Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Starring: Najwan Baqaeen | Zaid Baqaeen
Jason says: “I’m guessing that there’s not a whole lot of money for science fiction filmmaking in Jordan, which is why WHEN TIME BECOMES A WOMAN not only feels less like a movie than a one-act play, but also has
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: David Siegel | Scott McGehee
Starring: Alesander Skarsgârd | Joanna Vanderham | Julianne Moore | Onata Aprile | Steve Coogan
Thom says: “McGehee & Siegel have long fascinated me starting out with one of the strangest films ever made in SUTURE followed by two great films in THE DEEP END & BEE SEASON. While UNCERTAINTY was a decided letdown, because
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Amy Berg
Thom says: “Coming so close on the heels of my viewing of the PARADISE LOST trilogy: THE CHILD MURDERS AT ROBIN HOOD HILLS, REVELATIONS, & PURGATORY, I saw this the week it opened in San Francisco. With a big heft
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jo Sung-hee
Starring: Jang Young-nam | Park Bo-young | Song Joong-ki | Yoo Yeon-seok
Kyle says: “The title is misleading only if your notion of ‘werewolf’ is defined by the usually unclad muscular body of Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, and CGI transformations into a huge snarling but protective wolf, in THE TWILIGHT SAGA
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jim Mickle
Starring: Ambyr Childers | Bill Sage | Jack Gore | Julia Garner | Kassie DePaiva | Michael Parks
Jason says: “WE ARE WHAT WE ARE makes a heck of a case for the much-maligned idea of remaking a foreign film in English. Though the original Mexican version was much-beloved by many (I thought it had a great opening
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Jim Rash | Nat Faxon
Starring: Allison Janney | Amanda Peet | AnnaSophia Robb | Liam James | Maya Rudolph | Sam Rockwell | Steve Carell | Toni Collette
Thom says: “This new dysfunctional family-on-vacation coming-of-age dramedy is a first time effort from the directors who won the 2012 Oscar for adapted screenplay for THE DESCENDANTS along with Alexander Payne. It’s a decent first effort that is nicely character-driven
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Rowan Athale
Starring: Gerard Kearns | Iwan Rheon | Luke Treadway | Neil Maskell | Timothy Spall | Vanessa Kirby
Jason says: “What, exactly, is the difference be ween a crime movie and a caper movie? Scale? The intricacy of the plan? Do the characters being a notch more charming or less working-class change the classification? Or is this just
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Starring: Adèle Exarchopoulos | Aurélien Recoing | Catherine Salée | Léa Seydoux | Salim Kechiche
Diane says: “Or, by its more appropriate international title ADELE: CHAPTERS 1 AND 2. A.k.a. the three-hour lesbian sex movie. “I had expected a happy movie: girl discovers her sexuality, finds a thrilling blue-haired partner who opens her eyes to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.25
Director: Joe Pearson
Starring: Adrian Paul | Beau Billingslea | Elizabeth Gracen | Jim Byrries | Peter Wingfield | Tony Eusoff
Jason says: “There’s a lot of reasons to recommend staying away from WAR OF THE WORLDS: GOLIATH: Inconsistent animation, a weak script, bland voice acting, etc. On the other hand, it’s got Teddy Roosevelt killing Martians, and while that doesn’t
Read the review...Viola (Argentina/USA; 65 min.) directed by: Matías Piñeirostarring: CMaria Villar; Romina Paula; Agustina Muñoz; Elisa Carricajo; Gabriela Saidón; Laura Paredes; Julia Martinez Rubio; Esteban Gagliardi; Julián Tello; Alessio Rigo de Righi; Pablo Sigal; Alberto Ajaka Kyle says: “VIOLA inspired as
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Adam Wingard | Eduardo Sánchez | Gareth Huw Evans | Gregg Hale | Jason Eisner | Simon Barrett | Timo Tjahjanto
Starring: Adam Wingard | Hannah Hughes | Kelsey Abbot | Lawrence Michael Levine | Mindy Robinson
Jason says: “To call last year’s V/H/S uneven would be generous; while it managed ‘pretty good’ in a couple of segments, it was awful in more. Still, the good thing about commercially successful anthology films is that sequels need not
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Adam Ciancio
Starring: Christopher Bunworth | Georgina Naidu | Justin Hosking | Mark Diaco | Mike McEvoy | Ursula Mills
Jason says: “Is there a name for the genre that includes films like HAPPY ENDINGS, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, and now Australian independent VESSEL yet? There should be, as ‘maybe science fiction, maybe mental illness’ is rather unwieldy. This one does
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Roh Deok
Starring: Ha Yeon-Soo | Kim Min-hee | Lee Min-ki
Kyle says: “According to the New York Asian Film Festival program booklet, VERY ORDINARY COUPLE, seen in its North American Premiere screening, out-grossed both A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD and GI JOE 2 at the Korean box office. Relief
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Maiken Baird | Michelle Major
Bruce says: “Disclaimer: I am a huge tennis fan and, more specifically, a great fan of the Williams sisters. With that in mind, I hope that I am objective in reviewing VENUS AND SERENA, a documentary about the two women.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Kristina Buozyte
Starring: Jurga Jutaite | Marius Jampolskis | Martina Jablonskyte | Rudolfas Jansonas | Vytautas Kaniusonis
Jason says: “I suspect that every film director would like to make a film that takes place inside dreams at some point – it’s free reign to create imaginative visuals, dig right into a character’s subconscious, and make the occasional
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Moriro Miyamoto
Starring: Kiki Hanaka | Masaki Kitahara | Shinji Wada | Shishimaru Ozawa
Jason says: “There are any number of different types of weird movies, from the merely offbeat to eccentric to bizarre and beyond. UZUMASA JACOPETTI certainly tends toward the stranger end of the spectrum, and like a lot of movies there,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Shane Carruth
Starring: Amy Seimetz | Andrew Sensenig | Kathy Carruth | Meredith Burke | Shane Carruth | Thiago Martin
Jason says: “For all that the interconnectedness of today’s world can make it harder for something to truly take one by surprise – there’s non-stop casting news, coverage, previews, and analysis of it commercial and artistic outlook to the point
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Juan Solanas
Starring: Holly Uloth | James Kidnie | Jim Sturgess | Kirsten Dunst | Timothy Spall
Jason says: “I admit, you can’t honestly look at Juan Solanas’s UPSIDE DOWN and call the writing much other than a mess – there really isn’t one thing in this movie that makes sense. But, on the other hand, I
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Claude Lanzmann
Kyle says: “AT BERKELEY and THE LAST OF THE UNJUST share little in common aside from both being Main Slate screenings of the 51st New York Film Festival, both having very long running times, and both being sharply revealing contemporary
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.75
Director: Will Slocombe
Starring: Amy Ferguson | Ashton Holmes | Cheryl Hines | Peter Bogdanovich | Ross Partridge | Sonya Walger
Jason says: “Folks from other continents much watch movies taking place on Thanksgiving and wonder why Americans have given themselves and extra week end of annoying travel to share a relatively bland meal and unresolved issues with family – even
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