Category Archives: Review Roundups

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 5/10

Posted on by
Reply

THE GREAT GATSBYThe Great Gatsby

“A tacky, cluttered, 3-D muddle in which Leonardo DiCaprio happens to be amazing. Words fly from the typewriter in large blocks of text that sail into the audience because this is a literary adaptation, after all. Might as well have words shooting out of the screen at your head.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Hey, when you’ve created such luscious, CGI-inspired landscapes, why dolly a camera when you can swoop it in from a half-mile away at record speeds? Sometimes, even the purposefully overdone can feel too overdone.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

“I spent a tad more than two and a half hours utterly in love with this movie. The cast brings a powerful human charge here that matches Luhrmann’s technical acrobatics; not even the occasional clunking line of dialogue detracts.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“In 3D. Just like F. Scott Fitzgerald intended, right? The movie is no masterpiece, but it’s not the train wreck it might have been. One wishes Baz Luhrmann had pursued a career as an art director rather than as a filmmaker.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“If you want the Fitzgerald experience, stick to his original words. If you want the experience of being slapped in the face with a leather-bound edition of the book, watch this movie. It’s Cliff Notes-level stuff.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“Less like an adaptation than the next generation of books-on-tape, where we absorb the story aurally. But hey, it comes with some pretty if utterly redundant illustrations if you want to something to look at.” – Inkoo Kang, Screen Junkies

“If gaudy anachronism was a crime, Baz Luhrmann would be doing serious time for THE GREAT GATSBY. He literally beats you over the head with every metaphor in the film, especially the green light.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“It’s silly, and yet another Baz Lurhmann exercise in artifice for the sake of artifice. But whatever else may be wrong with the film, Leonardo DiCaprio is absolutely magnificent in the title role. ” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“If Michael Bay had joined the theater club in high school, he would have ended up as Baz Luhrmann. Apparently the only parts of the book that Luhrmann even read were the first twenty pages and the last ten.” – Kristofer Jenson, Dig Boston

 

Something In The AirSOMETHING IN THE AIR

“Assayas’ best pictures are as elusive as they are carnally pleasing, like pop songs you listen to over and over again without ever understanding why. SOMETHING IN THE AIR is one of those films.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Director Olivier Assayas looks at this tumultuous time with a sense of understanding and empathy. Viewers are supposed to enjoy this ambitious anarchy just as much as the group of friends do.” – Monica Castillo, Paste Magazine

“A film about fading out, about how youthful passions dissolve. The day-to-day business of living so often saps us of our resolve, and even the most ardent convictions wither away over time.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

 

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALISTThe Reluctant Fundamentalist

“Comments on a plethora of national and global issues, from terrorism to economics to business practices to the erosion of traditional culture and lore. The film’s many aspects don’t all work equally well.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“The movie is a thriller. Or it’s trying to be, unsuccessfully. In a production this well-mounted, there are distractions from the malaise that sets in when you can see the plotting coming from a mile away.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

AFTERSHOCKAftershock

“Is it about Americans being menaced in a foreign land, or is it about how much mankind lives at the whim of shifting tectonic plates? Either way, it’s not particularly good, so it probably doesn’t matter.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

 

PEEPLESPeeples

“A far cry from Perry’s punitive churchiness, the film contains no violent tonal shifts, not a single morality lecture, and only one (rather ill-judged) moment in which a man dons women’s clothing. It’s just warm and funny.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

 

THE SOURCE FAMILYThe Source Family

“Your level of interest in this documentary will be directly related to how much you care about cults and dislike burned-out hippies. Fortunately, there’s great music.” – David Riedel, Sante Fe Reporter

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 5/3

Posted on by
Reply

IRON MAN 3Iron Man 3

“It’s not a perfect movie but the flubs are pretty minor, ultimately accomplishing a more satisfying mid-life crisis superhero arc than THE DARK KNIGHT RISES managed.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Seems to have learned the lessons of last summer’s THE AVENGERS. By making us care about its superhero as a person, we’re willing to go along for the ride about almost everything else.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Like Iron Man’s armor in this outing, the film may have a few dinks and dents… but, in the end, it still gets the job done with entertaining aplomb.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Movie Examiner

