Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Marwan Hamed
Starring: Adel Imam | Nour El-Sherif | Youssra; Hend Sabri
Bruce says: “Opulent, expensive and larger than life, this adaptation of a best-selling Egyptian novel is the type of film one rarely sees anymore. Clocking in at nearly three hours, it’s both a Robert Altman-esque intersecting narrative ensemble piece and
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Patrick Creadon
Michael says: “Patrick Creadon’s WORDPLAY certainly is a crowd-pleaser, with a combination of celebrities talking about their crossword habits, interviews with the New York Times puzzle editor and one of the creators, and a look at the Annual Crossword competition
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Paul Morrison
Starring: Delroy Lindo | Emily Woof | Sam Smith
Michael says: “In the tradition of feel-good films like BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM or BILLY ELLIOT combined, WONDROUS OBLIVION shows us our collective prejudices but allows us to overcome them in a slightly formulaic, but ultimately more successful film than
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy | Liam Cunningham | Padraic Delaney
Beth says: “Ken Loach directing Cillian Murphy, about the lead up to and the start of the Irish Civil War in the 20’s. I really liked this film, and give it 4 cats, however, I have to put a large
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Eugene Jarecki
Michael says: “As President Eisenhower left office, he gave a cautionary speech about the United States turning into a military industrial complex. Eugene Jareckis powerful documentary interweaves this startlingly prescient speech with examples of how we ignored our departing Presidents
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Peter Rosen
Bruce says: “Henry Geldzahler was an anomaly – a gay man often traveling in circles of predominately straight artists who liked to hang out at the famed Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village; a curator of contemporary art for a museum
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: James Ivory
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada | Natasha Richardson | Ralph Fiennes
Bruce says: “From the time they first formed Merchant Ivory Productions in 1961 producer Ishmael Merchant and director James Ivory worked together on twenty seven films, the most lauded of which are THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, MAURICE, A ROOM
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Dean Budnick
Bruce says: “Wetlands used to be about twenty blocks from where I live and I had never heard of it. The reason for that is pretty clear. Some big names played at Wetlands before becoming famous – Dave Matthews, Phish,
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Deepa Mehta
Starring: Buddhi Wickrama | John Abraham | Lisa Ray | Manorama | Rishma Malik | Sarala Kariyawasam | Seema Biswas | Vidula Javalgekar
Michael says: “Deepa Metha’s WATER marks the final installment in her elements trilogy, films set in India, highlighting some of that country’s social injustices. Set in the 1930’s Mehta backdrops her story with the decline of England’s colonial rule and
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Richard E. Grant
Starring: Celia Imrie | Emily Watson | Fenella Woolgar | Gabriel Byrne | Julie Walters | Miranda Richardson | Nicholas Hoult
Hilary says: “Actor Richard E. Grant’s writing/directing debut is an autobiographical sketch of his upbringing in Swaziland, on the cusp of independence from British occupation. Nicholas Hoult (ABOUT A BOY) is quite good as Ralphie, son of Harry Compton (Gabriel
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Blanca Portillo | Carmen Maura | Chus Lampreave | Lola Dueñas | Penélope Cruz | Yohana Cobo
Bruce says: “Two sisters each harbor a dreadful secret. Glamorous sister Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) is trying to cover up her husband’s murder; mousy sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) is fearful that friends and family will discover that the ghost of her
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: David Leaf | John Scheinfeld
Michael says: “The first installment of this season’s Sunday Eye-Opener began last weekend at the Brattle Theatre with a much-anticipated documentary; THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON. Directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, responsible for dozens of made-for-tv, biographical specials, manage
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Rupert Murray
Michael says: “Rupert Murray’s documentary, UNKNOWN WHITE MALE documents the bizarre, unsettling journey of his friend Doug Bruce, a successful stockbroker who woke up on a subway with no memory of who he was. It is a curious look at
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Kenneth Nkosi | Presley Chweneyagae | Terry Pheto
Bruce says: “Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) is a thug of the worst kind, a man with no moral compass. He hangs around with a gang of friends committing whatever crimes they can pull of to keep a meager lifestyle alive. He
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Rating: 1.25 cats
Director: Bart Freundlich
Starring: Billy Crudup | David Duchovny | Ellen Barkin | Glenn Fitzgerald | Julianne Moore | Maggie Gyllenhaal
Michael says: “If only a cast a movie made. During his introduction to the film, Fruendlich, who has made a great film (THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS) and a good film (WORLD TRAVELLER) said that TRUST THE MAN was his gift
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Gillian Anderson | Kelly Macdonald | Rob Brydon | Shirley Henderson | Steve Coogan
Michael says: “Michael Winterbottom is certainly one of the most eclectic filmmakers around. His body of work includes personal dramas such as WONDERLAND and BUTTERFLY KISS; political films such as WELCOME TO SARAJEVO; period pieces like THE CLAIM; science fiction
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Duncan Tucker
Starring: FelicityHuffman | Fionnula Flanagan | Kevin Zegers
Chris says: “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of exceptional lead actresses to nominate this year. Just in time, Felicity Huffman slaughters any potential competition in a brave, absorbing turn as Bree, a 40-ish pre-operative man-to-woman transsexual. “One
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Starring: Ha Jung Woo | Park Ji-Yeon | Seong Hyeon-A
Beth says: “The latest from Korea’s Kim Ki-duk. A woman undergoes secret cosmetic surgery then reappears as a new woman who romances her boyfriend – is it the ultimate sacrifice, to make yourself anew for love, or the ultimate test,
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Alistair Christopher | Jonathan Hock
Bruce says: “Today’s Horatio Algers are athletes who have produced at the high school level and are perceived to have the goods that will make them stars in the big leagues. Not much of a basketball fan, even I was
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Susan Kaplan
Michael says: “Susan Kaplan’s documentary follows the 13-year relationship of Sam, Steven and Samantha. Sam and Steven are two men who met in college and were enjoying a committed, long-term relationship. When Sam suggests having a woman enter the relationship,
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