. So... Although his review of the film is positive in Rotten Tomatoes, I will post it as a indifferent review of Kristen's performance because I don't know what he wrote about it or even if he expressed any oppinion about it. If anyone have is please post it here!)
P 107 - Jason Anderson - Eye Weekly - "Yet the movie also delivers a surprising emotional wallop thanks to its frank portrayal of the intense, complex and (at least for one evening) erotic bond between Jett and the band’s troubled singer Cherie Currie, on whose memoir the film is largely based. Sigismondi says it took her a while to realize that the relationship between Jett and Currie — portrayed here by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, both of whom deliver convincing, courageous performances — was the real story of The Runaways. Choosing that as the focal point also freed her from the constraints of a just-the-facts treatment.
Since none of what ensues could be mistaken for "High School Musical" or "The Twilight Saga", the film is thoroughly inappropriate for the more impressionable portion of Stewart and Fanning’s fan bases. The director wouldn’t have it any other way.
“That was very important to me from the beginning,” she says of the film’s frank depiction of rock ’n’ roll excess. “Both girls seemed to be really, really into those aspects of it. I think if you’re a great actor, that’s the kind of thing you can sink your teeth into.”
P/N 108 - Jason Di Rosso - MovieTime, ABC Radio National (Australia) - "The story told here is about the triangle between Fowely and his two main proteges (ably performed by Fanning and Stewart): how one buckles under his pressure, and how the other finally rebels against him."
P 110 - Jeff Vice - Deseret News, Salt Lake City - "But that's not to say the female leads don't get their turn in the spotlight. Those who haven't seen Stewart act in something outside of movies with "Twilight" in their title may be pleasantly surprised. She really nails Jett's unique swagger and presence."
P 104 - Jamie S. Rich - DVDTalk.com - "Kristen Stewart plays Jett as a restless, skulking hunter. She is not a predator, that is Fowley's job, but she's clearly a girl searching for something. Her shoulders hunched, her head down, staring out from under black bangs, she is an alluring enigma."
P 105 - Jane Crowther - TotalFilm - "And for the most part it works, thanks to painstaking recreations of hazy disco-era dive bars, faded roller rinks and seedy motels, plus a ballsy performance by Kristen Stewart. .... Hunched hungrily over her axe, dirty-s exy and growling her lines, she won’t please the Twi-hards, but it’s a welcome switch-up for anyone suspecting talent does indeed lurk among the vampires. .... Apart from some evocative scenes of the band performing (with creditable singing from Stewart and Fanning) and ...."
P/N 106 - Janos Gereben - Entertainment Insiders - (His review is not more online. So... Although his review of the film is positive in Rotten Tomatoes, I will post it as a indifferent review of Kristen's performance because I don't know what he wrote about it or even if he expressed any oppinion about it. If anyone have is please post it here!)
P 107 - Jason Anderson - Eye Weekly - "Yet the movie also delivers a surprising emotional wallop thanks to its frank portrayal of the intense, complex and (at least for one evening) erotic bond between Jett and the band’s troubled singer Cherie Currie, on whose memoir the film is largely based. Sigismondi says it took her a while to realize that the relationship between Jett and Currie — portrayed here by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, both of whom deliver convincing, courageous performances — was the real story of The Runaways. Choosing that as the focal point also freed her from the constraints of a just-the-facts treatment.
Since none of what ensues could be mistaken for "High School Musical" or "The Twilight Saga", the film is thoroughly inappropriate for the more impressionable portion of Stewart and Fanning’s fan bases. The director wouldn’t have it any other way.
“That was very important to me from the beginning,” she says of the film’s frank depiction of rock ’n’ roll excess. “Both girls seemed to be really, really into those aspects of it. I think if you’re a great actor, that’s the kind of thing you can sink your teeth into.”
P/N 108 - Jason Di Rosso - MovieTime, ABC Radio National (Australia) - "The story told here is about the triangle between Fowely and his two main proteges (ably performed by Fanning and Stewart): how one buckles under his pressure, and how the other finally rebels against him."
P 109 - Jeff Marker & Jonathan W. Hickman - Daily Film Fix -
P 111 - Jeffrey M. Anderson - Combustible Celluloid - "Kristen Stewart makes a dead-on Joan, and her slightly tentative performance fits the mold of a teenager still looking for her place in the world. This Joan wants to be a rock star more than a musician, and things like guitar lessons are just necessary bumps in the road."
P 112 - Jennifer Malkowski - DVD Verdict - "Although they've acted together before in the Twilight saga, real-life buddies Kristen Stewart (Jett) and Dakota Fanning (Currie) here turn in some impressive performances as the band's "rock and roll heart" and its "sex kitten," respectively. .... Fans of The Runaways' songs might wish for the music to take center stage, but in my mind, the on-screen chemistry between Stewart and Fanning more than makes up for it. ....
.... Stewart plays Joan as a girl who's both protective of Cherie and also a little bit in love with her. For me, one of the strongest aspects of the film was its matter-of-fact treatment of Joan's queerness: it is not shy about showing Joan making out with both boys and girls—more girls, though, if you're counting—but neither does it feel the need to define her sexuality with a label. And, while Cherie was billed as the sex kitten of the group, Stewart's portrayal of Joan felt far sexier to me (and less uncomfortable, since Fanning was only 15 when she shot this film!). As Joan, Stewart channels her trademark awkward mannerisms and apparent standoffishness into a sort of boyish cool—slouching, swearing, and looking most comfortable when she has a guitar in her capable hands—that is both tough and incredibly hot."
N 113 - Jenny Priestley - Screenjabber.com [UK] - "Stewart does manage to break away from Bella, but not from her off-screen sulky persona. For me, she's just not rocknroll enough, she feels very one note a lot of the time. It's nice to see a film where two young women get to play the leads, but it's pretty formulaic, doesn't really say anything new and it's easy to see where the script's going."
P 114 - Jim Lane - Sacramento News & Review - "Kristen Stewart gets top billing in writer-director Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways,... .... Even Kristen Stewart is pretty interesting. No, really!"
P 115 - Joe Williams - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - "In his trailer-cum-studio, he inserts the nervous Currie into a band that includes fledgling guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart, a shadowy standout) and drummer Sandy West (Stella Maeve), and then he prods them to unleash their sexual energy."
P 116 - Josh Bell - Las Vegas Weekly - "Fanning and Stewart do a decent job of embodying both awkward adolescence and arrogant rock stardom, and the connection between the two at times feels genuine."
P 117 - Joshua Rothkopf - Time Out New York - "Wasn’t it only yesterday that Dakota Fanning shrieked her way into your splitting headache in War of the Worlds? She was just 11 back then, and in this fast-and-loose dramatization of the flameout of the 1970s proto-grrrl group, she’s all of 15. Fanning’s costar, vamp bait Kristen Stewart, isn’t that much more experienced (she can vote). The two make for an uncomfortably tarted-up frontline as, respectively, blond yowler Cherie Currie and future-bad-reputation-disregarder Joan Jett. It’s exactly as it should be; the band’s story is a cautionary one. So if you feel yourself getting protective, the movie is doing its job."
P 118 - Joshua Tyler - CinemaBlend.com - "Those of you with a Twilight astigmatism won’t like reading this, but here it is anyway: Kristen Stewart is a modern day James Dean. She gives the kind of performance in The Runaways that hasn’t been seen on screen since his death. The Runaways is her Rebel Without a Cause and what’s more that disaffected, rebellious persona seems to be one which, as it did with Dean, carries over into her real life. In person Stewart is every bit as tousled and seemingly disaffected as she is playing a rock and roll icon on screen. She’s absolutely brilliant as Joan Jett, it's the role she was born to play, and yet this is not her movie."
N 119 - Justin Strout - Orlando Weekly - "Most dooming of all, neither Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett nor Fanning (poor guitarist Lita Ford, who actually found a better solo career than Currie, gets no attention) sell themselves as rock & roll souls."
P 120 - Karina Longworth -City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul - "There's an obvious stunt element to the casting of The Runaways: a punked-up, barely legal Kristen Stewart and a still underage, barely dressed Dakota Fanning begging for street cred by playing dress-up as, respectively, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, front girls of the oversexed '70s proto-punk sensation the Runaways. Watch sweet little Dakota strut around in a corset! Look at the chick from Twilight kissing girls and snorting massive amounts of coke! .... Jett's unique blend of allure and threat, apathy and determination, gets a mumbling, hyper-naturalized take from Stewart—more Brando than Bella Swan. Her performance is largely internal—risky, considering that her built-in Twilight audience might not know what to make of a character with so much going on in her head. Fanning tacks the other way, bravely embracing the physicality of her role but unable to nail its emotional complexities. (In other words, Stewart's performance makes you forget the baggage of her celebrity; Fanning's foregrounds it.)"
