2018

Posted on December 21, 2018 by bofca

AQUAMAN

“…dizzying, delightful, and completely bonkers.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

“As superhero origin stories go, it’s actually an improvement over most of the movies based on DC comics.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“I don’t mind the direction they chose to take AQUAMAN as a character. Momoa isn’t a great actor by any stretch, but he’s proven to be the least of their worries in both this movie and the future.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“It’s a shame his film stinks like yesterday’s tuna.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

WELCOME TO MARWEN

“The unspoken message of WELCOME TO MARWEN seems to be that we’re lucky that Hogancamp was brutalized and nearly died because, as a result, he’s now making imaginative art.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“…WELCOME TO MARWEN shows us that even when the story has been practically reinvented for the purposes of telling that story, it can still fail on all accounts.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“…an ineffective, emotionally aggressive, self-important and baffling experiment that is Zemeckis’ most similar film to the overrated FORREST GUMP since, well, FORREST GUMP.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

MARY POPPINS RETURNS

“…less than a sequel than a muddled attempt to clone the elements of the original film.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

SECOND ACT

“If you’re looking for romance, watch COLD WAR. If you’re looking for comedy, watch GAME NIGHT. If you’re looking for romantic comedy, watch CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Whatever you do, don’t waste a second on this SECOND ACT.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/14/2018

Posted on December 14, 2018 by bofca

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

“INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is built for a new kind of fandom, offering a world in which anyone can be Spider-Man — including young men of color, teenage girls, anime robots, talking pigs and even Nicolas Cage.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

“Anyone who believes that superheroes should be canonized only by their classic identities will probably walk out of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE with a nasty rash.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

“SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE works in every way it needs to in order for it to be the genuine success it is.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

VOX LUX

“Certain to be a polarizing cinematic experience, VOX LUX is not easy or accessible.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“…a burly, overbearing piece of filmmaking, often horrifically funny and excitingly unencumbered by questions of good taste or worries about when to say when.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“…an ambitious film that proves to be less than the sum of its parts… but fans of Natalie Portman won’t want to miss her risk-taking performance here.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Reviews

MORTAL ENGINES

“MORTAL ENGINES creates a beautiful, dangerous, and escapist world, but it suffers from trying to do too much with characters we barely care about.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“What makes it fascinating even for those unfamiliar with the source material (like this reviewer) is its stunning visual design.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

BEN IS BACK

“BEN IS BACK is not your typical, weepy addiction drama. But addiction is not a monolith and if adding a little intrigue to this story gives us another version of this story, then it’s fine by me.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“The problem is in the script, as filmmaker Hedges doesn’t seem to have asked himself why an audience would want to subject themselves to this.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/07/2018

Posted on December 7, 2018 by bofca

THE FAVOURITE

“Running a touch long, THE FAVOURITE is nothing if not a wildly intriguing journey with one of the most provocative closing frames of the year – one that makes you reevaluate completely the film you’ve just seen and the characters in it.” – Allyson Johnson, Cambridge Day

“…the absurdist approach of Athens-born Lanthimos has produced a more wildly entertaining film than almost any other this year—at least for its first half when his bristling critiques of the ruling class are hilariously scabrous.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

ROMA

“…a film that was designed to be experienced in a state-of-the-art theater capable of presenting the 360-degree, immersive sound and sumptuously long takes shot in crisp black-and-white by [Alfonso] Cuarón himself, acting as his own cinematographer.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“ROMA is a good film that would be even better if it wasn’t trying so hard all the time to be a masterpiece.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

“Pity the tragic figures of Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), but not because of the roles that life thrust them into.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“…a missed opportunity to shed light on a key moment in history, using it instead to export contemporary concerns to the past.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES

“Though sometimes a rocky ride, FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES nonetheless provides the sound satisfactions of a well-told western yarn, with a provocative subtext percolating just beneath the surface.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“The film’s vistas are beautiful and [Michael] Matthews’s aim high, but those aspirations are not fully realized in what feels like a first draft attempt at brushing Western customs with textures drawn from a South African palette.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES

“…a depressingly necessary viewing experience, basically the opposite of the Mister Rogers movie in that you spend two hours with one of the worst human beings to walk the planet during our lifetimes but in the end feel a little bit better because at least he’s dead.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

“ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is what you can get when you’re able to effectively blend familiar elements that don’t usually mix together.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 11/30/2018

Posted on November 30, 2018 by bofca

SHOPLIFTERS

“SHOPLIFTERS presents a mighty story of connection, lost dreams, found homes and forced hope in an intimate package.” – Allyson Johnson, Cambridge Day

“The rap against Kore-eda is that sometimes he can get a little sappy, but the nature of this story brings with it an undercurrent of darkness that tempers the director’s more winsome tendencies.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“From a purely cinematic perspective, it’ll be easy for most to gain an appreciation for all that SHOPLIFTERS hopes to achieve.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“…SHOPLIFTERS is held up by the strength of its ensemble and Kore-eda’s gifts as a storyteller, which gain with every movie he makes—even in the same year.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 11/23/2018

Posted on November 25, 2018 by bofca

CREED II

“…take the movie for what it is: a better Creed sequel than you’d expect, and an improvement on the Rocky sequel that could use some work.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health

“It may not be a fantastic picture, but CREED II is a serviceable boxing movie that will almost certainly please the crowd primarily because its positive attributes far outweigh its negatives.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“It’s definitely not the original, nor will it ever be, but it’s still enjoyable to endure. There’s just no escaping that shadow.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

“Just as Adonis Creed is a worthy of the Apollo Creed legacy, CREED II is another deserving addition to the ROCKY canon.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest

“CREED II is pretty much the movie everyone was worried the first CREED was gonna be, but it’s well-acted enough that I couldn’t hate it.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

GREEN BOOK

“GREEN BOOK is about two men from very different worlds and experiences who discover their common humanity.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“GREEN BOOK plays like a bizarre Trumpist’s anti-Obama empowerment fantasy, in which a proudly ignorant white prole is constantly humiliating an erudite, sophisticated black man and showing him how the world really works.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

“It’s in the grand tradition of the classic Hollywood cartoons in that it provides entertainment for all ages, even if you end up laughing at different things.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movie

“The brainstorming and care put into both WRECK-IT RALPH and RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET are obvious. Aside from the journey we get being comprehensively pleasant, this sequel is also just a project brimming with thoughtfulness.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

ROBIN HOOD

“Non-super things made super isn’t a new aesthetic, but it’s at its most shameless in ROBIN HOOD, superimposing raw essential parts stolen from Batman’s background upon its source material.” – Andy Crump, Polygon

AT ETERNITY’S GATE

“AT ETERNITY’S GATE is about van Gogh as a painter and a craftsman, not a symbol. Schnabel puts the focus back on the work, and in the process allows us to see these familiar paintings with fresh eyes.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

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The Boston Online Film Critics Association was established in May of 2012 to foster a community of web-based film critics.

Category Archives: Review Roundups

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