Had a blast sitting in with fellow Boston Online Film Critics Association members Evan Crean and Charlie Nash to discuss Marky Mark’s exploitative Boston Marathon fantasy, along with some other 2016 what-were-they-thinking lowlights, including Batman V Superman, Suicide Squad, 13 Hours, Arrival, Captain Fantastic and Dirty Grandpa. – Spoilerpiece Theatre, 12/30/2016
“The funniest movie ever made about grieving and the saddest movie ever made about the North Shore. Casey Affleck delivers a performance of such private, inarticulate heartbreak it rivals Heath Ledger’s iconic turn in Brokeback Mountain, throwing up emotional walls that keep getting knocked down by a world that stubbornly refuses to stop spinning.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 12/26/2016
Talking 2016 with fellow Boston Online Film Critics Association members Bob Chipman, Steve Head, Megan Kearns, Charlie Nash, Evan Crean, Andrew Crump and sleepy Brett Michel. Films discussed: Elle, The Handmaiden, Certain Women, Silence, Green Room, Hell Or High Water, Paterson, La La Land, Manchester By The Sea, Moonlight. – BOFCA, 12/26/2016
PASSENGERS * 1 / 2
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia. Screenplay by Jon Spaihts. Directed by Morten Tyldum.
“Ensuring I won’t get my shopping done until the last possible moment, this week The Brattle Theatre has three days of double features reeking of whiskey, cigarettes and mistletoe. If you prefer your holiday tidings laced with arias of profanity, inventive torture sequences and comically brutal gunfights, Santa’s got a lot of presents under the tree this year.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 12/20/2016
“The movie spends so much time fellating its bogus hero, were it about an actual person Patriots Day would seem like a North Korean propaganda film. But instead it’s just the tasteless delusions of a vain movie star recreating his hometown’s most horrifying moments so he can dress up and play policeman. Everyone involved should be ashamed.” – North Shore Movies, 12/20/2016
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY * * 1 / 2
Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk and Forest Whitaker. Screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. Directed by Gareth Edwards.
LA LA LAND * *
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt and J.K. Simmons. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
1. Manchester By The Sea 2. Silence 3. Paterson 4. Certain Women 5. Elle 6. The Nice Guys 7. De Palma 8. Mountains May Depart 9. The Handmaiden 10. Cafe Society
Honorable Mentions: A Bigger Splash, Cameraperson, Cemetery Of Splendor, Cosmos, Dog Eat Dog, The Fits, Green Room, Hail, Caesar!, Hell Or High Water, I Am Not Your Negro, Krisha, Right Now, Wrong Then, Sully, Toni Erdmann, White Girl – BOFCA. 12/09/2016
JACKIE * * *
Starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and John Hurt. Screenplay by Noah Oppenheim. Directed by Pablo Larrain.
SPLICED PERSONALITY 