Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lionel Baier
Starring: Alicja Bachleda-Curus | Lionel Baier | Natacha Koutchoumov
Bruce says: “Just before Christmas, Lionel (Lionel Baier) discovers that his family tree has some Polish branches. Most people would find such information mildly interesting but Lionel is a man of extremes. Although he is openly gay, he dumps his
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Andrew Wagner
Starring: Adrian Lester | Frank Langella | Jessica Hecht | Lauren Ambrose | Lili Taylor
Michael says: “Come on, wouldn’t you see this for the cast alone? Another film featuring a widowed academic in New York City, similar in gentle tone to THE VISITOR, but with a different look at the way we live our
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Adam Green | Joel Moore
Starring: Amber Tamblyn | Joel Moore | Zachary Levi
Jason says: “SPIRAL is about as thin as a feature film can be, to the point where I think that maybe there’s not a feature’s worth of material to it. I wonder if it wouldn’t drift into obscurity, even by festival-circuit
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Beth Grant | Dwayne Johnson | Justin Timberlake | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Seann William Scott
Michael says: “‘Well, that was something.’ “My words about SOUTHLAND TALES spoken to my Chlotrudis colleagues as we left the theatre. “‘Well, we saw it.’ “My final words about SOUTHLAND TALES as we broke up for the evening. “Chlotrudis members
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Marc Evans
Starring: Alan Rickman | Calllum Keith Rennie | Carrie-Ann Moss | Emily Hampshire | James Allodi | Janet van de Graaf | Sigourney Weaver | Susan Coyne
Jay says: “Alan Rickman is an underappreciated treasure. It sounds like an odd thing to say, because he’s been a quite memorable part of some huge hits, but movies where he’s the feature attraction appear and disappear quickly and quietly
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Coco Martin | Jiro Manio | Kristoffer King | Nathan Lopez
Bruce says: “Brillante Mendoza, director of MASSEUR which I saw at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, has come a long way in a few years. He still uses many untrained actors although the four leads in SLINGSHOT are actors
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Starring: Chen Shiang-Chyi | Lee Kang-Sheng | Norman Atun | Pearlly Chua
Bruce says: “In my opinion, there is no director making more visually stunning films than Tsai Ming-liang. I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE is a smashing example of a true master at work . Invariably, each scene in his new
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Alice McConnell | Emily Barclay | Essie Davis | Richard Roxburgh
Bruce says: “This psychological thriller was made for Australian TV and although it has some excellent performances, the overall effect is weakened by a slightly preposterous script and some overwrought dialogue. “Richard Treloar (Richard Roxburgh) has had a meltdown. During
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Michael Moore
Chris says: “To paraphrase an expression one of my colleagues loves to use, I am so over Michael Moore. His earlier movies and TV shows were amusing and unsettling in equal amounts, but he jumped the shark with FAHRENHEIT 911,
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jae-rim Han
Starring: Dal-su Oh | Il-hwa Choi | Kang-ho Song
Jason says: “Being a gangster sounds cool until you try to make a career out of it. Maybe the money’s okay, but the hours stink, it’s awkward when your daughter’s teacher asks you what you do for a living, and
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Isabel Coixet
Starring: Eddie Marsan | Javier Cámara | Julie Christie | Sarah Polley | Tim Robbins
Michael says: “On a recent trip to New York City, we caught THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, Isabel Coixet’s (MY LIFE WITHOUT ME) latest film, on opening day. Coixet alum Sarah Polley stars as Hanna, a young deaf woman who
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Phil Grabsky
Bruce says: “AMADEUS did Mozart great disservice, portraying him as silly and deluded during the last decade of his life. Phil Grabsky is out to set the record straight by tracing Mozart’s career from the time of his first known
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Starring: Cara Seymour | Laura Linney; Philip Seymour Hoffman' Philip Bosco | Philip Friedman
Michael says: “It took Tamara Jenkins nearly ten years to release this follow-up to her critically acclaimed, debut feature, 1998’s THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS. In that time, she shifted her focus from the west coast to the east, from
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Alessandro Angelini
Starring: Giorgio Colangeli | Giorgio Pasotti | Michaela Cescon
Bruce says: “Director Alessandro Angelini does a great job in setting up his story. The tight writing and editing seem the work of a much more seasoned filmmaker. SALTY AIR is skimpy on plot but the general flavor and intense
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Luke Wolbach
Michael says: “The synopsis of ROW HARD, NO EXCUSES is pretty simple: two men enter a competition to row across the Atlantic Ocean. First-time documentary filmmaker Luke Wolbach chronicles the men’s journey to the race and across the Atlantic, while
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Teriq Terguia
Starring: Ahmed Benaissa | Rachid Amrani | Samira Kaddour
Bruce says: “Some suspicious activity is going on with cargo at the airport; a man is having his photo taken standing in front of a painting with fake looking palms trees; a stun gun is fired; and a girl is
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Rating: 1.75
Director: John Turturro
Starring: Bobby Cannavale | James Gandolfini | Kate Winslet | Mandy Moore | Steve Buscemi | Susan Sarandon
Diane says: “Zany beginning fades to a ragged story in John Turturro’s third outing as director. James Gandolfini opens with an all-out singing and dancing number on the street of his Brooklyn neighborhood, supported by garbagemen et al. His wife,
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Chris Gorak
Starring: Mary MCcormack | Rory Cochrane | Tony Perez
Jason says: “No-one uses the word ‘terrorism’ in RIGHT At YOUR DOOR, but that’s not because it’s irrelevant to the movie. It’s all about terror, and the fear that comes from not knowing what just happened, what’s going to happen, and
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Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Starring: Koji Yakusho | Manami Konishi | Tsuyoshi Ihara
Bruce says: “RETRIBUTION is a thought-provoking mixed genre film – . part police procedural, part horror, part thriller – which is a bit of a muddle. The acting, editing, set design and cinematography are all outstanding so there is much
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Terry George
Starring: Eddie Alderson | Elle Fanning | Jennifer Connelly | Joaquin Phoenix | Mark Ruffalo | Mira Sorvino | Sean Curley
Bruce says: “Were the acting not so good, my recommendation would be to not bother with this overwrought drama which is reminiscent of IN THE BEDROOM with its vengeful father and WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE and THE ICE STORM
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