P 121 - Kathleen Murphy - MSN Movies(Top Critic) - "Stewart's darkly brooding presence anchors almost every scene no matter what drama-queen antics occupy the foreground. Driven by her single-minded desire to make music, Jett's a truly tough cookie (far more appealing than sex-starved Bella Swan). How she created herself is just sketched in: her joyous purchase of a black leather jacket ("I want what he's wearing!"), her contempt for the geezer music teacher who proclaims that "girls don't play electric guitar." But because Stewart smolders with such banked power, Jett comes fully formed, her sense of self as strong as whipcord, in contrast to Currie's soft blonde ambition."
P 122 - Ken Hanke - Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) - "For both Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, the film is a revelation. Here the actresses completely shed the images they’ve both tried to break out of before. (The Runaways ought to be required viewing for all Twilight fans—if only to shake them up.) Stewart pretty much nails Joan Jett in both look and attitude. Unlike the often admirable Adventureland (2009) where I could never get past her Twilight character, I had the actual sense of Joan Jett here."
P 123 - Kevin Courrier - Critic At Large (Canada) - "For the first third of the picture, though, both Fanning and Stewart give credible performances. Fanning has a quiet insolence that makes her a shrewd choice to play Currie. (It’s a shame, though, that she gets stuck playing out conventionally dramatic family scenes with her jealous sister and alcoholic father.) Stewart thankfully loses some of those mannerisms that marred her starring roles in Twilight and Adventureland. She downplays Jett’s tough-girl image and illuminates instead the pleasures she gets from her impudent behaviour."
P 124 - Kevin Kelly - Cinematical - "I'll be blunt about this: I really wasn't looking forward to this movie. I'm not the biggest fan of lip-chewing, hair-twirling Kristen Stewart, or the wide-eyed, blank face expert Dakota Fanning. I love rock and roll (so put another dime in the jukebox, baby) as much as the next person, but these two starring in a movie about an all-girl, teen sensation, flash in the pan band from the 1970s? I just didn't think they could pull it off. Hey, at least I'm big enough to admit I was wrong. The Runaways rocked the Joan Jett / Cherie Currie backstory's pants off (literally), and I'll be buying the soundtrack, which features K-Stew and D-Fan singing the blasts from the past. .... But the real story takes place in the cracks between the electric soundtrack. Kristen Stewart steps out of her normal angsty girl act and nails down the punk rock, hard as nails Jett, and Fanning is equally as good with her disconnected portrayal of Currie, ...."
P 125 - Kevin McCarthy - BDK Reviews - "Kristen Stewart was great as Joan Jett... .... Seeing how Joan Jett became who she is today was rather fascinating. I would love to be sitting here ranting and raving about Kristen Stewart's performance..."
P 126 - Kevin N. Laforest - Montreal Film Journal - "Speaking of which (Kristen and Dakota, not their make-out scene!), both actresses must be commended for their performances, which are appropriately intense. Stewart and Fanning also do their own singing and I have to say, they rock pretty hard!"
P/N 127 - Kevin Williamson - Jam! Movies - "And whether you’re a Twihard or Twihater, the hook is irresistable. Namely, the shrewd casting of a scantily clad Dakota Fanning and a leather-attired Kristen Stewart as coke-snorting, spit-swapping bad girls Cherie Currie and Joan Jett.
What better way to rekindle interest in the salacious origins of hard rock’s first all-girl group? Or, if you’re the formerly wholesome ex-child stars, to swagger into edgy, tainted adulthood?
And swagger — and slink — Stewart and Fanning do in music-video helmer Floria Sigismondi’s feature debut."
What better way to rekindle interest in the salacious origins of hard rock’s first all-girl group? Or, if you’re the formerly wholesome ex-child stars, to swagger into edgy, tainted adulthood?
And swagger — and slink — Stewart and Fanning do in music-video helmer Floria Sigismondi’s feature debut."
P 128 - Kiko Martinez - Cinesnob.com - "Despite its script’s flaws, actresses Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are well cast as bandmates Cheri Currie and Joan Jett."
P/N 129 - Kimberly Gadette - Indie Movies Online - "The filmmakers turn their cameras on Jett jumping up and down on a bed, or meditating in her bathtub. How about throwing us a crumb, letting us in on who she is, what she thinks, where she comes from? There is a certain sly sexuality to her that we long to see explored, rather than a flash here, a glimmer there. Though the blame primarily belongs to the filmmakers, Stewart's resulting performance all but fades into a black leather shadow."
P 130 - Kirk Honeycutt - Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic) - "It's an instant hit worldwide with its cast of young stars, but is it any good? Surprisingly, yes. It just must be met on its own terms. .... The vigor and pace is electric, and the movie features three showy performances by Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon. .... Stewart in short-cropped dark hair and dark clothes is the movie's driving force as Joan Jett. The movie never appreciates Jett's musical passion and savvy, but it does capture her burning ambition."
P 131 - Kit Bowen and Robert Sims - The Movie Kit - "As Jett, a stoic Stewart often lets her guitar speak for her, but it is through her that we come to understand the damage that fame and fortune inflicted on these teen idols."
P/N 132 - Kristin Dreyer Kramer - Nights and Weekends - "Even Stewart seems nearly bearable, with her trademark blank, angsty stare—which is actually rather fitting for her role as tough rocker chick Jett."
P 133 - Kurt Loder - MTV Movie News - "She's also been fortunate in casting her lead actors — it's hard to imagine how Dakota Fanning (as Currie), Kristen Stewart (as Jett) and Michael Shannon (as the band's raving, madman manager, Kim Fowley) could be any better in their roles. .... Fanning and Stewart do their own singing here (Stewart took guitar lessons, too), and they're really good — songs like "I Love Playin' With Fire" and "I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are" are as rousing as the original Runaways tracks. .... Stewart spends a lot of time slightly off to the side, she makes herself felt in every sequence in which she figures. Her ambiguity — as a friend, as a lover — is fascinating, especially in a scene in which Joan is lying on top of Cherie, breathing pot smoke into her mouth, and the camera looks up into her dark, otherworldly eyes, wondering what she's wondering, and what she sees coming."
P/N 134 - Kyle Smith - New York Post (Top Critic) - (He says that Dakota has a lot more to do than Kristen, so she ends outshining Kristen, although Kristen be a more star than Dakota at the moment and Dakota don't have made a lot of performances in movies lately. So... I will post it as an indiferent.)
P 135 - Larry Ratliff - LarryRatliff.com - "Both lead actresses, who convince as singers and musicians as well as actors, are superb. Stewart and Fanning (yes, once little Dakota Fanning of "I Am Sam" and "The Cat in the Hat") don't just play these characters; they slither under the skin to become them."
P 136 - Larry Richman - Independent Film Analysis - "Channeling Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart turns in a moving and powerful performance that will leave viewers stunned. .... Stewart herself reproducing Jett's vocals with astonishing authenticity.
P 137 - Laura Clifford - Reeling Reviews - "Stewart, with her deeply shadowed eyes and slouchy attitude towards stardom already had some bad girl rocker cred going into this and she does Jett proud,..."
P 136 - Larry Richman - Independent Film Analysis - "Channeling Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart turns in a moving and powerful performance that will leave viewers stunned. .... Stewart herself reproducing Jett's vocals with astonishing authenticity.
P 137 - Laura Clifford - Reeling Reviews - "Stewart, with her deeply shadowed eyes and slouchy attitude towards stardom already had some bad girl rocker cred going into this and she does Jett proud,..."
P 138 - Leigh Paatsch - Herald Sun (Australia) - "Luckily, there are three fantastic lead performances that always keep things on the right side of watchable. .... Last, but by no means least, is Kristen Stewart as The Runaways’ bassist, Joan Jett. Both the true heroine of the band - and yet, often, their own worst enemy - Jett lands on the screen as an incredibly complex, impossibly confident young woman. Stewart thrives on this ever-contradictory character, pointing towards even bigger and better non-Twilight roles in the future."
P 139 - Leonard Maltin - ReelzChannel.com -
P 140 - Liam Lacey - Toronto Globe and Mail (Top Critic) - "While serving its commercial purpose as a vehicle for teen stars and Twilight: New Moon alumnae Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, The Runaways captures the sleaze and innocence of the era and has some still-relevant things to say about the conflict between girl-rocker empowerment and exploitation. .... Stewart, who adopts Jett’s hunched posture and punk mumble, lets her hungry stare do all the work."
N 141 - Lisa Kennedy - Denver Post (Top Critic) - ""Twilight" moper Kristen Stewart plays aching- to-jam guitar player Joan. ..... Joan Jett (nee Joan Marie Larkin) should be the more interesting figure, not least because she proved such a kick-tail survivor when she resurrected herself, first as a solo act, then with the Blackhearts. And one of the bonuses of thinking about the "The Runaways" has been jamming to "Cherry Bomb" and "Bad Reputation" in the car. So one might expect that the black-haired guitarist would be the star of this show. (Jett has an executive-producer credit). But Stewart plays it intensely cool, and Jett's inner workings are a mystery. That she loves rock 'n' roll remains much of what we know."
P/N 142 - Lori Hoffman - Atlantic City Weekly - "Angelic Dakota Fanning is obviously hoping to graduate completely to adult roles as lead singer Cherie Currie, but she isn’t very convincing as either a sexed-up, David Bowie-obsessed teen or a drug addict. Kristen Stewart is more effective as Joan Jett, but a little too low-key. Shannon, however, is a delightfully over-the-top, sleazy force of nature as the music insider who knew his teenage jail-bait concept would get the band noticed."
P 143 & P 144 - Louis B. Robson & Mike Lownsbrough - Big Picture Movie Review -
P 145 - Louise Keller - Urban Cinefile - "Kristen Stewart gets away from her vulnerable Twilight character here, ably portraying Joan Jett, the 15 year old guitarist song-writer with the Elvis-black hair who wears black leather and wants to play guitar like Chuck Berry. Joan and Cherie are the two pivots that keep the band alive; theirs is a complex relationship as they grow up in a precipitous environment, where excess is worshiped and restraint is unknown."
P 146 - Luke Bunanno - DVDizzy.com - "Fortunately, matured child actors Stewart and Fanning have that ... .... Stewart, out to prove she's capable of more than the lip-biting angst of her signature franchise, puts on airs more transparently."
P 147 - Luke Y. Thompson - E! Online - "For everyone who has ever complained about the Twilight movies being too pro-abstinence, here are Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as '70s teenage rock stars Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, who drink, screw, do drugs and rock out with their schlock out. The based-on-a-true-story, rock-star arc is entirely predictable, but the lead performances, along with Michael Shannon as eccentric mentor Kim Fowley, elevate the antics above average. .... the actors make this work, and there is where Sigismondi shines—the recent The Yellow Handkerchief proves that not everybody can get a good performance out of Kristen Stewart, but she's solid here. (Also helpful, the real Jett served as producer to make sure the performance, including Stewart's guitar-playing and singing, was spot-on)."
P 147 - Luke Y. Thompson - E! Online - "For everyone who has ever complained about the Twilight movies being too pro-abstinence, here are Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as '70s teenage rock stars Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, who drink, screw, do drugs and rock out with their schlock out. The based-on-a-true-story, rock-star arc is entirely predictable, but the lead performances, along with Michael Shannon as eccentric mentor Kim Fowley, elevate the antics above average. .... the actors make this work, and there is where Sigismondi shines—the recent The Yellow Handkerchief proves that not everybody can get a good performance out of Kristen Stewart, but she's solid here. (Also helpful, the real Jett served as producer to make sure the performance, including Stewart's guitar-playing and singing, was spot-on)."
P 148 - Maitland McDonagh - Miss FlickChick - "Twilight's sullen Stewart, former child-star Fanning and one-time Oscar-nominee Shannon are terrific; their performances are 100% snark-free. Both Fanning and Stewart nail the particular desperation born of living on the wrong side of a shatterproof wall that separates wealth, glamour and celebrity from parched despair, and they can sing. Jett, one of the film's executive producers, claims she mistook a tape of Stewart for one of herself."
P 149 - Marc Lee - Daily Telegraph - "Stewart is even better as the furiously smouldering Jett, who’s not a million miles distant in character from her Twilight persona, Bella."
N 150 - Marc Savlov - Austin Chronicle - "From a casting angle, Twilight's Stewart is a dead ringer for the tomboy-from-hell and queer icon Jett,...."
P 151 - Mark Adams - Screen International / At The Movies at Mirror.con.uk - "A fascinating and wonderfully evocative delve into 1970s rock'n'roll, with Kristen Stewart (hair dark and short) great as feisty rocker Joan Jett and ...."
N 152 - Mark Sells - Oregon Herold - "Coming into the film, there were immediate concerns about casting. In particular, could "Twilight" sensation Kristen Stewart pull off a badass original like Joan Jett? And could the precocious former child star, Dakota Fanning, redirect her innocent image into a drugged out bombshell like Cherie Currie? Unfortunately, the suspicions prove to be warranted. Soft spoken and sulking, Stewart clings onto introverted tendencies in a role that requires her to be more brash and larger than life. And Fanning fails to shake her pristine past as exemplified in "Dreamer" and "Charlotte's Web", projecting too much of a sublime goody too shoes rather than an addict and victim of abuse. Both of these roles are critical to the film's success and yet, neither is able to match the energy and flamboyance of Michael Shannon's Kim Fowley."
P 153 - Marshall Fine - Hollywood and Fine (TOP CRITIC) - "The movie is lucky to have Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, ostensibly the stars of the band. Fanning makes Currie vulnerable, unhappy and susceptible to the numbing attraction of drugs. Stewart gets the rebel sneer of Jett, the rockin’ energy and disdainful pose."
P 154 - Mary Pols - Time (TOP CRITIC) - "a patronizing instructor tells Jett (Kristen Stewart, nicely punked out) in an early scene..." (She just talk about Dakota and her acting and say she was a scene stealer and a mini Mery Streep. So I will put it as "not given opinion")
P 155 - MaryAnn Johanson - Flick Filosopher (TOP CRITIC) - "Kristen Stewart (New Moon, Adventureland), as Jett, and Dakota Fanning (Coraline, Push), as Currie, turn in performances that are revelatory: the promise that they both showed as child actors (and which, in Stewart’s case, has not been well served by the Twilight phenomenon) crosses over here to genuine adult talent. My only fear for them: They’ll be frustrated in years to come when they realize that very few films are going to offer them the opportunity to express themselves like they can here, as women who are as fully human and as fully fucked up as men are more typically allowed to be onscreen."
P 156 - Massie Twins - Gone with the Twins - "As intense and impressive as Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are in their respective roles of Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, the real star of The Runaways is the music."
N 157 - Matt Bochenski - Little White Lies - "Just as the band itself had something to prove, both Stewart and Fanning are aiming to cast off the shackles of public perception – as Twilight virgin and child prodigy respectively. It’s Fanning who impresses in the better role as a convincingly fucked-up wild child, adroitly tapping the interior crisis that makes Currie such a fascinating character. As Jett, Stewart is more sulky teen than rock goddess. It’s a distinctly one-dimensional performance that strikes exactly the same notes as Twilight’s Bella. It might be time to wonder whether Stewart has another kind of role in her at all. A bigger issue than the performances is Sigismondi’s treatment of the duo’s relationship. Much has been made of the sexual dynamic between Stewart and Fanning, but it seems ironic – or perhaps hypocritical – that a film examining the exploitation of a female band should concern itself so intimately with shots of two young actresses in knickers and T-shirts, sharing a publicity-generating lesbian kiss and an artfully discreet sex scene. The question is whether The Runaways interrogates Kim Fowley’s cynicism or echoes it."
P 158 - Matt Brunson - Creative Loafing - "Stewart and Fanning are both fine in their respective roles,..."
P 159 - Matt Kelemen - Las Vegas CityLife - "The Runaways could have been a great movie if the producers could have found a decent screenwriter. The story of Joan Jett's formation of the first all-female rock band during L.A.'s mid-'70s glam era should have been a biopic bonanza, with Twilight's Kristen Stewart nailing Jett's look, sound and slouch and Michael Shannon gleefully obnoxious as sadistic Svengali Kim Fowley. But by the time Jett and Fowley invite Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) to try out for the band, problems surface and remain for the film's duration. .... Stewart and Shannon fare best, with Fanning going through the motions by the time the film's halfway point is reached. ..... Aside from Stewart transforming herself into Jett, once the band is formed, there is little about the film that captures the atmosphere of the time period."
N 160 - Matt Pais - Chicago Metromix - "The buzz: First-time feature writer-director Floria Sigismondi’s biopic scored at Sundance and definitely has a story worth telling. It remains to be seen if Stewart can shed the moodiness of “Twilight” and “Adventureland” to deliver real edge.
The verdict: "The Runaways" electrifies thanks to Shannon drooling over rock ‘n roll like an even sleazier Ari Gold, and Fanning, who perfectly balances budding sexuality and youthful naivete. Ultimately the film is sheer badass entertainment; it neither explores the battle of the sexes in rock music nor focuses on anyone but Currie or Jett, who's told early on, “Girls don’t play electric guitars." “The Runaways” simply snarls and rocks its way to showing how a bunch of teenagers changed that."
P/N 161 - Matthew Pejkovic - Matt's Movie Reviews - "Top lining is Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who does a good job pulling off the leather clad punk swagger which is Joan Jett. On stage with a guitar in her hand and she is a star. Yet offstage her self-deflating dourness ultimately lets the part down, Stewart to often clamming up and mumbling her dialogue through clenched teeth."
P 162 - Matthew Sorrento - Bright Lights Film Journal - "As portrayed by Kristen Stewart – who is wisely avoiding an early Twilight to her career – Jett appears as the rock that will remain. Never daunted, her Jett drops power chords and vocal confidence without a thought. It’s something of deep conviction in the role, and kudos go to Stewart for embodying both Jett’s confidence and physical presence. (To capture the distinct asexual-sexuality of Jett’s face is near impossible, so we can’t fault Stewart for the miss here.)
Cherie, as portrayed by Dakota Fanning, is another story. Anyone remembering the real figure will have a tough time letting the just-barely-past-tween Fanning step into the role. Think Fanning trying to fill out this frontwoman. Fanning has brought credibility to many youthful roles, but her Cherie has a fresh face that even the young source lacked. Fanning’s delicate reticence to taking the stage plays more like a reticent performance. It’s no small feat to play a tough girl before she found her toughness, but we wonder why (aside from the funding that her “heat” brought to the project) that Sigismondi didn’t gamble on an unknown."
P 163 - Matthew Turner - ViewLondon - "Stewart is equally good, capturing Jett's look, spirit and attitude, even if the character is frustratingly under-explored by the script. .... Despite a few wobbles, The Runaways is a stylish and enjoyable rock biopic with terrific performances from Fanning, Stewart and Shannon. Recommended."
P 164 - Melinda Newman - HitFix - "Stewart’s Jett is an intense teen who seldom smiles, but who knows what she wants and that’s to play her electric guitar. Gruff and sullen, she nevertheless has drive to spare and its her vision as much as Fowley’s that propels the band. Stewart, who, like Fanning, does her own singing and playing, sounds and looks remarkably like Jett. It’s one of her strongest performances so far as she captures Jett’s fierce work ethic and undiluted desire to play music free of gimmicks. Plus, we see her toughening exterior and gritty determination as the band withstands various assaults."
P 165 - Michael Phillips - Chicago Tribune (Top Critic) - "Stewart's Jett is paradoxically less mannered than some of her other screen portrayals, perhaps because Jett is such a righteous embodiment of teen fearlessness, as opposed to the heroine of the "Twilight" saga, a symbol of Waiting and Wanting. "Girls don't play electric guitars," Jett's music teacher informs her, chuckling. This is the sort of line every music biopic has, and it takes you right back to "The Benny Goodman Story," when the old-school Viennese instructor, upon hearing of Benny's late-night gigs, exhorted: "No! Benny! Not zat ragtime!"
Yet the corn doesn't corrode "The Runaways." The film invests real feeling in telling these intertwined stories. Currie was conceived by Fowley (and, implicitly, herself) as the trashy Valley version of Brigitte Bardot, while Fowley saw Jett's appeal as more complicated. It was, and is, and it's why The Runaways meant something beyond the packaging. The component parts of "The Runaways" are familiar — rehearsal scenes, backstage trysts, onstage triumphs — but it has an exceptional hangout factor. The characters and the performers simply are good company, even in extremis."
P 166 - Michael Smith - Tulsa World - "Kristen Stewart ("Twilight") and Dakota Fanning ("The Secret Life of Bees") portray Jett and Currie, respectively, and both are spot-on in capturing the spirit of their characters, if not the musical aptitude. Neither shows off vocals or musicianship outside of loud, head-banging performances, and yet both deliver authentic portrayals as music-loving teens. .... "The Runaways" is extremely successful in having its actors look like their characters, and Stewart is especially remarkable. That long black shag of hair and the eyes are perfect, but she truly nails the "I Love Rock & Roll" singer with her posture, as slumped shoulders give her that odd lurching movement of Jett's."
P 167 - Michelle Alexandria - Eclipse Magazine - "I’ve made my dislike of Kristen Stewart known to anyone who would care to listen, I’m big enough to admit when she does good work in The Runaways is strong. She still comes across as a poser – a spoiled suburban girl who desperately wants to show us her angst. The first 1/2 hour of Runaways, the biopic about Rocker Joan Jett, was a bit torturous to get through but once the movie gets going it becomes a fun movie about Girls making it in the man’s business called Rock and Roll. As Jett gets more confident as the movie progresses so does Kristen."
P 168 - Mick LaSalle - San Francisco Chronicle (TOP CRITIC) - "Stewart, known mainly for mumbling and stumbling through the "Twilight" movies, is the revelation here. She has made a meticulous study of Jett - of her posture, her manner, her expressions, even in the way thoughts cross her eyes. And she has Jett's stage manner down, the way this seemingly shy person assumes total authority when she gets up to play. The visuals help - the costuming and art direction are spot-on."
P 169 - Mike Scott - New Orleans Times-Picayune (TOP CRITIC) - "Fortunately, for Sigismondi and for her film -- for which she penned the screenplay -- she's got a top-shelf cast to hang her hat on. In addition to the always reliable Michael Shannon, who plays the band's flamboyant architect and manager, Kim Fowley, with a hilarious larger-than-lifeness, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning both get a chance to shine. They play Runaways members Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, and they power the film through its lulls by the sheer force of their performances.
For her part, Stewart has Jett down pat: her strut, her slouch, her sexiness. This is a performance that goes far beyond Jett's shag haircut, and it's great to see Stewart -- who shot "Welcome to the Rileys" in New Orleans in late 2008 -- do her thing in a role that involves neither vampires nor werewolves."
P 170 - Mike Usinger - Georgia Straight - "The movie is powered by one good performance (Dakota Fanning as messed-up-on-multiple-fronts blond bombshell singer Cherie Currie) and two great ones. More than a jet-black shag haircut in leather pants, Stewart is eerily dead-on as Joan Jett, offering up a potent mixture of chain-smoking tough-girl swagger and fuck-the-world cockiness."
P 171 - Moira MacDonald - Seattle Times - "Told with a jolting, lurid energy, "The Runaways" feels oddly off-balance. Fanning, who's long had an eerie quality in movies (she always seems more in-focus than anyone else on screen), here throws herself into her role, letting us see how Cherie enjoys the sexual power of strutting around a stage in a corset, how guilty she feels about leaving her sister (Riley Keough) behind to cope with their father, how she finds the real world frightening and small. Out pour her issues, all over the movie, as Stewart strums an electric guitar somewhere else in the shot. We learn next to nothing about Jett except that she's a tough gal who loves to rock 'n' roll, and Stewart plays her as a deep-voiced enigma. Why did the one emerge as a star, and the other dissolve under the bright lights? (The real Jett, it's worth noting, is an executive producer of the film.)"
P 171 - Moira MacDonald - Seattle Times - "Told with a jolting, lurid energy, "The Runaways" feels oddly off-balance. Fanning, who's long had an eerie quality in movies (she always seems more in-focus than anyone else on screen), here throws herself into her role, letting us see how Cherie enjoys the sexual power of strutting around a stage in a corset, how guilty she feels about leaving her sister (Riley Keough) behind to cope with their father, how she finds the real world frightening and small. Out pour her issues, all over the movie, as Stewart strums an electric guitar somewhere else in the shot. We learn next to nothing about Jett except that she's a tough gal who loves to rock 'n' roll, and Stewart plays her as a deep-voiced enigma. Why did the one emerge as a star, and the other dissolve under the bright lights? (The real Jett, it's worth noting, is an executive producer of the film.)"
N 172 - Nathan Rabin - The Onion A.V. Club - "The dead-eyed talent vacuum that is Kristen Stewart co-stars as Joan Jett, a snarling badass whose tomboy attitude and songwriting perfectly complemented Currie’s purring sex kitten onstage, on record, and in bed."
P/N 173 - Neil Miller - Film School Rejects - "Speaking of Stewart, she plays Joan Jett, the lead guitarist and perhaps most enduring member of The Runaways. From the start, Jett was an intense, aggressive gal who wanted nothing more than to rock out in ways that girls weren’t supposed to do. Stewart captures the intensity perfectly, but never completely immerses herself in the character. She’s aggressive, sexual and all things rock-n-roll. And that’s enough to carry the film alongside Fanning."
P 174 - Neil Pedley - Just Press Play - "Showcasing the kind of range that the Twilight Saga simply doesn't permit, Kristen Stewart, exuding an effective mélange of feisty insecurity, takes on the role of Joan Jett, the street tough, trailer trash, valley girl irked by the constant establishment mantra that: "girls don't play electric guitar."
P/N 175 - Nicholas Sheffo - Fulvue Drive-in - (He don't talk about Kristen's performance, so... I'll put it as "indiferent")
N 176 - Nick Schager - Lessons of Darkness - "Jett (Kristen Stewart) is reduced by the film to a mere fashion-model cipher, defined by her leather jacket, matching black hair and too-cool-for-everyone nods, winks and bisexual come-ons. Stewart isn’t to blame for the fact that the character, stripped of a history or personality, is a nothing, but – despite avoiding her usual lip-biting – the actress nonetheless can’t even get the poses quite right, her every riot-grrrl act coming off as dress-up affectation. In the phoniness department, she’s matched by Fanning, who struts about in skimpy whore lingerie with the bruises and glassy eyes of a junkie, and unconvincingly spouts vile like “You’re nothing but a filthy pussy.”"
P/N 175 - Nicholas Sheffo - Fulvue Drive-in - (He don't talk about Kristen's performance, so... I'll put it as "indiferent")
N 176 - Nick Schager - Lessons of Darkness - "Jett (Kristen Stewart) is reduced by the film to a mere fashion-model cipher, defined by her leather jacket, matching black hair and too-cool-for-everyone nods, winks and bisexual come-ons. Stewart isn’t to blame for the fact that the character, stripped of a history or personality, is a nothing, but – despite avoiding her usual lip-biting – the actress nonetheless can’t even get the poses quite right, her every riot-grrrl act coming off as dress-up affectation. In the phoniness department, she’s matched by Fanning, who struts about in skimpy whore lingerie with the bruises and glassy eyes of a junkie, and unconvincingly spouts vile like “You’re nothing but a filthy pussy.”"
P 177 - Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic) - "Stewart nails Jett's sinewy swagger,..." "Early on, we see Kristen Stewart, as the black-shag-haired Joan Jett, in an L.A. boutique, where she has to coerce the saleswoman
into selling her a man's studded biker jacket. Stewart's casually likable, no-frills performance starts with Jett's tough-girl saunter — which is to say, the actress knows just how to walk like a skinny dude. At the same time, we meet Cherie (pronounced Sher-ee), who cuts her platinum hair into a David Bowie shag so that she can lip-synch to him at a high school talent contest."
P 178 - Patrick Kolan - IGN Movies [AU] - "However, it's the performances in The Runaways that made for the most memorable moments .... Stewart doesn't so much act as exude a dirty presence in every frame; she's charismatic visually, and when she eventually lets go and starts hurling bottles and letting loose, we see the ability she does her best to hide in Twilight."
P 179 - Patrick Z. McGavin - Cinema 24/7 - "A photographer and video artist, Sigismondi has a perceptive eye for compositional detail. She’s also very good at capturing the fragile, tentative interior consciousness of young women. She is helped immeasurably by the skilled and virtuoso performances of young actors Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. They play the rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, respectively. They mix the tender and volatile sharply and convincingly. They give the work both a hot wired intensity but also some emotional traction."
P 180 - Paul Byrnes - Sydney Morning Herald [AU] - "Fanning and Stewart give the band some core strength, especially Stewart, who makes you believe that for Jett, it was always about the music, not the clothes or the jailbait image."
N 181 - Paul GreenWood - Alone in The Dark [UK] - "Shannon has loads of fun as their off the hook manager, but Stewart is her usual underpowered self and Fanning outclasses her at every turn."
P 182 - Peter Bradshaw - Guardian [UK] - "The time passes; the seasons turn, summer turns to autumn and now Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are playing rock chicks. And doing it pretty convincingly, what's more – Stewart, at any rate. This is the interestingly low-key, unhappy story of "the Runaways", the 70s all-girl band led by blonde singer Cherie Currie (Fanning), with Joan Jett (Stewart) providing lead guitar and rock'n'roll attitude. With her clump of black hair, leather jacket and high-waisted, flat-fronted blue denims, Kirsten Stewart has an eerie resemblance to Jett and when, in one scene, she takes her top off facing away from the camera, her back looks as broad and muscular as a weightlifter's."
P 182 - Peter Bradshaw - Guardian [UK] - "The time passes; the seasons turn, summer turns to autumn and now Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart are playing rock chicks. And doing it pretty convincingly, what's more – Stewart, at any rate. This is the interestingly low-key, unhappy story of "the Runaways", the 70s all-girl band led by blonde singer Cherie Currie (Fanning), with Joan Jett (Stewart) providing lead guitar and rock'n'roll attitude. With her clump of black hair, leather jacket and high-waisted, flat-fronted blue denims, Kirsten Stewart has an eerie resemblance to Jett and when, in one scene, she takes her top off facing away from the camera, her back looks as broad and muscular as a weightlifter's."
P 183 - Peter Howell - Toronto Star (Top Critic) - "It reveals alchemy that continues today: the transformative power of three chords and an attitude not only made serious jam-kickers out of Runaways frontwomen Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, it also worked wonders on Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, who play them in the movie.
Stewart applies her vampiric moodiness to rhythm guitarist Jett's tough-girl persona. She evokes the deceptive angel-face of Elvis '56 while simultaneously summoning the leather-wrapped sneer of a Keith Richards or Sid Vicious.
But Fanning and Stewart are the deserving stars of the film, nailing every last look and lick, holding their own even as Shannon savvily attempts to nick every scene.
There is also nothing but an end-note credit about Jett's post-Runaways success as leader of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, a group arguably more deserving of rock hall honours and its own movie (with Stewart once again playing Jett, hopefully)."
P 184 - Peter Rainer - Christian Science Monitor - "Stewart and Fanning are intensely watchable."
N 185 - Peter Sobczynski - eFilmCritic.com - "Then again, perhaps it was a wise idea after all to concentrate less on Joan Jett since the other major flaw with “The Runaways” is the bizarre decision to cast Kristen Stewart, arguably the most relentlessly recessive young actress working today, in the role--there are plenty of words out there that could be used to properly define Joan Jett, but “recessive” is definitely not one of them. I have liked Stewart in most of her previous non-vampire-related performances (I urge you again to check out the underrated “Adventureland” as soon as possible) and she does get Jett’s look down pat--in some scenes, she is virtually a dead ringer--but she just lacks the fire and energy that the role requires. With her combination of attitude, intelligence and raw talent, Joan Jett is someone who needs to be played by someone who can instantly seize the screen to such a degree that she is compelling and magnetic even when the focus is off of her but with Stewart in the part, we are stuck with one who seems in danger of fading into the background even during the times when she is front and center."
P 186 - Peter Travers - Rolling Stone (TOP CRITIC) - "Stewart gives as good as she gets. .... And Fanning and Stewart, who do their own singing, seize the moment."
P 187 - Prairie Miller - NewsBlaze - "Dakota Fanning as fragile Currie and Kristen Stewart's pre-punk untamed tomboy Jett are bold, edgy impersonations as they disappear into their respective out of control real life personas, casting their own self-conscious notions of celebrity aside for the duration. But the problem is that the material is pretty thin and verging on afterschool special derivative, and hopelessly paling in comparison. Though it's refreshing to savor Stewart taking time out for a bit from that clinging female unrequited codependent leaning all over male magnet vampires and werewolves, which has been progressively wearing out its welcome."
P/N 188 - Preston Jones - Dallas Morning News (Top Critic) - ( He didn't like the movie. Beisde a little mention about Michael Shannon, he don't talk about the acting in his review. So... I will post this review "indifferent".)
P 189 - Ray Greene - Boxoffice Magazine - "The Runaways is far from a perfect movie, but there are moments when it comes about as close to catching the visceral kick of the pre-iPod rock experience as any film I’ve ever seen. It’s a natural born hit, especially given its Twilight connections (two of its young female stars are veterans of the tween vampire franchise). .... A man and a dark-haired teenage girl (Kristen Stewart, all glowers and leather as Joan Jett) accost Cherie in a glam-rock nightclub.
Calling this movie The Runaways is a bit of a misnomer because it’s less the story of the five member group than of a single friendship. Based on the memoirs of Runaways lead singer, Currie, but made with the strong participation of the band’s rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, Joan Jett, The Runaways focuses on Currie aka “Cherry Bomb” (a bravura display of range and beauty from queen of modulation Dakota Fanning), Jett (a brave if limited performance from Kristen Stewart) and the unavoidable presence that is their eccentric manager and co-creator, Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon)."
P/N 190 - Rebecca Barry - Flicks.Co.NZ (NZ) - "Joan Jett's rock'n'roll story is ground-breaking one of art, liberation and power. But the cinematic portrayal of her life with lead singer Cherie Currie is inspid, emotionless and dull. Director and scriptwriter Floria Sigismondi, who based the film on Currie's memoirs, tries to inject a sense of aloofness in her teenage protagonists, played by a vacant Dakota Fanning and Twilight's Kristen Stewart, in a twitchy, boyish performance."
P 191 - Reece Crothers - Daily Film Dose - "The performances are uniformly excellent with leads Fanning and Stewart proving their acting chops and standing out among their peers as true actors in a sea of celebrities who are famous for being famous. There is something shocking and dangerous watching the veteran child stars emerge from the awkward teenage period (that most child actors don't survive) and you can't help but feel the authority of their work in dealing with precocious fame and all the pratfalls of excess that come with it. The film works almost as a love story between two artists and you couldn't ask for two actors with more chemistry, their very different energies complimenting each other extraordinarily well.
From the first frame in which she appears, Stewart inhabits Joan Jett. There is nothing of the Twilight Saga's Bella in her portrayal of the rock icon. Her mannerisms, the way she hunches her shoulders, the tough exterior, the drive to be taken seriously as an artist, the vulnerability, it's all over her face."
P 192 - Rene Rodriguez - Miami Herald - "Stewart nails Jett's physical mannerisms and insouciant attitude, and she uses her face and gestures to subtly capture the musician's natural intelligence and wisdom: When Fowley barks "What is our product? Sex! Violence! Revolt!" Stewart shows you how Jett knows, even at her young age, not to take this huckster seriously."
From the first frame in which she appears, Stewart inhabits Joan Jett. There is nothing of the Twilight Saga's Bella in her portrayal of the rock icon. Her mannerisms, the way she hunches her shoulders, the tough exterior, the drive to be taken seriously as an artist, the vulnerability, it's all over her face."
