BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/02/2014

XXX AMAZING-SPIDER-MAN-2-JY-2206.JPG A ENTTHE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

“My eyes glazed over, the clouds parted, and I could see the future of my career as a film critic stretched out in front of me as an endless succession of empty, meaningless SPIDER-MAN sequels… and I just couldn’t bear the thought of it.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“With this film, director Mark Webb cynically serves up an overly long, overblown teaser for the countless sequels the studio hopes will come down the pike in the wake of this on-screen travesty.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is not a movie that I hate, but it’s something that I find impossible to like.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“On the “Marvel scale” of recent films, this falls short of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, but was a lot less embarrassing than THOR: THE DARK WORLD.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Most fatally, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2suffers from the same ailment as most films of its genre made over the past two decades: It’s bloated and boring.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“The poster for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 promises “his greatest battle begins.” That battle is obviously a corporate one; Sony Studios envision churning out two more sequels and numerous spinoffs featuring classic Spider-Foes as a means to keep their business afloat.” Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 suffers from the same affliction that plagued Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 3. There are too many thinly drawn characters, way too much happening all at once, and the characters and story don’t have room to breathe or develop.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

gallery1FADING GIGOLO

“On some level, this is unbelievable and self-serving, but really, is it that difficult to imagine a man with Turturro’s swarthy, aquiline good looks carrying a woman like Vergara on his arm?” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

“FADING GIGOLO takes an absurd premise, treats it with respect and then writer-director-star John Turturro lets it roll out in a way that feels organic.” – David Riedel, San Antonio Current

“A bittersweet idyll that allows us to take some comfort and pleasure in watching a fading gigolo as willing as Fioravante–to ignite passion and pursue life in full flower.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/25/2014

THE OTHER WOMANOTHERWOMAN

“The less funny the lines are, the more obnoxiously loud and shrill they get said until, buy the end (if you stay that long) it’s actually more painful to listen to than nails on a chalk board.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Here is the optimistic wish that we have bottomed out for the year and the films to come–good, bad, or indifferent–will have to be better than this. It would take a special effort to be worse.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

BRICK MANSIONSXXX M-289_1426483.JPG D ENT

“As distractions go it’s a lot of fun, a totally solid action piece with an admirable (and admirably unobtrusive) social-consciousness and a killer final act.” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“With the action being typical stuff, a story that’s unstable and acting that is well below par, we’re looking at a movie in Brick Mansions that fails on essentially every level.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“While Belle swoops and lunges mid-air with elegant brutality, the rest of the film embraces the kind of cartoonish manly-man knuckle dragging that elicits unintended laughter. ” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“It’s so forgettable though that if you do see it you may want to make note of the title so that you don’t accidentally rent it when it comes out on DVD.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

 

2-the-quiet-onesTHE QUIET ONES

“What’s the best way to document paranormal activity? Joseph has no idea, and judging by the meandering script by Pogue, Craig Rosenberg, and Oren Moverman, neither do the screenwriters.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

 

only-lovers-left-alive03

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

“Stylistically, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE has as much in common with vampire films as the excellent DEAD MAN has with westerns, with Jarmusch distilling the genre conventions of each into smooth, easy-to-watch tone poems.” – Kristofer Jenson, DIG

“There are intimations of the lethal vampiric fury and dynamic, demonic energy Adam and Eve possess, but we seldom witness their superior physical capabilities only briefly.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Like their director, Adam and Eve are creators, repudiating fame, preferring to disseminate their works quietly. They derisively refer to the humans who consume their art as “zombies.” That is to say, us—the drones who pay 12 bucks to get our Friday night cinematic fix.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“Perhaps more pointedly, that vampiric Trojan horse also allows Jarmusch to make a film about a steady, unthreatened relationship – one that’s been battle-tested by generations, one where commitment and love and fidelity is never in doubt.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“Writer-director Jim Jarmusch gets loneliness, and Tom Hiddleston in particular is adept at showing what that feeling looks like on a once-human face. It’s morose, but also quietly appealing. Maybe that’s why this vampire story is effective when so many others merely suck.” – David Riedel, San Antonio Current

 

walking-with-the-enemy1WALKING WITH THE ENEMY

“The film takes on a Saturday serial tone, as Cohen and his colleagues pull off one escapade after another, often in defiance not only of the odds but common sense.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

 

Make Your Move finale

MAKE YOUR MOVE

“Its core dance styles are a wonderfully frenetic fusion of tap and hip-hop and a truly novel blend of Japanese taiko drumming and K-pop girl-group choreography.” – Inkoo Kang, Los Angeles Times

 

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ALAN PARTRIDGE

“Purists may have their pitchforks out for ALAN PARTRIDGE, as Coogan and co. tear down the boundaries of Partridge’s ancestral stomping grounds through their change in medium, but the truth is that all of this material plays to the character’s core qualities.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

 

b25b911ffc2b76a647454e5a53edf8b5_567x210ON MY WAY

“…one can’t help but see the leaner, more focused film enmeshed within ON MY WAY’s fractured sheen.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“Even at the times when the story starts to drag – the section with Bettie getting to know her grandson goes on way too long – Deneuve steps up and focuses you attention on her character.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/18/2014

TRANSCENDENCETRANSCENDENCE

“You would think that any production originated by the Nolan Gravy Train might show more hallmarks of quality than pockmarks of imperfection.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“TRANSCENDENCE never transcends above the lowest levels of entertainment.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“An intelligent, complex movie about artificial intelligence that delves deep into some of the issues the overrated HER only touched on.” – Daniel Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The most egregious example of a really, really stupid movie that thinks it’s a really, really smart movie since PROMETHEUS” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

 

HEAVEN IS FOR REALgreg-kinnear-heaven-is-for-real-600x400

“Wallace smartly leaves room for skeptics of Burpo’s account to maintain their doubt; what matters most is that audiences understand the film character’s reasons for choosing to believe his son’s vision/dream/delirium.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“If HEAVEN IS FOR REAL had left the source of Colton’s visions ambiguous to the very end, it would’ve been a few editing decisions away from being an INSIDIOUS sequel.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

BEARSBEARS

“This is relatively grim stuff to grapple with at any age, even from the studio that killed off Bambi’s mom.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

 

A HAUNTED HOUSE 2a_haunted_house_2

“I wanted to like A HAUNTED HOUSE 2, but it just isn’t very funny.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Inventive visual gags and charmingly lo-fi aesthetics be damned to hell: The dialogue and humor here are as played-out and unoriginal as the horror movies Wayans sets out to parody.” – Jake Mulligan, In Review Online

 

hero_RobTheMob-2014-1ROB THE MOB

“ROB THE MOB wouldn’t work without the wild, dumb optimism Tommy and Rosie fuel in each other. It’s infectious, even when it’s obvious that the fates are about to turn on them at any moment.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 04/11/2014

a48c08d0-c00f-11e3-90f1-b3bc9d7bb80b_draftday_featurette_gsDRAFT DAY

“DRAFT DAY isn’t so much a movie as it is a 90-minute infomercial pimping out the NFL, the only sport with enough hubris to believe that the drafting of players from college to the professional ranks is important enough to demand a movie all its own.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Like Sonny, Reitman can’t easily make up his mind; unlike Sonny, Reitman never quite figures it out.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“DRAFT DAY, then, is about as daring as a pair of dad jeans – and just as ugly.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“There’s so much melodrama here that a better title might have been “Football Camp.”” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“How does it all shake out? Well, duh. This is a sports movie starring Kevin Costner. If you can’t guess, you really shouldn’t be in the game.” – David Riedel, The Santa Fe Reporter

DOM HEMINGWAYdomhemingway1

“DOM HEMINGWAY is certainly an enjoyable film for adults who are looking for something different.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Law goes ugly in DOM HEMINGWAY, and it’s a great look on him. ” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

THE RAID 2: BERANDALThe-Raid-2-Uwais

“Evans has jettisoned the bare bones approach here in favor of far grander storytelling, complimenting his expanded plot with almost twenty action sequences interwoven along the crewel of his overarching narrative.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“THE RAID 2: BERANDAL is a martial arts classic that’s both spectacular and memorable.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

Film Review Under the SkinUNDER THE SKIN

“It’s about breaking cinematic preconceptions, even if most of the people who will end up watching it will probably already have had theirs broken.” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

“UNDER THE SKIN knows what it is, and it doesn’t care whether the audience is on board or not—especially during the movie’s final 10 minutes, when the alien learns the hard way what humans are capable of.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

JE3_7854.NEFOCULUS

“Though the film never proposes one ultimate uniting truth, this intentional ambiguity never leaves the audience wanting. Rather that failing to explain the actions on those two terrifying nights, it offers several possible explanations.” – Deirdre Crimmins, All Things Horror

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP 03/28/2014

Russell Crowe as NoahNOAH

“As entertaining and exciting as he makes it, Aronofsky makes sure you leave the theater  thinking about what you just saw in ways that go far beyond the ‘wow’ factor most epic movies like this shoot  for, and that’s what makes it great.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“You’ve got to respect the stones it takes to look at The Bible and say: “Yeah, it’s good – but we can do better!” – Bob Chipman, Escapist

“It’s entertaining in several respects; confounding, confusing and frustrating in many others.  It’s most assuredly not the Old Testament Noah story.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“There’s no command of tone here, no overarching mood the way, say, drab melancholy dominates THE WRESTLER or hallucinatory fever rules over BLACK SWAN.” – Jake Mulligan, In Review Online

 

SABOTAGE9cd28dcb-92d7-4dc1-a3bb-fe5b215e2b39_sabotage_blog_gs

SABOTAGEis a really flat revenge tale that doesn’t come close to giving what they are advertising.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

 

chavez28f-1-webCESAR CHAVEZ

“His film ultimately feels much more finely-honed than competing entries in biopic canon, which is to say that it meanders, but with slightly more purpose.” – Andy Crump, A Constant Visual Feast

“The film itself isn’t anything spectacular, but CESAR CHAVEZ gives its audience an opportunity to learn about this man and the trials and tribulations that the people on the fields had to deal with back in those days.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Watching his life-size cardboard cutout of Chávez shout, “Yes, we can,” I was moved, but only to wish that one of the things “we” can do is to make a resonant, dramatically rich film about a leader who forcefully but nonviolently bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice — which this inoffensive cow pie most certainly isn’t.” – Inkoo Kang, The Village Voice

 

Le Weekend<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
Directed by Roger Michell<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
Starring Lindsay Duncan and Jim BroadbentLE WEEK-END

“Occasionally buoyant and more often wrenching, this film is admirably dedicated to portraying every facet of a dedicated relationship, beautiful or ugly, for better or worse—usually, ugly and worse.” – Andy Crump. In Review Online

“Kureishi’s endlessly quotable script provides a robust foundation for “LE WEEK-END, a mordant, mournful and acerbic relationship drama that represents a superb achievement for Duncan, Broadbent, and director Roger Michell (NOTTING HILL).” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“LE WEEK-END is a chronicle of late-life misery, a “What do we do now that the kids are gone?” kind of story. It’s been done before, recently and better (GLORIA; ENOUGH SAID).” – David Riedel, San Antonio Current

 

pg-arts-ernest-credit-StudioCanalERNEST & CELESTINE

Storybook sketches and muted colors emphasize motion and light rather than the excessive visual detail of more “commercial” animated approaches.”  – Norm Schrager, Film Racket