BOFCA Review Round-Up: 05/30/2014

maleficent-5MALEFICENT

“…no matter where our new cultural fascination with re-imagining iconic Disney villains takes us, we’ll always be able to come back to MALEFICENT and harrumph over its shortcomings.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

“Jolie is the undeniable centerpiece of the film in a role that she alone makes spellbinding and magically memorable.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“In the end, MALEFICENT is simply a poor attempt at making a film.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“…the film rides on the strength of Angelina Jolie’s performance and she is, in a word, magnificent.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

A_Million_Ways_To_Die_In_The_West_-_mov-2500_1600x1200_2460232490_genA MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST

“The only good thing about A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST  are the cameos that brought a few laughs to what is fundamentally a dull movie at its core.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“There’s so much bodily waste on screen that the film becomes the cinematic equivalent of a cesspool.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/23/2014

x-men-days-of-future-past-trailerX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

“…when the momentum slows for a pep talk (or eight) or takes a dramatic pause to appreciate the gravity of a situation, we start to feel the weight of FUTURE PAST’s over two hour runtime.” – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

“Although the mechanics of time travel make no sense, somehow DAYS OF FUTURE PAST reconciles all of the previous X-MEN film plots into a movie that does.” – Evan Creen, Starpulse

“X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is a quality film that fans of the X-Men and that universe will probably enjoy.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“It isn’t the best of the series, but it lets fans enjoy younger and older versions of some of the characters and play in this corner of the Marvel Universe.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Although the mechanics of time travel make no sense, somehow DAYS OF FUTURE PAST reconciles all of the previous X-MEN film plots into a movie that does.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

 


Blended movie (4)BLENDED

“Watching BLENDED is a hypothermic experience.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

BLENDED is an upgrade over Sandler’s most recent work, but it still falls short of being entertaining.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“An admixture that doesn’t quite come together, as what might have been a romantic comedy about second chances–with kids–fights for screen time with more typical Adam Sandler fare.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“…Barrymore and Sandler have as much chemistry as two old friends climbing aboard the money train, and there are maybe two laughs in 117 minutes (!). – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

cold-in-july-movie1COLD IN JULY

“Whatever movie you think it will end up being, odds are good that your guesswork will let you down as the rug repeatedly gets yanked from underneath you.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

“The movie twists and turns and thwarts expectations, and it’s a solid, if grim, viewing experience.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/16/2014

GODZILLAGODZILLA

“Edwards waits too long before directly involving the monster. Instead he spends more of the film’s two hour run time on humans, who don’t feel consequential.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“While the scaly sexagenarian glimpsed here is vastly superior to the wrong-headed monster seen in Roland Emmerich’s disastrous 1998 reimagining starring Matthew Broderick, at least that version of the giant lizard wasn’t reduced to playing a cameo role in his own film.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“Edwards wants Godzilla to matter. He wants us to be in awe of Godzilla because Godzilla is a creation worthy of awe, and not because the film bludgeons us into dazzled submission.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“The battles are beautifully staged and executed, evoking something not even the original GODZILLA film was able to achieve; which is a feeling of true danger, fright and devastation.” – Tim Estlioz, Boston Examiner

“GODZILLA is certainly a summer movie that deserves to be considered to be a true blockbuster.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“What [director Gareth] Edwards and screenwriter Max Borenstein get is that while Godzilla is a monster, he is a monster we want to cheer.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Edwards enjoys teasing an audience, keeping his creature under wraps, like Spielberg with his shark or his dinosaurs. But Godzilla doesn’t appear until almost an hour into this movie, a test for viewers rather than a tease.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“”Even RETURN OF THE JEDI — the least of the first three STAR WARS films—knew that when cutting away from action, one should cut to more action. And how did no one notice—twice—a 10-story-tall monster lumbering around in a major metropolitan area?” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

MILLION DOLLAR ARM

Million Dollar Arm Film

“Although the part is woefully underwritten, Lake Bell does an exceptional job making the tenant the only likable American in the movie (unless you count liking Alan Arkin for being a curmudgeon). Good as she is, though, she can’t make the transformation of JB from arrogant agent to likable human being believable. Sadly, neither can Hamm.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“The upbeat nature of MILLION DOLLAR ARM prevents me from hating it, but there’s nothing else included that would come close to making it a truly enjoyable experience.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Yet there’s also the ugly veneer of imperialism driving the film, not because it is deliberately disrespectful to its Indian characters, but because it treats them as little more than props.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

CHEF21

CHEFis a film that succeeds simply by being about a man trying to get his in life order and moving the right direction.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Is it possible to yearn for life in a food truck?” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

double-movieTHE DOUBLE

“…for all of its notable cinematic flourishes, THE DOUBLE is actually the product of one Richard Ayoade, who, in his second directorial effort (after 2010’s SUBMARINE), has managed to take all of those influences, plus a serious dose of Kafka-esque angst, and shape it into something that’s truly one of a kind.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

 

GODSPOCKETGOD’S POCKET

“The film as a whole, however, never congeals around its seriocomic, slice-of-life plot.” – Kristofer Jenson, DIG

“There isn’t much in GOD’S POCKET we haven’t seen before. In tone, it bears a resemblance to PALOOKAVILLE, a superior chronicle of dim hoods in a dead-end existence. In plot, there’s a touch of Hitchcock’s THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 05/09/2014

NEIGHBORSNEIGHBORS

“A completely shallow flick that doesn’t come close to delivering much quality in any way.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“[The film] displays a similar empathy for both sides of a feud in NEIGHBORS, and it’s that rare emotional intelligence – along with the film’s sly, surprising jokes and self-aware sidestepping of comedy clichés – that makes this Seth Rogen vehicle an instant classic.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“A moronic comedy pitched to the lowest possible denominator. No thought was given to anything beyond the initial premise. After that it’s all sex, drugs, and people acting like idiots.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“It’s smart (in its stupidity), it looks better than any college movie should and it’s laugh-out-loud funny. And you get to see an almost naked Seth Rogen. Who could ask for more?” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

 

BELLEBELLE

“BELLE’s plotting may be described as formulaic at best, but its incredible production design, thought-provoking writing, and pristine acting offset that rote structure.”  – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“This warmly poignant tale of two illegitimate sisters’ efforts to marry despite their social handicaps (one is dowry-less, the other half-black) offers all the passionate idealism, the precise social insights, and the delightfully sharp-tongued dialogue that recall the best of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

MOMS’ NIGHT OUTMOMSNIGHT

“Debuting two days before Mother’s Day, MOMS’ NIGHT OUT has only one message for its harried, overworked, women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown characters (and, by extension, its audience): Jesus loves you, so get over it.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

LEGENDSOFOZLEGENDS OF OZ: DOROTHY’S RETURN

“Strictly for the little ones, although serious students of computer animation may want to take a look as well.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

FEDUPFED UP

“A riveting new documentary.” – Jared Bowen, WGBH

“The film approaches the issue systematically on all fronts: scientific, social, personal, and puts it in context historically.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“A clearinghouse for theories about the obesity epidemic that threatens not just America, but nations around the world.” – Killian Melloy, EDGE

 

BLUERUINBLUE RUIN

“Macon Blair’s portrayal of Dwight, the vengeful son, is subtle and nuanced, and it completely blew me away.” – Deidre Crimmins, All Things Horror

“Eventually, the film’s insistence on human bloodlust becomes too much, and Saulnier fatally undercuts his own meditation on cycles of violence by reveling in them.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

“Filmmakers who adore violence should stop pretending that they abhor violence.” – Jake Mulligan, Letterboxd

“It’s too early to make proclamations about the best movie of the year, so let’s put it this way: BLUE RUIN has a spot in the top 10 unless 10 other superlatively spectacular films come out between now and Dec. 31.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

hero_Locke-2014-01

LOCKE

“You may have all kinds of theories as to what LOCKE is really about based on its trailers, but leave your suppositions at the door and allow the film’s mesmeric, hypnotic sheen to wash over you.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“LOCKE is an innovative film that is able to give you something new while still feeling that much of what you’re seeing is familiar.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Tom Hardy is nothing short of magnificent in LOCKE.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter