BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 3/22

SPRING BREAKERSSpring Breakers

“As if Jean-Luc Godard directed a GIRLS GONE WILD video, here’s a film that wallows in everything toxic, empty and nihilistic about American youth culture, sumptuously scolding with a knowing guffaw. This is a movie that has its cake and then eats more cake.
” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“A mash-up of B-movies, rap videos and soft-core pornography. A weird dream that Michael Mann might have had while on vacation in Florida after eating too much cheese. Harmony Korine has made his best film; a beguiling piece of pop-art and a true original. It’s a masterpiece of a genre that doesn’t exist yet.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“The cavorting we see is joyless and mindless, and Korine’s visual and aural aesthetics mount such a sensory assault that the film’s power lies in its ability to jolt and unnerve us. After a point, SPRING BREAKERS begins to feel like body horror instead of a party movie.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“A masterpiece of sleaze-as-art on par with genre classics like NATURAL BORN KILLERS or FREEWAY. One of the most important and vital works of the year; a rowdy, context-free walking tour of the Boschian hellscape lurking just outside the borders of your niece’s Instagram update.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Don’t let the sandy beaches and brightly colored bikinis fool you, Korine is not in the business of sloppy movie-making. Behind the film’s vacuous candy-colored outer shell are ambiguous and morally challenging concepts.” – Monica Castillo, Bitch Magazine

 

Admission2ADMISSION

“It’s sad because we know that Tina Fey and Paul Rudd can do better. What ADMISSION makes clear is they don’t care. So long as the check clears, they’re willing to go through the motions. This may be the worst romantic comedy since ALL ABOUT STEVE.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Nat Wolff displays a talent for getting into the skin of an offbeat character. It would be interesting to see what he could do in a better, gutsier movie. Then again, the same applies to Fey and Rudd.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“What exactly does ADMISSION exist to convey? That all parents screw up their child-rearing duties at one point or another? That the Ivy League system is nothing but a meritocratic sham? Or that middle-aged white people are the causes of their own discontent?” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“The morphine-drip pacing of the scenes makes Fey’s dizzy self-deprecation look more like depressive floundering. Photographed in fifty shades of beige, ADMISSION is the blandest movie I’ve seen in months.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

 

GINGER & ROSAGinger And Rosa

“Sally Potter delves into history and imagination to tease out vivid moments in the lives of two young women. But this is more than a coming-of-age movie, it’s also an indictment of how the world at large affects each new generation.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“The big takeaway appears to be that Elle Fanning is destined to be the next great actress of our time. The film may as well have been called simply GINGER, as it’s completely hers through and through.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“This is a fabulous film, vividly realized and anchored by a brilliant performance from young Elle Fanning, rendering the usual teen angst and disillusionment as something both deeply felt and oddly mysterious.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

 

Olympus Has FallenOLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

“Everything Bruce Willis’ last DIE HARD film should have been, but wasn’t. Director Antoine Fuqua stages the improbable in such exciting fashion, you forget about the implausibility and get caught up in the thrilling bombast of it all.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Movie Examiner

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN does not by any means constitute hard-hitting filmmaking, but damned if it doesn’t have that action movie je ne sais quoi that lets it straddle the line between trumped-up solemnity and goofy fun.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“The movie equivalent of the paperback thriller you bring to the beach or for a long plane trip. It grabs you from the start and then returns you to your seat two hours later. A great ride.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“An entertaining action vehicle that’s exploding with patriotism and non-stop excitement. It may be based on a well-established formula, however the movie handles it well.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

 

The CroodsTHE CROODS

“The characters pretty much fall into prefabricated categories. But playing with, and within, stereotype gives the writers and the cast a certain creative latitude that offers occasional inspired surprises.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Not a great movie, but it’s pretty good throughout: well-animated, good voice cast, and clever, if largely predictable. Almost by default she’s probably the most interestingly rendered female protagonist to hit animation in awhile.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

 

BurnBURN

“This well-traveled festival winner from Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez is expertly told and exceptionally executed; the highest quality entry in a recent spate of docs set amid the cautionary disaster story of Detroit.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

 

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