Manipulative and unabashedly sentimental, The Choir carries loud echoes of other better movies.

| Jul 16, 2015

The notes of this tune are tear-jerkingly familiar, and there's never any doubt about the final chorus, replete with a descant line of convenient illness and last-minute substitution.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 12, 2015

Sure, the plot points are in place - mother's alcoholism, mother's death, father's rejection - but the film spends all of 30 seconds on each arc, successfully draining Stet's story of any poignancy and passion.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 10, 2015

Giving every impression of not knowing what day it is, or what year, Dustin Hoffman sleepwalks his way through this passionless, pompous film ...

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 9, 2015

Imagine Whiplash chewed up and regurgitated as a series of smirking, sanctimonious Hallmark greetings cards.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 9, 2015

I was initially attracted to seeing this film because 1) I do adore Dustin Hoffman and 2) I do adore choirs and 3) I honestly had no idea quite how rubbish it would be.

| Jul 9, 2015

You'll be screeching louder than the kids before the curtain falls.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 6, 2015

It's obvious and mechanical but nicely played by all.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 6, 2015

Boychoir's formula is as old as The Ugly Duckling but Girard has revitalised it with a sublime score, a craftily mixed cast of new faces and big names, along with a setting that provides room for the occasional burst of originality.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 23, 2015

Boychoir, too, doesn't have drama so much as spaces where the drama could have been.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 23, 2015

If it sounds like a Hallmark movie, that's because it is.

| Apr 2, 2015

There's nothing wrong with being uplifting, but something less predictable would have been refreshing.

| Apr 2, 2015

An imperious choirmaster (Dustin Hoffman) reluctantly takes a troubled 11-year-old (Garrett Wareing) with the voice of an angel under his wing in this delightful musical drama.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 1, 2015

Hoffman, naturally, makes his character interesting in the way that genius actors always do. Yet the film's storytelling struggles to match his level of skill.

| Mar 31, 2015

I almost half-enjoyed the routine drama Boychoir. But then the closing credits rolled, and so did my eyes.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 27, 2015

As it is, Boychoir is a pleasant experience, beautiful to listen to and easy to forget.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 26, 2015

Two things elevate screenwriter Ben Ripley's otherwise average drama: the stunning choral music ... and Hoffman's wisely underplayed, brooding take on the choirmaster, Carvelle.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 26, 2015

You might forgive Hoffman for sleepwalking through this performance, given the deadly dull and predictable proceedings. No matter - even a yawning Hoffman is a mighty presence, especially compared to the raw actors in the choir.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 26, 2015

Dustin Hoffman coaches a group of angel-voiced young men in this feel-good, yet far-from-treacly family drama.

| Sep 21, 2014

Requires such large amounts of suspended disbelief that one wonders if the film is principally aimed at children.

| Sep 7, 2014