Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Olivier Assaya
Starring: Charles Berling | Chloe Sevigny | Connie Nielsen | Gina Gershon
Michael says: “Well, the several Chlotrudis members who attended the second installment of the Sunday Eye-Opener were treated with a sneak preview of Olivier Assayas’ stylish tale of corporate cyber-espionage. Assayas, whose IRMA VEP is a cherished fave film of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Josef Bierbichler | Juliane Heinemann | Katja Studt | Nina Petri
Michael says: “Tom Tykwer introduced his first feature film, DEADLY MARIA, to a sold out theatre at the Museum of Fine Arts last night. It was great seeing all those Chltorudis members, including Tim, Sara Rubin and new members Erin
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Ron Shelton
Starring: Kurt Russell | Michael Michele | Scott Speedman
Laura says: “Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman, DUETS) seemingly has it made. His uncle Jack (Brendan Gleeson, GANGS OF NEW YORK) is the head of SIS, his partner Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell, VANILLA SKY) is a favored veteran and he’s just
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Rating: 3.25
Director: John Malkovich
Starring: Elvira Mínguez | Javier Bardem | Juan Diego Botto | Laura Morante
Esmé says: “I thought Javier Bardem was great in this. I really liked this movie, the story, the filming, the understated way Malkovich showed us the lifestyle of the characters. The tension, the revelation, awesome! (A terrorist group is threatening
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Jane Campion
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh | Mark Ruffalo | Meg Ryan
Bruce says: “This film is a textbook for fatal flaws in filmmaking. With one exception – an absolutely perfect performance from Mark Ruffalo – IN THE CUT is a total mess. Mark Ruffalo knows his character and captures every earthy,
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Alexander Rughozhkin
Starring: Anni-Christina Juuso | Viktor Bychkov | Ville Haapasalo
Bob says: “What I liked most about this film is the way the language barrier between the characters is used to drive the story forward – often to delay it. After the first few conversations, the fact that no one
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Matthew Barney
Starring: Aimee Mullins | Matthew Barney | Paul Brady | Richard Serra
Laura says: “Multi-media artist Matthew Barney explores the evolution of form via Celtic mythology, automotives, biology and vaseline in his five part Cremaster cycle, which began in 1994 with CREMASTER 4 and move from a state of ascendance to descendance
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Rating: 2.25
Director: Jon Amiel
Starring: Aaron Eckhart | Delroy Lindo | Hilary Swank | Stanley Tucci
Laura says: “When 32 pacemaker wearers drop dead in Boston and misguided pigeons wreck havoc in London’s Tralfalgar Square Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart, POSSESSION) forms a theory that a problem with the earth’s electromagnetic field, formed by the
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Director: Wayne Kramer
Starring: Alec Baldwin | Joey Fatone | Maria Bello | Paul Sorvino | William H. Macy
Hilary says: “In this formulaic yarn William H. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, the unluckiest fella ever. Lootz is a ‘cooler’ working to spread his bad luck to the patrons of The Golden Shangri-La, an old-school Las Vegas casino run by
Read the review...Company, The (USA/Germany; 112 min.) directed by: Robert Altmanstarring: Neve Campbell; Malcolm McDowell; James Franco Jane says: “THE COMPANY was pretty awful in my estimation. No character development, just situations playing out in often unrealistic ways. (Why did Neve’s
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Director: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Brendan Gleeson | Donald Sutherland | Eileen Atkins | Giovanni Ribisi | Jude Law | Kathy Baker; | Natalie Portman | Nicole Kidman | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Ray Winstone | Renée Zellweger
Chris says: “The season’s bloated literary adaptation / historical epic Oscar bait is Anthony Minghella’s first film since the similarly crafted and still underrated THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. It’s no masterpiece, but it exceeded my expectations nonetheless. Jude Law gives
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Fernando Meirelles | Kátia Lund
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues | Matheus Nachtergaele | Seu Jorge
Hilary says: “This one is a toughie not for the faint of heart. I know its the curse of my generation to constantly draw comparisons, but stylistically and thematically this film evokes AMORES PERROS, plus PULP FICTION and KIDS.
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Angela Christlieb | Stephen Kijak
Michael says: “One might think that the docuemntary CINEMANIA might have something to do with people similar to some Chlotrudis members we all know. One would be WRONG! CINEMANIA is a documentary examining the rather extreme and bizarre lives of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Kwon-taek Im
Starring: Ho-jeong Yu | Min-sik Choi | Sung-kee Ahn | Yejin Kim
Laura says: “In late 1800’s Korea significant artists, all schooled intellectuals of the time, curried favor with Government officials in hopes of the ultimate commission – working at the king’s palace as a royal painter. A wealthy man dared to
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: John Sayles
Starring: Daryl Hannah | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Marcia Gay Harden | Mary Steenburgen | Rota Moreno | Susan Lynch | Vanessa Martinez
Michael says: “Maverick independent filmmaker John Sayles takes a look at the different paths open to children in modern-day Mexico in CASA DE LOS BABYS, a film that offers no answers, but highlights some terrific acting. The film is centered
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Delphine Gleize
Starring: Angela Molina | Chiara Mastroianni | Clovis Cornillac | Jacques Gamblin | Lio | Pascal Bongard
Ivy says: “This feature film debut is a daring challenge following 5 story lines as they intersect and eventually overlap starting with the simple connection of a bullfighting bull’s body parts after it has fought and been slaughtered. “The cinematography
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Bob G. says: “The most fascinating thing about this documentary is not only the subject matter, which is about as disturbing as anything you’ll ever see, but how filmmaker Andrew Jarecki maintains almost complete objectivity in his portrayal of the
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Rating: 3.9
Director: Todd Graff
Starring: Anna Kendrick | Daniel Letterle | Joanna Chilcoat | Robin de Jesus
Hilary says: “Normally I’m not a fan of ‘feel-good’ movies. However, CAMP won over my inner cynic through the successful combination of two guilty pleasures – the teen romantic comedy and the summer camp movie – with musical numbers. “I’m
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Nigel Cole
Starring: Helen Mirren | John Alderton | Julie Walters | Linda Bassett
Bruce says: “When I first saw THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, & HER LOVER I was totally mesmerized by Helen Mirren. Her work in the ‘Prime Suspect’ series reinforced my high opinion of her. I should have known better
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Cerina Vincent | James DeBello | Joey Kern | Jordan Ladd | Rider Strong
Bob G. says: “(WARNING: Slight spoiler included) “CABIN FEVER is a nasty little genre picture that, if it took itself a hair more seriously, would be a B-Horror-Pic classic in a league at least close to films to which it
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