Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Abdel Kechiche
Starring: Abdelhamid Aktouche | Bouraouïa Marzouk | Farida Benkhetache | Habib Boufares | Hafsia Herzi
Bruce says: “THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN won top awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Writing) at the Césars, the French equivalent of the Academy Awards. Writer/Director Abdel Kechiche was born in Tunisia but was raised in the south of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Ayami Kakiuchi | Mitsuki Tanimora | Mitsutaka Itakura | Riisa Naka | Takuya Ishida
Jason says: “Yasutaka Tsutsui’s novel The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has been made into a movie twice before, and I must admit that I’m curious to see at least one of them – there are apparently connections with the
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Courtney Hunt
Starring: Charlie McDermott | Melissa Leo | Michael O’Keefe | Missy Upham
Bruce says: “Well known character actress Melissa Leo has 37 film credits since 2005; that comprises just half of her resume compiled over a twenty four year period. She must be one of the busiest actors in the business as
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Ronald Bronstein
Starring: Carmine Marino | David Sandholm | Dore Mann | Paul Grimstad
Toni says: “At 106 minutes, Ronnie Bronstein’s semi-autobiographical FROWNLAND is a real crowd splitter. He has admitted that he wants his audience to fee much pain during the screening. Therefore, he certainly has accomplished twhat we set out to do
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Caroline Suh
Bruce says: “FRONTRUNNERS is slightly more interesting than watching paint dry, a bit like reading about someone eating sushi while typing their latest entry on Facebook, a more up-to-date version for wasting time. This film follows four couples who are
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Virginia Anita Williams | Virginia Williams
Jason says: “The ending of FRONTRUNNER is a matter of the public record, so I don’t feel like I’m spoiling much of anything by saying that it does not have a triumphant fairy-tale ending: In Afghanistan’s first democratic ever, after
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Cherry Pie Picache | Eugene Domingo | Jiro Manio | Kier Segundo
Bruce says: “Brillante Mendoza completed six feature films within a three year period, 2005-2007. He is working at a speed not seen since the salad days of Fassbinder although, age-wise, Mendoza (age 48) is about two decades behind Fassbinder (who
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Jacques Nolot
Starring: Bastien d’Asnières | Bernard Herlem | Bruno Moneglia | Jacques Nolot | Lionel Goldstein | Marc Riofoul
Bruce says: “What becomes of the many hustlers and gigolos who are objects of desire in their youth, then fade out of sight? Some miraculously survive but many die along the way, succumbing to AIDS, murder or substance abuse. BEFORE
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: David Mackenzie
Starring: Ciarán Hinds | Claire Forlani | Jamie Bell | John Paul Lawler | Lucy Holt | Sophia Myles
Bruce says: “David Mackenzie is succeeding in bringing unconventional stories to the screen such as THE LAST GREAT WILDERNESS and YOUNG ADAM. MISTER FOE is a perfect companion piece for those earlier films. MISTER FOE is a coming-of-age tale which
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Starring: Fang Song | Hippolyte Girardot | Juliette Binoche | Simon Iteanu
Chris says: “A few years back, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien traveled to Japan to make CAFÉ LUMIÈRE, a charming, languid tribute to one of that country’s greatest filmmakers, Yasujiro Ozu. In this, his first non-Asian effort, he has crafted the
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Madonna
Starring: Eugene Hutz | Holly Weston | Richard E. Grant | Vicky McClure
Michael says: “I’m not sure what I expected from Madonna’s directorial debut, but I know the main reason why I came was because of a fairly positive review I read from the Berlin Film Festival. Had I dug a little
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Kristian Levring
Starring: Lars Brygmann | Paprika Steen | Ulrich Thomsen
Bruce says: “Mikael (Ulrich Thomsen) is on six week leave from his job. Is he fighting boredom or depression? The answer seems apparent when his bother-in-law Frederik (Lars Brygmann) mentions that his hospital is involved in trials for a new
Read the review...Eye in the Sky (Hong Kong; 90 min.) directed by:Nai-Hoi Yaustarring: Simon Yam; Tony Leung Ka Fai; Kate Tsui; Suet Lam; Maggie Siu Jason says: “It would not take a whole lot of tinkering to transform EYE IN THE
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Anne Sundberg | Ricki Stern
Bruce says: “Based on Naomi Wolf’s book of the same name, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg have chosen to present the material to the viewer as a series of Wolf’s lectures and interviews as well as gathering the opinions
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jeremy Thomas
Starring: Elle May | Jaden Holle | Jeremy Thomas | John Knight | Katie Webber
Jason says: “It is a bit worrisome when, prior to a festival screening, the director is offering what can seem like excuses or explanations – they had less money than the short film that precedes it, but it is long
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Werner Herzog
Bruce says: “Like Ozu and Rohmer, Werner Herzog tends to revisit the same themes. That is not to say he is making the same film over and over; he is compiling a body of work that is forged together thematically,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Isabel Coixet
Starring: Ben Kingsley | Deborah Harry | Dennis Hopper | Patricia Clarkson | Penélope Cruz | Peter Sarsgaard
Michael says: “I missed ELEGY in the theatre last year, and was able to catch up with it on Blu-Ray this morning. It firmly propels Isabel Coixet into that category of talented filmmakers whose films I will not miss. Never
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Basil Harris | Calvin Reeder | Jeanette Maus | Sean Nelson
Jason says: “I suppose it speaks well of me and the people I know that I’ve never had a friendship end like in the beginning of MY EFFORTLESS BRILLIANCE. Sure, there’s a long list of people I’ve fallen out of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Fatih Akin
Starring: Baki Davrak | Hanna Schygulla | Nurgül Yesilçay | Nursel Köse | Patrycia Ziolkowska | Tuncel Kurtiz
Michael says: “Fatih Akin made a bit of a splash a few years ago with his film HEAD-ON. The director was born in Germany from a Turkish heritage, and his films, at least the two I have seen, take place
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Amy Adams | Meryl Streep | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Viola Davis
Michael says: “It’s probably a good thing that playwright John Patrick Shanley wrote and directed the movie adaptation of his acclaimed play Doubt. While another filmmaker might have made a better movie, Shanley’s film certainly recaptures the power and drama
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