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BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP 8/09

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ELYSIUMELYSIUM

“Few working directors out there are as effective as Blomkamp at telling a serious, yet entertaining story with a moral.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“…the sort of science fiction thriller some of us have been craving all summer only to see one film after another fall short. ” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“ELYSIUM is paradise– if you snooze through it; and you might.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

WERE THE MILLERS'WE’RE THE MILLERS

“But this film’s eagerness to please functions as a slow poison, draining THE MILLERS of its vitality by rendering its characterization uneven, its potential undeveloped, and its plot predictable and stupid.” – Inkoo Kang, Village Voice

“This has not been a great year for film comedy… WE’RE THE MILLERS sets down that same low comedy road but then something odd happens: it’s actually funny.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Despite its by-the-numbers script and predictable story touches, there are enough funny—even unexpected—flourishes scattered throughout its 109 minutes to bring out the occasional gut laugh.” – David Riedel, C-Ville

“As comical as it is to watch these characters rebel against familial stereotypes, it’s even funnier to see how fast they fall into them.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Occasionally, I am easily amused. This was definitely a guilty pleasure.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERSPERCY JACKSON

“Forget Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, there’s not a single character here worthy of Ron Weasley.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge

“In the meantime, it’s a special effects laden fantasy where one can actually follow the action and focus on the characters. This summer that’s quite an achievement all by itself.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, SciFi Movie Page

 

2.JPGPRINCE AVALANCHE

“Ladies aren’t cast in the best light, but this is a dude movie in the middle of Texan backwoods.” – Monica Castillo, Dig Boston

“But more than the friendship-rivalry-I-won’t-call-it-a-bromance between the two stars, AVALANCHE is about the madness that simmers below their day-to-day-grind.”- Jake Mulligan, Rushmore Kite Flying Society

 

LOVELACELOVELACE

“The whole thing is just clunky, and worse, dull.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“Not many movies could pull off the same plot twice, and unfortunately, LOVELACE cannot justify visiting the same scenes twice only to add a layer of brutality.”- Monica Castillo, Bitch Magazine

BLUE JASMINE Blue_Jasmine

“The movie is a near-perfect capture of a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown without going off the deep end into a farce.”-Monica Castillo, Paste Magazine

“It’s become a cliche that writer/director Woody Allen’s work had hit the doldrums critically for a bit, and lately, everything he’s doing has been cited as “one of his best in years.” BLUE JASMINE is better than that.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 1/25

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Hansel & Gretel Witch HuntersHANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS

“It’s a movie with absolutely no ambition other than to be a one-note joke. And I wish the joke was funnier. Once you’ve seen ten minutes of it you’ve pretty much seen the whole thing.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“If the very title has you rolling your eyes, don’t even bother. But if you’re willing to go along for the ride, Renner and Arterton make a good crime-fighting, er, witch hunting team.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, Sci-Fi Movie Hype

 

ParkerPARKER

“Jason Statham playing Donald Westlake’s Parker? It’s a beautiful match; sadly wasted. The tone and aesthetics director Taylor Hackford have chosen split the difference between a spaghetti western and a sitcom.”- Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

 

MOVIE 43Movie 43

“The third of fifteen segments in this omnibus film from producer Peter Farrelly finds Anna Faris asking Chris Pratt to ‘poop on me.’ Don’t subject yourself to this crap.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 1/18

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THE LAST STANDThe Last Stand

“Catnip for action junkies. This is RIO BRAVO on steroids, with cars. What more could you ask for?” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“A perfectly serviceable Schwarzenegger action film. There are car chases, shootouts, some character moments, a decent cast, a few laughs, and it clocks in at less than two hours.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

Broken CityBROKEN CITY

“A silly noir brought to polished heights by a most appropriate (if obvious) cast and crew. Nothing about it is extraordinary. But just about all of it is entertaining.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“That’s not to say BROKEN CITY is a particularly great film, but it’s a good one and almost novel by virtue of its own lack of novelty.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“An imperfect enjoyment that I’ll probably never watch again, but I can think of far worse ways to spend a couple hours.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

AMOURAmour

“It’s an ordeal sitting through AMOUR, in which the hushed air of austerity is broken only by almost imperceptibly understated moments of tenderness.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“What’s more confining in a movie than to stay with two characters in two rooms while their world crumbles? It becomes as much torture for us as it does for them.” – Monica Castillo, DigBoston

 

MamaMAMA

“If you’re willing to go with the flow and not demand the jolts that pass for creativity in too many horror films, you may find yourself impressed.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

SUNDANCE SHORTSSundance Shorts

“Varying looks at coupling and unforeseen consequences, from the strains of being gay in a conservative Korean family, to, well, the dangers of donning a bear costume.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 6/15