P 192 - Rene Rodriguez - Miami Herald - "Stewart nails Jett's physical mannerisms and insouciant attitude, and she uses her face and gestures to subtly capture the musician's natural intelligence and wisdom: When Fowley barks "What is our product? Sex! Violence! Revolt!" Stewart shows you how Jett knows, even at her young age, not to take this huckster seriously."
P 193 - Rich Cline - Shadows On The Wall [UK] - "A fascinating exploration of the effects of fame on young people, this true story is sharply directed and acted. .... Stewart is also terrific as the quintessential rock 'n' roll chick, with a steely edge that the Twilight movies never even hint at."
P 194 - Richard Knight - Windy City Times - "Shannon and the two teenage leads (who sing their own numbers and indulge in a sensual love scene) ably jump into the characters headfirst and though the excess and exuberance is countered by a fair amount of melodramatic heartbreak, jealousy, and enough tearful moments to smear the mascara of all and sundry, the movie works best when its focusing on attitude, outfits and the sleazy sex, drugs and rock-n-roll milieu circa 1975."
P 194 - Richard Knight - Windy City Times - "Shannon and the two teenage leads (who sing their own numbers and indulge in a sensual love scene) ably jump into the characters headfirst and though the excess and exuberance is countered by a fair amount of melodramatic heartbreak, jealousy, and enough tearful moments to smear the mascara of all and sundry, the movie works best when its focusing on attitude, outfits and the sleazy sex, drugs and rock-n-roll milieu circa 1975."
P 195 - Richard Roeper - Richard Roeper.com (Top Critic) -
P 196 - Rick Kisonak - Film Threat - "Sigismondi’s first mistake, in fact, is focusing on Currie, a vacuous blond Bowie wannabe, instead of on the Runaways’ most talented and enduring alumna, Joan Jett. The movie’s early scenes depict the fortuitous confrontation between the leather-jacketed young rocker — channeled to perfection by Kristen Stewart....
Stewart has the opposite problem here. She’s completely believable as Jett, but, until its final scene, Sigismondi’s script keeps her on a leash, relegating her to second string and denying her an opportunity to reveal the thunder god it’s fully apparent she’s born to be. Only in the movie’s last moments, which hint at her second coming as the stadium-filling leader of the Blackhearts (with “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” blasting in the background) does she get her close-up. It’s a thrilling couple of minutes against which everything that precedes it unfortunately pales."
P 197 - Rob Thomas - Capital Times (Madison, WI) - "The rise if The Runaways is dazzling entertainment, as we watch the nervous teens slowly grow into confident rockers. Stewart and Fanning totally inhabit their roles to an almost frightening degree; Stewart just simply IS Joan Jett, from the petulant sneer to her raspy lyrics to even her slouched walk."
P 198 - Robert Glatzer - Movies101.com - "But the film is at its best during the shows; Fanning and Stewart are amazing, letting us see the young girls behind the rock stars. They really are irresistible when they perform."
P/N 199 - Robert W. Butler - Kansas City Star - (He didn't like much the movie and did his review based in the sexual side of it. He started his review with this: "Our 'Runaway' voyeurism: Dakota Fanning becomes a sexpot, while we watch". He don't write about the acting, so I will post it as indiferent.)
P 200 - Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun Times & rogerebert.com & blogs.suntimes.com/ebert (TOP CRITIC) - (at his blog at Sundance 2010) "Kristen Stewart proves once again that she's a rising star,..." and (at his Chicago SunTimes page) "The performance abilities of the Runaways won respect. The rest was promotion and publicity. .... Its interest comes from Shannon's fierce and sadistic training scenes as Kim Fowley, and from the intrinsic qualities of the performances by Stewart and Fanning, who bring more to their characters than the script provides."
P 201 - Roger Moore - Orlando Sentinel (TOP CRITIC) - "It lives and dies on the backs of three performances — Kristen Stewart is a ferociously sexy and butch Jett, Michael Shannon is a flamboyant and feral Fowley, and Dakota Fanning does her best to hang with them as the unhappy and confused 15 year old lead singer, Currie, Miss “Cherry Bomb” to a generation.
This is also where the movie is most focused on Fanning, who gives her most adult performance but is still not on a level with Stewart or Shannon. Stewart loses her lip-biting winsomeness and brings the heat as Jett. And Shannon, with all the best lines, walks off with the movie."
This is also where the movie is most focused on Fanning, who gives her most adult performance but is still not on a level with Stewart or Shannon. Stewart loses her lip-biting winsomeness and brings the heat as Jett. And Shannon, with all the best lines, walks off with the movie."
P 202 - Rubin Safaya - Cinemalogue.com - "Ms. Stewart and Ms. Fanning actually sang the songs performed in the film. This, as in the case of the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, doesn’t necessarily benefit the story as much as it makes for a good publicity line in the same way big stars always love to talk about all the stunts they do themselves—rarely wise since it’s less important to see their faces than to see a stunt done correctly. But I’m not sure this was a stunt. The director may have wanted to maintain the energy and amateurish nature of the characters throughout. At that stage in their careers, neither Jett nor Currie could have been praised for technical prowess.
Ms. Stewart’s speed-shutter blinking and destitute moping, as in the Twilight series, is held completely in check here. Contrarily, she’s always moving—restless, fidgety—almost hyperactive, fiddling with her guitar or rocking back and forth in between sets. Leaning in to almost kiss her in a roller rink bathed in crimson light, aptly set to the tune of “I Love Playin’ With Fire,” Joan seductively blows smoke into Cherie’s mouth. A kicky scene, it’s contrast against the latter’s descent into drug addiction, paralleled with her father’s alcoholism and amplified by her mother’s constant absence. The relationship depicted between Jett and Currie consists chiefly of stares and glances, seldom traversing more meaningful ground. Then again, I’m not sure it gets much farther than lust for two teenagers still discovering their sexual identities.
Critic Nick Schager argues that Ms. Stewart and Ms. Fanning don’t have the chops to come off as anything but affectations of tough. Reviewing early interview footage of the real Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, I’ve concluded that’s precisely what they were—kids, emulating an edge. Thousands of cigarettes before Ms. Jett destroyed her voice, she came off every bit as green in a Tom Snyder interview (The Tomorrow Show, 1977) as Ms. Stewart in the film. That same year, a shy, inarticulate Ms. Currie interviewed with a pair of hosts during their Japan tour. They weren’t hardened criminals. These were children who became internationally famous before they could mentally process the enormity of it."
Ms. Stewart’s speed-shutter blinking and destitute moping, as in the Twilight series, is held completely in check here. Contrarily, she’s always moving—restless, fidgety—almost hyperactive, fiddling with her guitar or rocking back and forth in between sets. Leaning in to almost kiss her in a roller rink bathed in crimson light, aptly set to the tune of “I Love Playin’ With Fire,” Joan seductively blows smoke into Cherie’s mouth. A kicky scene, it’s contrast against the latter’s descent into drug addiction, paralleled with her father’s alcoholism and amplified by her mother’s constant absence. The relationship depicted between Jett and Currie consists chiefly of stares and glances, seldom traversing more meaningful ground. Then again, I’m not sure it gets much farther than lust for two teenagers still discovering their sexual identities.
Critic Nick Schager argues that Ms. Stewart and Ms. Fanning don’t have the chops to come off as anything but affectations of tough. Reviewing early interview footage of the real Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, I’ve concluded that’s precisely what they were—kids, emulating an edge. Thousands of cigarettes before Ms. Jett destroyed her voice, she came off every bit as green in a Tom Snyder interview (The Tomorrow Show, 1977) as Ms. Stewart in the film. That same year, a shy, inarticulate Ms. Currie interviewed with a pair of hosts during their Japan tour. They weren’t hardened criminals. These were children who became internationally famous before they could mentally process the enormity of it."
P 203 - S. James Wegg - JWR - "a brilliantly dark portrayal by Kristen Stewart"
P 204 - S.T. VanAirsdale - Movieline - "Everyone got paid, from the actors to the sources, and if I were founding guitarist Joan Jett, played by Kristen Stewart in the film’s only wholly inhabited performance, I’d feel like I got more than my money’s worth. .... You have to love Stewart snarling at the fat, abrasive club managers who’d sooner rape the band than listen to them (let alone take them seriously). .... When the aromatic dust settles around The Runaways, and Fanning has returned to legitimate character-acting and Stewart has shed the angst so creatively channeled and despairingly squandered here, the historical record will show a Runaways myth featuring this film as it really is: Less than a footnote, less than a mistake, and nothing more than an utter waste."
P 205 - Sam Adams - IFC.com - "As much as for its characters, "The Runaways" is a rite of passage for its stars: Fanning, attempting to move beyond her preternaturally placid juvenile roles, and Kristen Stewart, whose volcanic Joan Jett runs hotter than the brooding teens she's played in, well, everything.
Stewart, on the other hand, makes a living by being a mess on-screen. Her emotions seem to pour out of her without passing through the filter of self-consciousness, an astonishing openness that can be mistaken for a lack of technique. As Jett, she's both available and impenetrable, a surefire recipe for rock stardom. She's closest to Currie, but she also shares a kindred spirit with the band's Machiavellian manager, Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), ..."
