ESCAPE ROOM
“It’s one of those “jump scare” films that will generate screams, clutched arms and – for the more cynical – rolling eyes. It’s definitely “check-your-brains-at-the-
BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 01/04/2019
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Tag Archives: Review Round-Up
BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/28/2018
VICE
“Its obvious strength is a bravura performance by Christian Bale as Cheney.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Magazine
“It’s just a bunch of stuff that happened, shuffled all out of order and repeated a few times extra loud for the cheap seats.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery
“Winter movie season inevitably brings a deluge of dreadful issue-based movies that turn subtext into text and jam sentiment down viewers’ throats. VICE is no exception.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
“…an achingly beautiful film, and so terribly sad.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery
“The year is drawing to a close, but one of 2018’s finest films is just hitting theaters.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian
BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/21/2018
AQUAMAN
“…dizzying, delightful, and completely bonkers.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health
“As superhero origin stories go, it’s actually an improvement over most of the movies based on DC comics.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
“I don’t mind the direction they chose to take AQUAMAN as a character. Momoa isn’t a great actor by any stretch, but he’s proven to be the least of their worries in both this movie and the future.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential
“It’s a shame his film stinks like yesterday’s tuna.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian
WELCOME TO MARWEN
“The unspoken message of WELCOME TO MARWEN seems to be that we’re lucky that Hogancamp was brutalized and nearly died because, as a result, he’s now making imaginative art.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
“…WELCOME TO MARWEN shows us that even when the story has been practically reinvented for the purposes of telling that story, it can still fail on all accounts.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest
“…an ineffective, emotionally aggressive, self-important and baffling experiment that is Zemeckis’ most similar film to the overrated FORREST GUMP since, well, FORREST GUMP.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
“…less than a sequel than a muddled attempt to clone the elements of the original film.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
SECOND ACT
“If you’re looking for romance, watch COLD WAR. If you’re looking for comedy, watch GAME NIGHT. If you’re looking for romantic comedy, watch CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Whatever you do, don’t waste a second on this SECOND ACT.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest
BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/14/2018
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
“INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is built for a new kind of fandom, offering a world in which anyone can be Spider-Man — including young men of color, teenage girls, anime robots, talking pigs and even Nicolas Cage.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies
“Anyone who believes that superheroes should be canonized only by their classic identities will probably walk out of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE with a nasty rash.” – Andy Crump, Men’s Health
“SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE works in every way it needs to in order for it to be the genuine success it is.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential
VOX LUX
“Certain to be a polarizing cinematic experience, VOX LUX is not easy or accessible.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest
“…a burly, overbearing piece of filmmaking, often horrifically funny and excitingly unencumbered by questions of good taste or worries about when to say when.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery
“…an ambitious film that proves to be less than the sum of its parts… but fans of Natalie Portman won’t want to miss her risk-taking performance here.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Reviews
MORTAL ENGINES
“MORTAL ENGINES creates a beautiful, dangerous, and escapist world, but it suffers from trying to do too much with characters we barely care about.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest
“What makes it fascinating even for those unfamiliar with the source material (like this reviewer) is its stunning visual design.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
BEN IS BACK
“BEN IS BACK is not your typical, weepy addiction drama. But addiction is not a monolith and if adding a little intrigue to this story gives us another version of this story, then it’s fine by me.” – Deirdre Crimmins, High-Def Digest
“The problem is in the script, as filmmaker Hedges doesn’t seem to have asked himself why an audience would want to subject themselves to this.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 12/07/2018
THE FAVOURITE
“Running a touch long, THE FAVOURITE is nothing if not a wildly intriguing journey with one of the most provocative closing frames of the year – one that makes you reevaluate completely the film you’ve just seen and the characters in it.” – Allyson Johnson, Cambridge Day
“…the absurdist approach of Athens-born Lanthimos has produced a more wildly entertaining film than almost any other this year—at least for its first half when his bristling critiques of the ruling class are hilariously scabrous.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian
ROMA
“…a film that was designed to be experienced in a state-of-the-art theater capable of presenting the 360-degree, immersive sound and sumptuously long takes shot in crisp black-and-white by [Alfonso] Cuarón himself, acting as his own cinematographer.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian
“ROMA is a good film that would be even better if it wasn’t trying so hard all the time to be a masterpiece.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
“Pity the tragic figures of Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), but not because of the roles that life thrust them into.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian
“…a missed opportunity to shed light on a key moment in history, using it instead to export contemporary concerns to the past.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES
“Though sometimes a rocky ride, FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES nonetheless provides the sound satisfactions of a well-told western yarn, with a provocative subtext percolating just beneath the surface.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery
“The film’s vistas are beautiful and [Michael] Matthews’s aim high, but those aspirations are not fully realized in what feels like a first draft attempt at brushing Western customs with textures drawn from a South African palette.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES
“…a depressingly necessary viewing experience, basically the opposite of the Mister Rogers movie in that you spend two hours with one of the worst human beings to walk the planet during our lifetimes but in the end feel a little bit better because at least he’s dead.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
“ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is what you can get when you’re able to effectively blend familiar elements that don’t usually mix together.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential