Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Moon-saeng Kim | Park Sunmin
Starring: Andrew Ableson | Cathy Cavadini | David Naughton | Joon-ho Chung
Michael says: “SKY BLUE is a bit of South Korean anime that fails (for the most part) visually, and fails bigtime in terms of story. It’s funny that I wasn’t expecting an anime film to fall prey to the utterly
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Rating: 2.25
Director: Frank Miller | Quentin Tarantino | Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Benicio Del Toro | Bruce Willis | Elijah Wood | Jessica Alba | Mickey Rourke | Rosario Dawson
Hilary says: “If you’re looking for pure big-screen entertainment and don’t mind violence, however cartoonish and hyperbolic, check out SIN CITY. “This flick appeals to both my inner film noir nerd and affection for comic book/graphic novel adaptations. I do
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Anand Tucker
Starring: Claire Danes | Jason Schwartzmann | Steve Martin
Chris says: “Why, why, why do I get all hyped up about adaptations of my favorite books, since they rarely turn out well? Steve Martin’s novella surprised me, not only by being so unexpectedly bittersweet, but also in the way
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Xiaoshuai Wang
Starring: Anlian Yao | Bin Li | Hao Qin | Xueyang Wang | Yang Tang | Yuanyuan Gao
Chris says: “The first film I saw [at the Toronto International Film Festival] was one of the very best, so good that I worried it would set an impossible standard for the rest of the festival. Set in the Chinese
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Alan Tudyk | Gina Torres | Nathan Fillion
Tom says: “Let’s get this out of the way right now. SERENITY > RISE OF THE SITH. By a long, long shot. Lucas should have hired on Joss Whedon to write the latest Trilogy fiasco. The characters and dialog are
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Andrew Douglas
Bruce says: “SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG-EYED JESUS is an ambitious documentary from director Andrew Douglas, a film I admire more than like. The premise of the film is that poor white southerners have but two paths to take in life:
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Michael Schorr
Starring: Harald Warmbrunn | Horst Krause | Karl Fred Müller
Johanna says: “Am I the only one who has seen this movie?? I haven’t seen any mention of it in any of the recent discussions. I’m not a great review writer, but this film is really worthwhile. Although it may
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alice Wu
Starring: Ato Essandoh | Brian Yang | David Shih | Guang Lan Koh | Jessica Hecht | Jin Wang | Joan Chen | Lynn Chen | Michelle Krusiec
Michael says: “First-time filmmaker Alice Wu has created a delightful, blend of romantic comedy and culture clash in her story about the multi-generational, Chinese-American family. Wil is a successful young surgeon in New York City, but each Friday night she
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Liam Lynch
Michael says: “My experience with Sarah Silverman amounted to her brief appearances in the recent documentary THE ARISTOCRATS, but an invitation to the Sarah Silverman party was reason enough for me to catch her first performance film, SARAH SILVERMAN: JESUS
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Börje Ahlstedt | Erland Josephson | Liv Ullman
Bruce says: “Very few of the world’s top directors have ever left their careers on the highest of notes. That cannot be said of Ingmar Bergman. His SARABAND has the touch of genius, revealing the wisdom of age but none
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Kang Yi-kwan
Starring: Seon-gyun Lee | So-ri Moon | Tae-woo Kim
Bruce says: “Hyun-jung is a young professional who is secure in every way. Her job is terrific and she is both appreciated and rewarded for her efforts and talent. She is her parents favorite child and she is madly in
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Don Argott
Hilary says: “This docu introduces Paul Green, a Philadelphia man who runs his eponymous School of Rock Music, an after-school program for 9- to 17-year-olds. “Green, himself a frustrated musician, is by turns a nurturing and harsh teacher to his
Read the review...Rize (USA; 86 min.) directed by: David LaChapelledocumentary Diane says: “RIZE, a docu by David LaChapelle about clowns and krumpers in South Central LA, lets the subjects speak for themselves. Both groups (who have a formal showdown at the
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Maysoon Pachachi
Bruce says: “RETURN TO THE LAND OF WONDERS is a documentary about what is going on in Iraq today. The filmmaker’s father is Adnan Pachachi who has lived in exile for 35 years. He is one of the key people
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Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Adam Pascal | Anthony Rapp | Idina Menzel | Jesse L. Martin | Rosario Dawson | Tracie Thoms | Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Michael says: “I was fortunate enough to have seen the Broadway production of ‘Rent’ with the original cast back in the early 90’s and was caught up in its enthusiasm and heartfelt emotion. ‘Rent’ captured a youthful bohemian artistry with
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Rating: 3.6
Director: Jessica Yu
Bruce says: “Henry Darger (1892-1973, pronounced Darjur) became the darling of the outsider art world about a decade or so ago. The film begins with a query, ‘Am I a real enemy of the cross or a sorry Saint?’ This
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Ye Lou
Starring: Tôru Nakamura | Ye Liu | Yuanzheng Feng | Ziyi Zhang
Bruce says: “Costume dramas are not my favorite genre especially ones such as PURPLE BUTTERFLY that have the look and feel of a Banana Republic ad. That may sound a bit harsh, but I have serious reservations as to whether
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Péter Gárdos
Starring: Judit Németh | Lajos Bertók | Sándor Csányi
Bruce says: “Based on three short stories by Ervin Lázár, THE PORCELAIN DOLL consists of three distinct vignettes related thematically. Director Péter Gárdos, who also wrote the screenplay, draws on Hungarian history and culture to tell his tales. ‘Hungary,’ as
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Starring: Ali Suliman | Ashraf Barhom | Hiam Abbass | Kais Nashef | Lubna Azabal
Bruce says: “This simple story is about two Palestinian childhood friends who decide to become suicide bombers. The story may be simple but the issues are not. For over thirty years terrorism has been a major issue in Israel. Israel
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.375
Director: Todd Solondz
Starring: Debra Monk | Ellen Barkin | Jennifer Jason Leigh | Matthew Faber | Richard Masur | Sharon Wilkins
Hilary says: “Not quite as aggressively offensive as HAPPINESS or STORYTELLING, but overall PALINDROMES is one unpleasant viewing experience.” 1 cat Rick says: “Oh for crying out loud, why is it that so few people seem to like PALINDROMES?!
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