Category Archives: Review Roundups

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 8/09

Posted on by
Reply

 

ELYSIUMELYSIUM

“Few working directors out there are as effective as Blomkamp at telling a serious, yet entertaining story with a moral.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“…the sort of science fiction thriller some of us have been craving all summer only to see one film after another fall short. ” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“ELYSIUM is paradise– if you snooze through it; and you might.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

WERE THE MILLERS'WE’RE THE MILLERS

“But this film’s eagerness to please functions as a slow poison, draining THE MILLERS of its vitality by rendering its characterization uneven, its potential undeveloped, and its plot predictable and stupid.” – Inkoo Kang, Village Voice

“This has not been a great year for film comedy… WE’RE THE MILLERS sets down that same low comedy road but then something odd happens: it’s actually funny.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Despite its by-the-numbers script and predictable story touches, there are enough funny—even unexpected—flourishes scattered throughout its 109 minutes to bring out the occasional gut laugh.” – David Riedel, C-Ville

“As comical as it is to watch these characters rebel against familial stereotypes, it’s even funnier to see how fast they fall into them.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Occasionally, I am easily amused. This was definitely a guilty pleasure.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERSPERCY JACKSON

“Forget Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, there’s not a single character here worthy of Ron Weasley.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge

“In the meantime, it’s a special effects laden fantasy where one can actually follow the action and focus on the characters. This summer that’s quite an achievement all by itself.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, SciFi Movie Page

 

2.JPGPRINCE AVALANCHE

“Ladies aren’t cast in the best light, but this is a dude movie in the middle of Texan backwoods.” – Monica Castillo, Dig Boston

“But more than the friendship-rivalry-I-won’t-call-it-a-bromance between the two stars, AVALANCHE is about the madness that simmers below their day-to-day-grind.”- Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

 

LOVELACELOVELACE

“The whole thing is just clunky, and worse, dull.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Not many movies could pull off the same plot twice, and unfortunately, LOVELACE cannot justify visiting the same scenes twice only to add a layer of brutality.”- Monica Castillo, Bitch Magazine

BLUE JASMINE Blue_Jasmine

“The movie is a near-perfect capture of a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown without going off the deep end into a farce.”-Monica Castillo, Paste Magazine

“It’s become a cliche that writer/director Woody Allen’s work had hit the doldrums critically for a bit, and lately, everything he’s doing has been cited as “one of his best in years.” BLUE JASMINE is better than that.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 8/02

Posted on by
Reply

2 GUNS2GUNS

“A disposable star vehicle being dumped into the late-summer wasteland for lack of anywhere else to put it.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“So you’re saying it’s built on clichés? Great, I’ve seen it all before. It doesn’t stand out on its own.”-Monica Castillo, Cinema Fix 

“An inspired pairing. These 2Guns are loaded for a sequel.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

ACT OF KILLINGACT OF KILLING

“An exceptional display of daring that will secure Oppenheimer’s name in the annals of cinema.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“When it was over, I had to go walk around for a couple of hours to shake off what I had seen. My notebook contained just three words: ‘There be monsters.'” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“This is the redefinition of insanity.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

“If you see only one documentary this year, make sure it’s THE ACT OF KILLING.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

 

CRYSTAL FAIRYCRYSTAL FAIRY

“Unfortunately, director Sebastian Silva knows-or-thinks that the target of his satire and his audience are one and the same.” – Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

“The pleasure is in the details, like the way Cera always rides in the car with his seat reclined all the way back, crushing the legs of anybody sitting behind him. His rudeness would be appalling if he had any idea what an asshole he was.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“If you hate being the one guy at a party who doesn’t dig recreational drug use, you’re probably going to have a rough time with CRYSTAL FAIRY.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

 

STILL MINESTILL MINE

“Cromwell carries the picture with understated vitality.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 7/26

Posted on by
Reply

 

WOLVERINETHE WOLVERINE

“THE WOLVERINE proves to be a class act, but it’s also a commercial entertainment, right down to the added scene during the closing credits.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, ScifiMoviePage

“What makes this film so wonderfully different and exquisitely understated from the usual offering in the superhero genre is it’s main reliance on compelling storytelling and character development.” – Tim Estiloz, Examiner

“Once again, an X-MEN movie is just good enough.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“What THE WOLVERINE does right relates to Logan as a character, what drives him, his strengths and weaknesses. What it does wrong is action movie stuff.” – Kristofer Jenson, DigBoston

“The title of this entry feels like a sheepish admission on the part of the producers: Ignore that last one—this is the Wolverine movie.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“After three films where Wolverine struggled to stand out and one terrible solo picture, Mangold’s THE WOLVERINE finally does the character justice.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“…the filmmakers are clearly more interested in the action sequences– a rip-roaring bullet train chase, and a climactic dalliance with something big and mechanical. Ho hum woof.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

TO DO LISTTHE TO DO LIST

“There’s something almost celebratory about the graphically suggestive sexuality here; watching the film build to its big moments of teenage sexual abandon gone wrong feels akin to watching a cat coyly knock stemware off of the kitchen table…” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

 

fruitvale-station-mainFRUITVALE STATION

“At times, the story of Oscar Grant ascends peaks of inexpressible joy; at others, quite obviously, it plumbs the depths of human callousness and cruelty, painting a portrait of a cold world in which the threat of violent death is an everyday part of living.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

“A touching and, tragically, still relevant tribute.” – Monica Castillo, DIG Boston

“Not only a must-see, but also an early Best Picture favorite” – Brett Michel, Patriot Ledger

“That we already know how it will all end gives the movie’s plotlessness purpose. Every character interaction is freighted with our understanding it may be the last.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

 

BLACKFISHBLACKFISH

“BLACKFISH is a shattering documentary, a horror show that details how killer whales are treated in just this sort of manner.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“The film’s emphasis on misdeeds of the past require the greater part of our attention – herein is where the most data is offered to us at the fastest clip – but it doesn’t take a whale researcher, trainer, or neuroscientist to figure out where Tilikum went bad and for what reasons.” – Andrew Crump, Go-See-Talk

 

COMPUTER CHESSCOMPUTER CHESS

“Despite its creative smarts and originality, COMPUTER CHESS can really be summed up as an artistic curiosity, a fair distance from the relationship frameworks of Bujalski’s previous films.” – Norm Schrager, Meet in The Lobby

“It’s TRASH HUMPERS for tech nerds, by way of THE TRIAL, with all the ‘narrative coherence’ such a bastard mixture would entail.”- Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 7/19

Posted on by
Reply

RED 2RED2

“If you are able to treat the violence as simply cartoonish–knowing they’re just actors playing ‘let’s pretend’–then RED 2 can be a lot of fun.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Plot? Stakes? Intrigue? Who cares – here’s Old People With Weapons!” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“The majority of the acting in RED 2 is complete scenery chewing, although thankfully it’s easy to swallow.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

 

THE CONJURING

The Conjuring - Official Teaser Trailer (HD) (Screengrab)

“You may not believe in haunted houses, but you will while watching the movie.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“There’s probably nothing you haven’t seen before in director James Wan’s THE CONJURING, but rarely have you seen it done so well.” – Sean Burns, Metro

R.I.P.D. 

RIPD

“It won’t win any awards for originality, especially as it races down the well-worn path of movies like MEN IN BLACK and GHOSTBUSTERS, but it’s a fast ride.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“One good thing about this flick is that it’s over quickly.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

 

GIRL MOST LIKELYGIRL MOST LIKELY

“A cartoonish parade of gargoyles and grotesques helmed with staggering ineptitude by the once-promising Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini” – Sean Burns, Metro

 

ONLY GOD FORGIVESONLY GOD FORGIVES

“If there’s any justice, the audience will not just not forgive but openly rebel.” – David Reidel, Santa Fe Reporter

“It doesn’t set up audience expectations so that it can then defy them; it makes you feel silly for having them in the first place.” – Kristofer Jenson, DigBoston

 

MUSEUM HOURSMUSEUM HOURS

“It leaves the viewer, it leaves me, feeling like a complicit elitist, wishing along with him that the masses could go to the MoMA instead of to see GROWN UPS 2, and slightly embarrassed that I’d find myself going along with an idea so reeking in naivete and cultural privilege.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“The karmic connection between the two worlds is gentle and sometimes subtle, edited with a beauty and commentary that somehow even transcends the meeting of art and life.” – Norm Schrager, Film Racket

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 7/12

Posted on by
Reply

Pacific RimPACIFIC RIM

“A towering, immensely imaginative testament to just how good mass entertainment can be. Attempting an explanation of this movie’s greatness is like trying to explain the awesomeness of ice cream or buffalo wings.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“There’s one aspect that separates it from every other blockbuster movie released this summer: Love. Guillermo Del Toro loves these characters. He loves these monsters. He loves this world.  And I love him for it.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“PACIFIC RIM exists in a complete, fully realized universe, which is a high compliment indeed for a movie that also feels like it was dreamed up by an 8-year-old splashing around with toys in the bathtub.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“The summer’s best by several leagues. Del Toro dares to rewrite the grammar of the modern blockbuster by filling the space between each action set piece with intelligence, wit and heart.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“After a time, the deafening sound design, together with the sheer enormity of the creatures and cybernetic weapons involved, leave you cross-eyed. And a little bored.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“Del Toro’s editing is handled carefully and his gliding camerawork is smoothly executed in a way that allows you to not only see the action clearly, but to be transported directly into it.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Go and enjoy yourself. Just don’t expect it to make much sense logically, narratively or visually. It’s not a very good science fiction movie, but it’s a heck of an amusement park ride.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The story that fuels  PACIFIC RIM is non-existent. It’s just an excuse to stage enormous digital fights. It also doesn’t make much sense.” – David Riedel, C-Ville Weekly

Grown Ups 2GROWN UPS 2

“This witless sequel to Adam Sandler’s 2010 blockbuster exercise in indolence is another hacky work release program for otherwise unemployable SNL veterans. Laziness wafts from the screen like a foul odor.” – Sean Burns, Metro

“We know we’re in Sandler territory when the first ‘joke’ involving urination takes place not two minutes into the film. There will be more, with some poop and vomit gags… you know, just to mix it up a little.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

VHS2V/H/S/2

“There hasn’t been a scarier movie released in 2013 thus far. Even the worst of V/H/S/2 rivals everything its predecessor had to offer. This is a sequel that operates on a totally different plane than its progenitor.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“Addresses many of the major complaints people had with its predecessor. Although the movie still isn’t perfect, it vastly improves upon the formula established by the first film.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

 

Im So ExcitedI’M SO EXCITED

“He’s returned to the ridiculous, screwball nature that made Almodovar a name in the first place. Yes, the film is ludicrous, ridiculous, over-the-top. It’s exuberantly tacky, and gleefully crass.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Almodovar’s new film I’M SO EXCITED is a brightly colored 60’s style pop art farce set on an airplane that’s full of troubled characters and has no way to land. Think AIRPLANE! but with even more sex, drugs, and relationship jokes (yes, it’s possible).”-Monica Castillo, Bitch Magazine

 

A Band Called DeathA BAND CALLED DEATH

“The total package is simply joyous, a lovingly told celebration of big dreams and second chances. What an uplifting surprise that A BAND CALLED DEATH is so full of life.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby