2015

Posted on May 1, 2015 by bofca

THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

“…a comic book movie, to be sure, but it’s got enough spectacle, wit, and talent on display to make it a most entertaining kickoff to the season.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“This film could have been, and indeed given it’s hype and latitude in production, should have been a grand exercise in Marvel excellence. But like Ultron himself, the film lacks heart, passion and comes across as cold and artificial.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“Those with high hopes may not be as blown away as they were by the first film, and may be disappointed. Those with measured expectations may leave the theater happily surprised that this latest Marvel film was able to maintain consistency of awesomeness.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

“There’s the familiarization with the team again, the pulverization by a new foe, the rebuilding of the team, and the big showdown. AGE OF ULTRON is a comic book movie at its most unapologetic.” – Sam Cohen, Sumo Skinny

“ULTRON doesn’t outstay its welcome. It’s fun all around.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“The action is relentless. In fact, there is so much frantic fighting in THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON that it’s boring to watch after a while no matter how many different ways writer/director Joss Whedon tries to film it.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“The movie is stiff and enervated. It’s all punch-punch, banter-banter, like a sitcom in which cities get leveled.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“There’s plenty to love with this latest entry into the Marvel Universe, but hopefully we haven’t already experienced the peak of the franchise.” – Max Covill, Fresh From the Theatre

DIOR AND I

“Thankfully, the House of Dior is filled with people who can humanize the story for the fashionably uneducated, and in a very fascinating way: The women and men who actually make the clothes.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Watching this film is like eating cake and ice cream for 90 minutes and still wanting more.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

LAMBERT AND STAMP

“Fans of The Who will probably be familiar with much of what’s hashed over here, but even so there’s a crackle of residual energy that fifty years, and the deaths of Kit Lambert, Keith Moon and John Entwistle have not completely dispelled.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP 4/29/2015

Posted on April 29, 2015 by bofca

Deirdre Crimmins looks back at THE LAST UNICORN

Monica Castillo reports on STAR TREK 3, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, Adam Sandler’s Native American controversy, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2, Victoria’s Secret’s New Angels and INDEPENDENCE DAY 2

Spoilerpiece Theatre talks LITTLE BOY, AGE OF ADALINE and THE WATER DIVINER

Sam Cohen covers days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of IFF Boston

Jared Bowen talks THE ART OF BASEBALL with Doris Kearns Goodwin

Andy Crump talks IFF Boston, THE COMEDIANS and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

Sean Burns looks at CAS & DAN

Joyce Kulhawik has a SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW

Kilian Melloy interviews Rachel Garlin

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/24/2015

Posted on April 24, 2015 by bofca

(Note: Time film critic Richard Corliss passed away this Thursday. The Boston Online Film Critics Association extends its condolences toward Richard’s friends and family.)

THE AGE OF ADALINE

“What does it feel like to live a hundred years? Just ask anyone who has sat through THE AGE OF ADALINE.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“… the film is shadowed by a kind of wistfulness and restraint that draws us into what might have seemed melodramatic or sentimental.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

THE WATER DIVINER

“…what the movie lacks in discipline and polish, it more than makes up for in sheer sincerity.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

“…when a mixed-bag movie is also this mixed up, you either throw up your hands, turn off your brain, and hope for the best, or seek solace in your soda and popcorn.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“In the end [Russell Crowe’s] performance is one of the least problematic aspects of the film, but perhaps it shows that he should stick to acting.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Cinematic Essential

5 TO 7

“…5 TO 7 is too damn winsome for its own good. Worse than that, it’s disingenuous.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“5 TO 7 starts so wonderfully that its left turn into bologna is all the more disheartening.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“While she certainly has the ability to wrap the audience around her little finger, Marlohoe is far less convincing when the role causes her to be more than charming.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“The set up is fascinating, the humor is rich and the camera work is as stylish as the French new wave; there are so many places this movie could go. But where it takes us is unbelievably facile and sentimental.” – Michael Cox, Edge Boston

ADULT BEGINNERS

“From a comedic standpoint, you’ll find something to laugh about at certain points during ADULT BEGINNERS, but there isn’t anything to love when looking at the film as a whole.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“This isn’t an actor’s movie, nor much of a screen comedy; it’s a sitcom showcase.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“The comedy fares better, but that’s probably because the drama itself is pat, predictable and underdeveloped.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

LITTLE BOY

“You’re certain to find better movies to see other than LITTLE BOY, but if you want to see this for some reason, it wouldn’t kill you.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

THE FORGER

“Travolta mopes his way through the title role as Ray Cutter, a brilliant jailbird art forger from those mythical movie-land mean streets of Boston – where everyone talks in outlandish accents and they never seem to have trouble finding a parking space.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

BOFCA MID-WEEK ROUNDUP 4/22/2015

Posted on April 22, 2015 by bofca

Norm Schrager talks IFF Boston 2015 and MORPHINE: JOURNEY OF DREAMS

Sam Cohen talks to the director of EX-MACHINA

Monica Castillo talks BEAUTY & THE BEAST, STAR WARS, UNFRIENDED, Mary J. Blige, Harvey Weinstein, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER and more

Kilian Melloy talks to director Alex Garland and reviews THAT MAN FROM RIO

Sean Burns reviews MISERY LOVES COMPANY and interviews David Chen of THE PRIMARY INSTINCT

Spoilerpiece Theatre talks UNFRIENDED, TRUE STORY and STAR WARS

Andy Crump talks ageism in recent films, WHERE’S MAMA’S BOY?, THE COMEDIANS and DEAD LANDS

Joyce Kulhawik talks COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/17/2015

Posted on April 17, 2015 by bofca

UNFRIENDED

“Do u like scary movies? Lol. Coz OMFG! This 1 is about ppl dying on Skype. Srsly! Like, WTF?!?! #Yolo” – Charlie Nash, Cinematic Essential

“Like the cast, we’re trapped in a browser with no means of escape. Even Ctrl+Alt+Del can’t save us.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

EX MACHINA

“What starts out as a smart psychological thriller with an edge of speculative fiction proves to be a clockwork amusement built from standard parts and not wound sufficiently to get it through its full running time.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“…there’s an underlying ickiness to the entire film, and not just the inherent “OMG, THE ROBOTS ARE LIKE PEOPLE” ickiness. There’s an undercurrent of sexism that’s unpalatable.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“With all of the complaining that I do in this review, you might think that I hate EX MACHINA, but that’s not true.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“As a film that utilizes misdirection and provokes users to seek through layers of subtext, EX MACHINA proves to be intellectually appealing without materializing into a thesis on one’s own ideas.” – Sam Cohen, Under the Gun Review

TRUE STORY

“That [Hill and Franco] are pals gives TRUE STORY an existential stink, but they, and the movie, acquit themselves well.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“The film wants to feel important, and it flirts with being a procedural — but it would have done better to stick with celebrating the slippery interface between facts and the human truths we construct from them.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“The laughably telegraphed revelations wouldn’t cut it as CBS prime-time fodder.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA

“It’s a movie you’ll find yourself turning over in your mind for quite some time after the closing credits roll, marinating in the heady swirl of ideas and defiantly unresolved resolutions.” – Sean Burns, The Artery

THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER

“Diliberto doesn’t hand-hold in the slightest. He does, however, deploy background carefully. Attentive viewers should have no trouble keeping pace with his brio.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

MONKEY KINGDOM

“The subtle, empowering themes at the core of this latest Disneynature film are heartening and certainly something to share with our children (much more politically correct than stories of princesses).” – Michael Cox, Edge Boston