BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/28/2018

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“Its obvious strength is a bravura performance by Christian Bale as Cheney.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Magazine

“It’s just a bunch of stuff that happened, shuffled all out of order and repeated a few times extra loud for the cheap seats.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“Winter movie season inevitably brings a deluge of dreadful issue-based movies that turn subtext into text and jam sentiment down viewers’ throats. VICE is no exception.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

 

IBSCT_01405_RIF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

“…an achingly beautiful film, and so terribly sad.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“The year is drawing to a close, but one of 2018’s finest films is just hitting theaters.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

 

 

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/21/2018

 

rev_1_AMN_JBG_0067r_High_Res_JPEG.0AQUAMAN

“…dizzying, delightful, and completely bonkers.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

“As superhero origin stories go, it’s actually an improvement over most of the movies based on DC comics.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“I don’t mind the direction they chose to take AQUAMAN as a character. Momoa isn’t a great actor by any stretch, but he’s proven to be the least of their worries in both this movie and the future.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“It’s a shame his film stinks like yesterday’s tuna.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

 

Welcome-to-Marwen_Universal-Pictures.Courtesy-900x580WELCOME TO MARWEN

“The unspoken message of WELCOME TO MARWEN seems to be that we’re lucky that Hogancamp was brutalized and nearly died because, as a result, he’s now making imaginative art.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“…WELCOME TO MARWEN shows us that even when the story has been practically reinvented for the purposes of telling that story, it can still fail on all accounts.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“…an ineffective, emotionally aggressive, self-important and baffling experiment that is Zemeckis’ most similar film to the overrated FORREST GUMP since, well, FORREST GUMP.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

 

mary-poppins-returnsMARY POPPINS RETURNS

“…less than a sequel than a muddled attempt to clone the elements of the original film.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

download (7)SECOND ACT

“If you’re looking for romance, watch COLD WAR. If you’re looking for comedy, watch GAME NIGHT. If you’re looking for romantic comedy, watch CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Whatever you do, don’t waste a second on this SECOND ACT.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

 

 

 

2018 AWARDS

youwere6

BEST PICTURE
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

youwere5

BEST DIRECTOR
Lynne Ramsay, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

firstreformed1

BEST ACTOR
Ethan Hawke, FIRST REFORMED

hereditary

BEST ACTRESS
Toni Collette, HEREDITARY

grant

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Richard E. Grant, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

regina king beale

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

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BEST SCREENPLAY
Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED

support girls

BEST ENSEMBLE
SUPPORT THE GIRLS

youwere4

BEST SCORE
Jonny Greenwood, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

roma

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Alfonso Cuarón, ROMA

youwere3

BEST EDITING
Joe Bini, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

wont you be my neighbor

BEST DOCUMENTARY
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

ROMA2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
ROMA

spiderverse

BEST ANIMATED FILM
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE

youwere2

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2018
1. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
2. FIRST REFORMED
3. ROMA
4. BLACKKKLANSMAN
5. BLACK PANTHER
6. SHOPLIFTERS
7. SUPPORT THE GIRLS
8. THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
9. HEREDITARY
10. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/14/2018

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSEspider-man-into-the-spider-verse-marvel-universe-easter-eggs

“INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is built for a new kind of fandom, offering a world in which anyone can be Spider-Man — including young men of color, teenage girls, anime robots, talking pigs and even Nicolas Cage.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

“Anyone who believes that superheroes should be canonized only by their classic identities will probably walk out of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE with a nasty rash.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

“SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE works in every way it needs to in order for it to be the genuine success it is.”  – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

vox-lux-trailer-new-700x321VOX LUX

“Certain to be a polarizing cinematic experience, VOX LUX is not easy or accessible.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“…a burly, overbearing piece of filmmaking, often horrifically funny and excitingly unencumbered by questions of good taste or worries about when to say when.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“…an ambitious film that proves to be less than the sum of its parts… but fans of Natalie Portman won’t want to miss her risk-taking performance here.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Reviews

2488_TP3_00025R.0MORTAL ENGINES

“MORTAL ENGINES creates a beautiful, dangerous, and escapist world, but it suffers from trying to do too much with characters we barely care about.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“What makes it fascinating even for those unfamiliar with the source material (like this reviewer) is its stunning visual design.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

07-ben-is-back.w1200.h630BEN IS BACK

“BEN IS BACK is not your typical, weepy addiction drama. But addiction is not a monolith and if adding a little intrigue to this story gives us another version of this story, then it’s fine by me.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“The problem is in the script, as filmmaker Hedges doesn’t seem to have asked himself why an audience would want to subject themselves to this.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/07/2018

THE FAVOURITEfavourite-the-2018-002-emma-stone-shooting-gun

“Running a touch long, THE FAVOURITE is nothing if not a wildly intriguing journey with one of the most provocative closing frames of the year – one that makes you reevaluate completely the film you’ve just seen and the characters in it.” – Allyson Johnson, Cambridge Day

“…the absurdist approach of Athens-born Lanthimos has produced a more wildly entertaining film than almost any other this year—at least for its first half when his bristling critiques of the ruling class are hilariously scabrous.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

 

ROMAROMA

“…a film that was designed to be experienced in a state-of-the-art theater capable of presenting the 360-degree, immersive sound and sumptuously long takes shot in crisp black-and-white by [Alfonso] Cuarón himself, acting as his own cinematographer.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“ROMA is a good film that would be even better if it wasn’t trying so hard all the time to be a masterpiece.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

 

Mary-Queen-of-Scots-Saoirse-RonanMARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

“Pity the tragic figures of Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), but not because of the roles that life thrust them into.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“…a missed opportunity to shed light on a key moment in history, using it instead to export contemporary concerns to the past.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

FiveFingers633x356FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES

“Though sometimes a rocky ride, FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES nonetheless provides the sound satisfactions of a well-told western yarn, with a provocative subtext percolating just beneath the surface.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“The film’s vistas are beautiful and [Michael] Matthews’s aim high, but those aspirations are not fully realized in what feels like a first draft attempt at brushing Western customs with textures drawn from a South African palette.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 

ailes2DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES

“…a depressingly necessary viewing experience, basically the opposite of the Mister Rogers movie in that you spend two hours with one of the worst human beings to walk the planet during our lifetimes but in the end feel a little bit better because at least he’s dead.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

 

Anna_and_the_Apocalypse.0ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

“ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is what you can get when you’re able to effectively blend familiar elements that don’t usually mix together.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential