BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/27/2016

X-Men-Apocalypse-Oscar-Isaac

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

“When it comes to X-MEN movies, it’s safe to say that the high hopes that I had for the future are officially a thing of the past.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“As a popcorn movie/timewaster, it’s a sufficient diversion, but it’s becoming clear that this franchise is at the end of the line.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Maybe we can tie a bow on the X-Men and find a whole new box of toys someplace else.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“By far the silliest, most comic book-y of the X-MEN movies, APOCALYPSE is overstuffed with inferior callbacks to Singer’s earlier efforts.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“These movies are never particularly good but this one isn’t half-bad.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

 

alice-through-the-looking-glass-trailerALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

“It has very little to do with the novel by Lewis Carroll. Indeed, other than some of the characters, it’s so bizarre and different that you may feel you’ve gone through the looking glass yourself.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The film may not be a failure, but it is a waste.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“…satisfies all of the basic requirements that satisfy the definition of “movie,” and yet as a movie it is leagues from actually being satisfying.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 

chevalier (1)CHEVALIER

“…[Athina Rachel Tsangari] is a gifted, empathetic filmmaker, and she takes CHEVALIER, her characters and her audience to both expected and surprising places.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“The more these fragile men of “Chevalier” seek to aggrandize themselves the more diminished they look in our eyes, with the film’s clinical gaze laying bare the fundamental silliness of the competitions that consume them.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/20/2016

the-nice-guys-crowe-gosling-movie-film-1500x1000

THE NICE GUYS

“This is a damn sad movie dressed in glitzy neon and striped slacks.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

“…I spent the majority of the runtime laughing so consistently and violently that I feared I’d eventually rupture an internal organ.” – Greg Vellante, Cinematic Essential

“THE NICE GUYS finish last, but they make a damn good show of it.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“You’ve seen this film before, but THE NICE GUYS’ problem isn’t mimicry or originality. It’s anemia.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“THE NICE GUYS turns into a film that is not only set in the ’70s, but carries the sensibility as if it was made then as well.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

angrybirdsmovieANGRY BIRDS

“…a profoundly disposable and harmless entertainment, so light and inconsequential that it barely exists.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

 

 

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/13/2016

money_monster-1MONEY MONSTER

“MONEY MONSTER is an exceptional feature film that happens to be well written.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“…it’s the sort of movie that Hollywood had seemed to have forgotten how to make.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

high-rise-image-tom-hiddlestonHIGH-RISE

“Calling the film Wheatley’s cheekiest effort to date might not be saying much, but there you have it.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“Practicality has no place in High-Rise – the film is here to make a point about the extremes of status, and play with the expectations of civility and money.” – Norm Schrager, Meet In The Lobby

 

belladonna2BELLADONNA OF SADNESS

“…a rare jewel: a singular aesthetic vision born of elements you’ve long been familiar with.” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston

“…it’s impossible to divorce the film’s aesthetic from its text, to engage its eroticism without engaging its sexual abuses, and to ignore its studied portrayal of witchery.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“…not exactly erotica, but an investigation into the relationship between structural power versus personal empowerment.” – Kristofer Jenson, Boston Reel

 

 

kill-zone-2KILL ZONE 2

“Grandeur is a hallmark of great Hong Kong action cinema, and KILL ZONE 2 paints in broad brushstrokes of sentiment and sensation through use of sight and sound alike.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“For even the biggest action fans, I’m unable to recommend KILL ZONE 2. Drastically reducing the amount of story or making a more substantial effort to greatly improve it would likely have me saying the opposite.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/06/2016

_captain_america__civil_war_trailer_-_h_2015CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

“CIVIL WAR looks to be the best Avengers movie so far.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“It’s sure to please those who beat up on BATMAN V SUPERMAN because it mixes lots of quips in with the action, the moralizing, and the tragic revelations.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The world doesn’t need to be ending and it’s pointless to pretend that the MCU storyline could “finish” here, so instead lets enjoy watching our favorite characters work out some issues, develop some new dimensions and occasionally set off some new fireworks.” – Bob Chipman, MovieBob

“…we must have lots of hand-wringing about collateral damage and the price of heroism because the sad middle-aged dudes who cling so desperately to these films require constant reassurances that they’re *actually about serious issues and stuff* and not just fun stories for children in which men wear tights.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“…unlike Batman and Superman in Zack Snyder’s dud, Cap and Shellhead have genuine affection for each other, based on years of shared history, so it’s truly painful to see them fight, akin to watching a marriage dissolve.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“CIVIL WAR is the cinematic equivalent of an eight-year-old boy playing with his action figures in the bathtub, designed for a far older crowd still trapped in that arrested development.” – Greg Vellante, Forces of Geek

 

Mænd og høns (Anders Thomas Jensen, DK, 2015)MEN & CHICKEN

“…for those that look for an escape in the cinema, “Men & Chicken” offers up a delicious feast. Sweet, funny, strange, and heartfelt, it is an outright great film that your friends will likely hate you for recommending.” – Derek Deskins, Edge Boston

“Family sticks together, especially when everyone in that family shares the same harelip.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/29/2016

MD-06487.CR2MOTHER’S DAY

“Audiences who like a shred of cohesive story telling or characterization, or even a chuckle during a supposed comedy, should stay very far away.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“The film is harmless, yes, but also irrelevant and insignificant, even when it tries to toss in the occasional social comment.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

 


chicago-jewish-film-festival-dough-movie-700x600DOUGH

“Questions aside as to the suitability of such secular, adult treats when it comes to religious communities and children, the film rattles along deftly, tracing its obvious story arcs with verve and humor.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“DOUGH is the very definition of “bang for your buck,” assuming that hodgepodge is your thing.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

 


watch-the-first-trailer-for-papa-hemingway-in-cuba-001PAPA: HEMINGWAY IN CUBA

“…when you get down to it, the movie has a hollow core puffed by little more than hot air.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston