2015

Posted on March 13, 2015 by bofca

CINDERELLA

“While not a musical retelling (which might disappoint some Disneyphiles), it’s nevertheless a worthy tribute to the classic.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“…this version of CINDERELLA has no teeth.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“…Branagh is smart enough to know that you don’t mess with a time-honored yarn without good reason.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“Disney films can be accused of all sorts of ills, but with CINDERELLA, they have proven that they are capable of producing a boring film that somehow has no magic in it.” – Deidre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“Little girls–of all ages–will have a great time…” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

RUN ALL NIGHT

“There’s a constant push-pull here between the violence and the regretful tone.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“RUN ALL NIGHT will be lucky if it runs all week. This one’s dead on arrival.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“RUN ALL NIGHT’s constant despondency never gets uplifted by anything worthy of an ooh or ahh.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

“Because of it being what it is, RUN ALL NIGHT can definitely be viewed negatively in the eyes of many of us.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

’71

“Don’t consider this as a political film — consider it “The Warriors,” remade as historical fiction.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“Although it it doesn’t turn out to be the kind of movie one may think it’s going to be, ’71 is still a healthy slice of engaging cinema.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“(Director Yann) Demange is careful to keep the action in the movie as real and shocking as possible. The result is deeply disturbing.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

$DeliMan-Gallery_05_{95b52bdf-2470-e411-bad0-d4ae527c3b65}_lg$ DELI MAN

“There are two things you will hear at the end of Deli Man: Audiences applauding and stomachs growling.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

THE WRECKING CREW

“If nothing else, watching The Wrecking Crew is a musical education that everybody with a stereo and memories of the songs these guys played on will appreciate.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“It may indeed be a “home movie,” but THE WRECKING CREW is awfully hard not to like.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/06/2015

Posted on March 6, 2015 by bofca

CHAPPIE

“…a welcome addition to the long and rich history of the robot in science fiction films.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“A smoldering dumpster fire of second-hand elements from better movies…” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“How far from a source that inspires a filmmaker should he keep if he wants to avoid repeating someone else’s stories?” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

“There’s nothing spectacular about CHAPPIE, but it is a stable film about instability when greed and selfishness get in the way of doing the right thing.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“…the robot works, and so, too, does Blomkamp’s movie.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

“…the laughs lack punch, and the social messages are muddled at best.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Tom Wilkinson wax poetic about wheelbarrowing.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“Instead of trying to shock and mine laughs from the audience through raunch, director Ken Scott’s newest is so bored in trying to tell a story that it lulls you to sleep.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

QUEEN AND COUNTRY

“Such dreary trips down somebody else’s memory lane would be almost bearable if the film left you with a sense that it was leading you somewhere, but it doesn’t.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Boorman’s inclination toward jokery is one of the film’s unifying elements.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“This film is laugh-out-loud funny, but its sadness sneaks up on you. Even the minor wars—if there is such a thing—are ultimately hell.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

WILD TALES

“You don’t have to read up on Argentina’s history of systemic corruption to identify with these hapless souls pushed past their breaking points by the effrontery of the rich and privileged, or the fatalistic feeling that we’re all playing a rigged game. ” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

“Watching the film you just want to relax and settle back. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a warm bath.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“While I don’t believe THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL will win over too many new fans, I do believe that it will entertain the people who enjoyed the original.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“This isn’t a GREAT film, and this cast and its characters with all the tropes of their talent & experience deserve a GREAT film. For now, I’ll settle for this trifle, and its jubilant Bollywood ending.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN

“Once the fault lines between the characters start to show, there’s little suspense about where the shattered pieces of this felonious brotherhood are going to fall.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“As far as KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN is concerned, there are plenty of other movies about these types of crimes that are done much better and actually have the ability to captivate their viewers. While this isn’t one of the absolute worst, it’s completely forgettable and worth skipping all together.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“This is about as nuts and bolts as a movie can get without betraying an undercurrent of apathy on behalf of its creator, though in fairness to Alfredson it’s probably pretty hard to get excited about material this boilerplate.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“There’s absolutely no tension in the movie, only a tedious time spend waiting for it to end.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/27/2015

Posted on February 27, 2015 by bofca

FOCUS

“…you’re better off walking out after the film departs the Big Easy. At least then you won’t be crushed by the incomparable weight of disappointment.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“FOCUS breaks faith with the audience’s previous investment for extended sequences of rug-pulling, cheap fake-outs, and generally jerking us around.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

“FOCUS is a stylish and fun con artist film that’s gorgeous looking, in more ways than one; but sadly sputters out of gas towards the final act.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“FOCUS is a welcome return to form for Smith even though the swindling and conning taking place gets a bit tiresome in the final act.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

“…has a way of peering, cleanly and crisply, at whatever genre its gaze settles on: Romantic comedy, stylish caper flick, thriller, crime drama.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“You don’t have to check your brain at the door, exactly, but you might want to set it to cruise control.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“In spite of the obvious flaws that it contains, I do find FOCUS to be decent in enough areas to carry you all the way to its conclusion without boring you to the point where you’ll regret watching it.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“The denouement makes us go back over the movie to recalibrate and at least one scene in hindsight doesn’t quite make sense.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

THE LAZARUS EFFECT

“It’s literally LUCY and PET SEMATARY combined, but it takes place in a lab.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“LAZARUS is mired in the predictability of its genre conventions, showing its cards on the table before actually playing them.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

“..it’s a B-movie that manages to be more than a potboiler..” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

SONG OF THE SEA

“Watching the narrative unfold piece by piece is akin to reading a good book, flipping by page after page of a well-worn tome of fables as old as Ireland itself.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“The film has the same heightened sense of adventure one would expect, but it has the courage to let the narrative pace the tale in a gentle, yet surprisingly effective way.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“In the tradition of modern animated films such as THE PAINTING and THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY, SONG OF THE SEA casts its spell regardless of age.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

MAPS TO THE STARS

“[Cronenberg’s] body horror pokes at our discomfort with ourselves, and in MAPS the horror is with our heroes, the celebrities we chose to celebrate and the terrible human beings they may be behind closed doors.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times

“…Cronenberg doesn’t let us laugh. He keeps actors separated, rarely letting them stand next to each other within a frame, giving the dialogue an intentionally stilted quality.” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston

“[Cronenberg] pins his characters in isolated single shots — they’re not listening to each other anyway — but all this formal rigor is beside the point when the material is so lazy and cheap.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“In the end, MAPS TO THE STARS is harder to grasp than VIDEODROME or NAKED LUNCH, and like those two films it demands repeat viewings.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

BALLET 422

“While some of it is interesting to watch, none of it is compelling enough to really capture our imaginations.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP – 2/25/2015

Posted on February 25, 2015 by bofca

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

Posted on February 20, 2015 by bofca

HOT 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

MCFARLAND, 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 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

“…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 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

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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

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/13/2015

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 03/06/2015

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/27/2015

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP – 2/25/2015

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 02/20/2015