Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: André Heller | Othmar Schmiderer
Ellen says: “The entire film consists of Traudi Junge telling her story of being the secretary to Hitler in the final days of the Hitler regime. I heard complaints that no new information was revealed but I found it thoroughly
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Starring: Bahman Ghobadi | Behnaz Jafari | Said Mohamadi
Michael says: “The Iranian film BLACKBOARDS is certainly a strong piece of filmmaking from a woman director, a rarity in Iran. The stunning, desolate opening shots of BLACKBOARDS are undeniable in their power and reeled me in immediately, yet the
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Albert Finney | Alison Lohman | Billy Crudup | Ewan McGregor | Helena Bonham Carter | Jessica Lange | Marion Cotillard | Robert Guillaume
Bruce says: “BIG FISH had a big budget and, one could surmise from the media blitz that started well in advance of its release, a huge advertising campaign chest as well. The all-star cast and top-notch director add to the
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Justin Lin
Starring: Jason J. Tobin | Parry Shen | Roger Fan | Sung Kang
Michael says: “Justin Lin’s BETTER LUCK TOMORROW is an interesting if not entirely original take on high school ennui, and the how easy the slide from academic success into crime and violence can be. BETTER LUCK TOMORROW is also notable
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.6
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Anupam Kher | Archie Panjabi | Jonathan Rhys Meyers | Keira Knightley | Parminder K. Nagra
Diane says: “A sappy disappointment.” 2 cats Laura says: “Cowriter (with Guljit Bindra and Second Unit Director Paul Mayeda Berges, WHAT’S COOKING?)/Producer/Director Gurinder Chadha (WHAT’S COOKING?/BHAJI ON THE BEACH) spikes one out of the park with her enormously entertaining,
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Connie Nielsen | John Travolta | Samuel L. Jackson | Timothy Daly
Robin says: “It’s RASHOMON meets THE GENERAL’S DAUGHTER as John Travolta reprises a role similar to his in the latter film as helmer McTiernan drives this action vehicle that begins with two different tellings about a deadly event that smacks
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Denys Arcand
Starring: Dorothée Berryman | Johanne-Marie Tremblay | Marie-Josée Croze | Marina Hands | Rémy Girard | Stéphane Rousseau
Bruce says: “Have you ever had an acquaintance whom you disliked yet strangely liked all their friends and family? Such is Remy, the central character in THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, who happens to be on his last legs in hospital. Throughout
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Robert Connolly
Starring: Anthony LaPaglia | David Wenham | Sibylla Budd
Diane says: “Has no one commented on Robert Connolly’s THE BANK, for which we Have a screener? I was looking forward to the perf by Anthony LaPaglia (of the great LANTANA ensemble) in this purported thriller, but even he couldn’t
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Vladimír Michálek
Starring: Stanislav Zindulka | Stella Zázvorková | Vlastimil Brodský
Bruce says: “How sad it is that 70% of our senior citizens are turning out to vote but so few by comparison ever attend the movies. Perhaps they are not turned on by 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, the remake of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Audrey Tautou | Cécile de France | Judith Godrèche | Romain Duris
Georgette says: “Well, Cedric Klapisch has another winner with L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE. With the same charm and good-natured fun as in his delightful WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY again we meet a cast of true characters, and the city is definitely one
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Rating: 1.75
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Christina Ricci | Danny DeVito | Jason Biggs | Stockard Channing | Woody Allen
Howard says: “Near the end of ANYTHING ELSE, Woody Allen’s character tells his comedy writing partner, played by Jason Biggs, if he has to steal material, make sure he steals from the best. Allen has taken this to heart as
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Claude Lelouch
Starring: Jeremy Irons | Patricia Kaas | Thierry Lhermitte
Laura says: “Jane Lester (newcomer Patricia Kaas) is a French chanteuse found driving in circles by the gendarmes after leaving a love triangle. Valentin Valentin (Jeremy Irons, THE TIME MACHINE) is an English jewel thief found dazed in Morocco after
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Rating: 4.3 cats
Director: Robert Pulcini | Shari Springer Berman
Starring: Hope Davis | James Urbaniak | Judah Friedlander | Paul Giamatti
Bob says: “The film raises some very interesting questions without coming out and asking them. Pekar’s work is all about portraying real life, but of course it’s all filtered through multiple lenses: his own perspective of events, his choice of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Djimon Honsou | Emma Bolger | Paddy Considine | Samantha Morton | Sarah Bolger
Kevin says: “From Jim Sheridan, the director of IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER and MY LEFT FOOT, comes IN AMERICA, certainly one of the best films of 2003. “The film concerns a family, consisting of Johnny (Patty Considine), his
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Costa-Gavras
Starring: Mathieu Kassovitz | Michel Duchaussoy | Ulrich Mühe | Ulrich Tukur
Michael says: “Here’s a film that didn’t get a lot of attention when it was out earlier this year but deserves it now on DVD or video. Of the many films detailing the atrocities of the holocaust, AMEN is among
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Lee Hirsch
Laura says: “In 1948, the apartheid government came to power in South Africa, stripping basic human rights from the native Black citizenry. For over four decades a struggle ensued to restore those rights. Director Lee Hirsch spent a decade himself
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Patricia Clarkson | Paul Schneider | Zooey Deschanel
Michael says: “David Gordon Green is definitely a filmmaker to watch. The lush visuals and innovative storytelling style of his debut film GEORGE WASHINGTON caught the eye of many a Chlotrudis member, earning him nominations in the Best Original Screenplay,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Dermot Mulroney | Hope Davis | Jack Nicholson | Kathy Bates
Ivy says: “Well, we pushed this one to the 2003 nominations and I went to see it the today. And now I wish we had just gotten it out of the way instead of dragging it out to next year.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Brendan Gleeson | Christopher Eccleston | Cillian Murphy | Naomie Harris
Laura says: “Director Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING) makes great use of the digital video format (with Dogme favorite, Director of Photography Anthony Dod Mantle (THE CELEBRATION) for his post-apocalyptic/undead ‘zombie’/survival tale. 28 DAYS LATER is short on real scares, but it
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Rating: 3.6
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Benicio Del Torro | Charlotte Gainsbourg | Clea DuVall | Melissa Leo | Naomi Watts | SeanPenn
Diane says: “Hey, I liked it! Knowing in advance that the story was contrived, I just went with it, and loved the perfs (main and supporting), directing, and cinematography. I accepted the main premise as kind of a silly HEAVEN
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