Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Jason says: “It’s common to ask whether someone other than the person that wound up making a movie could have done so, but I think it’s a fair question with CALL ME LUCKY. Subject Barry Crimmins and director Bobcat Goldthwait
Read the review...Cake (USA; 102 min.) directed by: Daniel Barnzstarring: Jennifer Anniston; Adriana Barraza; Sam Worthington; Mamie Gummer; Felicity Huffman Kyle says: “There are way too many movies out there with little or no redeeming merit. Sitting down to watch a movie
Read the review...By the Sea (USA/France; 122 min) directed by: Angelina Jolie Pittstarring: Angelina Jolie; Brad Pitt; Mélanie Laurent; Niels Arestrup; Melvil Poupaud Jason says: “BY THE SEA is the sort of movie I would have called boring as a younger man,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Joel Potrykus
Kyle says: “BUZZARD is the story of a slacker and scam artist who does not get his comeuppance. I propose it as the first in an offshoot of the Slacker Genre called the Quadruple A Scam Artist Sub-Genre: Amoral, Asocial,
Read the review...Burying the Ex (USA; 89 min.) directed by: Joe Dantestarring: Anton Yelchin; Ashley Greene; Alexandria Daddario Kyle says: “We can thank director Joe Dante for many hours of good over-priced hot buttered popcorn munching during his horror/sci fi films, comedies,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: John Crowley
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson | Emory Cohen | Fiona Glascott | Jane Brennan | Julie Walters | Saoirse Ronan
Jason says: “Homesickness can be a tricky thing to put on screen. It’s easy enough to have someone say that’s how she feels, or make the other place look beautiful before quickly cutting back, but those techniques can be superficial,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1 cat
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Kyle says: “The IMDB trivia section informs us that BROKEN HORSES is the first Hollywood film produced, directed, and written by an Indian, and that director James Cameron called it ‘an artistic triumph’ and director Alfonso Cuaron was ‘overwhelmed’ by
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Morgan Matthews
Starring: Asa Butterfield | Jo Yang | Michael McCann | Rafe Spall | Sally Hawkins
Jason says: “This winter, when someone made a comment on there being two biographies of mathematical geniuses up for awards, I responded that after an eternity of movies about poets and musicians whose genius apparently made up for their being
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Jeppe Rønde
Starring: Adrian Rawlins | Elinor Crawley | Hanna Hurray | Josh O’Connor | Scott Arthur | Steven Waddington
Jason says: “There’s a moment early in BRIDGEND when the main character’s father, a policeman just transferred back to the title city after having spent about ten years in Bristol, is shown the wall of the at-that-point twenty-three teenage suicides
Read the review...Breathe (France; 91 min.) directed by: Mélanie Laurentstarring: Joséphine Japy; Lou de Laâge; Isabelle Carré; Claire Keim; Radivoge Bukvic; Roxane Duran Thom says: “This stunning, melodramatic masterpiece is the second feature from the gorgeous French film star and is exciting
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Eric Schaffer
Starring: Elvis Nolasco | Naté Bova | Rami Malek | Stephen Tyrone Williams | Zaraah Abrahams
Kyle says: “When did movies with transgender leading characters become so mainstream as to skirt conventional narrative sentimentality? The aptly titled BOY MEETS GIRL is a delicately detailed, beautifully told story that manages to be both engaging and questioning about
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Anucha Boonyawatana
Jason says: “When making a film meant to be eerie and still, greatness is almost the baseline requirement for the cinematography. Fortunately, Thailand seems to be unusually well stocked with both great shooters and things for them to point a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Matt O'Mahoney
Jason says: “If BLOODY KNUCKLES filmmaker Matt O’Mahoney knows one thing, it’s that measured calls for free speech are kind of missing the point. You can’t just say that offensive media has value, you have to demonstrate it, so it’s
Read the review...Blood of My Blood (Italy/France/Switzerland; 106 min.) directed by: Marco Bellocchiostarring: Roberto Herlitzka; Pier Giorgio Bellocchio; Alba Rohrwacher; Lidiya Liberman; Federica Fracassi Bruce says: “My patience runs thin with self-indulgent films that appear to be the result of adolescent fantasies
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.75
Director: Rob Fitz
Starring: Chris Devecchio | Gene Silvers | Rachel Kerbs | Rick Montgomery Jr
Jason says: “Sometimes it’s hard to give a movie a fair shake, no matter how much it may deserve one. I saw a flat-out great movie with a similar idea just a couple weeks before seeing BLESSID so I wanted
Read the review...Black Sea (UK/USA/Russia; 114 min.) directed by: Kevin MacDonaldcast: Jude Law; Scoot McNairy; Ben Mendelsohn; Sergey Veksler; David Threlfall; Sergey Puskepalis; Grigoriy Dobrygin Jason says: “The basic ingredients of BLACK SEA don’t appeal to everyone, but it’s got claustrophobic subs,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.25
Director: Chad Archibald
Starring: Annette Wozniak | Barry Birnberg | Denise Yuen | Elma Begovic | Jordan Gray | Lawrene Denkers
Jason says: “BITE is the sort of horror movie that puts just enough effort into its characters and story that it initially seems like there might be something to it beyond the gross-outs. It’s not quite up to that level
Read the review...Big Match (South Korea; 112 min.) directed by: Choi Hostarring: Lee Jung-jae; Lee Sung-min; Sin Ha-kyun; BoA; Kim Eui-sung; Park Doo-Dik; Ra Mi-ran; Choi Woo-sik Jason says: “BIG MATCH is really a mess, the sort of movie which starts from
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Jalmari Helander
Jason says: “Kids used to ride bikes to the theater to see movies like BIG GAME; as opposed to dialing up a video-on-demand service, and, man, that’s just an indication that most of them wouldn’t be able to handle what
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Tim Burton
Thom says: “Tim Burton has had a fascinating career with a diverse number of top-rated films like PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE, BEETLEJUICE, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD, & CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. And yet his PLANET OF THE APES was the
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