Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Volker Schlöndorff
Starring: André Dussollier | Burghart Klaußner | Johannes Klaußner | Niels Arstrup | Robert Stadlober | Thomas Arnold
Thom says: “While director Schlöndorff doesn’t have quite the cachet of contemporaries Herzog, Fassbinder, or Wenders he still has a fairly consistent track record with THE TIN DRUM, YOUNG TORLESS, THE LOST HONOUR OF KATHARINA BLUM, COUP DE GRACE, CIRCLE
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Alessandro Nivola | Colin Firth | James Hamrick | Kristopher Higgins | Reese Witherspoon | Seth Meriwether
Michael says: “For his latest film, Atom Egoyan tackled the controversial true story of the West Memphis Three, a court case about the shocking murder of three young boys. Three young men were targeted as the murderers because of the
Read the review...The Desert (Argentina; 98 min.) directed by: Chritsoph Behlstarring: Lautaro Delgado; William Procluk; Victoria Almeida; Lucas LaGré Jason says: “There’s a lot to like about Christoph Behl’s post-apocalyptic love triangle, and the fact that it can be described as such
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Justin Simien
Starring: Brittany Curran | Dennis Haysbert | Kyle Gallner | Tessa Thompson | Tyler James Williams
Kyle says: “’Dear White People: The amount of black friends required not to seem racist has just been raised to two. Sorry, your weed man Tyrone doesn’t count!’ Thus Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) begins her Winchester University campus radio show
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis | Gary Oldman | Jason Clarke | Judy Greer | Keri Russell | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Toby Kebbell
Thom says: “Yes, I’ve seen them all: PLANET OF THE APES (1968, 4 CATS), BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970, 4 CATS), ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (1971, 4.5 CATS), CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Starring: Adan Jodorowsky | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Brontis Jodorowsky | Jeremias Herskovits | Pamela Flores
Jason says: “I wouldn’t necessarily expect Alejandro Jodorowsky to be particularly prone to nostalgia; the director, writer, and ‘psychomagician’ has, throughout his career, favored the grandly imaginative and metaphysical to the mundane to an extent that few in any medium
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jonas Govaerts
Starring: Evelien Bosmans | Maurice Luijten | Sef Aerts | Titus De Voogdt
Brett says: “CUB is a film loaded with potential for a horror film, taking its premise from the campfire stories that are commonplace among scouts crowded around the camp fire in the woods on a weekend retreat. This premise is
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jerzy Rose
Starring: Adam Paul | Adebukola Bodunrin | Lyra Hill | Mike Lopez | Ted Temper
Jason says: “Even by black comedy standards, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY is kind of on the mean side. That’s no knock; mean can work, especially in a movie like this that is more about tying jokes together than building to one
Read the review...The Creeping Garden (USK; 81 min.) directed by: Tim Graham & Jasper Sharpdocumentary Jason says: “I take a certain amount of pride in seeing/reviewing movies like this at festivals, and I half think it’s why some issue me press passes
Read the review...Creep (USA; 82 min.) directed by: Patrick Bricestarring: Patrick Brice; Mark Duplas Jason says: “My only issues with CREEP have nothing whatsoever to do with the movie itself. First, there’s the generic title – it’s only been ten years since
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Ari Folman
Starring: Danny Huston | Harvey Keitel | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Michael Stahl-David | Robin Wright | Sami Gayle
TC says: “Loosely adapted from the Stanislaw Lem novel (who would probably say ‘VERY loosely’), this film is almost impossible to review, because as a film writer and fan, the thought of the stuff going on in this film is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Tze Chun
Starring: Alice Eve | Bryan Cranston | Erin Cummings | Logan Marshall-Green | Robin Taylor | Ursula Parker
Jason says: “There are a number of paths to directing major motion pictures, and I suspect that the one Tze Chun is on is fairly common: Do some shorts, make a truly independent film that’s close to your heart for
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: James Ward Byrkit
Starring: Elizabeth Gracen | Emily Foxler | Hugo Armstrong | Lauren Maher | Maury Sterling | Nicholas Brendon
Jason says: “COHERENCE is one of the talkiest, most actor-centric sci-fi films you’re ever likely to see, but this is a case where that’s a pretty good thing. Sure, something this odd and improv-heavy can invite disaster when a neat
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Starring: Andreas Schröders | Justus von Dohnányi | Katharina Hauck | Katharina Schüttler | Tom Schilling
Bruce says: “Some films resonate so profoundly with me that I can feel myself embodied in one of the characters. For me, Niko Fischer (Tom Schilling) is one of those characters. Niko transports me back to my twenties. Each move,
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Vivian Qu
Jason says: “A trap street is a non-existent road placed on a map so that cartographers will be able to tell when competitors have copied their work rather than surveying the area independently. It’s not a common term in film
Read the review...CinemAbility (USA; 98 min.) directed by: Jenni Goldstarring: Geena Davis; Ben Afleck; Michael Apted; Jamie Foxx; Peter Bogdanovich; Beau Bridges; Peter Farrelly Bruce says: “Like other films about outsiders in the world of cinema – such as HOLLYWOOD CHINESE and
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Calin Peter Netzer
Starring: Bogdan Dumitrache | Florin Zamfirescu | Ilinca Goia | Luminita Gheorghiu | Natasa Raab | Vlad Ivanov
Bruce says: “Luminita Gheorghiu (4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS; 12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST; THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU; BEYOND THE HILLS has to be one of the first ladies of the Romanian silver screen, yet none of her prior
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Bobby Cannavale | Dustin Hoffman | Emjay Anthony | John Leguizamo | Jon Favreau | Oliver Platt | Scarlett Johansson | Sofia Vergara
Jason says: “Jon Favreau’s CHEF has a line in the credits about being based on actual events, and I kind of suspect that those events may involve ‘fans’ putting a lot of personal invective into their assessments of IRON MAN
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Bill Plympton
Starring: Alex Markowitx | Jacob Steele | Jeremy Baumann | Mike Dragovic | Sita Steele | Sophia Takal
Jason says: “CHEATIN’ is the new Bill Plympton movie, his first feature since 2008’s IDIOTS AND ANGELS, and it’s a fine demonstration that over thirty years as an independent animator, he hasn’t dulled his edge much while carving out his
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Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: Emmanuel Shirinian
Starring: Aaron Abrams | Alon Nashman | Anna Hopkins | Emma Fleury | Michael D. Cohen | Phyllis Ellis
Michael says: “Here’s an independent film that deserves a wider audience, and I wouldn’t have known about it at all except that a Chlotrudis member is actually the star of the film. Michael D. Cohen stars as Abner in IT
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