Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: David Mamet
Starring: Danny DeVito | Delroy Lindo | Gene Hackman | Rebecca Pidgeon | Ricky Jay | Sam Rockwell
Esme says: “Want my opinion? Mediocre. Predictable. Hackneyed. Not very entertaining, or interesting. Gene Hackman was not as special as I had heard he would be. Corny performances all around. We were subjected to close up shots of Rebecca’s ass
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: John Cameron Mitchell | Michael Pitt | Miriam Shor
Diane says: “I wasn’t going to see HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, but my sister invited me. I was very impressed with the movie, and almost flabbergasted that John Cameron Mitchell performed so successfully as writer, actor, and director. Wow!
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Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Dominik Moll
Starring: Laurent Lucas | Mathilde Seigner | Sergi Lopez
Ellen says: “I thought Sergi Lopez did a good job as Harry, but he didn’t frighten me (in a chilling psychological way) the way I thought he would. In fact that would be my general feeling toward the film. Maybe
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Brad Anderson
Starring: Holland Taylor | MarisaTomei | Nadia Dajani | Sean Gullette | Vincent D'Onofrio
Bob says: “I’ve been thinking about something utterly irrelevant since seeing HAPPY ACCIDENTS yesterday, so I thought I’d just throw it out there: Vincent D’Onofrio’s character is named Sam Deed, and he explains that back travelers usually have names made
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Joel Hershman
Starring: Clive Owen | Danny Dyer | David Kelly | Helen Mirren | Warren Clarke
Michael says: “In this movie, based on a true story, a group of prisoners become championship gardeners in England. A true audience pleaser in the vein of WAKING NED DEVINE and THE FULL MONTY. Unfortunately, the film is a little
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: James Ivory
Starring: Anjelica Huston | Jeremy Northam | Kate Beckinsale | Nick Nolte | Uma Thurman
Diane says: “I liked THE GOLDEN BOWL much better than I expected. The main character in this Henry James’ novel had no redeeming qualities as far as I could see, and her love interest, (Jeremy Northam, who leaves me cold
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Agnès Varda
Nathaniel says: “Agnes Varda, cinematographer and the godmother of the French New Wave, created a mini cineaste stir earlier this year when THE GLEANERS AND I opened. This intimate look at the culture of gleaning (i.e. scavenging for food) among
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Cate Blanchett | Giovanni Ribisi | Greg Kinnear | Hilary Swank | Katie Holmes | Keanu Reaves
Kevin says: “Cate Blanchett is incredibly good. The film is really spine-tingling and very emotionally involving. The ensemble cast–Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Kim Dickens, Katie Holmes–is flawless as well. Not QUITE as good as Raimi’s A
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Starring: Scarlett Johansson | Steve Buscemi | ThoraBirch
Bob says: “It seems to me that this film is much too heavily reliant on marketing some committee got together and decided which segment of the population they were going after, and how they were going to get them.
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Neil Slavin
Starring: David Paymer | Laura Dern | Meat Loaf Aday | William H. Macy
Kevin says: “Speaking of an impressive debut–here’s one for you. Riveting, elegant, brilliantly performed by William H. Macy and Laura Dern. The dialogue is crisp and performed with a perfectly mannered style that matches the over-stylized production values. Reproduces the
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Director: Dustin Scott; Rebert Perrea | John Gianvito | Thia Gonzalez
Michael says: “Here’s an ambitious, nearly three-hour film, shot entirely in New Mexico by a Boston resident that deserves an audience. It’s precisely the type of film that Chlotrudis Awards needs to find and honor. Unfortunately, only two of us
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.6
Director: Jacques Martineau | Olivier Ducastel
Starring: Ariane Ascaride | Patachou | Pierre-Loup Rajot | Sami Bouajila
Laura says: “The French film THE ADVENTURES OF FELIX is a real charmer, sure to be a nominee for me for its star and supporting actress” 4 cats For Laura’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/theadventuresoffelix.htm” Kevin says: “This was a really
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Catherine Breillat
Starring: Anaïs Reboux | Arsinée Khanjian | Roxane Mesquida
Laura says: “Breillat succeeds in presenting a complex relationship between the two sisters, a love/hate relationship at an age when parents are naturally distanced. While Elena’s taunts are cutting, her character nonetheless remains sympathetic as she chooses to ignore Fernando’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Liv Ullman
Starring: Erland Josephson | Krister Henriksson | Lena Endre | Thomas Hanzon
Diane says: “FAITHLESS was written by Ingmar Bergman and directed by Liv Ullman. An aging director (we’ll call him ‘Bergman’) is writing the story of a disastrous affair. The woman involved, ‘Marianne,’ appears to him as a muse. It becomes
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Ousmane Sembene
Starring: Mame Ndoumbe | Mariama Balde | Ndiagne Dia | Venus Seye
Michael says: “I enjoyed FAAT KINE quite a bit. Veteran African director Ousmane Sembene has been making films since the ’60’s. With FAAT KINE he draws a lively portrait of an independent, single woman with two grown children, and their
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Alan Ruck | Catherine Lloyd Burns | Justin Louis | Louis Ferreira | Mark Boone Junior | Mat Malloy | Megan Mulally | Michele Hicks | Radha Mitchell
Michael says: “EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER is the feature directorial debut from Marc Forster, whose MONSTER’S BALL starring Billy Bob Thornton is due out soon. TOGETHER stars HIGH ART‘S Radha Mitchell as a young suburban woman, pregnant and about to give
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Rating: 3.4
Director: Shinji Aoyama
Starring: Aoi Miyazaki | Koji Yakusho | Mazaru Miyazaki
Diane says: “I saw Shinji Aoyama’s 3-3/4 hour EUREKA last night, and recommend it. A study of three people set adrift by a horrible act of violence, the film certainly lets you get to know its characters in a leisurely
Read the review...Enemy at the Gates (Germany/USA/UK/Ireland; 131min.) directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaudstarring: Jude Law; Joseph Fiennes; Rachel Weisz; Bob Hoskins; Ed Harris Howard says: “Superb cast. It was great to see Bob Hoskins on the screen again as well as Joseph
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Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: George Butler
Laura says: “Butler’s first rate documentary is only hurt by Liam Neeson’s narration. His soft, lilting voice often lacks the drama the events he’s recounting demand. Music by Michael Small ranges from a deep, foreboding orchestral piece which recalls whale
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Starring: Ayre Gross | Eric Schweig | George Coe | Louise Fletcher | Tim DeKay
Trent says: “Ayre Gross, looking like a cross between SNL veteran and THREE KINGS actress Nora Dunn and a strangely attractive aardvark, stars as a gay artist who must return to his roots in the gentle movie BIG EDEN. This
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