P 206 - Sara Vilkomerson - New York Observer (Top Critic) - "The film, directed with a gritty eye by Floria Sigismondi, was surprisingly successful when it came to casting. Kristen Stewart, as Joan Jett, channels all of her weird, fidgety Twilight energy into a compelling, tomboyish figure of a girl/woman who just wants to rock as hard—or harder—as her male counterparts"
P 207 - Sarah Boslaugh - Playback:stl - "The Runaways is carried by standout performances from Michael Shannon as the possibly sinister and certainly exploitative record producer Kim Fowley, Kristen Stewart (yes, the Twilight girl) as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie as well as a pulsating soundtrack of songs by The Runaways and other bands of the period. .... Stewart as Joan Jett is a revelation: she’s a girl who knows what she wants and knows that she’s going to get it."
P 208 - Scott Mervis - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - "It's too bad because the director had a great cast in place to bring Ms. Currie's book, "Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway," to the screen.
The cast was in place for something more sweeping, ambitious and true to life. Ms. Fanning captures the naivete and fragility of Cherie (pronounced "Sha-REE"), who goes from not wanting to sing a certain sexual line in "Cherry Bomb" to ultimately performing it in a corset. "Twilight" star Ms. Stewart embodies the tougher Joan, who has rock 'n' roll coursing in her bloodstream, and Mr. Shannon makes the abusive Fowley as fun as he is offensive."
P 209 - Sean Axmaker - Seanax.com - "Kristen Stewart (confident, driven and a far cry from her Twilight persona) stars as aspiring rocker Joan Jett,..."
P 210 - Sean O'Connell - Hollywood News - "Stewart’s the right choice to play Jett, as both artists come across as social misfits visibly uncomfortable when the spotlight shines in their direction. The more Stewart shrinks inward – slumping her shoulders and cowering from our attentions, as is her tendency as a performer – the more it feeds Jett’s internal urge to express herself musically."
P/N 211 - Shawn Levy - Oregonian - "Sigismondi has two hot young actresses as her leads: Kristen (“Twilight”) Stewart as guitarist-songwriter Jett and Dakota Fanning as singer Cherie Currie, on whose memoir the script is based. It’s meant to be a coming-of-age for each performer, but neither is given enough complex material to play or, indeed, enough time to inhabit her role."
P 212 - Simon Miraudo - Quickflix - "Stewart has long been the best thing about the Twilight series, and that franchises’ biggest crime is that it gives her nothing to do. Not so here. Finally free of Bella’s (hilariously) passive sexuality, she is able to unload (so to speak).
The Runaways is indeed a lot of sexy, sexy fun. And thankfully Stewart and Fanning are good enough actresses to make the clichéd final act watchable."
P 213 - Stella Papamichael - Radio Times - "Following the blockbusting Twilight series, Kristen Stewart gets even moodier in this true-story drama, which marks the feature debut of music-video director Floria Sigismondi. Stewart plays the teenage Joan Jett, who burst onto the rock scene in the mid-1970s as lead guitarist of all-girl rock band the Runaways and later scored a solo hit with I Love Rock 'n' Roll in 1981. .... Essentially, this is Currie's sob story and it can feel too self-pitying at times, though the high-wattage pairing of Stewart and Fanning keeps it together."
P/N 214 - Stephanie Zacharek - Salon.com (TOP CRITIC) - "That unspoken restlessness is everywhere in "The Runaways," in the way Stewart captures Jett's slightly hunched, long-legged stride, and in the way Fanning's Cherie takes the stage during a show in Japan, wearing a creamy satin bustier and stockings, to sing the band's jailbait-heartbreaker anthem "Cherry Bomb.""
(She liked the movie. Her excelent review is about what means the movie and the '70s feeling. It about Cherrie Curry and what the director took from the book and what to say through her script. She don't talk about the acting in the movie but the feeling that I had when read it is that for her the acting was perfect for the story, not been necessary tp lost her time talking about it. So, I post ot as indiferent, because it is not said literally.)
P 215 - Stephen Whitty - Newark Star-Ledger (TOP CRITIC) - "As Jett, Kristen Stewart has found another part that lets her use her tough-but-tender sullenness — and lets her shock “Twilight” fans by playing a foul-mouthed, pill-popping lesbian.
Stewart, the best of the rest, tries hard here. Fanning briefly comes to life during one concert scene."
N 216 - Steve Persall - St. Petersburg Times - "Sullen punk Joan Jett (slouching dead ringer Kristen Stewart) and ...."
P 217 - Susan G. Cole - Toronto Now - "From the first startling shot, Sigismondi keeps things raw and super-energized. Fanning is weirdly flat as the star battling addiction, but Shannon is gloriously over the top as the band’s Svengali-like motivator. And Stewart is voracious as Jett, a welcome change from her glum Twilight persona."
P 218 - Thelma Adams - Us Weekly - "While Stewart's Twilight fans may wonder why she isn't front and center, she clearly is the movie's spine, its agile strength. As an actress, Stewart is already strong enough to be generous with her costars. (Speaking of, watch for a same-sex kiss between the leads!)"
P 219 - Tanzila Hamed - MTV IGGY! - "Both Stewart and Fanning give amazing performances, owning their characters in surprising and beautiful performances."
P 220 - Thomas Spurlin - DVDTalk - "If Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning were looking for a talent showcase, on top of a way to break apart from that corner pop culture has pinned them in, then The Runaways worked like a charm. Sex, drugs, and musical revolution are all cranked to 11 in this depiction of the all-girl band fueled by tweaked estrogen, and the film's dynamic duo gets the musty performances and tantrums down to a pill-popping, booze-guzzling fault.
Music-video director and photographer Floria Sigismondi finds authenticity in the blossoming eyes of Stewart and Fanning as we follow their meteoric swan dive ....
That's where The Runaways is at its best, when we're soaking in the raspy virgin vocals from Cherie and the growingly confident posture in Joan Jett, as they tackle aggressive performances at house parties, skating rinks, and other hazy spaces. During these scenes, it becomes clear why Floria Sigismondi felt comfortable with Stewart and Fanning in the central roles, because they embody the stage presence of Jett and Currie with a nimble and controlled manner. As they dodge cans tossed at one venue and, later, swagger on-stage with more rebellious fire in another, the opulent space-aware photography boost their performances into windows through time looking back at the band's higher points. Sigismondi captures that entrancing point in their swan dive, where the intensity of the action they're wrapped up in overwhelms the senses and drops stomachs in the moment.
Even as it stumbles through this going-through-the-motions rhythm, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning take charge by pumping realness into these players riding the cusp of rock 'n' roll notoriety.
Where The Runaways really grabs a hold of its substance is within Stewart's impressive performance as Joan Jett, a second noteworthy turn after seeing her in The Cake Eaters. Her subtlety in recreating Jett's look, muted angst and thorny gender-split disposition crafts the closest thing to a spitting image that I could've expected from her, easily a far cry from her nondescript Bella from Twilight."
P 221 - Tim Basham - Paste Magazine - "Stewart is a fitting Jett, brooding her way through scenes much like she’s done in every film she’s made. Jett’s transition from Runaway to solo star serves as the obligatory sequence that sets up a too-tidy conclusion. But it works well enough for rock and roll. The Runaways’ magic wasn’t just in the music, or the producer, or the novelty of five lady rockers during disco’s heyday. It was the chemistry of its separate parts. Shannon, Fanning and Stewart are the lodestone that pulls this film together, much like The Runaways themselves."
P 222 - Tim Brayton - Antagony & Ecstasy - "Actually, just about the most unexpected and delightfully surprising aspect of The Runaways is its revelation that Stewart can be a perfectly good actress when she sets her mind to it - the same revelation is true of Fanning, but that was more of a "known" prior to now. Admittedly, neither of these young actresses is given many demands by the fairly un-probing screenplay (Stewart especially doesn't have to do much besides get pissed-off, though it's still more than she's done in the Twilight pictures or Adventureland), but they do what they must without fail."
P/N 223 - Tom Huddleston - Time Out [UK] - "Even the mainstream cast – including Dakota Fanning and pouty ‘Twilight’ misanthrope Kristen Stewart – seems to be having fun with the juicy riot-grrrl roles. Fanning is particularly impressive as exploited pubescent princess Cherie Currie, whose downfall forms the film’s central thread. But perhaps owing to Sigismondi’s lack of long-form experience, it never comes together. Isolated scenes look stunning but ‘The Runaways’ never establishes a consistent mood, hopping from rebellious exuberance to doom-laden music industry critique. It doesn’t help that the script’s central point, about the exploitation of young girls, is contradicted by the material – Joan Jett became one of rock’s most respected women – and undermined by a camera which lingers lovingly, even leeringly, on 16-year-old Fanning’s scantily clad body. The result is an entertaining mess: lively and stylish, but frustratingly inconsequential."
P 224 - Tom Long - Detroit News (Top Critic) - "Aside from following the clichéd (if real) storyline, "The Runaways" is plagued by something of a split personality, thanks to its two young stars.
Kristen Stewart ("Twilight") plays the young, ambitious Joan Jett, by far the most successful member of the band after it broke up. Stewart just plain nails the role -- she's tough, she's hungry and she loves playing rock star as much as she loves playing guitar. Stewart makes you want to watch the movie. That's the good news. The bad news is former child star Dakota Fanning playing Cherie Currie, the group's lead singer and underage sex bomb. By the film's end, you really wish you'd seen Kristen Stewart starring in "The Joan Jett Story." Now that would rock."
P 225 - Tony Macklin - tonymacklin.net - "Fortunately she is served well by two of her cast mers. Kristen Stewart (Twilight) is credible as the raven-haired Joan Jett. [You can see the actual Jett in a strong performance in Light of Day, 1987.] And Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, 2008) is effectively crude and noxious as music producer Kim Fowley. Unfortunately, Sigismondi is not well served by Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. Dakota was an engaging marvel as a child star -- mesmerizing and delightful. But she's basically bland as Cherie. She's too often a cipher. Her doe eyes do not have teen spirit. She has a difficult role because her character is caught between innocence and experience, between image and family. Dakota is not able to handle the range of these elements."
P 226 - Tricia Olszewski - Washington City Paper - "Twihards who sneak into The Runaways may scrunch their noses at Kristen Stewart’s latest role. Why does Bella have such a gross haircut? And her clothes are, like, totally stupid and make her look like a boy. OMG, now she’s kissing girls! Eww. There probably aren’t a whole lot of Twilight fans ready to side with Team Lesbian.
Ticket buyers who want to see whether Stewart can channel Joan Jett, however, will be pleased. Finally—finally!—the young actress has taken a decided step away from the franchise that made her both a star and a punch line. It’s a step that will remind audiences of the talent Stewart showed before Stephenie Meyer crashed her universe. In writer-director Floria Sigismondi’s debut, Stewart’s teenage Jett—née Joan Larkin—is hunched, fierce, and knows that, above all else, she wants to spend her life rockin’ out with an electric guitar."
P/N 227 - Ty Burr - Boston Globe (TOP CRITIC) - (His critic is now at the archive data base of the Bostob Globe. I researched and did not find any copy. If you hve or you have free access to the site, please get it for me! So... I only have the option of post it as "not given".)
P/N 228 - Tyler Foster - DVD Talk - "In the central roles, Stewart and Fanning are serviceable and even occasionally good, imbuing the characters with attitude and personality, but the film feels overly concerned with the timeline of events and the factual story of the band to give either of them room to breathe or to indulge in pure character moments."
P/N 229 - Victoria Alexander - FilmsInReview.com ´/ CriticsChoice.com - (She didn't talk about the acting in general and Kristen in her eview. She only say two expressions in all the review that you could considered as acting's talk: "It’s Dakota Fanning’s movie and she is terrific." "Shannon, eyes bulging, seems to have been allowed to let his freak flag fly." So, I will post it as "indiferent".)
P/N 229 - Victoria Alexander - FilmsInReview.com ´/ CriticsChoice.com - (She didn't talk about the acting in general and Kristen in her eview. She only say two expressions in all the review that you could considered as acting's talk: "It’s Dakota Fanning’s movie and she is terrific." "Shannon, eyes bulging, seems to have been allowed to let his freak flag fly." So, I will post it as "indiferent".)
N 230 - Willie Waffle - WaffleMovies.com - "Worst of all, you get the feeling Stewart and Fanning are little girls playing dress up. Watch the real Runaways then compare them to the movie Runaways and you'll notice the real ladies could kick your butt, while Stewart and Fanning might be better off in a ballet class."
P - 231 - What The Flick Show -
Cenk Uygur (host, The Young Turks)
Christy Lemire (AP Film Critic & host of Ebert Presents at The Movies) (Top Critic)
Matt Atchity (Editor-In-Chief Rotten Tomatoes) (Top Critic) (See what this guy talks about Kristen's performance) starts at 1:56.
Cenk Uygur (host, The Young Turks)
Christy Lemire (AP Film Critic & host of Ebert Presents at The Movies) (Top Critic)
Matt Atchity (Editor-In-Chief Rotten Tomatoes) (Top Critic) (See what this guy talks about Kristen's performance) starts at 1:56.
Some Reviews from YouTube Users who do film's reviews
P - 232 - We Just Got Better
(This guys is good. I see a lot of his stuff. See what he says about Kristen's performance) starts at 2:52
P - 233 - FilmMasterAdam
P 234 - Spill - Spill.com
Well, that's it! I'll continue researching for more reviews but beside the listings from RT, MC, MRI, MRQE, I already added more than 30 reviews from the Google and Youtube that were not in these listings. There is a listing in the movie's IMDB page but this listing has a lot of users, as well as reviews from film critics in several languages. I will try to translate them with the help of friends or from anyone who would want to help in this task.
I hope that you guys really read, see and listen to these reviews! There are a lot of amazing things!
More than one think that she is a modern Brando and I agree with this. Rent some Brando's films and you will see what I am talking about. It doesn't appear that he did much in a scene but his presence was felt in each frame. A. O. Scott did an amazing review about Natalie Portman's performance in Black Swan and when he talked about her and several young actors were doing a thing that seems a new form of acting.
But in the end it all comes down to the actress, who seems, before our eyes, to be participating in the invention of a new kind of screen performance. In its various iterations, the Method has been about using voice and gesture to express a character’s deep psychological truth. Ms. Portman, like other young actors working with filmmakers who emphasize the visceral and the immediate, seems almost to reverse this process.
Which is another way of saying that she is both the black swan and the white, both the perfectly controlled performer and the pure creature of instinct.After I read it, I agreed with him and at the same moment, Kristen's several performances came to my mind. Please, I am not comparing them because it would be ridiculous! One is 30 with 20 years of experience and the other is 20 with 10 years of experience! It makes a huge difference in therms of performances and life itself.
Another film critic said that Kristen's performance in Welcome To The Rileys was so raw, she was so open, so instinctive and that she had let the character to use her body in a way that someone could mistake it, for not have technique, but he didn't think so. Scott says the same about Natalie Potrman. Who knows he is right and we are seeing a new kind of actor...
But like I previewed above, there are a lot of reviewers that mixed her attitude with the paparazzi with her performance. It became ridiculous, how a so called professional film critic, called her by a name that gossip media and the paparazzi call her and also how can they say that they have been seeing her in a year in public and interviews and she always seems sullen, brooding and not smiling, putting her in a box, repeating the same old stuff. One of them even said that she does the same thing when she is acting. But I ask, if the character is in a scene that needs to be act sullen or brooding, what she should do?
I don't know what kind of interview these guys are seeing because in all the press junkets that I saw, she was always delicate, charming, thoughtful and very friendly. People need to stop bullying this girl and be more professional doing their homework before make a review.
Wow, Lua. You did a really great job on this too.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things Kristen will really have to work on is her media image. She has been Bella to most of the world for the last few years. Many people cannot see her as anything other than that. They have projected Bella's sullenness and moodiness onto Kristen, which isn't fair.
K does indies, and as we saw last year, reviews are important for indies. Some of these people will never giver her a fair chance because they can't get over their Twilight hate to see Kristen the actress. I was a fan pre-Twi and there wasn't this much hate. In fact, she was seen as one of the most promising actresses under 25.
I look at Natalie Portman who overcame bad reviews in the Star Wars prequels to win multiple awards and carve out the career she wants. I hope Kristen gets a chance to do the same. As in Natalie's case, it will take a lot of hard work and picking the right projects.
Joan Jett was one of Kristen's best roles to date. The movie didn't get proper distribution, but I'm not sure it would have done better if it had. Rated-R biopics about music stars are rarely popular and many people were pre-judged to hate the movie because Kristen was in it, although she wasn't the lead.
I know that Breaking Dawn, which doesn't need good reviews to make money, will be unlikely to please critics, but I'm hoping that they can give Kristen a fair shake for "On the Road". It's her most prestigious movie since "Into the Wild".
Hollywood is showing signs of getting better for actresses but it will always be a harder road for women. Kristen is one of my favorite young actresses and I'd like to see big things from her. I just hope more people see WTTR, TR, and her smaller movies on screen before they criticize.
Thanks for the great post. I became a fan of Kristen because of the twilight saga. I think she is the best actor of the series. I have watched some of her other movies and fell in love with her as an actress. I follow her IMDB message board and I love the wonderful comments and hope to continue to read posts from your blog.
ReplyDeleteLua, great post, and lots of good detail showing the true positives of Kristen Stewart. I feel that Kristen has been getting past the craziness that was at the start of Twilight fame, and has been dealing with it and the perceived, incorrect negative perceptions of her, and has come a long way. She's always been honest and down to earth in her interviews and appearances, as is her way, but she seems to have become a lot more confident and engaging, while retaining that down to earth attitude.
ReplyDeleteRon
I watched that movie, I love how Joan Jett played in the movie.
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