BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP – 2/25/2015

Megan Kearns opines on the Patricia Arquette Oscar controversy

Monica Castillo talks Oscar history, the new Aquaman, John Legend & Common’s “Glory” performance and Oscar win, Arquette and Sean Penn’s “green card” joke

Deidre Crimmins talks evil moms for BitchFlicks and reviews WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

SpoilerPiece talks The Oscars (pre-show)

Andrew Crump talks Oscar oversights

Tim Estiloz reports on Eva Longoria’s Harvard honor and interview’s THE DUFF’s Bianca Santos

John Black reviews THE LAST FIVE YEARS and WHAT WE DO IN THE DARK

Jared Bowen interviews Iran’s Parvis Tanavoli on OPEN STUDIO

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/20/2015


HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2Hot-Tub-Time-Machine-2

Even though it doesn’t live up to the outrageous quality of its predecessor, HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 doesn’t do any damage to the brand that was created in 2010.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“The jokes are rapid and raunchy, the rants border on nonsensical, the dashes of drama are toiling, and the sci-fi references are as thin as the narrative.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

“When you drain out the filler of homophobic rape and masturbation jokes from HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2, you’re not left with much else at the scuzzy bottom of this movie.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

 

635500985690760008-XXX-MCFARLAND-USA-MOV-JY-3690-68240686MCFARLAND, USA

“MCFARLAND USA is less a sports film and more a film about community, tradition and family. It’s a film about being proud and respecting where you’ve come from, no matter what you manage to achieve in life; however grand or humble.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“When you think the movie should be hitting home harder, it doesn’t.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

 

 

what-we-do-in-the-shadows1WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

“A bitingly fake documentary about four New Zealand blood suckers sharing a flat: THE REAL WORLD for the undead.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“…A witty gem of a movie. Mixing horror comedy with reality-TV tropes and Christopher Guest’s mockumentary style storytelling…”  – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

“…Waititi and Clement hit the precise balance between playing to the niche and letting the rest of us in on the joke.” – Andy Crump, Badass Digest

 

Timbuktu_01TIMBUKTU

“…the few scenes of violence in the film are so visceral, so disturbing that you’ll be haunted by them long after the lights come back on.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

 

The Last 5 Years MovieTHE LAST FIVE YEARS

“Overall, THE LAST FIVE YEARS Years is a pleasant distraction and features solid performances from its leads.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times 

“Not only does Kendrick have a lovely voice tailor made for show tunes like the ones in this production, but she really knows how to sell a song to the audience through camera.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP 2/18/2015

Spoilerpiece Theatre does FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Monica Castillo talks GHOSTBUSTERSBenedict Cumberbatch, 31 Days of Oscar and female directors

Sam Cohen looks at the Terrence Mallick-produced THE BETTER ANGELS

Bob Chipman reviews LAW & ORDER: SVU’s controversial new episode

Jared Bowen debuts a brand new OPEN STUDIO

Andy Crump breaks down WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, alternate Oscar viewing, Neil Blomkamp’s possible ALIEN movie and AGENT CARTER

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/13/2015

fifty-shades-grey-movie-trailerFIFTY SHADES OF GREY

“What’s important is that the novel began life as “Twilight” fan fiction. That tells you everything you need to know.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“After getting whipped over the rear with the banal story that FIFTY SHADES OF GREY employs, you may walk out of the theater feeling as fatigued as Anastasia.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

“It ain’t bad. It isn’t good, either, but it’s also not the train wreck that most people seem to want it to be.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“There’s a really funny, sexy comedy in this big-screen version of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY that would probably have been wonderful were it not also stuck with being an adaptation of the loathsome novel FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“The best part of the movie IS the sex.  About 20 minutes of it.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

kingsman-hollywood-film-6-14-6-movies-you-need-to-watch-before-you-watch-kingsman-the-secret-serviceKINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

“Nothing in KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE has the ability to transform into the spectacle that it could have been. It’s an okay movie that could have been made better by simply turning everything up a few extra notches and allowing it to move faster.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE may lack the sophistication of its peers, but damned if it doesn’t know how to have a good time.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“Given the gratuitous gravitas that handcuffs most action movies these days – that whole “With great power comes great responsibility” shtick – it’s refreshing to enjoy an unapologetic thrill ride like KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“For once, we have an inspired genre film that is self-aware and focuses more on the love for that genre instead of throwing jabs at its inconsistencies.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

“If Bond’s upper lip has grown too stiff for you, Eggsy’s new breed of spy is bound to raise a few eyebrows.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“What begins as a witty, exciting, and inventive update on the iconic James Bond gentleman spy thriller, descends into a crude gore fest that left me cringing in my seat.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

Valeria Bruni TedeschiHUMAN CAPITAL

“…emotional carnage of all sorts — romantic, sexual, marital — abounds here, the outcome of people keeping secret or holding on to assumptions about others’ worth, or their own.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“The end result is a muddled mess with a few memorable moments” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“If HUMAN CAPITAL is the kind of thing that’s supposed to pass for great foreign cinema these days, we’re all assuredly fucked.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/06/2015

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JUPITER ASCENDING

“JUPITER ASCENDING had all the makings of a cyberpunk STAR WARS meets DUNE mashup: royalty that needs rescuing, parental issues, alien life forms, fanciful spaceships and distinct outer planets. What it severely lacks is any sense of cohesion.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

““Jupiter Ascending is big and beautiful, but its story seemed curated from the ebook romance department.” – Max Covill, Fresh From The Theater

“The Wachowskis’ sense of scale, clear inspiration by Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ideas for DUNE, and attention to detail all make JUPITER ASCENDING top-notch spectacle.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

“There’s a kind of groovy, multicultural, pansexual vibe where all are welcome and the deliberately artificial visuals are to die for.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“Is it too early to declare the JUPITER ASCENDING the worst movie of 2015?” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“If you still have a sense of wonder with which a popcorn movie like JUPITER ASCENDING can connect, you’ll have a good time.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The self-indulgent action sequences that clog up the movie only underscore the banality of the tale once the action stops.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

sonSEVENTH SON

“This is a trainwreck, and not the accidental kind. People made this thing on purpose.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“That mumbly/drunken/unintelligible slur coming out of the main character’s mouth really is how Jeff Bridges thinks a witch witch slayer would sound back in medieval times. Don’t let it bother you.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“The story is so familiar that even if you haven’t read Joseph Delaney’s THE SPOOK’S APPRENTICE (the film’s source material) you’re never surprised by what happens.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“As bad as SEVENTH SON is, I have to question why it was even released in the first place.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

 

spongebob-film-trailer2-580x303THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER

“For those of you who are fans, you may find yourself hollering more than the children and their parents who fill the theater.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

“I doubt THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER will be considered one of the best animated films by the time 2015 comes to a close, but it is a movie that promises a good time for children who are fans of the series.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“We know where we’re going, but it takes far too long to get there.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston