BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 11/22

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRECATCHINGFIRE

“In many ways it’s a better film than the first one. It keeps the strengths of the first film––the brilliant casting, the striking art direction––and does a much better job telling the story.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“It’s quite engrossing until the movie abruptly stops mid-scene, teasing another sequel coming soon to a theater near you. Sigh, the perils of franchise maintenance.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia City Paper”

“This flick is a nail biter, even in the quiet moments.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Sure, it faithfully aligns with the book and safely plays to the franchise’s core audience. But this sequel is better cast, well-wound and powerfully paced.” – Norm Schrager, Meet-In-The-Lobby

 

DELIVERY MANDELIVERYMAN

“Slight but feel-good entertainment. It probably should have gone right to Lifetime in the first place, because it’s not going to be finding much of a home in movie theaters this weekend.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

BOOKTHIEFTHE BOOK THIEF

“The finished product is so lacking in visual dynamism and cinematic texture that it plays like an audio book with images attached. You could watch the picture with your eyes closed and lose very little.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

 

GO FOR SISTERSGOFORSISTERS

“It’s an absorbing, well-researched snapshot from the American class struggle with excellent performances and an evocative sense of time and place.” – Sean Burns, Technology Tell

 

 

THE ARMSTRONG LIE

“The underlying thread in this ruinous yarn is that the movie we’re seeing today only exists because Armstrong screwed the happy ending to Gibney’s 2009 documentary.” – Monica Castillo, DIG Boston

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 11/15

THE BEST MAN HOLIDAYThe Best Man Holiday

“HOLIDAY is aiming to offer us a profound emotional experience alongside the humorous observations, and falls pretty short.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

 

 

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWNBROKENCIRCLE

“Structured like a more like a song than a conventional narrative, THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN loops through moments in time like verses returning to choruses in this ballad of a doomed couple in Ghent during the early 2000s – united by their love of music and torn apart by tragedy.” – Sean Burns, Technology Tell

“The intimacy of the connection we feel to this family is palpable; we are close to them like people we grew up with.” – Joyce Kulhawik

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 11/8

THOR: THE DARK WORLDTHOR2

“The biggest leap yet into the silly, nutty, crazy, cosmic side of the Marvel Universe; and it’s hard not to get a contact high from how deliriously in love it is with the Jack Kirby-inspired scifi/fantasy/Ancient Aliens mash-up that is it’s world.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“It’s more about feeding the franchise than anything else.” – Daniel Kimmel, Sci-fi Movie Hype

“Crashes and burns under the weight of its obligations to the series, packing in too many characters, too many plot points, and far too many action scenes pitched toward the sensibilities of eight-year-old boys.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“I think this entry is a slight improvement from the first. At least they dropped the Dutch angles.”- Monica Castillo, Cinema Fix

“If Marvel is going to continue making movies about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, maybe they should keep them down to Earth.” – Sean Burns, Technology Tell

 

DALLAS BUYERS CLUBEXCLUSIVE: Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto film scenes together for The Dallas Buyers Club in New Orleans.

“Yes, this subject was covered in much greater depth in last year’s essential documentary HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE — and of course, when Hollywood told the story, they had to pick the time it happened to a straight guy — but DALLAS BUYERS CLUB still knows how to work a crowd.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia City Paper

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 11/01

ENDERSENDER’S GAME

“Nothing here works. The action doesn’t live up to even the most middle-ground set pieces in this year’s slate of blockbusters; the storytelling and thematic ‘stuff’ of Card’s narrative hits with a resounding thud.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“One of the best book-to-screen transitions of any work of science fiction.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Reveal[s] what should be character-development and worldbuilding as just so much plowing through the Monomyth checklist en route to the big finish.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist 

“To judge the film on its own merits is to find it a success, although it doesn’t escape the overall sense of the derivative and the formulaic that plagued the novel.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE

 

LASTVEGASLAST VEGAS

“It’s a victory lap for four actors too old, too successful, and too contented to worry about the fact that their work is devoid of entertainment value.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“The difference between this and THE HANGOVER couldn’t be plainer: instead of watching a bunch of guys make fools of themselves and getting deeper and deeper into trouble, we’re cheering on guys still willing to take risks and finding they sometimes pay off in unexpected ways.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLORBLUEWARMEST

“If a mature look at young, same-sex love in all its stages – from desire to disillusionment – isn’t your idea of an evening at the movies, then by all means, spend your entertainment dollars elsewhere, on something less ‘French.’” – Brett Michel, Patriot Ledger

“One of the most provocative and intriguing films of the fall.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“Given that BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR is a close-up examination of a life, it makes sense that the sex would be so explicit. Everything else is explicit, too.” – David Riedel, Raw Denim

“A 179-minute sprawl of heartbreak shot on a vast, wide-screen panorama that scarcely strays more than 6 inches from a young woman’s face.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia City Paper

“I was amazed at the film’s intense focus, and the shock wave of feelings it conveyed around a person falling besottedly in love for the first time.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

DIANADIANA

“The film, finally, turns out to be not about Diana at all, but about how good men look with her as their arm candy — and how good they manage to keep on looking once she’s no longer by their sides.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE

“We get it. It’s sad. She died.” – Sean Burns, Metro

 

FREE BIRDSFREEBIRDS

“An entertaining animated offering that is not only themed to Thanksgiving, but will especially appeal to vegans and vegetarians.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

ABOUTTIMEABOUT TIME

“The real lovers here are [director] Richard Curtis and the tricky notion of time travel. How else to punch up a story that’s all about the rich existential rewards we reap from living a boring, ordinary life?” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“It’s a movie that makes one grateful for director Richard Curtis. Someone still knows how to make a great romantic comedy.” – Daniel Kimmel, Sci-Fi Hype

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP 10/25

12 YEARS A SLAVETWELVESLAVE

“So profoundly powerful that other movies touching on or dealing directly with slavery seem weak by comparison.” – David Riedel, Raw Denim

“Treating other people as lower than shit is a tenet of this country’s history, and we need to see it in all its ugly truth.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Even for someone as talented as McQueen, this is a step forward in craft.” – Andrew Crump, A Constant Visual Feast

“The desire to attain permanent fixture status, both in American History and Film Studies courses, is palpable.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“Remarkably, possessed of a transcendent lyricism that allows us to breathe in the suffering first hand, the horror resonating through our consciousness by way of our bones.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“If 12 YEARS A SLAVE doesn’t become required viewing in our schools and LINCOLN does, the understanding future generations have of slavery is doomed.” – Kris Jenson, Dig Boston 

COUNSELORTHE COUNSELOR

“It’s like getting a fortune cookie that reads, ‘Life is meaningless and then you die.’ Whether you agree with the message or not, is that really what you go to the movies to hear?” – Dan Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

BADGRANDPAJACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA

 

“It’s still enjoyable, sure — it’s just not so revolutionary anymore.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE

“Apparently there’s always an audience for a joke involving explosive flatulence.” – Dan Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

ALL LOST

ALL IS LOST

“Robert Redford has long been one of our greatest movie stars. He’s never been one of our greatest actors, but here he rises to the challenge.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter