Rize

New York Magazine Ken Tucker

Stunning, explosively moving.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Bursting with joy and throbbing with music, Rize has a tragic dimension too. When you see the clown cry, you'll be with him all the way.

New York Post Kyle Smith

If the director had more gospel and less blues in him, it might have brought him closer to really understanding these talents. Still, I can't wait for "Rize 2: Electric Boogaloo."

Boston Globe Ty Burr

There's a delicate balance here between expression and belligerence.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

As long as it showcases the art of krump, underscoring the dancers with ominous hip-hop beats, Rize is such a vibrant eruption of motion and attitude that you can forgive the film for being disorganized and too skimpy on street-dance history.

Film Threat Bob Westal

It's the speed and intensity that makes the dance style remarkable.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

Fashion photographer David LaChapelle expands upon his award-winning short film "Krumped," introducing us to the new dance forms popular in South Central Los Angeles via the charismatic "ghetto celebrity" known as Tommy the Clown.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

The film soars when the camera is trained on its young subjects in action.

Variety Robert Koehler

Eye-popping lensing and an appreciation of social complexities combine for an entirely satisfying experience.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

José Cancella's original score complement the tremendous wit, vitality and sensuality of the dancers.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Word-of-mouth should make it one of the best-performing nonfiction films of the year.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

It's the pushiest film around - "in your face" is still in-your-face, even if the dancers are in white-face.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The most remarkable thing about Rize is that it is real.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Riveting.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The Clowns and the Krumpers have a rivalry that parallels the Bloods and the Crips battle for the neighbourhood, but fought out in moves, not bullets.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A touching story of hope, vitality and art rising from the bleakest conditions.

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

A compelling, bittersweet hybrid of a movie.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Exhilarating.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

The result is an eye-opening social portrait in the tradition of "Paris Is Burning," the landmark 1990 documentary that introduced drag balls and ''vogueing'' to the mainstream, but it lacks the earlier film's structure and focus.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Rize shows how clowning led to krumping, and argues that its practitioners' fierce dedication to dance has saved countless kids from drugs, crime and gangs.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

There's no way to take your eyes off it.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Rize eventually gets a little preachy and sentimental, but a little sermonizing seems a small price to pay for such an industrial jolt of kinetic electricity.

Village Voice Ed Halter

Highly entertaining but underdeveloped documentary.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

Part valentine, part invitation to the dance.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Indeed, the movie sometimes has trouble living up to the richness of its subject, or keeping up with the dances' rapid spread and evolution.

Washington Post Clare Croft

Worth seeing both for its visual beauty and its insight into a little-known form

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

With a running time of only 84 minutes, Rize frequently feels padded. However, there’s no denying the fascination of watching these bodies in motion, and perhaps the ascendency of a new, American-born art form.

Empire Dorian Lynesky

For all its flaws, it's thrilling viewing whenever LaChapelle opts to show rather than tell.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

Although entertaining, Rize is a somewhat duplicitous undertaking.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Emotionally charged but not entirely honest documentary.