“There’s nothing in Ponsoldt’s stylistic arsenal to suit the surreal requirements of Eggers’ story, which is sort of a panicky, luddite Invasion Of The Facebook Friend Snatchers. The plotting takes bizarre detours almost into the realm of science-fiction, and yet it’s all shot with the ploddingly earnest, granola aesthetic of a Sundance also-ran about a family farm.” – North Shore Movies, 04/29/2017
“The bizarre, improbably moving Sylvio has moments of beauty that border on the sublime. There’s a yearning to the hairy guy’s amazingly uneventful puppet shows, a dream of sophistication that transcends his animal brutishness. The movie’s also funny as hell because, again, it’s about a gorilla wearing sunglasses and people clothes.” – Boston Reel, 04/28/2017
“The fifteenth annual Independent Film Festival Boston begins on Wednesday night, kicking off Holy Week for the city’s cinephiles. Unspooling at the Somerville, Brattle and Coolidge Corner Theatres, the non-profit IFFBoston and its all-volunteer staff showcase independent films at independent venues, far from the madding multiplexes.” – Metro, 04/26/2017
“There’s an atmosphere that fosters community. People who would never engage a stranger at the Kendall have no problem turning to a stranger in line and asking what they’ve seen that they liked. We have heard so many stories of people who met at the festival who went on to become best friends, and in a few cases, get married and start families.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 04/25/2017
TRAMPS * * *
Starring Callum Turner, Grace Van Patten, Michal Vondel, Margaret Colin and Mike Birbiglia. Written and directed by Adam Leon.
MY ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL SINKING INTO THE SEA * * *
With the voices of Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph and Susan Sarandon. Written and directed by Dash Shaw.
“Scripts are sort of slippery documents. You write this stuff and it’s real easy to write and it’s really, really hard to do. The next step would be storyboarding, but again storyboarding can be full of bullshit as well. It lulls you into a false sense of security that it’s actually doable. So then we built models and stuff and started to plan it out, and I eventually used Minecraft.” – Boston Reel, 04/22/2017
FREE FIRE * 1 / 2
Starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy and Jack Reynor. Screenplay by Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley. Directed by Ben Wheatley.
“You’re always aware this is a mercenary product that has no real reason for being except to make more money and more Furious movies, collecting characters and co-stars like a lint-roller while putting them into increasingly absurd and strangely weightless vehicular cataclysms. It’s got the lugubrious, nothing-matters quality of eighties Bond films.” – North Shore Movies, 04/15/2017
“There’s a way to read the cryptic supernatural elements as Laura’s imagination of an evil that’s at least easier to understand than her father’s abuse, but in typical Lynch fashion he leaves interpretations up to the audience. The movie’s doom-laden orgies and strobe-lit screams attain a hypnotic grandeur that’s pulverizing when seen on a giant screen.” – Metro, 04/13/2017