“He still delivers a quip better than any other superhero in the biz; the suit is still cool; and the villains still seem beneath him. The glue in all this silliness is Downey.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“The billionaire, genius, playboy philanthropist has a heart buried under his self-serving sarcasm. Wrapped up in Tony’s guilt is humorous self-loathing, a quality that Black enjoys infusing into his protagonists.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Half the fun of the film is seeing Tony react to pressure once he’s robbed of his signature high-tech gadgetry, relying on his wits and resourcefulness to overcome foes and scrape by danger.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk 

“An amalgam of nonsense. The result of a relentlessly marketing-oriented studio exec and a snarky, know-it-all filmmaker smashing their sensibilities together like action figures.” – Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

“It’s a ripping little detective yarn, occasionally punctuated with the obligatory soulless special effects sequences required by the genre. The formulaic demands are leavened by genuine wit.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

 

Kon TikiKON-TIKI

“Despite the atmospheric design and gorgeous open water cinematography, the film feels dramatically airless, as canned as the rations upon which the men subsist.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

 

RENOIRRenoir

“It’s a good thing the photography is beautiful; the family is so repressed it barely elicits an emotion. Bouquet is wonderful, but for a moving experience featuring a Renoir, try a museum.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 4/26

Posted on by
Reply

Pain & GainPAIN & GAIN

“Michael Bay’s latest doesn’t just wallow in depravity, it jumps up and down in it. It showers in it. It celebrates it. The poetry of frat boys, roid-ragers and drunkards; it may be ugly but it’s honest.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Unfortunately, Bay is still a hateful, misogynist cretin, content with slapdash slapstick jokes at the expense of the infirm, foreigners, fat people and gays. A vile film.” – Sean Burns, Metro

“Two hours of the sort of vanity, materialism and ignorance Bay explores here winds up being morally punishing and tiresome, an exercise in guilt-tripping given how awful we feel for laughing at the sustained ludicrousness.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“Bay’s approach to the meaninglessness of human existence is to dive into the middle of it and see what fun can be had smashing all the garbage together. Nothing matters, everybody sucks, but look how awesome it looks when I blow it the fuck up.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“The same affront to humanity with which we’ve become all too acquainted, Michael Bay’s latest ‘comedy’ proves that he truly is the piece of shit you’d imagine.” – Kristofer Jenson, Dig Boston

“A violent action comedy that has the advantage of a strong cast. Audiences willing to put up with the violence may find the dark humor here appealing.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

The Angels ShareTHE ANGELS’ SHARE

“With a few of the rougher edges sanded down—and several hundred c-words dubbed over—it’s the kind of thing you could picture Miramax releasing back in the ‘80s. A real crowd-pleaser, unexpectedly disarming.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“A spirited, if low-proof, three-finger belt of a film. But this movie doesn’t have the essential moxie it needs to rise above the typical tropes of its genre and setting.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“THE ANGEL’S SHARE has everything: street fights, comedy and drama. And there’s even a ride off into the dull gray mist in place of a sunset. It’s still Glasgow, after all.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“This is a film that’s too anchored to be identified simply as fluff; it has too much compassion for its flawed protagonist and invests itself too strongly in his salvation for that qualifier to fit.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

 

The Big WeddingTHE BIG WEDDING

“Sets the bar low at ankle level, then digs itself a cozy little trench in the mud and proceeds to wallow for ninety excruciating minutes. This flick is toxic sludge.” – KIlian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“What were they thinking? Based on a French film that apparently has never been released here, this is a movie about self-absorbed twits.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 4/19

Posted on by
Reply

OblivionOBLIVION

“A movie that feels like five or six different M. Night Shyamalan screenplays smushed together into one, in so much that it’s a story built entirely out of twists, and that it’s just kind of bad.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“While neither stupid nor dull, it is shallow, having only its few plot twists to offer along with the impressive special effects.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“OBLIVION isn’t a remake of anything, although it might as well be. And like most remakes, you’ll feel like the films that it mimics not only did these things first, they did them better.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“See it later, ideally when you’re bedridden with the flu and the syrupy slowness of the plot will lull you into sweet dreams of Olga Kurylenko.” – Inkoo Kang, Screen Junkies

“The cinematic equivalent of that shiny new toy you get at Christmas, the one that’s a lot of fun to play with… for about an hour.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

Room 237ROOM 237

“A confounding, eye-opening, and often hilarious documentary about individuals whose over-wired brains are devoted to one cinematic masterpiece: Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING.” – Norm Schrager, Paste Magazine

