Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Jack Perez
Starring: Ariel Gade | Barry Bostwick | Eric Price | Karen Black | Kevin Corrigan | Leo Fitzpatrick | Lucy Davis
Jason says: “Funnything about the festival circuit; a movie can be there for a while – I missed seeing this at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival last July, catching THE INNKEEPERS instead. I don’t regret seeing that at all, but I was
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Katsuhito Ishii
Starring: Hikari Mitsushima | Masatoshi Nagase | Satoshi Tsumabuki | Yasuko Matsuyuki
Jason says: “Plenty of movies on both sides of the Pacific are based on comics, but while it’s easy enough to take the characters or plot, but capturing the feel of the medium can be a different matter. Katsuhio Ishii’s
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Mike Birbiglia | Seth Barrish
Starring: Carol Kane | James Rebhorn | Lauren Ambrose | Mike Birbiglia
Jason says: “SLEEPWALK WITH ME may not have a large built-in audience, but fans of writer/director/star Mike Birbiglia and the National Public Radio segments from which this movie evolved may be the exact right niche for an independent film like
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Frédéric Jardin
Starring: Joey Starr | Julien Boisselier | Laurent Stocker | Lizzie Brochere | Serge Riaboukine | Tomer Sisley
Jason says: “As much as action movies and thrillers will often try to impress by their intricacy and build-up to a spectacular climax, there is something tremendously satisfying to the two-step process that Frédéric Jardin uses for SLEEPLESS NIGHT (NUIT
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal
Starring: Alex Ferris | James D'Arcy | Joshua Close | Quinn Lord | Rachel Miner | Selma Blair
Jason says: “It strikes me as extremely unlikely that anybody else will go into REPLICAS with the same expectations I had – not having reached the ‘R’ section of the program, I had somehow got it in my head that
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Ursula Meier
Starring: Gillian Anderson | Kacey Mottet Klein | Léa Seydoux | Martin Compston | Yann Trégouët
Diane says: “Franco-Swiss production SISTER underwhelmed me. A young boy who lives near a ski resort steals sports equipment, clothing, food to sell or to feed himself and his older sister. I kept imagining dramatic turns–a suicidal jump from the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Ann Hui
Starring: Andy Lau | Deannie Ip | Fuli Wang | Hailu Qin
Jason says: “A SIMPLE LIFE opens with a screen of text explaining how these characters got to this point in their lives, but is intriguingly silent on why its two main characters are mostly alone except for each other. That’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper | Jacki Weaver | Jennifer Lawrence | John Ortiz | Julia Stiles | Robert De Niro
Bruce says: “The buzz was great. The director is a favorite. It has heavy backing from The Weinstein Company. Will SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK live up to the hype? Happily the answer is yes. But to get the most out of
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Hansal Mehta
Starring: Kay Kay Menon | Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub | Pawan Kumar | Prabhleen Sandhu | Raj Kumar Yadav | Shalini Vatsa | Vinod Rawat | Vipin Sharma | Vivek Ghamande
Bruce says: “The ticket for this film arrived in my Toronto Film Festival packet by mistake. Initially I planned to exchange it then decided to treat it as an omen. SHAHID, one of many films in a special City-to-City series
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Abbie Cornish | Christopher Walken | Colin Farrell | Gabourey Sidibe | Michael Pitt | Michael Stuhlberg | Sam Rockwell | Woody Harrelson
Diane says: “Acting Nom for Christopher Walken, as a gentle psychopath caring for his wife hospitalized with breast cancer. I’ve seen most of director Martin McDonagh’s plays, and his IN BRUGES, and I love his over-the-top combo of sweetness and
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Ben Lewin
Starring: Annika Marks | Helen Hunt | John Hawkes | Moon Bloodgood | Robin Weigart | William H. Macy
Bruce says: “So many things could have gone wrong with bringing THE SESSIONS to the screen. The script could have made the story cheap and tawdry. The direction could have taken the story to a sensationalistic plateau. The actors could
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Malik Bendjelloul
Thom says: “Yes, I’d read all the raves but somehow I had my doubts but 10 minutes into this charmer I was hooked. Rodriguez was an early-70s rock/folk singer from Detroit who released two albums that were monumental bombs and
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: John Cairns
Starring: Higarino | Mai Tsujimoto | Max MacKenzie
Jason says: “Believe it or not, SCHOOLGIRL APOCALYPSE is not the third Nobboru Iguchi film on the festival’s program, or a similarly cheery exploitation picture from a filmmaker of like sensibilities. No, it’s an often-impressive bit of stripped-down sci-fi/horror that
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Ron Fricke
Jason says: “Especially early on, SAMSARA certainly looks like a movie that instills the same reaction as its trailer – ‘ooooohhh, pretty!’ – only for longer. And, yes, it’s certainly the kind of pretty that justifies the cost of a
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Gianni Di Grigorio
Starring: Alfonso Santagata | Elisabetta Piccolomini | Gianni De Grigorio | Valeria Cavalli | Valeria De Franciscis
Jason says: “THE SALT OF LIFE is the title given to this movie for it’s American release; the actual title translates to GIANNI AND THE WOMEN, which is kind of literal but less pretentious, which might have been preferable. THE
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Amr Waked | Catherine Steadman | Emily Blunt | Ewan MacGregor | Kristin Scott Thomas
Chris says: “Even with a novel premise (the title is all you need to know), a sturdy (if unexceptional) anchor in Ewan McGregor and sound support from Emily Blunt and a tart Kristin Scott Thomas, it all sinks under the
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Rating: 3.9
Director: Colin Treverrow
Starring: Aubrey Plaza | Basil Harris | Jake M. Johnson | KaranSoni | Mary Lynn Rajskub
Jason says: “The title of SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED comes from a classified ad that one character places, inspired by a real-life posting along the same lines; I’m pretty sure I recall seeing it as the hook to a science fiction
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Armand Verdure | Bouli Lanners | Corrine Masiero | Marion Cotillard | Matthias Schoenaerts
Bruce says: “I was a huge fan of Jacques Audiard’s THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED (2005) and READ MY LIPS (2001). His most acclaimed film A PROPHET (2009) did not score as high with me as with other viewers
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.9 cats
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Alec Baldwin | Allison Pill | Ellen Page | Jesse Eisenberg | Judy Davis | Roberto Begnini | Woody Allen
Michael says: “Woody Allen keeps tricking me. I really haven’t seen a Woody Allen film that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in the new millennium. Arguably, the last film of his that worked for me was CELEBRITY back in 1998 (and many
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Andrew Bush
Starring: Christopher Shore | George William Basil | Kayla Lorette | Mark Little | Path Thornton | Scott Vrooman
Jason says: “Because any fad that makes anybody some money will attract some movie producer’s attention, there was a brief period where Hollywood put out roller disco movies. Because every sub-genre that ever existed will eventually resurface, some guys in
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