2017

Posted on September 15, 2017 by bofca

MOTHER!

“Aronofsky has created a work that plays as if Guillermo del Toro was directing a play by Harold Pinter.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“MOTHER! is nothing short of a cinematic triumph. We only get a few of these each year, so pay attention and see this before some internet troll tries to ruin it for you.” – Deirdre Crimmins, Film Thrills

“There’s a self-reflexivity in the technique here that I can’t remember seeing in Aronofsky’s prior work. Not enough to signal to the audience that the filmmaker is completely in on the joke but just enough to make things cheekier. After all, it is a two-hour saga about misdirected pain and suffering.” – Sam Cohen, Substream Magazine

“…through this blistering vision of humanity in decline, there’s no denying that Aronofsky is at the peak of his powers here, delivering what could be one of the most feverishly demented films to ever emerge from a mainstream studio.” – Charlie Nash, Film Thrills

“I might not like MOTHER! very much but I feel enormous gratitude that it exists.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

AMERICAN ASSASSIN

“This is a spy thriller for the Trump Era, where rules that are inconvenient are simply brushed aside.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“… a tired, all-too-familiar string of spy tropes that mainly serve as bridge work to the film’s dull, gratuitously violent action sequences, each of which has the exact same formula: Both parties shoot at one another, and if they miss, they start throwing fists before eventually drawing blades that end up either in someone’s neck or abdomen.” – Charlie Nash, Edge Boston

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 09/01/2017

Posted on September 1, 2017 by bofca

I DO…UNTIL I DON’T

“Ultimately, the moral of I DO…UNTIL I DON’T is that marriage can be a slog sometimes but if you’re patient it’s worth it in the end. You could say the same about this movie.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“As we warm up to the movie, so too do the members of Bell’s cast, after starting out at odds, warm up to each other.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS

“Like most comedy sequels, GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS cranks everything about the original up a few notches thinking audiences won’t be satisfied unless they get a bigger, louder and more outrageous version of what they enjoyed last time.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 08/25/2017

Posted on August 25, 2017 by bofca

GOOD TIME

“It’s one thing to make a film with great inspiration and another to use that inspiration to harbor and hone a unique vision.” – Sam Cohen, Substream Magazine

“… an edgy, electrifying movie that feels a little bit dangerous.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“With GOOD TIME, the Safdies have created something decidedly poppier, leaving behind the melodrama of HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT in favor of something more like a crime odyssey.” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston

“Swiveling from gut-busting laughter to nail-biting danger, heart-racing panic attacks to heartbreaking desolation, playful surrealism to staggering social commentary, GOOD TIME is a hell of a thing and will remain one of the year’s very best films.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

INGRID GOES WEST

“…INGRID GOES WEST has a lot of great material to work with — mental illness, loneliness, alcoholism, narcissism, the desolate vacuum of social media — but it never quite grasps any of the ideas and themes its aiming to put on the table.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

“…despite all the film’s qualities, it becomes just as basic as the people it mocks—because who needs to go to the movies to feel superior to a typical Instagram post? ” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 08/18/2017

Posted on August 18, 2017 by bofca

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD

“There are a lot of blazing thrills in this film, from Hayek’s scorching turn to ceaseless weapons fire, to a late-breaking detonation or two (not to mention an unexpected moment featuring a human torch), but despite its fever-pitch sound and fury this action flick is a misfire.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“Samuel L. Jackson prevents THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD from falling apart.”- Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“It mixes the violence, the chases, and some quirky humor into a potent late summer cocktail.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

LOGAN LUCKY

“The film has the tossed-off, casual sophistication of an old master’s late work, the kind of thing great directors make when they’ve already forgotten more than a lot of filmmakers will ever know.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

“…with Soderbergh back in the driver’s seat you know you’re in or an enjoyable ride.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“Once more unto the breach he goes with LOGAN LUCKY, which stuck out to this writer as a retooling of what Soderbergh does incredibly well: ensembles.” – Sam Cohen, Substream Magazine

“Steven Soderbergh makes it look easy.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“Even though very few will see it, LOGAN LUCKY will delight the people who do.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“Soderbergh knows precisely how the formula works: likable leads, eccentric supporting characters, a complicated plan, unexpected glitches, and a reason to sympathize with the robbers rather than the victims.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

MENASHE

“..a sharp, moving dissection of personal identity and self-agency. You don’t need to know Yiddish to make sense of that.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“It immerses us in this community, and by the end of the film, it’s hard not to feel like a part of it.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

THE TRIP TO SPAIN

“It’s all just more of the same, so frequent flyers get rewarded. It’s all a matter of what lens you’re viewing the franchise through.” – Greg Vellante, Edge Boston

“These movies have yet to fizzle out and lose their appeal or run out of creative space to explore, and frankly, because they use the lives of two very real people as their bases, they probably never will.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK

“If anything, one might wish the film had gone even farther, but for it to have done what it has — sitting in a pit of its own urban provincialism, hard and bright as a diamond and as alluringly lethal as a hateful smile — is, in itself, nothing short of refreshing.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

MARJORIE PRIME

“…you feel active while you’re watching MARJORIE PRIME — engaged in a way you don’t at films that lazily spell everything out for you.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 08/11/2017

Posted on August 11, 2017 by bofca

ANNABELLE: CREATION

“It’s so slow and so predictable that people may start shouting out wisecracks to keep it moving along.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“ANNABELLE: CREATION is fine in some ways, but I know they could have given us more.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

WIND RIVER

“What we have in WIND RIVER leads me to believe that Taylor Sheridan could possibly have a successful career as a director should he continue down that path.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential

“You can’t make a movie about simple retributive justice “important” by reminding us of the films ugly setting. (Which this film does for far too long after its climax.) In this case, a movie becomes condescending cultural misappropriation.” – Michael Cox, Edge Boston

“To be honest, the central mystery of “Wind River” is not all that mysterious and rather quickly solved. What’s more important are the textures of a community devastated by drugs and poverty.” – Sean Burns, The ARTery

THE GLASS CASTLE

“…an unpleasant two hours ending with an image of family unity that may be hard to believe, even if true.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

Boston Online Film Critics Association

The Boston Online Film Critics Association was established in May of 2012 to foster a community of web-based film critics.

Tag Archives: Review Round-Up

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