Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Peter Nicks
Michael says: “THE WAITING ROOM is director Peter Nicks’ feature doc debut, and in it, he takes us through 24 hours of a busy hospital emergency waiting room. I joked before I saw it that it was a real look
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Patrick McGrady
Jason says: “WAGNER AND ME is probably only going to be terribly educational for those like myself whose musical knowledge is relatively shallow – the folks who sing ‘kill the wab-bit!’ to ourselves when a certain bit of Richard Wagner’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Ho-Cheung Pang
Starring: Chapman To | Dada Chan | Ronald Cheng | Suet Lam
Jason says: “VULGARIA would certainly be an example of writer/director Pang Ho-Cheung’s incredible recent productivity if it were nothing else; it’s his second film of the year, shot in a ridiculous twelve days. Of course, it is something else –
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jeffrey Schwarz
Bruce says: “‘I’m fighting for generations that come after me,’ Vitto Russo states early in this excellent documentary. ‘When you talk about gay rights you have to talk about Vito,’ a friend tells the camera. Born in east Harlem but
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Licinio Azevedo
Starring: Ana Maria Albino | Ermelinda Cimela | Ilda Gonzales | Iva Mugalela | Rosa Mario | Sumeia Maculuva
Bruce says: “Three of my Toronto International Film Festival films in 2012 were selected based on a single criterion, that I had never before seen a film from its country. Those countries were Angola, Guatemala and Mozambique. “When Soviet-backed bush
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Namir Abdel Messeeh
Bruce says: “What begins as a filmmaker’s conceit turns out to be a wonderful sociological essay on rural life in northern Egypt. Namir Abdel Messeeh was born in Egypt and his parents left him behind when they emigrated to France.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Dante Lam
Starring: Andy Tien | Bing Bai | Carl Ng | Crystal Lee | Jay Chou | Lin Peng | Liu Kai-chi
Jason says: “THE VIRAL FACTOR aims to be a throwback to the pre-Hollywood films of John Woo, combining stylish action with even grander melodrama. And while director Dante Lam likely has more in common with today’s John Woo than the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Adam Wingard | David Bruckner | Glenn McQuaid | Joe Swanberg | Radio Silence | Ti West
Starring: Adam Wingard | Calvin Reeder | Hannah Fierman | Joe Sykes | Lane Hughes | Mike Donlan | Sophia Takal
Jason says: “V/H/S is an anthology film with six segments (including the spine), each of which is the product of up-and-coming independent [horror] directors, and each of which makes an attempt to do something interesting with the ‘found footage’ conceit.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Lauren Greenfield
Jason says: “Times are tough for everybody, although ‘tough’ can be a relative concept. The further you get from the bottom, not only does it get further from what many would consider really difficult, but harder to sympathize, at least
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.75
Director: André Téchiné
Starring: Adriana Asti | Alexis Loret | André Dussollier | Carole Bouquet | Mauro Conti | Mélanie Thierry
Thom says: “While I’m certainly familiar with many of André Téchiné’s films including THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, SCENE OF THE CRIME, RENDEZ-VOUS, BAROCCO, STRAYED, THE WITNESSES the only one I’ll truly remember is WILD REEDS (1994). He’s always a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Robert Connolly
Starring: Alex Williams | Anthony LaPaglia | Callan McAuliffe | Laura Wheelwright | Nick Mitchell | Rachel Griffiths
Thom says:b”This Australian television film was a real eye-opener. Connolly’s work is mostly unfamiliar to me although I did see THE BANK (2001, 3 CATS). This was a thrilling and awe-inspiring true story about the late-teen scene of one of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Dongyu Xhou | Meijuan Xi | Rina Sa | Shawn Dou | Xuejian Li
Thom says: “With so many great films behind him (including RAISE THE RED LANTERN, CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, HERO, SHANGHAI TRIAD, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, & many others) I would have thought this lovely film would have, at least,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.9
Director: Paddy Considine
Starring: Eddie Marsan | Ned Dennehy | Olivia Colman | Paul Popplewell | Peter Mullan
Ibad says: “There are many films that capture the bleak landscape of humanity, with an emphasis on the treatment of women, that come across as manipulative, misogynistic, forced, and/or sadistic. No such thing in TYRANNOSAUR. Although it doesn’t deliver on
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Angelina Nikonova
Starring: Olga Dykhovichnaya | Roman Merinov | Sergei Borisov | Sergei Golyudov | Vsevolod Voronov
Bruce says: “The purpose of the New Directors/New Films Festival is to promote emerging talent. The festival has a remarkable track record, having discovered many directors who are now considered leaders in their field. The festival is remarkably open to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Ivana Mladenovic
Starring: Alexandru Mititelu | Dragomir Christian George | Israila Jamir | Papan Chilibar
Bruce says: “Director Ivana Mladenovic admits that the genesis of her film began as a narrative feature film crew got permission to film in a prison using inmates as actors. Although she did not go into detail, that venture fell
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Ágnes Hranitzky | Béla Tarr
Starring: Erika Bók | János Derzsi | Mihály Kormos | Ricsi
Thom says: “In 1889 German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche witnessed the flagellation of a horse while traveling in Turin, Italy. He tossed his arms o’er the horse’s neck to safeguard it then collapsed to the soil. In less than one month,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.25
Director: Flip van der Kuil | Steffen Haarsr
Starring: Flip Van der Kuil | Huub Smit | Steffen Haars | Tim Haars | Wesley van Gaalen
Jason says: “After NEW KIDS TURBO, another festivalgoer and I off-handedly discussed which bit of incessantly repeated profanity was less likely to fly with an American audience. For a certain group, that sort of broad-spectrum political incorrectness is an asset
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Aakash Dahiya | Freida Pinto | Harish Khanna | Neet Mohan | Riz Ahmed | Roshan Seth
Bruce says: “Michael Winterbottom (WONDERLAND, THE TRIP, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, IN THIS WORLD, WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY) is one of the most versatile directors in the history of film.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Grant Hamilton
Jason says: “Instant photography is pretty darn cool, both as concept and technology, and most of the core audience for TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM probably already feels that rather strongly. The rest of the people who
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Bembol Roco | Lovi Poe | Mercedes Cabral | Nora Aunor
Bruce says: “I’m a big Mendoza fan. His first film, THE MASSEUR, screened at my first Toronto Film Festival. Since then Mendoza has made wonderful films such as LOLA, FOSTER CHILD, SERBIS and SLINGSHOT; each of these films depict a
Read the review...