“The movie is competently made, with sharp editing, graphics and a decent sense of pace. But this is the cinematic equivalent of being stuck on the subway listening to an insane person rant.” – David Riedel, Sante Fe Reporter

 

The Lords Of SalemTHE LORDS OF SALEM

“Most horror movies look at the fairer sex and see vulnerability personified, attached to an oversized pair of tits. Not Rob Zombie. For better or worse, he seems downright terrified of the opposite gender.” – Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 4/12

Posted on by
Reply

To The Wonder AgainTO THE WONDER

“This is a Terrence Malick film set in supermarkets, fast-food joints and gas stations. These characters are lost spiritually and culturally. It is about the struggle to long for transcendence while simultaneously debating whether to get a Coca-Cola or a milkshake.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“The real challenge of the film lies in untangling its meaning from its poetic structure. To put it another way: your mileage may vary. It’s the kind of picture that refuses to hold its viewers’ hands, but it is one of Malick’s most purely cinematic.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“The relationship that brings Kurylenko and Affleck together? Hard to describe. She dances and he likes that. He’s American and she’s not. I think taking her to Oklahoma really fuels the drama.” – David Reidel, Santa Fe Reporter

“The story isn’t related so much as allowed to evaporate. Malick has taken his narrative minimalism too far here, creating gorgeous images but neglecting his role as storyteller. As a result, TO THE WONDER is wispy, tenuous and insubstantial.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

 

Upstream ColorUPSTREAM COLOR

“The film is brimming with breathtaking cinematography, quotes from Thoreau, and, well, odd scenes on a pig farm. Think Terrence Malick with an even bigger affinity for symbolism. It has that same devotion to incredible scenery and visceral emotion.” – Monica Castillo, The Artery

“I have no doubt many viewers will get hung up on a literal level. But if UPSTREAM COLOR manages to burrow its way into your brain, you won’t be likely to expel it anytime soon.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“It’s obtuse on purpose, but that doesn’t make it good—or bad. But whether you find it good or bad will likely depend on your prevailing mood, your sense of equanimity and whether you like pigs. And worms.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

4242

“Instantly enters the pantheon of great baseball movies. A history lesson about America and about how, no matter how painful it might be, in the end we struggle to do the right thing.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Can we go back to the 1990s and rally behind Spike Lee’s attempt to craft a more truthful rendition of Robinson’s life? What we’re left with is saccharine, cheesy fakery that doesn’t do enough to honor Robinson and his legacy.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“At times, the dialogue is sappy and the music heavy-handed. The volume seems to increase when you’re supposed to feel inspired. But this is one of those sports stories that just makes you feel good.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“The rest is pretty dull. And in a revelation that will surprise no one, Harrison Ford, as Branch Rickey, is terrible. Rickey is supposed to be a character, not a caricature.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“It can’t seem to muster up enough invention to justify it’s existence, other than to give next year’s crop of overworked and underpaid schoolteachers one more contemporary movie to throw in the VCR during Black History Month.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

 

The Company You KeepTHE COMPANY YOU KEEP

“Redford directs, giving the film a high level of gloss. What it lacks is any sense of drive. There’s an essential energy missing. You almost care about this long-dormant hippie-era version of the culture wars… almost.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Long, lumbering and unabashedly earnest, it’s the kind of talky, politically-minded adult thriller that went out of fashion decades ago, except nobody told Redford. It feels like a relic from another time, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Instead of dealing with something interesting, like, say, radicalism and politics and leftist causes and some of the violence that resulted, the movie is a sort-of weepie about fathers and daughters.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

Trance

TRANCE

“A muddled movie that tries to distract the audience from its fundamental silliness with switchback twists and turns. Even Danny Boyle’s masterful skills cannot shape this garish material into something harmonious and unified.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“TRANCE exists to take its audience on a ride, but it’s a ride you won’t care about and probably won’t remember taking. It presents a story not worth telling by a director who’s capable of telling great stories.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

DisconnectDISCONNECT

“Apologies to all in attendance, but the ludicrousness eventually peaked at such inane heights that I doubled over with laughter, gasping for air.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

 

Koch4KOCH

“Ed Koch was a consummate ham and a bit of scoundrel. Neil Barsky’s documentary tries to pay tribute to both. 
It gets the first part right.
” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“To paraphrase a line from MONEYBALL, he’s the kind of guy who enters a room and his dick has already been there for two minutes.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter