Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Jim Dziura
Jason says: “NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET begins provocatively, with a black man walking into a custom framing store looking to have the clothes he was wearing when he was shot framed. The man at the counter doesn’t seem to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Rune Denstad Langlo
Starring: Celine Engebrigtsen | Kyrre Hellum | Mads Sjøgård Pettersen | Marte Aunemo | nders Baasmo Christiansen
Bruce says: “Norwegian film, if it accomplishes nothing else, documents the droll sense of humour in the land of the midnight sun. NORTH is the story of a thirty year old man who is trying to find himself by meeting
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: en Addelman | Samir Mallal
Jason says: “Asked to name the top three film industries in the world, nearly everybody would come up with the United States right away. A good chunk would probably mention India next; the word’s gotten out in the past few
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.25 cats
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Daniel Day Lewis | Judi Dench | Kate Hudson | Marion Cotillard | Nicole Kidman | Penélope Cruz
Jason says: “Daniel Day-Lewis being in a movie is genuinely a good sign – since THE BOXER in 1997 he’s done a mere four, only signing on when there seems to be something worth doing. And he’s got a fantastic
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Tom Quinn
Starring: Andrew Conway | Greg Lyons | Irene Longshore | MaryAnn McDonald | Paul Blackway | Tobias Segal
Jason says: “The glib description of THE NEW YEAR PARADE is that divorce is hard on everybody – not just parents and children, but everyone else caught up in it, including the parade orchestras. Fortunately, the movie itself isn’t glib,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: Yoon-ki Lee
Starring: Dong-won Seo | Han Hyo-joo | Il-hwa Choi | Jang So-Yeon | Jeon Do-yeon | Jung-woo Ha | Kim Hye-Ok | Seo-hie Ko
Jason says: “Kim Hee-su (Jeon Do-yeon) is talking about money and investments as MY DEAR ENEMY opens, but it’s not clear whether she needs money urgently or just wants it for some opportunity. Or perhaps, she simply wants to close
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 0.5 cats
Director: Simon Hunter
Starring: Anna Walton | Benno Fürmann | Devon Aoki | John Malkovich | Ron Pearlman | Sean Pertwee | Thomas Jane
Jeff says: “Wretched. Tragic waste of Ron Perlman. Half a cat for occasionally interesting production design.”
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Andreas Schaap
Starring: Jeff Burrell | Manon Kahle | Peter Farkas | Sami Loris
Jason says: “I liked MUST LOVE DEATH well enough, but even though I’m the target audience – someone reasonably fond of both its genres and likely to laugh at the in-jokes besides – I had the same reaction that I
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Katherine Dieckmann
Starring: Alice Drummond | Anthony Edwards | Daisy Tahan | Dale Soules | Jodie Foster | Matthew Schallipp | Minnie Driver | Uma Murthy
Jason says: “Mothers and fathers have a demanding job, and anybody who denies this is a fool. I don’t think many would deny that, even in today’s modern world, motherhood is more demanding than fatherhood, and probably always will be.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Cristophe Van Rompaey
Starring: Anemone Valcke | Barbara Sarafian | Johan Heldenbergh | Julain Borsani | Jurgen Delnaet | Sofia Ferri
Bruce says: “This gem is from Belgium, home of the Dardenne brothers who seem have a monopoly on filmmaking in their country. It is refreshing to learn that there may be other Belgian films yet to be discovered by the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Dominique McElligott | Kaya Scodelario | Matt Berry | Robin Chalk | Sam Rockwell
Jason says: “I will not lie to you; as soon as I read the description of Moon, I had mentally anointed it my favorite film of the festival, to the point where not only would another film have to blow
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Dave Gargani
Jason says: “1950s science fiction is known for being paranoid and downbeat, tinged with fear of atomic doom and the potential for infiltrators to be anywhere. Filmmaker Dave Gargani argues that this should not, necessarily, be the case, or at
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Cafer Köse | Ercan Kesel | Hatice Aslan | Rifat Sungar | Yavuz Bingol
Bruce says: “THREE MONKEYS, a classic tragedy, has everything – hit and run, unrequited love, contemplated suicide, murder, infidelity, brutal beatings, bogus confessions, false pride and manic desperation. Runny noses, sweaty brows, tear stained cheeks, blood and vomit also figure
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Noah Buschel
Starring: Amy Ryan | Frank Wood | Linda Emond | Margaret Colin | Michael Shannon | Paul Sparks
Jason says: “THE MISSING PERSON suffers from a bit of an identity crisis, which is only fitting, as it parallels that of the main character. Its jumps between mystery and parody don’t do it many favors, even if it has
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Simon Ennis
Starring: Dov Tiefenbach | Joshua Peace | Kristen Hager | Michael Madsen | Stephen McHattie
Jason says: “YOU MIGHT AS WELL LIVE is a solid moron movie – the type where the lead character’s quite astounding stupidity is just balanced with his innocence in such a way that we can laugh at him while still
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Oren Moverman
Starring: Ben Foster | Eamonn Walker | Jena Malone | Samantha Morton | Steve Buscemi | Woody Harrelson | Yaya DaCosta
Jason says: “THE MESSENGER has no problem with making the audience a little uncomfortable. What might, in another movie, have been a bittersweet romance between Ben Foster’s Will Montgomery (a wounded soldier serving the end of his hitch informing next
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Michael Keaton
Starring: Bobby Cannavale | Darlene Hunt | Kelly Macdonald | Michael Keaton | Philip Earl Johnson | Tom Bastounes
Jason says: “THE MERRY GENTLEMAN is one of those movies that appears at the local boutique theater for a blink-and-miss-it one-week engagement with just about zero fanfare, and I probably would have missed it if I hadn’t noticed Michael Keaton’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Cheol-hie Park
Starring: Ha-kyun Shin | Ji-hye Yun | Min-jun Kim
Jason says: “NO MERCY FOR THE RUDE isn’t exactly the movie its English-language title would imply. The name implies some sort of satire or that the rudeness is important, and that’s not really where this movie’s going. It’s a much
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Barry Jenkins
Starring: Tracey Heggins | Wyatt Cenac
Jason says: “The ‘getting to know you’ movie is a vital part of the independent film scene. Aside from being something that can be shot on a budget – get a couple actors, some friendly locations, and a script with
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ben Chaplin | Christian McKay | Claire Danes | Eddie Marsan | Kelly Reilly | Zac Efron | Zoe Kazan
Jason says: “At times, it’s a bit hard to grasp that Orson Welles was a sex symbol, once upon a time. Forget the way he ballooned to a size that matched his ego and personality later in life; he did
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