Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jonathan Dayton | Valerie Faris
Starring: Abigail Breslin | Alan Arkin | Beth Grant | Greg Kinnear | Paul Dano | Steve Carrell | Toni Collette
Beth C. says: “This film did an excellent job by bringing together a broad range of comedic talent. The film was by most standards a formulaic American summer comedy. But, that’s OK! Because as long as the jokes are funny
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Dustin Hoffman | Emma Thompson | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Queen Latifah | Will Ferrell
Michael says: “Despite rather major concessions to plot, and the fact that Scot and I came up with better motivations for certain characters to make the plot work better, I found STRANGER THAN FICTION to be a valiant piece of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Rebecca Dreyfus
Michael says: “Despite the local interest and fascinating subject; the notorious art-theft at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, STOLEN proves the adage, ‘there’s not much there there.’ Director Rebecca Dreyfus focuses on famous art-theft detective Harold J. Smith, who could
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jeff Stanzler
Starring: Aasif Mandvi | Abdel Kechiche | Elodie Bouchez | Robin Wright Penn | Sandra Oh
Bruce says: “The strangeness of this film’s title matches the tenor of the film. SORRY, HATERS is one of the most disturbing, unsettling films I’ve seen. With two sensational performances by Robin Wright Penn and Abdel Kechiche the film is
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Abbie Cornish | Damian De Montemas | Hollie Andrew | Lynette Curran | Olivia Pigeot | Sam Worthington
Michael says: “SOMERSAULT is a little Australian film that had a brief run earlier this year (yes, it’s eligible) but is now available on DVD. Director Cate Shortland’s debut feature is Heidi’s coming-of-age tale; where a young woman begins discovering
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Malcolm Ingram
Chris says: “Contrary to what popular television shows like Will and Grace tell us, not all gay people live in hip, urbane neighborhoods. Malcolm Ingram’s documentary counters this stereotype by chronicling two gay bars in backwoods Mississippi. One, Rumors, stands
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Haskell Wexler
Bruce says: “Haskell Wexler has quite a reputation. He has won two Oscars for BOUND FOR GLORY and WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? He achieved cult status with MEDIUM COOL, a feature film using the 1968 Democratic Convention riots in
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Sydney Pollack
Bruce says: “Sydney Pollock is an experienced, award-winning filmmaker. Until SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY, all of his films have been feature films, not a single documentary in his portfolio. What made him make this film? Gehry and Pollock have been
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Florence Ayisi | Kim Longinotto
Michael says: “To kick off the Spring 2006 edition of the Sunday Eye-Opener, we enjoyed a terrific and inspiring documentary about the court system in Cameroon, Africa. This particular court tackles such cases as divorce, abuse and rape, and the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: David Zeiger
Bruce says: “FTA…Fun, Travel Adventure…Foxtrot, Tango Alpha…Fuck The Army. That is the evolution of the initials that were first used as an Army recruiting slogan in the early Vietnam years. As the war escalated and the troops began to see
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Caroline Neal
Bruce says: “SI SOS BRUJO is a film about efforts, led by cellist Ignacio Varchausky, to preserve tango by a small group of musicians in Buenos Aires. Varchausky is determined that the great tango composers, each having their own recognizably
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Barbara Kopple | Cecila Peck
Michael says: “I’m a sucker for a good music documentary. Barbara Kopple and Cecila Peck were given a gift three years ago, and they have weaved that gift into a smart, compelling, entertaining documentary about the biggest-selling female band of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Jay Brannan | Justin Bond | Lindsay Beamish | Paul Dawson | PJ DeBoy | Raphael Barker | Sook-Yin Lee
Peter says: “With his new film SHORTBUS, John Cameron Mitchel again demonstrates why he is one of the most innovative writer/directors in independent film today. Mitchell, who also wrote, directed and starred in HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH this time
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Laurie Collyer
Starring: Brad William Henke | Bridget Barkan | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Sam Bottomw
Michael says: “There is one reason to see SHERRYBABY, and that’s for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s fearless performance as Sherry, a single mother recently released from jail and on parole after serving three years for stealing to support her drug habit. It’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr | Helen Mirren | Joseph Gordon Leavitt | Stephen Dorff
Bruce says: “Mixed genre films are tricky business; they are difficult to carry off and equally difficult to digest upon a single viewing. SHADOWBOXER is a black comedy, thriller, romance and crime drama all rolled into one unique package. To
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Alain Chabat | Aurélia Petit | Charlotte Gainsbourg | Gael García Bernal | Miou-Miou | Sacha Bourdo
Bruce says: “Gael Garcia Bernal (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, BAD EDUCATION, AMORES PERROS, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, and THE CRIME OF FATHER AMARO) has extraordinary talent. THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP is a wise choice for his resume, literally a showcase for
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Richard Lanklater
Starring: Angela Rawna | Chamblee Ferguson | Keanu Reeves | Mitch Baker | Robert Downey Jr | Rory Cochrane | Winona Ryder | Woody Harrelson
Chris says: “In 2001, Richard Linklater’s WAKING LIFE merged live action with animation via a process called ‘interpolated rotoscoping,’ creating a fluid visual tableau that one could best liken to watching a painting coming to life. Much of its appeal
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Starring: Andrea Di Stefano | Barbora Bobulova | Lisa Gastoni
Bruce says: “**SPOILERS** “In my opinion Ferzen Ozpetek’s films have improved with every film he has made beginning with STEAM , followed up by HIS SECRET LIFE and FACING WINDOWS. I unhappily report that SACRED HEART (CUORE SACRO in Italian)
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Audrey Tautou | Cécile de France | Kelly Reilly | Kevin Bishop | Romain Duris
Bruce says: “RUSSIAN DOLLS is written by a director who loves his characters yet is not afraid to have them make plenty of mistakes as they discover how to love and be loved. Employing plenty of digital tricks in the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Mat Whitecross | Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Arfan Usman | Farhad Harun | Jason Salkey | Riz Ahmed | Shahid Iqbal | Sher Khan | Waqar Siddiqui
Bruce says: “Michael Winterbottom, one of the most prolific film directors currently working, is often attracted to political subjects in films like WELCOME TO SARAJEVO and IN THIS WORLD. Those films touched on the aftermath of wars in Yugoslavia and
Read the review...