Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Wong Kar Wai
Starring: Andy Lau | Carina Lau | Jacky Cheung | Leslie Cheung | Maggie Cheung | Rebecca Pan
Bruce says: “While for some time THE DAYS OF BEING WILD has been available for viewing at home in the room of your choice, it has never before had a theatrical release in the United States. Made in 1991, it
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jafar Panahi
Starring: Azita Rayeji | Hossain Emadeddin | Kamyar Sheisi
Michael says: “CRIMSON GOLD is the latest film by Iranian director Jafar Panahi (THE CIRCLE) written by Abbas Kiarostami (TEN, A TASTE OF CHERRY.) This circular film examines the class inequities in Iran in a similar way to Panahi’s THE
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Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Diego Luna | John C. Reilly | Maggie Gyllenhaal
Hilary says: “This remake of 2002 Chlotrudis-eligible film NINE QUEENS managed to be even more boring than the original. “John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, and Maggie Gyllenhaal go through the paces of a ridiculous elaborate con plot and the result
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Jennifer Abbott | Mark Achbar
Bruce says: “In 1712 Thomas Newcomen invented a steam engine that pumped water from the depths of coal mines, making them safer and more accessible. This event triggered the Industrial Age; everything could suddenly be measured in units – units
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Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Bruce says: “American media often mentions that Al Jazeera is influencing the entire Arab world, creating anti-American propaganda. The Western world identifies Al Jazeera primarily as the outlet for all the Bin Laden tapes. It is not far-fetched to assume
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Barbara E. Robertson | James Franco | Malcolm McDowell | Neve Campbell | Susie Cusack | William Dick
Bruce says: “THE COMPANY is a difficult film to classify because it isn’t much of anything. Robert Altman loves tackling complicated scenarios. One would think a peek-a-boo film about what goes on behind the scenes at a dance company would
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Jada Pinkett Smith | Jamie Foxx | Tom Cruise
Bruce says: “What exactly does the title of this film mean? Four different definitions could be possibilities: running side by side, concomitant, serving to support, and subordinate. “Jamie Foxx plays Max, a LA taxi driver who always has a dream
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Alfred Molina | Bill Murray | Cate Blanchette | Iggy Pop | Steve Coogan | Tom Waits
Diane says: “Found most of this tedious. Maybe because I don’t like coffee _or cigarettes? I enjoyed three or four of the eleven conversations: the closing one with Rice and Mead listening to an imagined Mahler lied (Beckett-like), the great
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Bruno Lastra | Christopher Simpson | Jeanne Balibar | Nina Fog | Om Puri | Samantha Morton | Tim Robbins | Togo Igawa
Bruce says: “The prolific Michael Winterbottom (BUTTERFLY KISS, JUDE, WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, WONDERLAND, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and IN THIS WORLD) could never be accused of making the same film twice. Each of his works is very different from the
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Rating: 3.9
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Clive Owen | Jude Law | Julia Roberts | Natalie Portman
Janet says: “Just got back from the Embassy Cinema after seeing this film about a quartet of lovers who lust after and betray one another, and I’m very excited about it. I’m not a Julia fan—every time I see her
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Pieter Jan Brugge
Starring: Helen Mirren | Robert Redford | Willem Dafoe
Hilary says: “Wayne Hayes (Robert Redford), a wealthy rental-car executive, is abducted by a disgruntled former employee, Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe). Hayes’ wife Eileen (Helen Mirren) is soon surrounded by family and FBI agents, hoping for Wayne’s safe return. “Mirren’s
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Antonio Hernández
Starring: Fernando Fernán Gómez | Geraldine Chaplin | Leonardo Sbaraglia
Michael says: “This semester’s Sunday Eye-Opener kicked off with a Spanish/Argentinian co-production that promised to be intriguing, but for me, ended up being soap operaish melodrama that didn’t live up to its possibility. Hot off is intriguing role in INTACTO,
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Kai S. Pieck
Starring: Sebastian Urzendowsky | Tobias Schenke
Bruce says: “THE CHILD I NEVER WAS is the true story of Jurgen Bartsch who first killed a boy when he was fifteen and subsequently became infamous as a serial killer. The second killing did not happen for another three
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Aidan Quinn | Kevin Bacon | Kyra Sedgwick
Bruce says: “As demonstrated by the sensational performances of Ali Sheedy, Patricia Clarkson and Radha Mitchell in HIGH ART followed by Frances McDormand’s ultra-hip, oversexed mom in LAUREL CANYON, Lisa Cholodenko has established herself as a director who pushes women
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Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Starring: Akira Terao | Kumiko Aso | Yusuke Iseya
Tom says: “Before I start, check out the trailer at http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/trailers/casshern_large and make sure you’re wearing depends, because you will wet your pants. “Because I’ve seen HERO, I can’t call CASSHERN the most visually stunning movie I’ve ever seen. Luckily, the
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Joseph Mealey | Michael Shoob
Bruce says: “BUSH’S BRAIN is a documentary about Karl Rove. Bush’s two Presidential campaign victories were carefully engineered by Rove. Often quoted that he would stop at nothing to win an election, Rove has been credited with almost every dirty
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Starring: Dritan Biba | Fernando Guillén Cuervo | Pepón Nieto
Bruce says: “My guess is the script of BULGARIAN LOVERS looked good on paper as it covers some interesting topics such as bisexuality and the culture gap between Eastern and Western Europeans; however, it does not fare well on the
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: John Dullaghan
Bruce says: “BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS is a documentary about the poet and novelist Charles Bukowski who was known to his friends and business associates as Hank. Born in 1920, the act of writing came early for Bukowski but success
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Nir Bergman
Starring: Daniel Magon | Eliana Magon | Maya Maron | Nitai Gaviratz | Orly Silbersatz Banai
Michael says: “If you’re looking for that last film to catch before you nominate, and your local video store has a good Foreign Film section, I highly recommend BROKEN WINGS, and Israeli film by writer/director Nir Bergman. This moving and
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Eléonore Faucher
Starring: Ariane Ascaride | Lola Naymark | Thomas Laroppe
Bruce says: “The international title for this film is A COMMON THREAD which is an English translation from the French title, BRODEUSES. With releases already planned in four countries, not to mention having played in six film festivals including Toronto
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