7 Days to Vegas (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Eric Balfour
Starring: Eileen Davidson | Paul Walter Hauser | Rose McCall | Vincent Van Patten
Little Woods (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Nia DaCosta
Starring: James Badge Dale | Lance Reddick | Lily James | Luke Kirby | Tessa Thompson
Ivy says: “This film is a revelation! A woman-directed, modern, feminist western set in North Dakota starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James. I really don’t want to tell you more. It is one of my favorite films of the year and
Read the review...Parasite (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Hye-jin Jan | Ji-so Jung | Kang-ho Song | Myeong-hoon Park | Seo-joon Park | So-dam Park | Sun-kyun Lee | Woo-sik Choi | Yeo-jeong Jo
Thom says: “Director Bong Joon Ho has been the darling of international film festivals for years with his varied, dazzling, & inventive stories and techniques. Since the super-fun monster film THE HOST (2006) he’s directed the superb MOTHER (2009), SNOWPIERCER
Read the review...Destroyer (2019)
By Michael Colford
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Bradley Whitford | Nicole Kidman | Scott McNairy | Sebastian Stan | Tatiana Maslany | Toby Kebbell
Michael says: “Karyn Kusama’s latest film got a bit of a tiny buzz when it was released, around the possibility of Oscar notice because of Nicole Kidman’s strung-out, driven, and totally unglamorous portrayal of Detective Bell, wracked with guilt and
Read the review...Giant Little Ones (2019)
By Michael Colford
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Keith Behrman
Starring: Darren Mann | Josh Wiggins | Kyle MacLachlan | Maria Bello | Niamh Wilson | Taylor Hickson
Michael says: “Okay, what a surprise “I’m on a mission to get my 25 eligible films in, and I’m just coming down with a cold, so I’m not feeling great. So I wanted a movie that was relatively short and
Read the review...Shadow (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Chao Deng | Jingchun Wang | Jun Hu | Li Sun | Qianyuan Wang | Ryan Zheng | Xiaotong Guan
Michael says: “Who knew Zhang Yimou had a new movie out this year? Certainly not me (thanks, Bob!) I’ve loved a lot of Zhang Yimou’s films, both his gorgeous, epics, and his tiny character films. SHADOW is one of the
Read the review...The Lighthouse (2019)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 2.75 | 3.5 cats
Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Robert Pattison | Valeriia Karaman | Willem Dafoe
Chris says: “Enjoyed this a little more than THE WITCH–it’s just as silly, but Eggers’ Lynch/Maddin pretensions are finely tuned and wrought, and a sense of encroaching madness forever drives things forward. DaFoe/Pattinson is also an inspired pairing, and where
Read the review...The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2019)
By Michael Colford
Rating: 2.8 cats
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Amara Karan | Ben Schnetzer | Chris Zylka | Emily Hampshire | Jacob Tremblay | Jared Keeso | Kathy Bates | Kit Harington | Michael Gambon | Natalie Portman | Susan Sarandon | Thandie Newton
Michael says: “Ah, where do I start with the work of Xavier Dolan. His first film, I KILLED MY MOTHER, was a tour de force for me. A beautiful, emotional story, and an audacious and artistic feature directorial debut. Dolan
Read the review...Pain and Glory (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Antonio Banderas | Asier Etxeandia | César Vicente | Julieta Serrano | Leonardo Sbaraglia | Nora Navas
Chris says: “Doesn’t contain the giddy highs of Almodovar’s best and feels scattered like much of his post-VOLVER output; however, while definitely a mature work, it’s not boring like JULIETA, and the widespread praise for Antonio Banderas’ affecting, multifaceted performance
Read the review...Monos (2019)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alejandro Landes
Starring: Julian Geraldo | Julianne Nicholson | Karen Quintero | Laura Castrillón | Sofia Buenaventura
Chris says: “Crazier than FITZCARRALDO. The less one knows going in, the better. Last act meanders a bit, but this is highly recommended for fans of apocalyptic art cinema, Mica Levi scores and Julianne Nicholson. 4 cats“
Read the review...Official Secrets (2019)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Jeremy Northam | Katherine Kelly | Keira Knightley | Matt Smith | Matthew Goode | Ralph Fiennes
Chris says: “A fascinating story (based on actual events) told adequately; it wants to be ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, but Keira Knightley lacks the presence of a Hoffman and the ease of a Redford. It’s even more noticeable in her
Read the review...The Report (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats | 3 cats
Director: Scott A. Burns
Starring: Adam Driver | Annette Bening | Corey Stoll | Evander Duck Jr. | Jon Hamm | Michael C. Hall
Diane says: “Scott Burns’ THE REPORT, starring Adam Driver, is decidedly uncinematic, at least for the first 2/3 of the film. It’s the story of Dan Jones, a Senate Intelligence staffer who labors for years (mostly in a small secure room)
Read the review...Everybody Knows (2019)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Bárbara Lennie | Eduard Fernández | Inma Cuestra | Javier Bardem | Penélope Cruz | Ricardo Darín
Chris says: “Asghar Fahardi’s latest is his least essential feature to date, but only when you consider his exceptional track record. If you’ve already seen A SEPARATION, THE PAST and all the rest, you could do much worse than this
Read the review...The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Terry Gilliam
Thom says: “Dear, talented auteur director Terry Gilliam has always in his long career been quite interesting, and yet, that might be damning him with faint praise. I’ve seen all his repertoire: MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL (3 CATS),
Read the review...Kusama: Infinity (2018)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Heather Lenz
Thom says: “This is they type of documentary that rings all my bells. It’s the life story of now hugely successful Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose work now pops the million dollar ceiling, but for years she suffered through bouts
Read the review...The Aftermath (2019)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: James Kent
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård | Fionn O'Shea | Flora Thiemann | Jack Laskey | Jason Clarke | Keira Knightley | Monika Foris Kvasnicková
Thom says: “It’s post-WWII Hamburg where a colonel is there with his family to help with Reconstruction and they move into a house still populated by the German owner and his shy daughter. Of course, the British colonel and his
Read the review...Linda Rondstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Jeffrey Friedman | Rob Epstein
Chris says: “After a few stabs at making biopics (HOWL, LOVELACE), veteran nonfiction filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman return to form with a slick but affecting documentary about one of the greatest vocalists of her generation. While not held
Read the review...The Other Side of Hope (2017)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: Dome Karukoski | Jörn Donner | Kati Outinen | Sakari Kuosmanen | Sherwan Haji | Tommi Corpela | Tommi Eronen | Ville Virtanen
Thom says: “Aki Kaurismäki has long been one of my TOP 10 Living Directors and this film richly adds to his glamorous acclaim. His top rated films include: CRIME & PUNISHMENT (1983), ARIEL (1988), THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL (1990), La Vie
Read the review...Zama (2018)
By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Lucrecia Martel
Starring: Daniel Giménez Cacho | Juan Minujín | Lola Dueñas | Mariana Nunes | Matheus Nachtergaele | Nahuel Cano
Chris says: “Apart from her debut feature LA CIENAGA, all of Lucrecia Martel’s films have left me cold and damn if I can pinpoint why. As a big fan of stuff like Tarkovsky’s STALKER, it’s not like I abhor slow
Read the review...Sorry to Bother You (2018)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Boots Riley
Starring: Armie Hammer | Danny Glover | Forest Whitaker | Jermaine Fowler | Kate Berlant | Lakeith Stanfield | Lily James | Michael X. Sommers | Omari Hardwick | Tessa Thompson
Thom says: “A good friend gave me a choice of 3 current features & I mistakenly chose this one. I think part of the problem was an age difference. Amongst the 70s group I’m afraid I’ve lost a lot of
Read the review...