Category Archives: Review Roundups

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 12/21

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THIS IS 40This is 40

“A narrative mess. A stack of repetitive story blocks hastily piled into a two-hour-plus comedy. But it’s also really funny.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

“There’s an unflinching shrillness to the movie that is admirable in theory but rather off-putting in practice. It’s just sour, and not very funny.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“The film has a poignant personal touch that is absent from every other mainstream American comedy this year. This generation’s true modern family.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“More than two hours of increasingly embarrassing ugliness between two people who spew bile at each other with such loathing that you have to wonder how they ever fell in love and got married in the first place.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“So depressing and irredeemably unfunny that I couldn’t even finish it. After a certain point I just didn’t care enough to see how the movie ended since all of these people suck so damn much.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

“A collection of overgrown children who don’t have a clue what it means to be a responsible adult. This isn’t 40, it’s barely human.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“Boo. Hoo. Overlong and never more than amusing.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

 

The Guilt TripTHE GUILT TRIP

“This will undoubtedly look better on the small screen, a mildly pleasant alternative.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“The movie isn’t trying for belly laughs or even any comic set-pieces. It just cruises along in second gear being genial.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

 

JACK REACHERJack Reacher

“A deliberately lo-fi, old-school detective yarn that feels like a really good episode of a 1970’s television show. That’s fine with me.
” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“A wonderful alternative worth seeking out as a simple, no-nonsense action thriller that stands on well crafted dialogue and some fun performances.” – Tim Estlioz, Boston Movie Examiner

“What Cruise offers is not brawn but a raw and savage intelligence. A solid and entertaining thriller that relies on logic as much as brute force and fast cars.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

RUST AND BONERust And Bone

“Oscar-winning French star Marion Cotillard sure is something, isn’t she? This is the work of a great actress.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Not a traditional love story. Audiard and his magnificent actors give tough-love a good name.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“You can always try to figure out the special effects they used to take away Cotillard’s legs. That’s more interesting than the story.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: WORLDS AWAYCirque Do Soliel

“A sampler of entrées cannibalized from the Canadian troupe’s 28-year history, akin to the all-you-can-eat buffets found everywhere in Vegas.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“More of a 90-minute infomercial for the various shows the Canadian company has running in Las Vegas than an original movie.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 12/14

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THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

“Much like the book itself, any movie version of THE HOBBIT was going to suffer in comparison to its larger sibling. I loved it. Just don’t go in expecting THE LORD OF THE RINGS because it’s not and it can’t be.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“A bloated, unneccesary cash-grab prequel suffering from a fatal case of elephantitis. The first six chapters of J.R.R. Tolkien’s slender bedtime story are stretched out like silly putty into a 170-minute slog.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“When the film does jog into action, the camerawork is so frenzied (and looks so much like a video game) that you almost want to shut your eyes to block it all out.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“One of the most excruciatingly boring movies out this year. If Peter Jackson couldn’t tell this slight story in a single film there’s no hope the other two in this prequel series will be any less bloated.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“A sluggish trek, a grueling experience, an exhausting ordeal that never seems to end and feels completely satisfied leaving its audience with essentially nothing in terms of story.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“Stretched paper-thin in terms of narrative and crafted with a much lesser elegance than the RING pictures. It also embodies everything terrible about Hollywood’s house-style franchise filmmaking.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Jackson does an excellent job with balancing the adult action in the film
with a lighthearted tone which feels appropriate for younger audiences.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Chaotic and dull. The film looks like crap – over-lit and grainy, more like a video game than a movie. It made me want to puke.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

“The script knocks down all these figures into borderline-pathetic caricatures. There’s no historical icon HYDE PARK ON HUDSON can’t turn into middlebrow melodrama.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“A tedious affair about a tedious affair. Taking great pains to remain inoffensive, the movie wears its slightness on its sleeve.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“Less a peek behind the curtains into private, privileged lives than a marble cake of mild titillation and mild historical interest.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 12/7

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PLAYING FOR KEEPS

“Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending. But then again, any ending would count as happy as long as it brings this ineffectual fluff to a finish.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Someone maybe should have told this guy if you want to rekindle a romance with a  woman, you probably shouldn’t start by sleeping with all her friends.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Did you ever heat up something in the microwave and miscalculate the time? The edges are nice and hot but as you start eating, you realize it wasn’t cooked all the way through?” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“Fox hasn’t penned a script since 1993’s SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER, and he apparently hasn’t left his home, either.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“The movie drowns most of its endearing factors with ugly moments thriving in the proliferation of heterosexual male fantasy.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

THE COMEDY

“For something titled THE COMEDY, this movie isn’t funny. Or charming, likable, enjoyable, or any other adjectives you would find splashed on a poster.” – Monica Castillo, Dig Boston

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 11/30

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KILLING THEM SOFTLY

“See where he’s going with this? It’s a smart allegory; ruined by the fact that Dominik doesn’t trust you to pick up on it for yourself. He wants to drive it into your skull with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“A better than expected entry for this week, perfect for those who prefer down-and-dirty crime films to overstuffed costumed productions.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, Northshoremovies.net

“About as on-the-nose as metaphors can get, but you can’t say the film doesn’t have the courage of its convictions.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“The closing punchline is such a knockout, you might forgive the lack of subtlety preceding it.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“It’s difficult to not find something to love within nearly every frame of KILLING THEM SOFTLY, a cool, confident crime drama drenched with a bitter cynicism.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

THE WAITING ROOM

“If people believe Mitt Romney’s assertion that emergency rooms are a solution for the uninsured, this is a powerful rebuke.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

 

THE COLLECTION

“Just buckets of the same old boring gore.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix
 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 11/23

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LIFE OF PI

“To call Lee’s adaptation transcendent wouldn’t simply be a way to describe its impact; the film often seems to take place in a realm of stars and clouds, with majestic skies mirrored by the ocean’s surface.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“The problem is that the stunning visuals are constantly undone by the screenplay’s dull literal-mindedness.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“One of the most frustrating films of the year. The whole movie feels like you’re taking a museum audio tour narrated by the older sister from DOUG.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Ah, the white man framing device. How unfortunate.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“It’s pretty clear after a while that this isn’t a story about survival anyway; it’s a story about finding God and it’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“I often felt like I was watching the world’s most expensive screensaver. The spiritual elements run an obvious second to the spectacle when it comes to these storytellers’ priorities.” – Jake Mulligan, Charleston City Paper

“Taken on its own, LIFE OF PI is sometimes lyrical and challenging but, in the end, leaves us wondering why we were being told the story at all.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

“It turns out not to be about which miracle is greater – that is, the birth vs. resurrection of Jesus – but presents vs. eggs. Perhaps Christian theology is not the best approach for a Jewish film critic.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“A true surprise, this feature debut from storyboard artist Peter Ramsey isn’t the lump of coal I expected.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“It’s THE AVENGERS for childhood mythology. Okay, I’m on board.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Way less farty poo-poo than other Dreamworks animated features, the film has a square-jawed elegance that occasionally hits a note of grandeur when it’s not just being silly.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman are particularly obnoxious in their characterizations, each of them hamming it up to an embarrassing degree.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

RED DAWN

“I don’t know what pisses me off more: the fact that it’s recruitment-baiting war porn, or the fact that it’s not even good recruitment-baiting war porn.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“The 1984 RED DAWN may have been a cheesy movie but it reflected the anxieties of its era. This version simply reflects a business decision gone bad.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“They could have made all the invading soldiers look like Blue Meanies from YELLOW SUBMARINE and it wouldn’t have made RED DAWN worth watching.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Someone needs to tell the writers that there are more words in the English language than ‘hard’ to describe tough situations. Invest in a thesaurus, people.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

“Especially in times like these, a stupid movie could give anyone the wrong idea. RED DAWN comes off as a very dangerous joke.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

HITCHCOCK

“Ron Howard usually is the one who abuses such hoary devices, and I doubt the Master of Suspense would be amused by their presence in director Sacha Gervasi’s biopic.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“If you recently visited the Alfred Hitchcock Wikipedia page you will likely understand most of the jokes. But that does not mean you will find them funny.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“Insultingly stupid. I’d rather be watching Gus Van Sant’s PSYCHO remake.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Anthony Hopkins wears a fat suit and laughable prosthetics; portraying him as a fumbling would-be cuckold who used cinema as a means to leer at large breasted actresses. What a fitting way to pay tribute to a visionary.” – Jake Mulligan, Charleston City Paper

“None of the bumps the story hits along the way take away from the sheer joy of watching Hopkins and his fellow actors tear up the screen with their passionate performances.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“What we end up with is neither historical document nor drama, but something that smacks of backhanded idolatry via mimicry and, on occasion, reeks of farce.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog