BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/23/2014

x-men-days-of-future-past-trailerX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

“…when the momentum slows for a pep talk (or eight) or takes a dramatic pause to appreciate the gravity of a situation, we start to feel the weight of FUTURE PAST’s over two hour runtime.” – Monica Castillo, Movie Mezzanine

“Although the mechanics of time travel make no sense, somehow DAYS OF FUTURE PAST reconciles all of the previous X-MEN film plots into a movie that does.” – Evan Creen, Starpulse

“X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is a quality film that fans of the X-Men and that universe will probably enjoy.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“It isn’t the best of the series, but it lets fans enjoy younger and older versions of some of the characters and play in this corner of the Marvel Universe.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Although the mechanics of time travel make no sense, somehow DAYS OF FUTURE PAST reconciles all of the previous X-MEN film plots into a movie that does.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

 


Blended movie (4)BLENDED

“Watching BLENDED is a hypothermic experience.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

BLENDED is an upgrade over Sandler’s most recent work, but it still falls short of being entertaining.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“An admixture that doesn’t quite come together, as what might have been a romantic comedy about second chances–with kids–fights for screen time with more typical Adam Sandler fare.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“…Barrymore and Sandler have as much chemistry as two old friends climbing aboard the money train, and there are maybe two laughs in 117 minutes (!). – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

cold-in-july-movie1COLD IN JULY

“Whatever movie you think it will end up being, odds are good that your guesswork will let you down as the rug repeatedly gets yanked from underneath you.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

“The movie twists and turns and thwarts expectations, and it’s a solid, if grim, viewing experience.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUND-UP: 05/16/2014

GODZILLAGODZILLA

“Edwards waits too long before directly involving the monster. Instead he spends more of the film’s two hour run time on humans, who don’t feel consequential.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“While the scaly sexagenarian glimpsed here is vastly superior to the wrong-headed monster seen in Roland Emmerich’s disastrous 1998 reimagining starring Matthew Broderick, at least that version of the giant lizard wasn’t reduced to playing a cameo role in his own film.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“Edwards wants Godzilla to matter. He wants us to be in awe of Godzilla because Godzilla is a creation worthy of awe, and not because the film bludgeons us into dazzled submission.” – Andy Crump, Movie Mezzanine

“The battles are beautifully staged and executed, evoking something not even the original GODZILLA film was able to achieve; which is a feeling of true danger, fright and devastation.” – Tim Estlioz, Boston Examiner

“GODZILLA is certainly a summer movie that deserves to be considered to be a true blockbuster.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“What [director Gareth] Edwards and screenwriter Max Borenstein get is that while Godzilla is a monster, he is a monster we want to cheer.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

“Edwards enjoys teasing an audience, keeping his creature under wraps, like Spielberg with his shark or his dinosaurs. But Godzilla doesn’t appear until almost an hour into this movie, a test for viewers rather than a tease.” – Brett Michel, The Improper Bostonian

“”Even RETURN OF THE JEDI — the least of the first three STAR WARS films—knew that when cutting away from action, one should cut to more action. And how did no one notice—twice—a 10-story-tall monster lumbering around in a major metropolitan area?” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

 

MILLION DOLLAR ARM

Million Dollar Arm Film

“Although the part is woefully underwritten, Lake Bell does an exceptional job making the tenant the only likable American in the movie (unless you count liking Alan Arkin for being a curmudgeon). Good as she is, though, she can’t make the transformation of JB from arrogant agent to likable human being believable. Sadly, neither can Hamm.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“The upbeat nature of MILLION DOLLAR ARM prevents me from hating it, but there’s nothing else included that would come close to making it a truly enjoyable experience.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Yet there’s also the ugly veneer of imperialism driving the film, not because it is deliberately disrespectful to its Indian characters, but because it treats them as little more than props.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

CHEF21

CHEFis a film that succeeds simply by being about a man trying to get his in life order and moving the right direction.” – Jaskee Hickman, The Movie Picture Show

“Is it possible to yearn for life in a food truck?” – Joyce Kulhawik, Joyce’s Choices

 

double-movieTHE DOUBLE

“…for all of its notable cinematic flourishes, THE DOUBLE is actually the product of one Richard Ayoade, who, in his second directorial effort (after 2010’s SUBMARINE), has managed to take all of those influences, plus a serious dose of Kafka-esque angst, and shape it into something that’s truly one of a kind.” – Andy Crump, In Review Online

 

GODSPOCKETGOD’S POCKET

“The film as a whole, however, never congeals around its seriocomic, slice-of-life plot.” – Kristofer Jenson, DIG

“There isn’t much in GOD’S POCKET we haven’t seen before. In tone, it bears a resemblance to PALOOKAVILLE, a superior chronicle of dim hoods in a dead-end existence. In plot, there’s a touch of Hitchcock’s THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

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

 

first-official-still-from-the-alan-patridge-movie-130261-a-1363280638-470-75

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: 04/11/2014

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