Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.9
Director: Ethan Coen | Joel Coen
Starring: Aaron Wolf | Fred Melamed | Michael Stuhlbarg | Richard Kind | Sari Lenrick
Diane says: “I never realized how much the Coens had in common with David Lynch. Watching A SERIOUS MAN, I was strongly reminded of the look of BLUE VELVET (oh, because they both start with an ear? but also the
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Rating: 3.6
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Coco Martin | Dan Alvaro | Gina Pareño | Jacklyn Jose | Julio Diaz | Kristoffer King
Bruce says: “Brillante Mendoza is rapidly becoming one of my favorite living directors. Mendoza has cleverly branded his version of social realism. His Filipino kitchen sink style and hand-held camerawork are not for everyone but they are essential components in
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Martin Provost
Starring: Anne Bennent | Geneviève Mnich | Nico Rogner | Ulrich Tukur | Yolande Moreau
Bruce says: “Martin Provost’s SÉRAPHINE is an elegiac reflection on the life of a working class woman who was a gifted art naïf painter. Séraphine Louis is her full name although in the art world she is known as Séraphine
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: R. J. Cutler
Diane says: “Leafing through the September 2007 issue of Vogue is a big job. I’m on page 208 and my arms are already tired, with 632 pages to go. The table of contents appears after 145 pages of ads. Now
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Rating: 2.25
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Starring: Abdelhamid Aktouche | Alice Houri | Farida Benkhetache | Habib Boufares | Hafsia Herzi
Jason says: “THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN is filled with things that make for great movies and great drama – opening a new restaurant, conflict between new and old families after divorce, being an ethnic minority, adultery, and cooking delicious
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yousry Nasrallah
Starring: Hassan El Raddad | Mahmoud Hemida | Mona Zaki | Nahed El Sebaï
Bruce says: “SCHEHERAZADE: TELL ME A STORY weaves the tales of women who, in order to survive, have to tell a story. From the opening credits featuring bright red tomatoes on a black counter top, director Yousry Nasrallah forces to
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Annti-Jussi Annila
Starring: Kari Ketonen | Rain Tolk | Sonja Petäjäjärvi | Tommi Eronen | Viktor Klimenko | Ville Virtanen
Michael says: “This Finnish horror story touches on so many themes that it threatens to overwhelm, but somehow, writer Iiro Küttner manages to weave them all together and along with director Antti-Jussi Annila manages to create an elegant monster movie
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Matias Armand Jordal
Starring: Evy Kasseth Røsten | Fridtjov Såheim | Jonathan Espolin | Mona Grenne | Odin Waage
Thom says: “This dreary, little entry from Norway was incredibly frustrating. A ‘happy’ family is torn asunder when the mother is killed by a car. The father and son are both so dreadfully unlikable that I had no interest at
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Michelle Esrick
Jason says: “Can I be honest about something? I can’t warm up to hippies, or counterculture. In the abstract, I am all for a philosophy of living your life any way you want so long as you don’t hurt anyone
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Hun Jang
Starring: Chang-seok Ko | Ji-Hwan Kang | Ji-seob So | Ji-sub So | Su-hyeon Hong
Jason says: “I’ve got to be honest here… I kind of wanted a different ending on this. Part of what’s so much fun about Korean movies is that they don’t seem obligated to take even familiar genre films in the
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Charlize Theron | Guy Pearce | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Molly Parker | Robert Duvall | Viggo Mortenson
Diane says: “Forgive me, I can only review this as movie vs. book. I read the book once, and listened to the audiobook three times. I am awed by Cormac McCarthy’s language in The Road. ‘The cold relentless circling of
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Brett Gaylor
Jason says: “I take no joy in disliking RiP: A REMIX MANIFESTO. I agree with many of its principles; I’ve done plenty of highly-derivative works for fun in my time and think U.S. copyright law is out of control. But,
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Rating: 4.6
Director: Götz Spielmann
Starring: Andreas Lust | Irina Potapenko | Johannes Krisch | Johannes Thanheiser | Ursula Strauss
Jason says: “The Best Foreign Language Film Oscar often drives film nuts crazy. The countries’ film boards don’t submit the movie we consider their nation’s masterpiece for the year, and then at every cut (short list, nominees, winner) we get
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: David J. Francis | Mike Masters
Starring: David J. Francis | Mike Masters | Paul Fler | Sam Hall | Stephen Papadimitriou
Jason says: “ZOMBIE NIGHT is, I’m given to understand, a terrible movie, bottom-dozen of all-time bad. Thus it has a cult following. The sequel, to hear the filmmakers tell it, was better-made to the point of mediocrity, but paradoxically less
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Brendan Toller
Michael says: “I NEED THAT RECORD – Record stores were a big part of my growing up and coming of age. I even managed one (albeit part of an evil chain) for several years. So Brendan Toller’s documentary, I NEED
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Marshall Curry
Jason says: “I admit that I don’t give auto racing a whole lot of thought in general, but one aspect which I gave particularly little thought to was where new drivers come from. Make all the jokes about stock car
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hao Ning
Starring: Bo Huang | Cheung Yung | Jack Kao | Kong Jiu | Lifan Dong | Shaohua Ma | Zheng Xu
Jason says: “If I were to look over the reviews I’ve been writing over the past few weeks, I’d probably find I’ve used the word ‘crazy’ a lot, and generally meant it as a compliment, which I hope comes through.
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Billy Crudup | Channing Tatum | Christian Bale | Emilie de Ravin | Johnny Depp | Marion Cotillard | Stephen Dorff
Thom says: “I should have been wary knowing that Michael Mann’s previous film was the wretched MIAMI VICE, but even knowing that, this was far worse than I imagined considering the talented cast. Christian Bale (usually top-notch) was totally a
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Amina Robinson | Angelic Zambrana | Chyna Layne | Gabourey Sidibe | Lenny Kravitz | Mariah Carey | Mo’Nique | Paula Patton | Sherri Shepherd | Stephanie Andujar | Xosha Roquemore
Bruce says: “Lee Daniels’ filmography is enviable. Above all he is a risk taker – beginning with his production of MONSTER’S BALL and THE WOODSMAN which dealt with electrocution, racism and pedophilia to SHADOWBOXER, his directorial debut about paid two
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yun-su Jeon
Starring: Dae-sung Choi | Ja-Hyeon Chu | Min-sun Kim | Nam-gil Kim | Yeong-ho Joo
Jason says: “Passion is at the core of PORTRAIT OF A BEAUTY, both that of one person for another and a person for his or her art. The former comes across loud and clear; the heat on this film is
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