“The filmmaking is always so fussy and exacting, determinedly marching through the director’s chosen thesis statement with no deviations or surprises. Once you know where Amour is going, there’s nothing left but to run out the clock, which I believe might be the point, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch.” – The Improper Bostonian, 01/16/2013

“If there’s a more poorly directed film this year, I haven’t seen it. Hooper keeps the camera locked into a fisheye view of everybody’s nostrils just to prove they’re really singing, goddamnit. But maybe he should have realized that uncut tracks of Russell Crowe hoarsely flubbing notes are ‘authentic’ in the worst way possible. This is an aesthetic crime.” – The Improper Bostonian, 01/02/2013

“A tedious affair about a tedious affair. There’s nothing quite so frustrating as watching history through the eyes of the least interesting person in the room. I think even Daisy Suckley herself might wonder why anybody would want to make a movie about her.” – The Improper Bostonian, 12/12/2012

“The problem is that the lyrical visuals are constantly undone by the screenplay’s dull literal-mindedness. And if, by any chance, you happen to have missed this story’s honkingly obvious metaphors, don’t worry because these guys explain everything you’re seeing in laborious detail. You’ll wish you could watch it with the sound turned off.” – The Improper Bostonian, 11/28/2012

“First and foremost, it’s nimble-footed, crowd-pleasing entertainment. Tasked with dramatizing some of the most significant moments of the 19th century, Spielberg shoots the picture as a bustling ensemble comedy. There’s little pageantry here, just a lot of deeply flawed, quicksilver wits trying to muddle their way through the course of American history.” – The Improper Bostonian, 11/14/2012

“The trouble with most films about addiction is that the monotony becomes numbing. He climbs on the wagon; he falls off the wagon. He climbs on the wagon again and then guess what happens next? He self-destructs over and over again until it’s eventually time to recite ‘The Serenity Prayer’ so the movie can finally end.” – The Improper Bostonian, 10/31/2012

“Affleck once again proves himself a whiz with actors who aren’t Ben Affleck. A murderer’s row of supporting players fill out Argo, with the aforementioned Arkin and Goodman doing their most playful work in years. I could’ve watched an entire movie of these two old pros barking obscenities at one another.” – The Improper Bostonian, 10/17/2012

“Elusive, impeccably controlled and, at times, alienating, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master is a bold and weighty picture. I daresay it’s possible to be wowed by the film without quite grasping it, rather turning over the cryptic double meanings and curveball non sequiturs in your mind for days after the closing credits roll.” – The Improper Bostonian, 10/03/2012

“With the possible exception of Michael Douglas, is there anybody better at playing wealthy scumbags than Richard Gere? The star’s ’80s swagger has receded into a fascinating, recessive, silver-maned emptiness.” – The Improper Bostonian, 09/19/2012

“It’s catty, potty-mouthed and seems to strike a nerve with certain audiences. Bachelorette is hysterically funny and awfully sad, somehow incorporating bulimia, abortion and overdoses into the breathlessly paced, farcical structure. This isn’t Bridesmaids, it’s Hurlyburly for women pushing 30.”  – The Improper Bostonian, 09/05/2012