2014

Posted on November 21, 2014 by bofca

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1

“There’s plenty of foreshadowing of what is to come but the story doesn’t so much come to an end as have an intermission.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“It’s more interesting than good, but it’s very interesting.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“If the movie is slow and lacking in action, it compensates by being big and dramatic.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“It’s a half-story, and the cliffhanger ending feels made for TV, not the big screen.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“I know they probably like the paychecks and the notoriety they get from these movies, but as actors, they deserve better than what they’re given to work with in MOCKINGJAY PART 1.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Who knew that if you stripped all the garish clown makeup off Effie Trinket you’d find a compelling performance from Elizabeth Banks?” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“What we ultimately get with this installment is not much more than an intermission before the main event.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

THE HOMESMAN

“…a stubbornly uncommercial and richly challenging inversion of Americana, this time with an eye towards the pioneer women pushed to the margins of our history books.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“Swank is simply marvelous, her lanky frame in billowy dresses as expressive as her hard eyes and yearning mouth.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 11/14/2014

Posted on November 14, 2014 by bofca

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

“There are some movies that are able to stay with you well after you watch it for the first time, but THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING isn’t one of them.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING is only a routine movie devoted to two extraordinary people, but at least they’ve each been gifted with extraordinary actors to portray them.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“As patchwork, this film has its charms. As biopic, well, it wouldn’t pass muster before a doctoral committee. ” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

DUMB AND DUMBER TO

“As admirably cohesive as the story is, it’s far surpassed by the wonderfully committed lead performances.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“It just could be the saddest comedy ever made.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“After this, it’s doubtful anyone will want to do “There’s Something More About Mary.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

ROSEWATER

“ROSEWATER is at once everything and nothing like what we expect from THE DAILY SHOW host Jon Stewart.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“ROSEWATER swings uneasily back and forth between hard drama, silly comedy, social commentary and even fantasy (a few scenes depict Bahari’s early life appearing on the sides of buildings as he walks past them, as if the buildings are movie screens).” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

BEYOND THE LIGHTS

“In spite of how it’s been promoted, BEYOND THE LIGHTS is actually a versatile movie that is able to effectively talk about all that it has to say.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“The social commentary dissipates, but never disappears: This is what Nicholas Sparks movies would look like if he had any interest in the culture surrounding his prototypical star-crossed lovers.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

FORCE MAJEURE

“I never figured that I’d see a movie based on a subject like fatherhood and the assumptions that came with it, but it’s here and I like it very much.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“…the film works as a serious, if artistic, inquiry into the expectations people have of one another, realistic and otherwise, and the illusions we maintain to secure our relationships and anchor our identities.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“… a squrimingly funny deadpan comedy of emasculation.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 11/07/2014

Posted on November 7, 2014 by bofca

INTERSTELLAR

“All of my quibbles aside, INTERSTELLAR is surely to be praised for its scope.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“It’s the best science fiction movie you’re likely to see this year, and quite possibly one of the best films period.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“…INTERSTELLAR is big, bold and beautiful, but it’s more confounding than revelatory, and all the organ music in the world can’t save it from not tugging at the heartstrings. – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“INTERSTELLAR is Christopher Nolan’s weakest film to date, but the fact that it’s not terrible says a lot about him and his abilities as a filmmaker.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“…overall, INTERSTELLAR is a reasonably enjoyable experience, even as it strains the edges of Nolan’s comfort zone.” – Kristofer Jenson, Dig Boston

“For a film that has so much going for it, the payoff should be blue-sky beyond most viewers’ imaginations. Instead, it plays like someone explaining how to complete a jigsaw puzzle. – Norm Schrager, Meet in the Lobby

“In place of the action the movie needs, Nolan hits us over the head with the simplistic message that love is the most powerful force in the universe. It’s a nice enough notion, but it doesn’t have a chance.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Ultimately, INTERSTELLAR shoots for the stars but barely gets us past the soundstage.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“Some space is best left unexplored.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“You can sense Nolan bursting to match Kubrick’s eerie, effortless combination of the familiar and otherworldly, but there’s nothing doing.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“The movie is so pedestrian it needs to invent a Bad Guy for McConaughey to fist-fight.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

BIG HERO 6

“BIG HERO 6 works precisely because it seems so familiar, with just enough fresh spin so that it feels like something new rather than a rerun.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“BIG HERO 6 is not a film that’s going to change the way animated flicks are made, but there is a ton of fun to be had by just about everyone who chooses to watch it.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Thrilling, well-crafted set pieces are only one aspect of what makes blockbusters like this tick. The bond between a boy and his android makes up the rest.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

LAGGIES

“LAGGIES explores with empathy and warmth the simultaneous feelings of panic and disbelief upon realizing in your late 20s or early 30s that everyone around you is getting married and having children.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“Man, this is a creepy film.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

THE OVERNIGHTERS

“… an incredibly personal (if troubling at times) story that challenges its viewers to accept it.” – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

DIPLOMACY

“As DIPLOMACY’s briskly paced duologue proceeds, there’s a growing sense that it would be just at home on stage as on camera.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“We all know that the Nazis didn’t blow up Paris, but that won’t stop audiences from biting their nails watching this brilliant film from director Volker Schlöndorff (THE TIN DRUM).” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

AWAKE: THE LIFE OF YOGANANDA

“The risk of any movie that tries so hard to promote claims of extraordinary or supernatural wisdom (which this film more or less does with its subject) is the likelihood that the claims will far exceed any reliable evidence.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 10/31/2014

Posted on October 31, 2014 by bofca

NIGHTCRAWLER

“I can’t say how everyone else who sees it will receive NIGHTCRAWLER and its content, but I certainly found it to be a disturbed piece of work that’s also pleasantly thrilling.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“NIGHTCRAWLER isn’t a horror movie, per se, but the underlying truth of Bloom and what he represents is horrifying.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“Gilroy ramps up the suspense while mining pearls of black humor as Louis becomes bolder in his quest for bigger paychecks and increasingly voyeuristic images. ” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“For a movie that tries so hard to be disturbing, NIGHTCRAWLER is actually quite comforting. It takes a societal sickness and blames it all on a boogeyman.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

CITIZENFOUR

“CITIZENFOUR plays like an international thriller, but the fact that it’s real makes everything you see in this film feel like a real and present threat.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD

“It’s easy to admire an ambitious letdown like WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD, but much harder to be moved by it.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“While he may show some talent in capturing young Kat’s growth form virgin to seductress, Araki doesn’t have a clue how to weave that sexuality into the story in a way that adds to the mystery in any meaningful way. ” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

LISTEN UP, PHILLIP

“…a relentless downward spiral of a movie that finds the melancholy in misanthropy – like Llewyn Davis’ literary cousin.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

“…a narcissistic asshole is still a narcissistic asshole.” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston

“Finally, there’s a movie that has the courage to let an asshole character remain an asshole from beginning to end.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“We’re invited to laugh at, not with, these people; the trick is to keep them sympathetic, and by virtue of their own self-flagellating honesty it’s a trick they pull off.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

HORNS

“Pulling this story off would require a juggling act of three tones: satire, trouble in small-town paradise drama, and religious parable. Aja attempts all three, and is largely successful with the first two.” – Kristofer Jenson, Dig Boston

“Stunt casting or not, Radcliffe singlehandedly elevates the entire goddamned picture, so the only question we’re left with is: What kind of film would this be without him?” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“…a nihilistic, bloodthirsty manifestation of love that celebrates violent forms of hate.” – Charlie Nash, Edge Boston

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 10/24/2014

Posted on October 24, 2014 by bofca

JOHN WICK

“For all its B-movie pulp bravado, JOHN WICK – a rather absurdly entertaining comeback vehicle for the preternaturally youthful Keanu Reeves – is best looked at not as an action movie, but as a dance picture.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine

“With JOHN WICK, we see that maybe Keanu Reeves hasn’t seen the last of quality movies after all.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Sometimes you laugh with it. Sometimes you laugh at it. Either way, you’ll have a hell of a time …” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“…the film is a predictable but excellently executed mix of hand to hand combat and bullets flying while the body count piles up.” – Deirdre Crimmins, All Things Horror

“…an entertaining action film which seems to be taking place in an alternate universe.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The intricate action scenes are staged mostly in awesome, seemingly uninterrupted master shots with minimal editing from other angles.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Examiner

“Far from apologizing for its reliance on the well-worn action movie conventions from which it’s cobbled together, JOHN WICK revels in them.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

BIRDMAN

“A mix of SUNSET BOULEVARD and the recent Robin Wright film THE CONGRESS, BIRDMAN takes an introspective look at an actor’s career and transforms it into a savage Hollywood critique.” – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

“It’s wildly funny, thrilling, and heartbreaking, cutting deep into our hopes, fears, and need to matter in a world awash in consumerism, and just too damn much of everything.” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

“There sure are a lot of pictures about caped crusaders out there, but don’t even the most over-the-hill superheroes deserve a chance to fly anew?” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“…a sometimes dazzling, often infuriating act of gaseous virtuosity.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“What you get from BIRDMAN more than anything is top shelf acting all the way around.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE

“DEAR WHITE PEOPLE is a peeved film, a touching film, a thoughtful film, and a funny film all at the same time, but structurally it’s an exercise in developing tension.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine

“…an empathetic exploration of both how difficult it is to navigate this paradoxical new world and the burden that “otherness” can inflict.” – Inkoo Kang, The Wrap

“There’s hardly a straight-through plot here; instead, we open and close with moments from a climactic blackface-party-slash-”race war,” with numerous preceding incidents involving the participants of said war filling the time in between. ” – Jake Mulligan, Movie Mezzanine

WHIPLASH

“The movie is a sleek machine that works you over and bats you around until the climax incites the audience into the kind of frenzy I haven’t seen in an auditorium since Rocky beat Drago. It’s viscerally thrilling, and distressingly hollow.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality

“While the casting and characterizations mesh perfectly, and the movie creates an indelible atmosphere of creative foment and psychic disrepair, the last act loses the very discipline Fletcher embodies.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston

“Good music, great acting and an interesting approach to a film about music makes WHIPLASH a winner in my book.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

OUIJA

“If Hasbro want to sell us advertisements, they’re going to need to be better than this.” – Jake Mulligan, Edge Boston

“..this breaks no new ground, but it bumps along at a steady pace, providing the requisite scares and laughs along the way.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“The plot barely limps along down a completely uninspired path. The film takes itself way too seriously, and yet is horribly boring for long stretches of time.” – Deirdre Crimmins, All Things Horror

THE IRISH PUB

“… an endearing, affectionate snapshot of a fading way of life, of places where strangers from ages eighteen to eighty can still stop for a friendly chat on their way home from wherever, taking comfort in conversation and company.” – Sean Burns, North Shore Movies

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

Tag Archives: review roundup

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