Joyce Kulhawik weighed in on the recent Oscars’ Best Actress prospects
Spoilerpiece Theatre focuses on CHAPPIE and more
Monica Castillo looks at SXSW, the TOMORROWLAND trailer, EMPIRE, the original CINDERELLA and SCANDAL
Andy Crump looks at THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER
Bob Chipman reviews AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D’s return to TV
Jake Mulligan on THE IRON MINISTRY
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
Spoilerpiece Theatre talks LAZARUS EFFECT and more
John Black reviewed MY LIFE, SONG OF THE SEA and BALLET 422
Monica Castillo talks SXSW, FIFTY SHADES, Fox’s EMPIRE and OSCARS
Jared Bowen visits the Hanel & Hayden Society
Sean Burns talks TWIN PEAKS and COMPARED TO WHAT?
Andrew Crump looks at fame in film, BROOKLYN NINE NINE, FUTURO BEACH, EX MACHINA and AGENT CARTER
Tim Estiloz interviews Eddie Redmayne
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
