Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Petr Lom
Jason says: “LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT is somewhat difficult to review as a film because it does its job so well. It is trying to give the audience a snapshot of the relationship Iran has with its populist president, and
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Phil Claydon
Starring: James Corden | Mathew Horne | MyAnna Buring | Paul McGann | Silvia Colloca | Vira Filatova
Jason says: “As you might expect, the title came first with LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS Unlike a lot of high-concept movies, it delivers on that title, both literally – there are vampires, they are lesbians, and our heroes are going
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Eran Riklis
Starring: Ali Suliman | Doron Tavory | Hiam Abbass | Rona Lipaz-Michael | Tarik Kopty
Michael says: “In its examination of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict LEMON TREE doesn’t say anything new or surprising, but by focusing on how it changes the lives of two women on opposite sides of that conflict, it speaks deeply and effectively.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Clark Lyda | Jesse Lyda
Jason says: “THE LEAST OF THESE is maybe not a rarity as far as documentaries go, but it does seem unusually focused. The way things were being run at the T. Don Hutto detention facility offers the filmmakers plenty of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Jason Behr | Krysten Ritter | Lucy Gordon | Mike Landry | Money Mazur
Starring: Jason Behr | Krysten Ritter | Lucy Gordon | Mike Landry | Money Mazur
Jason says: “THE LAST INTERNATIONAL PLAYBOY was known as FROST during its time on the festival circuit, and I wholeheartedly support the name change, both because the longer title is a lot more interesting and because it downplays the fact
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.2 cats
Director: Masayuki Miyano
Starring: Hiroki Narimiya | Saori Hara | Tomoko Murakami
Jason says: “I suppose I should just get the unfair comparison out of the way – LALAPIPO is not in the same class as KAMIKAZE GIRLS, PACO AND THE MAGIC BOOK, or MEMORIES OF MATSUKO. It’s only in the same
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Fernando Eimbcke
Starring: Daniela Valentine | Diego Cataño | Hector Herrera | Juan Carlos Lara II | Olda López | Yemil Sefani
Bruce says: “When a director makes a big splash with a debut film, the follow-up film is under greater scrutiny than normal. Fernando Eimbcke’s DUCK SEASON is a case in point. The good news is that LAKE TAHOE, his follow-up
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Rashid Masharawi
Starring: Areen Omari | Mohammed Bakri | Nour Zoubi
Bruce says: “For anyone who has wondered about the look and feel of Palestinian communities, LAILA’S BIRTHDAY is a perfect starting point. Filmed in the city of Ramallah, the film tracks a taxi driver during one very busy day. Ramallah is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Rodolphe Marconi
Bruce says: “The Lagerfeld name elicits different thoughts from different people: many view him as a fashion god; others think of him as the greatest contemporary dandy; some think he is a poser, a vacuous self-promoter; some think he is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Adrzej Wajda
Starring: Andrzej Chyra | Artur Zmijewski | Danuta Stenka | Jan Englert | Maja Ostaszewska
Jason says: “The title of KATYN refers to a place name and an event, one which looms large in modern Poland’s history, but the film holds the actual event in reserve. It’s too big, after all, putting Katyn at it’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Shimako Sato
Starring: Kanata Hongo | Takako Matsu | Takeshi Kaga | Takeshi Kaneshiro | Tôru Nakamura | Yuki Imai
Jason says: “Even if 2009 weren’t one of the most disappointing summer movie seasons in recent memory, I’d still wish that more foreign popcorn films got released here. I know subtitles can be a tough sell for movies aimed at
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Albert Dupontel | Fabrice Luchini | François Cluzet | Juliette Binoche | Romain Duris
Bruce says: “PARIS is a kaleidoscopic film, one that tells many stories at once; it is difficult to keep the characters straight and impossible to imagine how they could be related. This statement is more observation than complaint. It is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Ole Bornedal
Starring: Anders W. Berthelsen | Charlotte Fich | Dejan Cukic | Nikolaj Lie Kass | Rebecka Hemse
Bruce says: “**SPOILERS** “JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY isn’t. That title is strictly tongue-in-cheek. The film begins with a prologue: three love scenes involving the three main characters – Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen), his wife Mette (Charlotte Fich) and Julia (Rebecka
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Erick Zonca
Starring: Aidan Gould | Bruno Bichir | Jude Ciccolella | Kate del Castillo | Saul Rubinek | Tilda Swinton
Michael says: “What do we make of JULIA, and the very unusual career of filmmaker Erick Zonca? JULIA is a difficult to categorize film, part crime thriller, part melodrama, part farce, part comedy (although I’m not 100% certain the last
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Bestor Cram
Jason says: “Johnny Cash never did time, but his name will forever be associated with California’s Folsom State Prison; a great song and a great album will do that. The Folsom Prison concert is a definitive moment in Cash’s career,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Nancy Meyer
Starring: Alec Baldwin | eryl Streep | John Krasinski | Mary Kay Place | Steve Martin | Zoe Kazan Rita Wilson
Bruce says: “After seeing only two of her films, I’m thinking that Nancy Meyers may be my guilty pleasure. In spite of Meyers concentrating on the ‘upper’ in the upper middle class IT’S COMPLICATED and SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE both
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Matthew Robinson | Ricky Gervais
Starring: Edward Norton | Fionnula Flanagan | Jeffrey Tambor | Jennifer Garner | Ricky Gervais | Rob Lowe | Tina Fey
Thom says: “I’m a huge Ricky Gervais fan from back-in-the-day when he made a giant splash with his two television (UK) hits ‘THE OFFICE’ & ‘EXTRAS.’ His first starring role in American films was GHOST TOWN and it was lots
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Emma Franz
Jason says: “INTANGIBLE ASSET NUMBER 82 seems to have become a fascinating movie almost by accident. Certainly directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn would have covered much of the same material if things had gone according to plan, but when
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Satoshi Miki
Starring: Keiko Matsuzaka | Kumiko Aso | Morio Kazama | Ryo Kase
Jason says: “I watch/review a fairly broad range of films, and when people ask, I generally say that I approach all of them the same way, and try to treat them the same regardless of origin or genre or style.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: John Schwert
Starring: Andrea Powell | Brian Lafontaine | Burgess Jenkins | Mark Scarboro | Tiffany Montgomery
Jason says: “IN/SIGNIFICANT OTHERS is the very definition of an average movie. No moment raises a flag – well, okay, some do, but they may be among the film’s most interesting, at least in hindsight. No actors perform poorly. No
Read the review...