JURASSIC WORLD
“Spectacularly silly, as though tweaking the noses of genre-fans who demand every last franchise tumble down into Gritty Realism Land was a Priority 1 note pinned to the screenwriter’s monitor.” – Bob Chipman, MOVIEBOB
“…harebrained but never boring, and unlike the last two sequels, it has a proper if overstated reverence for Steven Spielberg’s original classic. ” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine
“While it clearly (and predictably) fails to come close to JURASSIC PARK, JURASSIC WORLD does manage to provide a great deal of entertainment for those of us who are interested.” – Jaskee Hickman, Cinematic Essential
“The plotting and characterization is about an inch deep, but it does raise some interesting points along the way to its mega-dinosaur smackdown finale.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, North Shore Movies
“If CGI creature fighting, close-call moments upended by heroic feats and spurts of nostalgia callbacks are your bag, then you might enjoy this scaleless attempt at carrying on a brand name instead of a unique film series.” – Sam Cohen, Substream Magazine
“As pure escapist popcorn spectacle, JURASSIC WORLD hits its intended mark of throwing lots of action onto the screen; but beyond the chaos, there’s little meat on the bone for this story.” – Tim Estiloz, El Mundo Boston
“Fleeting glimpses of joy are the strongest segments of JURASSIC WORLD, a theme park and movie that is about filling seats and crunching numbers.” – Max Covill, Impassioned Cinema
“There’s a high level of craft going on here but also a cynical shrug.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality
“…predictability stunts the narrative from becoming anything that would inspire Spielberg-esque awe.” – Monica Castillo, International Business Times
“The plot is as fossilized as the bones that paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) was digging up in the desert at the beginning of JURASSIC PARK way back in 1993, but so what?” – John Black, Boston Event Guide
THE CONNECTION
“Jimenez hasn’t exactly broken the period-crime/thriller mold, but he’s built a solid entertainment, with techniques well absorbed from the American movie tradition.” – David Riedel, Santa Fe Reporter
HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT
“Cinema lets us engage with difficult subject matter through a veneer of security. But something like HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT pierces that veil. By its very nature, it pushes the boundaries of our personal comfort.” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine
“HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT may not be a pleasant viewing experience, but it is an enormously compelling one, and with exceptional artistry forced me to look at and consider people from whom on the street I too often look away.” – Sean Burns, Spliced Personality
“This is a movie made up of the places, the actions, and the people that we look away from.” – Jake Mulligan, Dig Boston
LIVE FROM NEW YORK!
“…there is a story to be told here about how these rebels became the establishment, but it’s not one Nguyen nor any of the (surprisingly few) participants have any interest in telling.” – Sean Burns, Movie Mezzanine
“There are murmurs here of SNL having lost its edge, and it’s true that there have been periods of stagnation in that long four-decade run, but that essential, transgressive aura remains bright and intact.” – Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
THE FAREWELL PARTY
“Don’t think about THE FAREWELL PARTY as a movie about anything in terms of your own personal stand – pro or con – about assisted suicide; think of it, instead, as a beautifully rendered tale about friendship and the lengths friends will go to for each other.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide