reviews by Thom Yee

Sometimes we run out of time for a full review, sometimes release dates don’t fit into our schedule, and sometimes we just don’t have much to say about the things we’ve just watched. Here are some quick reviews of some of 2014’s bigger – but not big enough – movies.

Boyhood

Boyhood images courtesy of IFC Films

In many ways a towering achievement in filmmaking and in many more ways a simple, straightforward film about growing up, Boyhood is a strong work from every reasonable perspective, but is obviously most notable for its production schedule. Shot over the course of twelve (12!) years, the ambition of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is almost staggering, particularly considering that the key figures in the movie’s production were far from stagnant in the intervening time — director Linklater delivered prolific work, including mainstream hits like School of Rock and the final two installments in his romantic drama series, Before Sunset and Before Midnight; Ethan Hawke, who plays the father in Boyhood, starred in more than twenty movies (even if nobody actually saw them); and even Ellar Coltrane, the boy himself, had roles in several other films throughout the teen years that formed the basis of his onscreen time in this film. It’s the sheer audacity of the concept combined with coherent storytelling that makes Boyhood one of the most notable movies of 2014.

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