Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Billy Morissette
Starring: Christopher Walken | James LeGros | Kevin Corrigan | Maura Tierney
Hilary says: “I commented a bit about this film a couple of weeks ago. I agree that it never quite comes together, despite some decent performances. I particularly enjoyed Maura Tierney as the bitter ‘Lady’ to James LeGros’ Macbeth. Her
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jessie Nelson
Starring: Dakota Fanning | Dianne Weist | Michelle Pfeiffer | Sean Penn
Robin says: “Acting ranges from dependable to first-class, especially Penn and the adorable Dakota Fanning. There is bound to be comparison made to Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of the mentally challenged Raymond in RAIN MAN and there is, sometimes during I
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Benoît Jacquot
Starring: Daniel Auteuil; Isild de Besco | Grégoire Colin | Jeanne Balibar | Marianne Denicourt
Bob says: “SADE didn’t do much for me, and I’m not sure why. Maybe I was putting too much energy into comparing it with QUILLS and MARAT/SADE (which is one of my faves). It seemed to be more about the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Roger Avary
Starring: Ian Somerhalder | James Van Der Beek | Jessica Biel | Shannyn Sossamon
Laura says: “The story is stuffed with sidetracks, such as Sean’s attempt to get paid back by a hilariously out-of-it Marc, and segues like his visit to the coke-addled townie (Clifton Collins, Jr., TRAFFIC) he owes and unwisely provokes. Paul’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Dylan Kidd
Starring: Campbell Scott | Elizabeth Berkley | Isabella Rossellini | Jesse Eisenberg
Laura says: “Ad exec Roger (Campbell Scott) delights his coworkers and boss and secret lover Joyce (Isabella Rossellini) with his witty rationale on why women will take over the world during a boozy bistro session, but a later visit to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Eric Mabius | James Purefoy | Michelle Rodriquez | Milla Jovovich
Laura says: “Jovovich shows a lot of presence as the tough zombie warrior with a humanistic streak that may be a cover for prior crimes. GIRLFIGHT’S Michelle Rodriguez is typecasting herself into a corner with her pugilistic pout. The rest
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Patricia Cardoso
Starring: America Ferrera | George Lopez | Ingrid Oliu | Lupe Ontiveros
Laura says: “Winning both the Audience and Special Jury Awards at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival encouraged HBO Films to release Patricia Cardoso’s crowd pleaser theatrically. While REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES suffers from an obvious and simplistic screenplay (Josefina Lopez
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Emmanuelle Devos | Olivier Gourmet | Vincent Cassell
Bob says: “I managed to see this one while I was down in NY this week, and I was very impressed. While I found the thriller aspect kind of predictable, and was a little confused with the subplot about the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Sturla Gunnarson
Starring: Andy Jones | Molly Parker | Vicky Hynes | William Hurt
Michael says: “Reaching for the quirky, warm humor of such films as WAKING NED DEVINE and GREENFINGERS, Gunnarson heads for the Maritimes in Canada for this off-beat comedy, that by-and-large fails to get many laughs. “William Hurt plays Dave, a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Mickey Lemle
Diane says: “This ’02 docu on Baba Ram Dass has no reviews on the Chlo website, so I throw one in belatedly, because I found it worthwhile viewing. Three of us watched it, none of us knowing much about this
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Christine Jeffs
Starring: Aaron Murphy | Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki | Alistair Browning | Marton Csokas | Sara Peirse
Michael says: “All languid heat, foreboding skies and alcohol-induced haze, RAIN is a coming-of-age tale set in New Zealand that is well-acted, gorgeously lensed, but not all that creatively written. Based on the novel by Kirsty Gunn, there is very
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: David Gulpilil | Everlyn Sampi | Kenneth Brannagh | Laura Monaghan | Tianna Sansbury
Elllen says: “Thanks to Michael getting up at a very early hour to procure tickets at the Toronto Film Festival, I was able to see this fabulous film based on the true story of three aboriginal girls who were taken
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yang Zhang
Starring: Fengsen Jia | Hongshen Jia | Shun Xing | Tong Wang | Xiuling Chai
Michael says: “Zhang, whose last film was the family, feel-good film SHOWER, tackles a difficult subject with creativity and insight in QUITTING. Focusing on a troubled young man struggling with drug addiction and the sweeping changes occurring in contemporary China,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Fabián Bielinsky
Starring: Gastón Pauls | Leticia Brédice | Ricardo Darín | Tomás Fonzi
Laura says: “NINE QUEENS characters are engaging and occasionally amusing, but director Bielinsky never rises above simply putting them through their paces. He doesn’t achieve the liftoff the film needs to sparkle, instead letting a leaden monotony set in. The
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.3 cats
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler | Emily Watson | Philip Seymour Hoffman
Bob says: “I’ve seen this film twice now, and I’m still not sure what to think. It’s clearly an extension of the idea Anderson so overtly espoused in MAGNOLIA — that the unexpected can indeed happen. This time he managed
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Adam Larson Broder | Anthony Abrams
Starring: Brenda Blethyn | Christina Ricci | Dominique Swain | Hank Harris
Bob says: “If a film ever had a multiple-personality disorder, this is it. Christina Ricci chucks it all, falling head-over-heels with disabled Pumpkin, although he appears to do little for her except ease her guilty conscience. What exactly were directors
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: B.Z. Goldberg | Carlos Bolado
Diane says: “Co-director B.Z. Goldberg, an American Jew, befriends some Palestinian and Israeli kids and gets some of them intrigued enough to want to meet. But it’s not the feel-good movie I was expecting–it’s realistic, showing what’s become of those
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Annie Girardot | Benoît Magimel | Isabelle Huppert
Bob says: “I was part of a good-sized crowd at the Brattle last night for THE PIANO TEACHER, and came out of it finding myself pretty deeply affected. I found it odd that so many in the audience laughed so
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lieven Debrauwer
Starring: Ann Petersen | Dora van der Groen | Rosemarie Bergmans
Michael says: “Pauline is a developmentally disabled woman in her mid to late sixties. She lives with her sister Martha, is fixated with her more glamorous sister Paulette, and has forgotten her youngest sister Cecile, who has moved away from
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.25 cats
Director: Mark Romanek
Starring: Connie Nielsen | Eriq LaSalle | Michael Vartan | Robin Williams
Nathaniel T. says: “Bad. A mannered performance by Robin Williams is the centerpiece of a hackneyed script and uninteresting direction. On the plus side, the cinematography and art direction were just dandy.” 1/2 cat Robin says: “Robin Williams gives
Read the review...