Category Archives: Review Roundups

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 1/10/14

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LONE SURVIVORLone Survivor

“A worthy story that’s given the jingoism treatment by director Peter Berg, who’s last big-screen endeavor was BATTLESHIP. It’s been a long time since FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Pete.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Is this the best way to salute our troops? Even if your feelings toward the United States’ wings of military are complicated, the answer here should be a resounding ‘no.'” – Andrew Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“There’s a point where the SEALs make a bold escape by flinging themselves down a cliff, and Berg shoots every bump and crunch for such a protracted period it feels like the Springfield Gorge sequence from [the SIMPSONS’] BART THE DAREDEVIL.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“The story of LONE SURVIVOR is all in the title, which may make you wonder what the point of it all is.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Berg’s picture yearns for a realistic depiction of the event. He wants the docu-drama aesthetic of something like ZERO DARK THIRTY. But he’s far too invested in making heroes of his subjects to approach the film with comparable emotional detachment.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

 

THE LEGEND OF HERCULESLEGENDHERC

“It isn’t very good… yet for those willing to leave their critical faculties behind and remember what it was to be like to be an 11 year old with a bag of popcorn at the movies on a Saturday afternoon, it is not without its charms.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

RAZERAZE

“Even setting aside the women-only hook, its one of the most brutal fight-films you’re likely to have seen in a while.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“A sweaty, queasy, bruising experience — and a superbly crafted film. With a few short brushstrokes, Robert Beaucage’s unsentimental script makes people out of its female characters while building to a satisfying, somewhat surprising climax.” – Inkoo Kang, Los Angeles Times

 

DHOOM 3DHOOM3

“Judging by the boxoffice and media-attention, this will be a lot of U.S. audience’s first authentic “Bollywood” experience, so happily it’s overall a pretty good one.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

AUGUSTOSAGEAUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

“Streep is so big and so bad, you’ll wonder why they didn’t just cast Melissa Leo instead.” Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“I stumbled out of this film in a daze of horrified relief.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“A sensational cast stranded in a lead-footed drama about a dysfunctional family coming together and airing their dirty laundry. Haven’t we seen this many times before?” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Her Royal Hamness, Meryl Streep, cackles out mechanically-telegraphed cutting remarks on cue like a gattling gun loaded with Oscar clips.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDOEVANGELION30

“The most beautiful depiction of war ever rendered on film might be found in the first six minutes of EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO. In the third installment of four films rebooting the anime series NEON GENESIS: EVANGELION, the fate of the universe depends on giant robots that blast across magenta-orange sunsets, shooting comets of turquoise, emerald and amethyst. It’s splendor on steroids.” – Inkoo Kang, Los Angeles Times

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 12/27

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THE WOLF OF WALL STREETWOLFWALL

“The film isn’t engaging with the dark soul of a man, it’s a work of societal criticism, disguised as a character piece.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“Eventually the movie’s gargantuan three-hour running-time becomes part of the joke. The vulgarity feels heroic.” – Sean Burns, Technology Tell

“It does for stockbrokers what GOODFELLAS did for mobsters.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Most shamefully of all, it’s also a total blast, though you’ll probably want to take a shower afterward.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“About as pure cinema as a movie can get.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Scorsese puts us there, right in the filthy-rich middle of it. I understood the lure, the addiction, the sheer adrenaline rush and ride.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“The cast is so game for whatever [Scorsese] plunges them into, it’s hard not to get a contact high.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

WALTERMITTYTHE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

“The brand name-dropping is so gratuitous that when the movie appears on television, the commercials will already be in place.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“it almost seems like a self-aware joke that never fully pays off.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“Trudges along – amiable, lovingly photographed by Stuart Dryburgh, and utterly forgettable.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“More like The Secret Life of Walter Shitty. THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY holds you in contempt, so why not make a lame joke at its expense?” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

HERHER

“The film’s critical fans–seem to think he’s breaking new ground. He’s not, and the resulting film is more disappointing than the hype surrounding it lets on.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“A wholly unique work that’s peppered with humor but is more meaningfully shaped through its examination of human relationships in a culture grown overly reliant on precious gadgetry.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“A surprisingly sweet, melancholy, and touching meditation on how we manage relationships.” – David Riedel, C-Ville

 

GRUDGEMATCHGRUDGE MATCH

“This ludicrous movie turns out to much better than anyone might have expected.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“It’s ROCKY versus RAGING BULL by way of an anti-buddy movie formula. The genius fizzles there, and the adequate takes over, but that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 12/20

