Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Robert Parigi
Starring: Desmond Harrington | Melissa Sagemiller | Rip Torn
Bob G. says: “Working from an ultra-low budget, director Robert Parigi crafts a fright-doll movie classic that does everything that Lucky McKee’s MAY threatened to, but only half delivered. Desmond Harrington brings subtle introversion to the role of a technical
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Bruce says: “It is sad but fairly accurate to say that Jean-Luc Godard is past his prime. Part of the problem lies with the fact that he is stuck in a time warp; he has not changed his filmmaking with
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: John O'Brien
Starring: George Lyford | Natalie Picoe | Richard Snee
Barbara says: “This is an offbeat movie with beautiful shots of Vermont scenery and a look at real people. The script is improvised for the most part by the local Vermonters. George Lyford is a 72 year old who has
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Director: Dagur Kári
Starring: Elín Hansdóttir | Tómas Lemarquis | Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson
Ivy says: “I saw NÓI at Toronto this past year. It sounded quirky, had a funny photo in the catalog, and it seemed like the kind of movie that Ned and I might be able to program for the Brattle.
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Aaron Ruell | Efren Ramirez | Jon Gries | Jon Heder | Tina Marjorino
Michael says: “The feel good movie of the year! A bold proclamation for this Sundance-celebrated comedy, but NAPOLEON DYNAMITE had me laughing until my eyes watered, and it was sweet and uplifting without being sentimental and cloying. What a surprise!
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Daniela Fejerman | Inés París
Starring: Alex Angulo | Chisco Amado | Eliska Sirová | Leonor Watling | María Pujalte | Rosa María Sardà | Silvia Abascal
Beth says: “I saw a Spanish film called MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN, a tour de force for the lead Leonor Watling who was funny, neurotic, beautiful, gifted comedienne, just – she was brilliant, I was excited about seeing a Spanish
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Nathaniel Kahn
Diane says: “Am I imagining that some people already wrote in about this one? I liked MY ARCHITECT very much. The inherently compelling premise (illegitimate son wants to get to know his father better, posthumously) and the strong visual elements
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Michael Burke
Starring: Emile Hirsch | Richard Jenkins | Tom Guiry
Bruce says: “THE MUDGE BOY opens with a woman riding her bike down a bucolic path, a stack of eggs carefully placed in her bicycle basket. As she reaches a knoll she dismounts and walks the bike to the top
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Rating: 3.25
Chris says: “After reading Gerald Peary’s scathing review earlier this year in his Cannes 2004 report (likening it to the wretched LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!), I feared the worst for this biopic about the young Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. “It’s not nearly
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Rating: 3.6
Director: Roger Michell
Starring: Anne Reid | Cathryn Bradshaw | Daniel Craig
Michael says: “Motherhood. In the arts, and to a certain extent, in life, the mother figure is laden with so much baggage. We all have certain expectations when it comes to mothers. Nurturing, self-sacrificing (remember BAMBI?), caring, encouraging. Director Roger
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Tjebbo Penning
Starring: Diana Kent | Eric van der Donk | Marcel Faber | Paul Freeman | Susan Lynch
Barbara says: “I didn’t like this movie at all despite some pretty scenery of the Irish countryside. I found it very disjointed and rather cruel. Paul Freeman has one expression throughout and the longer I watched him, the more I
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Ousmane Sembene
Starring: Fatoumata Coulibaly | Maimouna Hélène Diarra | Rasmané Ouédraogo | Salimata Traoré
Bruce says: “MOOLAADÉ is a tale about female genital mutilation, a triumph of rationality over tradition. For years many cultures in Africa have practiced the ritual of female circumcision. Performed crudely with more attention to ritual than health and safety
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Bruce Dern | Charlize Theron | Cristina Ricci | Pruitt Taylor-Vince | Scott Wilson
Peg says: “Saw this yesterday. A very gripping and intense character study of a female serial killer (based upon a true story). Charlize Theron is Aileen, an uneducated but resilient woman who has worked as a prostitute since she was
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Anthony Mackie | Clint Eastwood | Hilary Swank | Jay Baruchel | Margo Martindale | Mike Colter | Morgan Freeman
Diane says: ** SPOILERS ALERT! ** “There was a thread a couple of weeks ago about all movies being good (for their intended audience). If they are, why do we need Chlotrudis? And speaking of bad movies….. “I don’t know
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hsiao-hsien Hou
Starring: Chun-hao Tuan | Jack Kao | Qi Shu | Yi-Hsuan Chen
Hilary says: “I was trying to fight it, but I gotta be a contrarian — I thought MILLENNIUM MAMBO was a complete waste of great cinematography. I skipped the discussion afterwards because I had nothing positive to say beyond the
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Director: Vicente Amorim
Starring: Carol Castro | Cláudia Abreu | Manoel Sebastião Alves Filho | Ravi Ramos Lacerda | Wagner Moura
Bruce says: “This is a lovely but somewhat lacking film. Director Vicente Amorim tells the story of a family of seven who travels from northeast Brazil to Rio de Janeiro so that the father can find decent work that will
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Bruce Sinofsky | Joe Berlinger
Michael says: “One of the measures of a successful documentary, for me, is making me interested in a subject or subjects that I never in my wildest dreams would have thought to be interested in. Heavy Metal music, and more
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Rating: 1.3 cats
Director: Mark S. Waters
Starring: Amanda Seyfried | Amy Poehler | Ana Gasteyer | Lacey Chabert | Lindsay Lohan | Lizzy Caplan | Rachel McAdams | Tim Meadows | Tina Fey
Bruce says: “Yes, I did read Janet’s MEAN GIRLS review which I thoroughly enjoyed, swearing at the time that I would never see this film. While shopping for lighter fare (not always my area of expertise) MEAN GIRLS was recommended
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Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: Joshua Marston
Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno | Guilied Lopez | Patricia Rae | Wilson Guerro | Yenny Paola Vega
Bruce says: “Few films have a defining moment as strong and telling as one in MARIA FULL OF GRACE. At the beginning of the film Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is making out with her boyfriend (Wilson Guerro). A bit bored
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Rating: 0.5 cats
Director: Jim Van Bebber
Starring: Amy Yates | Leslie Orr | Marc Pitman | Marcelo Games | Maureen Allisse
Michael says: “You all know why I went to see this movie. It was made by and starred many of Scot’s college friends about 12 years ago. It took them years to finish the film and get distribution, then after
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