BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/25/2014

THE OTHER WOMANOTHERWOMAN

“The less funny the lines are, the more obnoxiously loud and shrill they get said until, buy the end (if you stay that long) it’s actually more painful to listen to than nails on a chalk board.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Here is the optimistic wish that we have bottomed out for the year and the films to come–good, bad, or indifferent–will have to be better than this. It would take a special effort to be worse.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

BRICK MANSIONSXXX M-289_1426483.JPG D ENT

“As distractions go it’s a lot of fun, a totally solid action piece with an admirable (and admirably unobtrusive) social-consciousness and a killer final act.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“With the action being typical stuff, a story that’s unstable and acting that is well below par, we’re looking at a movie in Brick Mansions that fails on essentially every level.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“While Belle swoops and lunges mid-air with elegant brutality, the rest of the film embraces the kind of cartoonish manly-man knuckle dragging that elicits unintended laughter. ” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“It’s so forgettable though that if you do see it you may want to make note of the title so that you don’t accidentally rent it when it comes out on DVD.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

2-the-quiet-onesTHE QUIET ONES

“What’s the best way to document paranormal activity? Joseph has no idea, and judging by the meandering script by Pogue, Craig Rosenberg, and Oren Moverman, neither do the screenwriters.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

 

only-lovers-left-alive03

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

“Stylistically, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE has as much in common with vampire films as the excellent DEAD MAN has with westerns, with Jarmusch distilling the genre conventions of each into smooth, easy-to-watch tone poems.” – Kristofer Jenson, DIG

“There are intimations of the lethal vampiric fury and dynamic, demonic energy Adam and Eve possess, but we seldom witness their superior physical capabilities only briefly.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Like their director, Adam and Eve are creators, repudiating fame, preferring to disseminate their works quietly. They derisively refer to the humans who consume their art as “zombies.” That is to say, us—the drones who pay 12 bucks to get our Friday night cinematic fix.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“Perhaps more pointedly, that vampiric Trojan horse also allows Jarmusch to make a film about a steady, unthreatened relationship – one that’s been battle-tested by generations, one where commitment and love and fidelity is never in doubt.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“Writer-director Jim Jarmusch gets loneliness, and Tom Hiddleston in particular is adept at showing what that feeling looks like on a once-human face. It’s morose, but also quietly appealing. Maybe that’s why this vampire story is effective when so many others merely suck.” – David Riedel, San Antonio Current

 

walking-with-the-enemy1WALKING WITH THE ENEMY

“The film takes on a Saturday serial tone, as Cohen and his colleagues pull off one escapade after another, often in defiance not only of the odds but common sense.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

 

Make Your Move finale

MAKE YOUR MOVE

“Its core dance styles are a wonderfully frenetic fusion of tap and hip-hop and a truly novel blend of Japanese taiko drumming and K-pop girl-group choreography.” – Inkoo Kang, Los Angeles Times

 

first-official-still-from-the-alan-patridge-movie-130261-a-1363280638-470-75

ALAN PARTRIDGE

“Purists may have their pitchforks out for ALAN PARTRIDGE, as Coogan and co. tear down the boundaries of Partridge’s ancestral stomping grounds through their change in medium, but the truth is that all of this material plays to the character’s core qualities.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

 

b25b911ffc2b76a647454e5a53edf8b5_567x210ON MY WAY

“…one can’t help but see the leaner, more focused film enmeshed within ON MY WAY’s fractured sheen.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“Even at the times when the story starts to drag – the section with Bettie getting to know her grandson goes on way too long – Deneuve steps up and focuses you attention on her character.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/18/2014

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

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

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