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ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUESANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

“There’s an expectation to live up to the original, tossing aside new content in favor of recalling those catchphrases and iconic moments.”  – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

“There’s no doubt that McKay and Ferrell are playing big and broad here, discarding nuance entirely for on-the-nose commentary.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“ANCHORMAN 2 checks off a lot of the boxes you’d expect it to check off, sure, but it also checks off a bunch of boxes you didn’t know existed.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“There’s a surprising amount of plot, which is the same thing that killed BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“About all anyone could reasonably expect from the unnecessary sequel to one of the best comedies of all time.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

AMERICAN HUSTLEAMERICANHUSTLE

“It’s exhausting. There are no stakes. There are wigs and braless dresses and fat suits and perms. There is nothing resembling a compelling character or story.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“It joins the pantheon of great con job movies with THE STING, HOUSE OF GAMES and WILD THINGS. – Dan Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Hang onto your hair and pay attention to the details lest you get caught with your brain exposed.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

Inside-Llewyn-Davis-Ulysses-Oscar-Isaac-618x400INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

“The film positions itself as a lost artifact from an imagined world, one that few even bother to imagine much anymore — a perfect treatment for a narrative about an artist that no one was ever going to bother to remember.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“That’s Llewyn in a nutshell: He’s the friend you’ll always let sleep on your couch, even though he brings almost nothing but ill tidings.” – Andrew Crump, In Review Online

“INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS is my favorite movie in years. It’s the Coens’ most melancholic reverie, ditching their usual clockwork plotting for a loosey-goosey collection of anecdotes that only reveal themselves to be impeccably structured in retrospect.”- Sean Burns, Improper Bostonian

“He is angry. He is frustrated by the way his life is going, and the way that he’s struggling so hard to make this work.” – Monica Castillo, Cinephiliacs Podcast

“An unexpected gem, a movie that seems completely familiar while turning narrative convention on its ear again and again.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS 3DWALKINGDINO

“It gets this critic’s traditional back of the hand for this kind of kid’s movie: parents should flip a coin… and the loser has to take them.” – Dan Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“This new 3D spectacle is a visual miracle. The animation comes alive through a celebration of corporeality: the jiggle of fat, the stretch and release of sagging skin, the tide-like motions of tendons and arteries beneath pebbled skin.” – Inkoo Kang, Village Voice

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 12/13

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THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUGHOBBIT2

“Hollywood films like THE HOBBIT and THE AVENGERS and so many more are re-appropriating the standards and structure of old-school serials, always building toward the next chapter, but they stretch on for three times as long. It’s exhausting.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“A significant improvement in every way, save that its triumphs make its predecessor’s shortcomings all the more apparent.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“We’ll just have to wait for next year’s conclusion,THERE AND BACK AGAIN, to see whether it was worth the detours.” – Kristofer Jenson, DIG Boston

“There’s a dispiriting lack of energy in this second adventure; there’s no spring in Jackson’s step.” – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

“I didn’t hate it. It’s not converting me to a fan of elves and dwarves and orcs and hobbits, but considering its running time and that there’s one more film to go, consider it high praise from a vocal non-fan that I wasn’t bored. I can only imagine what true believers will make of it.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“This a case of just-too-muchery, more for the sake of more, which is neither strictly a negative thing nor the best way to approach bringing every nook and cranny of Tolkien’s world to life.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“A bajillion times better than the previous installment, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED PIECE OF SHIT.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

SAVING MR. BANKSSAVINGBANKS

“Your enjoyment of the film will depend on how you take your grandfatherly figures and traumatic childhood flashbacks, and how long you want to spend in the Disney vault.” – Monica Castillo, DIG Boston

“The great irony, though, is that there is some serious revisionism and whitewashing going on to make one of the characters more agreeable… it’s just not Walt Disney.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“The moments are there. The story has a chance. But in the world of Disney entertainment, this is far from an E-ticket ride.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

“If you can enjoy this as a fictional gloss on the real story, it is quite entertaining. If you walk away thinking that Disney finally won over Travers who loved what he did with her work, you’ll have jumped into one of Bert’s chalk pictures and left the real world behind.” – Dan Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

TYLER PERRY’S A MADEA CHRISTMAS131328_bc

“Lee Daniels tried to sell out but he just somehow couldn’t. Meanwhile Tyler Perry is on the nearest street corner with a “FOR SALE” sign around his neck in a skirt shorter than anything Madea ever wore.  This movie is gross.” – Sean Burns, Technology Tell