BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/18/2014

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TRANSCENDENCETRANSCENDENCE

“You would think that any production originated by the Nolan Gravy Train might show more hallmarks of quality than pockmarks of imperfection.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“TRANSCENDENCE never transcends above the lowest levels of entertainment.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“An intelligent, complex movie about artificial intelligence that delves deep into some of the issues the overrated HER only touched on.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The most egregious example of a really, really stupid movie that thinks it’s a really, really smart movie since PROMETHEUS” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

HEAVEN IS FOR REALgreg-kinnear-heaven-is-for-real-600x400

“Wallace smartly leaves room for skeptics of Burpo’s account to maintain their doubt; what matters most is that audiences understand the film character’s reasons for choosing to believe his son’s vision/dream/delirium.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“If HEAVEN IS FOR REAL had left the source of Colton’s visions ambiguous to the very end, it would’ve been a few editing decisions away from being an INSIDIOUS sequel.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

BEARSBEARS

“This is relatively grim stuff to grapple with at any age, even from the studio that killed off Bambi’s mom.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

 

A HAUNTED HOUSE 2a_haunted_house_2

“I wanted to like A HAUNTED HOUSE 2, but it just isn’t very funny.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Inventive visual gags and charmingly lo-fi aesthetics be damned to hell: The dialogue and humor here are as played-out and unoriginal as the horror movies Wayans sets out to parody.” – Jake Mulligan, In Review Online

 

hero_RobTheMob-2014-1ROB THE MOB

“ROB THE MOB wouldn’t work without the wild, dumb optimism Tommy and Rosie fuel in each other. It’s infectious, even when it’s obvious that the fates are about to turn on them at any moment.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/11/2014

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a48c08d0-c00f-11e3-90f1-b3bc9d7bb80b_draftday_featurette_gsDRAFT DAY

“DRAFT DAY isn’t so much a movie as it is a 90-minute infomercial pimping out the NFL, the only sport with enough hubris to believe that the drafting of players from college to the professional ranks is important enough to demand a movie all its own.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Like Sonny, Reitman can’t easily make up his mind; unlike Sonny, Reitman never quite figures it out.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“DRAFT DAY, then, is about as daring as a pair of dad jeans – and just as ugly.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“There’s so much melodrama here that a better title might have been “Football Camp.”" – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“How does it all shake out? Well, duh. This is a sports movie starring Kevin Costner. If you can’t guess, you really shouldn’t be in the game.” – David Riedel, The Santa Fe Reporter

DOM HEMINGWAYdomhemingway1

“DOM HEMINGWAY is certainly an enjoyable film for adults who are looking for something different.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Law goes ugly in DOM HEMINGWAY, and it’s a great look on him. ” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

THE RAID 2: BERANDALThe-Raid-2-Uwais

“Evans has jettisoned the bare bones approach here in favor of far grander storytelling, complimenting his expanded plot with almost twenty action sequences interwoven along the crewel of his overarching narrative.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“THE RAID 2: BERANDAL is a martial arts classic that’s both spectacular and memorable.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

Film Review Under the SkinUNDER THE SKIN

“It’s about breaking cinematic preconceptions, even if most of the people who will end up watching it will probably already have had theirs broken.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“UNDER THE SKIN knows what it is, and it doesn’t care whether the audience is on board or not—especially during the movie’s final 10 minutes, when the alien learns the hard way what humans are capable of.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

JE3_7854.NEFOCULUS

“Though the film never proposes one ultimate uniting truth, this intentional ambiguity never leaves the audience wanting. Rather that failing to explain the actions on those two terrifying nights, it offers several possible explanations.” – Deirdre Crimmins, All Things Horror

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/04/2014

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIERla_ca_0102_Captain_America

“For those invested in the Marvel superheroes, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER ranks high up there. It’s not THE AVENGERS or IRON MAN, but it’s better than most of the rest of them.” – Daniel Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies

“136 minutes of badly edited action sequences linked together with an overheated plot and some lukewarm performances.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“A fantastic comic book movie that is sure to entertain the overwhelming majority of its viewers.” – Jaskee Hickman

“Once you take him out of a fanciful WWII era, you can’t not get political with a character who’s named after a country and wears its flag as his uniform.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“Blows its predecessor out of the water and rivals THE AVENGERS for slam-bang action and thrills. It’s the best Marvel movie thus far.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

UNKNOWNTHE UNKNOWN KNOWN

“But if Rumsfeld twists and spins, Morris seems to lack the energy to pin him down.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE

“Just remember the root of all these conversations is nearly 4,500 dead Americans and more than 500,000 dead Iraqis. File that under ‘known known.’” - David Riedel, San Antonion Current

 

NYMPH()MANIAC VOL IINYMPHOMANIAC2

“Von Trier has made a psychological epic but he’s also made his greatest comedy.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“NYMPH()MANIAC VOL II is, mercifully, not as bad as VOL I, but it has its share of problems. The largest remains its rampant misogyny disguising itself as empowerment.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Feels like the work of both an erudite professor you’d like to spend time with and an immature college student you’d like to kick in the balls.” – Norm Schrager, Meet in the Lobby

 

DUNEJODOROWSKY’S DUNE

“”It is the greatest movie that never got made. … At least it is in the opinion of the man who wanted to make it.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP 03/28/2014

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Russell Crowe as NoahNOAH

“As entertaining and exciting as he makes it, Aronofsky makes sure you leave the theater  thinking about what you just saw in ways that go far beyond the ‘wow’ factor most epic movies like this shoot  for, and that’s what makes it great.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“You’ve got to respect the stones it takes to look at The Bible and say: “Yeah, it’s good – but we can do better!” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“It’s entertaining in several respects; confounding, confusing and frustrating in many others.  It’s most assuredly not the Old Testament Noah story.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“There’s no command of tone here, no overarching mood the way, say, drab melancholy dominates THE WRESTLER or hallucinatory fever rules over BLACK SWAN.” – Jake Mulligan, In Review Online

 

SABOTAGE9cd28dcb-92d7-4dc1-a3bb-fe5b215e2b39_sabotage_blog_gs

“SABOTAGEis a really flat revenge tale that doesn’t come close to giving what they are advertising.” - Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

 

chavez28f-1-webCESAR CHAVEZ

“His film ultimately feels much more finely-honed than competing entries in biopic canon, which is to say that it meanders, but with slightly more purpose.” – Andy Crump, A Constant Visual Feast

“The film itself isn’t anything spectacular, but CESAR CHAVEZ gives its audience an opportunity to learn about this man and the trials and tribulations that the people on the fields had to deal with back in those days.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Watching his life-size cardboard cutout of Chávez shout, “Yes, we can,” I was moved, but only to wish that one of the things “we” can do is to make a resonant, dramatically rich film about a leader who forcefully but nonviolently bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice — which this inoffensive cow pie most certainly isn’t.” – Inkoo Kang, The Village Voice

 

Le Weekend<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Directed by Roger Michell<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Starring Lindsay Duncan and Jim BroadbentLE WEEK-END

“Occasionally buoyant and more often wrenching, this film is admirably dedicated to portraying every facet of a dedicated relationship, beautiful or ugly, for better or worse—usually, ugly and worse.” – Andy Crump. In Review Online

“Kureishi’s endlessly quotable script provides a robust foundation for “LE WEEK-END, a mordant, mournful and acerbic relationship drama that represents a superb achievement for Duncan, Broadbent, and director Roger Michell (NOTTING HILL).” - Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

pg-arts-ernest-credit-StudioCanalERNEST & CELESTINE

“Storybook sketches and muted colors emphasize motion and light rather than the excessive visual detail of more “commercial” animated approaches.”  - Norm Schrager, Film Racket