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ROCK OF AGES

“Pulverizing, excruciating, incompetent—the pejoratives finally fail me. An hour into this thing, I turned to a colleague and groaned aloud: ‘I want to murder myself.’” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“A train wreck. But it sure is fun to watch.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Cruise literally does everything to look, sound, and move like a rock star, except for showing any genuine conviction. It’s like someone programmed a robot to play the character, but left out the emotion chip.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Terrible. A bad story told badly through a series of corny on-the-nose song choices and bad comedy.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Singers should sing, actors should act, and 9 times out of 10 the two should never mix.” – Monica Castillo, DigBoston

“One long evening of 1980’s Rock and Roll karaoke. Manages to evoke both a wince and a smile.”- Tim Estiloz, Boston Latino TV

“Oh, the choreography!” – Steve Head, The Post-Movie Podcast

 


SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

“Plaza does indeed give a great performance, carrying a movie that for the most part isn’t worth her efforts.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“The Duplass brothers seem to specialize in half-written movies with garbage cinematography, and I would happily donate $10 to buy them a tripod.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly
 
“It reminded me of a movie from the 70’s in the worst way possible. It’s all quirky and cutesy but then has that cop-out indie ending.” – John Black, The Post-Movie Podcast
 
“Everything comes together a bit hastily, but happily the ending doesn’t disappoint.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse
 
 
 
THAT’S MY BOY
 
“If the bar had been set any lower for this film’s vulgar humor only flatworms and slugs could crawl underneath it.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Movie Examiner
 
“Easily Sandler’s best movie in a long, long time.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide
 
“It’s a vile, puerile, lowbrow, totally disposable junk movie, but I can’t deny that it works as one.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist
 
“This may be the most loathsome film of the year.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net.
 
“This is the perfect movie to take your dad to on Father’s Day if you hate him.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune
 
“This is a shitty movie on every level. The shittiest.” – Steve Head, The Post-Movie Podcast
 
“Director Sean Anders does nothing to mop up this gross-out comedy mess.” – Monica Castillo, The Boston Phoenix
 
 
 
LOLA VERSUS
 
“Lola battles against many problems in this ridiculously titled film. What’s unfortunate is that none of them are interesting.” – Jake Mulligan, The Suffolk Voice

 

 

CAPE SPIN! AN AMERICAN POWER STRUGGLE

“There’s an awful lot of spin going on in Robbie Gemmel and John Kirby’s playful documentary.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Herald

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 6/8

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PROMETHEUS

“Ridley Scott has fashioned a science fiction film that will leave fans arguing, with some dismissing it out of hand and others declaring it a modern masterpiece.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, The Sci-Fi Movie Page

“The best-looking stupid movie I have seen all year. It’s sumptuously photographed, and quite often inane.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“That’s the big problem with this ‘prequel’ to the original alien film: there’s no real drama, or at least no sense of drama building as the story moves along.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“What’s left behind from the promising start is nothing more than muddled faux-philosophy, and even that’s probably more of a sequel set-up than an artistic statement.” – Jake Mulligan, The Suffolk Voice

“By default, the best thing even vaguely connected to ALIEN to come out in decades.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist 

“If you were lost on an alien planet and a slimy creature emerged from a puddle of black goo, would you call it pet names and attempt to get closer to it?” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

HYSTERIA

 “The kind of vibrator movie you can take your parents to see.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Contains enough grains of truth to make it just salty, and just spicy, enough that you soon get over the initial uncomfortable impulse to giggle and enjoy some real laughs.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Despite its titillating subject, don’t expect HYSTERIA to create much of a buzz.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Herald

 

PEACE LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING

“For all the high-minded philosophical debates about gender equality, vegetarianism, and letting loose, it manages to come off as random chatter trying to sound smarter than the dialogue actually is.” – Monica Castillo, DigBoston

“It’s basically just GEORGIA RULE all over again. Only without Lindsay Lohan. Who thought that was a good idea?” – Jake Mulligan, The Suffolk Voice

 

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED
 
“Plenty of slapstick and adventure for the kids, as well as a lot of wit and charm for the adults.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

“By the time our intrepid New York menagerie decides to give the circus an American makeover that is, when projected up on the screen in surprisingly effective 3D, glorious to behold, you’ll be hooked.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Pure, simple fun that gave me the desire to shove sugary cereal in my mouth while watching and change back into my pajamas.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“Insane in the best possible way.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Herald

 

NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU

“Hustache-Mathieu seems to delight in the small details of the story, the little objects or intimacies that reveal everything you ever wanted to know about a character.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 
 
 
BEL AMI
 
“By the time yet another Paris matron throws herself at Pattinson, shock and disgust give way to exasperation.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston