BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 4/26

Pain & GainPAIN & GAIN

“Michael Bay’s latest doesn’t just wallow in depravity, it jumps up and down in it. It showers in it. It celebrates it. The poetry of frat boys, roid-ragers and drunkards; it may be ugly but it’s honest.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Unfortunately, Bay is still a hateful, misogynist cretin, content with slapdash slapstick jokes at the expense of the infirm, foreigners, fat people and gays. A vile film.” – Sean Burns, Metro

“Two hours of the sort of vanity, materialism and ignorance Bay explores here winds up being morally punishing and tiresome, an exercise in guilt-tripping given how awful we feel for laughing at the sustained ludicrousness.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

“Bay’s approach to the meaninglessness of human existence is to dive into the middle of it and see what fun can be had smashing all the garbage together. Nothing matters, everybody sucks, but look how awesome it looks when I blow it the fuck up.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“The same affront to humanity with which we’ve become all too acquainted, Michael Bay’s latest ‘comedy’ proves that he truly is the piece of shit you’d imagine.” – Kristofer Jenson, Dig Boston

“A violent action comedy that has the advantage of a strong cast. Audiences willing to put up with the violence may find the dark humor here appealing.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies

 

The Angels ShareTHE ANGELS’ SHARE

“With a few of the rougher edges sanded down—and several hundred c-words dubbed over—it’s the kind of thing you could picture Miramax releasing back in the ‘80s. A real crowd-pleaser, unexpectedly disarming.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“A spirited, if low-proof, three-finger belt of a film. But this movie doesn’t have the essential moxie it needs to rise above the typical tropes of its genre and setting.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“THE ANGEL’S SHARE has everything: street fights, comedy and drama. And there’s even a ride off into the dull gray mist in place of a sunset. It’s still Glasgow, after all.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter

“This is a film that’s too anchored to be identified simply as fluff; it has too much compassion for its flawed protagonist and invests itself too strongly in his salvation for that qualifier to fit.” – Andrew Crump, Go See Talk

 

The Big WeddingTHE BIG WEDDING

“Sets the bar low at ankle level, then digs itself a cozy little trench in the mud and proceeds to wallow for ninety excruciating minutes. This flick is toxic sludge.” – KIlian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“What were they thinking? Based on a French film that apparently has never been released here, this is a movie about self-absorbed twits.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies