BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/20/2015


24097.cr2INSURGENT

“Woodley does solid work here as she’s done elsewhere, and continues to be someone to watch…” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“INSURGENT, bless its heart, relies even more on Young Adult fiction tropes than THE HUNGER GAMES, a series it resembles from top to bottom.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Looking to surge forward in a big way with more action and a faster pace, INSURGENT turns into something with the ability to only be incoherent and disjointed throughout its entire time on-screen.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

 

gunmanTHE GUNMAN

“THE GUNMAN not only falls short on the action itself, but it offers little else for the audience to enjoy.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“…a quandary of NGOs, poverty statistics and humanitarian efforts with an occasional shoot-out sprinkled in for good measure. Kinda like if Bono penned a Liam Neeson potboiler.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“What’s remarkable isn’t how the movie slides into dumb action and trite execution, but how close it comes to hitting the target in spite of itself.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

 

bp76ax3vviw2gjrtt27jIT FOLLOWS

“Fused with a synth-pop soundtrack (thank god those are making a comeback), some genuine scares, and an eerily calm atmosphere that gets pulled without a moments notice, IT FOLLOWS is a startlingly good new horror feature.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

IT FOLLOWS is a throwback of sorts that utilizes certain aspects of horror that serious fans of the genre are sure to love.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“…a moody, elegantly crafted little throwback that’s probably not being particularly well-served by the breathless hype that’s been following it (har-har) around festivals ever since last year’s Cannes premiere.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“Stylistically and thematically, IT FOLLOWS is one of the best horror movies to hit the big screen in recent years.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

 

goodbye-language-556x514GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE

“You might hate it, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it anyway.” – Kristofer Jenson, Scout Cambridge

“It’s a bona fide art-house “blockbuster event movie.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“That we may not have reached the limit of language per se, but we might very well have have reached, if not exceeded, our capacity to give a shit.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“Maybe language keeps us at arm’s length from nature, but if so, it still does a pretty solid job of articulating the full gamut of human emotion.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 

MERCHANTS OF DOUBTMERCHANTS OF DOUBT

“MERCHANTS OF DOUBT damningly eviscerates most of the asinine arguments clung to by bought-and-paid-for representatives of the oil companies, including an oft-cited, thoroughly discredited study signed by 31,000 scientific luminaries — some of whom happen to have the same names as BACK TO THE FUTURE’s Marty McFly and the Spice Girls.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP 3/18/2015

Andrew Crump reviews BROOKLYN NINE NINE, reviews HOME SWEET HELL, interviews the director of IT FOLLOWS and considers the film

Kilian Melloy on LOW DOWN and THE LIBERATOR

Bob Chipman reviews this week’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D

Monica Castillo reports on GAMES OF THRONES at SXSW, Ava DuVernay’s keynote speech, recaps the iZOMBIE pilot and reviews TRAINWRECK and THE FINAL GIRLS

Sean Burns tackles MERCHANTS OF DOUBT and TWO MEN IN TOWN

Spoilerpiece Theatre goes over CINDERELLA, IT FOLLOWS and RUN ALL NIGHT

Joyce Kulhawik reviews the new theatrical productions of GROUNDED and TRISTAN & YSEULT

Jake Mulligan covers film for DIG Boston’s Spring Preview

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/13/2015

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CINDERELLA

“While not a musical retelling (which might disappoint some Disneyphiles), it’s nevertheless a worthy tribute to the classic.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“…this version of CINDERELLA has no teeth.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“…Branagh is smart enough to know that you don’t mess with a time-honored yarn without good reason.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“Disney films can be accused of all sorts of ills, but with CINDERELLA, they have proven that they are capable of producing a boring film that somehow has no magic in it.” – Deidre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“Little girls–of all ages–will have a great time…” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

maxresdefault (5)RUN ALL NIGHT

“There’s a constant push-pull here between the violence and the regretful tone.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“RUN ALL NIGHT will be lucky if it runs all week. This one’s dead on arrival.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“RUN ALL NIGHT’s constant despondency never gets uplifted by anything worthy of an ooh or ahh.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

“Because of it being what it is, RUN ALL NIGHT can definitely be viewed negatively in the eyes of many of us.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

 

’71’71

“Don’t consider this as a political film — consider it “The Warriors,” remade as historical fiction.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“Although it it doesn’t turn out to be the kind of movie one may think it’s going to be, 71 is still a healthy slice of engaging cinema.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“(Director Yann) Demange is careful to keep the action in the movie as real and shocking as possible. The result is deeply disturbing.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

DeliMan-Gallery_05_{95b52bdf-2470-e411-bad0-d4ae527c3b65}_lgDELI MAN

“There are two things you will hear at the end of Deli Man: Audiences applauding and stomachs growling.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

wreckingcrew.spectorherodateTHE WRECKING CREW

“If nothing else, watching The Wrecking  Crew is a musical education that everybody with a stereo and memories of the songs these guys played on will appreciate.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“It may indeed be a “home movie,” but THE WRECKING CREW is awfully hard not to like.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

 

 

 

 

BOFCA MIDWEEK ROUNDUP 3/11/2015

Joyce Kulhawik weighed in on the recent Oscars’ Best Actress prospects

Spoilerpiece Theatre focuses on CHAPPIE and more

Monica Castillo looks at SXSW, the TOMORROWLAND trailer, EMPIRE, the original CINDERELLA and SCANDAL

Andy Crump looks at THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER

Bob Chipman reviews AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D’s return to TV

Jake Mulligan on THE IRON MINISTRY

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/06/2015

chappie_a

CHAPPIE

“…a welcome addition to the long and rich history of the robot in science fiction films.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“A smoldering dumpster fire of second-hand elements from better movies…” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“How far from a source that inspires a filmmaker should  he keep if he wants to avoid repeating someone else’s stories?” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

“There’s nothing spectacular about CHAPPIE, but it is a stable film about instability when greed and selfishness get in the way of doing the right thing.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“…the robot works, and so, too, does Blomkamp’s movie.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 

UnfinishedUNFINISHED BUSINESS

“…the laughs lack punch, and the social messages are muddled at best.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Tom Wilkinson wax poetic about wheelbarrowing.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“Instead of trying to shock and mine laughs from the audience through raunch, director Ken Scott’s newest is so bored in trying to tell a story that it lulls you to sleep.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

 

Queen__CountryQUEEN AND COUNTRY

“Such dreary trips down somebody else’s memory lane would be almost bearable if the film left you with a sense that it was leading you somewhere, but it doesn’t.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Boorman’s inclination toward jokery is one of the film’s unifying elements.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“This film is laugh-out-loud funny, but its sadness sneaks up on you. Even the minor wars—if there is such a thing—are ultimately hell.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

wild_tales_1WILD TALES

“You don’t have to read up on Argentina’s history of systemic corruption to identify with these hapless souls pushed past their breaking points by the effrontery of the rich and privileged, or the fatalistic feeling that we’re all playing a rigged game. ” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

 

24162B3300000578-0-image-m-33_1418723979821THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

“Watching the film you just want to relax and settle back. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a warm bath.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“While I don’t believe THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL will win over too many new fans, I do believe that it will entertain the people who enjoyed the original.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“This isn’t a GREAT film, and this cast and its characters with all the tropes of their talent & experience deserve a GREAT film. For now, I’ll settle for this trifle, and its jubilant Bollywood ending.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

FH-0629KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN 

“Once the fault lines between the characters start to show, there’s little suspense about where the shattered pieces of this felonious brotherhood are going to fall.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“As far as KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN is concerned, there are plenty of other movies about these types of crimes that are done much better and actually have the ability to captivate their viewers. While this isn’t one of the absolute worst, it’s completely forgettable and worth skipping all together.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“This is about as nuts and bolts as a movie can get without betraying an undercurrent of apathy on behalf of its creator, though in fairness to Alfredson it’s probably pretty hard to get excited about material this boilerplate.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“There’s absolutely no tension in the movie, only a tedious time spend waiting for it to end.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide