Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Michael Gondry
Starring: Ken Magee | Patricia Arquette | Peter Dinklage | Rhys Ifans | Tim Robbins
Clinton says: “Charlie Kaufman, the writer behind the wildly inventive BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, teams up with another influential music video director, Michel Goundry, who’s visual flair has elevated Bjork’s videos to near-perfect mini-movies (MALKOVICH director Spike Jones also stepped up
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Amira Casar | Charles Berling | Michel Bouquet | Natacha Régnier
Michael says: “Technically proficient and strongly acted, the downfall of Fontaine’s drama is in its detachment. Central character, Jean-Luc, is a successful doctor, with a beautiful, classy wife. When his father returns to France after living for many years in
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Rating: 3.2 cats
Director: Chris Smith
Laura says: “A Louisiana houseboat, an all electronic house in Illinois, a converted missile site in Kansas, a California ranch converted for a dozen cats’ comfort and a Hawaiian tree house are five unusual homes showcased in HOME MOVIE. “Director
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: George Ratliff
Michael says: “Scot and I traveled to a place that is thoroughly alien to me tonight: a Pentacostal church in Texas. Director George Ratliff has constructed a fascinating film about Texas’ infamous ‘Hell House.’ This haunted house, now running over
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Rating: 3.375
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Cate Blanchett | Giovanni Ribisi | Remo Girone | Stefania Rocca
Laura says: “German director Tom Tykwer has explored fate and chance in his films RUN, LOLA, RUN and THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR, falling far short of the works of the late, great Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski. Working from a
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sam Jones
Emily says: “Greg and I caught this documentary film about the band Wilco last night. Though Greg, as a band leader himself, found the film lacking in footage of the ‘making music’ process, for those of you who are interested
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Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Benshan Zhao | Biao Fu | Jie Dong | Lihua Dong
Michael says: “The latest film by Zhang Yimou is an odd little film. It’s only getting a week’s run in Boston, and there were only three of us at the screening on Monday night. You would think that a film
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Keiko Matsuzaka | Kenji Sawada | Kiyoshiro Imawano | Naomi Nishida | Shinji Takeda | Tetsurô Tanba
Michael says: “What can I possibly say about this most amazing film? “Takashi Miike, director the also incomparable AUDITION serves up a musical/comedy/horror flick about a family running a lonely guest house. As the bodies pile up, so do the
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Brian Koppelman | David Levien
Starring: Andrew Davoli | Barry Pepper | John Malkovich | Seth Green | Tom Noonan | Vin Diesel
Laura says: “Matty gathers cousin and ladies man Chris (Andrew Davoli) and hulking tough guy buddy Taylor (Vin Diesel) and make their way to Wibaux. They formulate a plan to intimidate the town’s toughest guy and get him to nose
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Tim Blake Nelson
Starring: Allan Corduner | David Arquette | Harvey Keitel | Mira Sorvino | Natasha Lyonne | Steve Buscemi
Laura says: “The Nazis devised a horrific way of getting their dirty work done – in exchange for privileges which included a four month stay of execution, Jewish prisoners could volunteer for Sonderkommando units, responsible for herding Jews to their
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Bob Balaban | Clive Owen | Eileen Atkins | Emily Watson | Helen Mirren | Jeremy Northan | Maggie Smith
Howard says: “This is a well done movie. Mostly because of how well the myriad of characters that the script calls for was juggled. And guess what? They do a pretty bang up job. You may not now the characters’
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal | Jennifer Aniston | John C. Reilly | John Carroll Lynch | Tim Blake Nelson | Zooey Deschanel
Clinton says: “The writer and director of Chlotrudis Award-winning CHUCK & BUCK return with a stunning ensemble cast, lead by a surprisingly good performance from Aniston. She plays Justine, a dissatisfied young woman stuck in a dead end job (working
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Anne-Sophie Birot
Starring: Isild Les Besco | Karen Alyx | Pascal Elso | Pascale Bussières
Michael says: “Like the film RAIN, which I saw earlier this week, France’s GIRLS CAN’T SWIM is a coming-of-age story fraught with tragedy. Gwen and Lise have been spending summers together in Gwen’s coastal hometown. When sudden tragedy prevents Lise
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: A.J. Schnack
Michael says: “Surprisingly, the highlight of the Provincetown Film Festival for me was this top-notch documentary about the band, They Might Be Giants. John Flansbrugh and John Linnell met in Jr.High in Lincoln, MA. Together they formed alternative rock band
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Susan Seidelman
Starring: Christopher Bowen | Judy Davis | Juliette Lewis | Lili Taylor | Marcia Gay Harden
Michael says: “I’ve been waiting to see GAUDI AFTERNOON for over a year. This Susan Seidelman (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN) stars Judy Davis, my favorite actress, and it’s been a while since Davis has headlined a movie. Add to that a
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Julie Taymor
Starring: Alfred Molina | Ashley Judd | Geoffrey Rush | Salma Hayek
Emily & Greg say: “This was a surprisingly rich and engaging bio-pic of Frida Kahlo, largely driven by Salma Hayak’s compelling performance as Kahlo and Alfred Molina’s as husband Diego Rivera. This is a film that may end up finding
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Bill Paxton
Starring: Bill Paxton | Matthew McConaughey | Matthew O'Leary | Powers Boothe
Laura says: “Paxton the director keeps Paxton the actor on an even keel. The kindly father shows no change in personality as he begins trapping and slaying people from neighboring towns, although a hint that the visiting angel had something
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Richard Glatzer | Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Adina Porter | Deborah Harry | Michael Cunio | Richard Riehle. Tim Bagley | Robert Walden | Roxanne Day | Scott Gurney | Taylor Negron
Laura says: “Wash, who wrote THE FLUFFER, mines his experience in the industry to get his audience thinking about the difficulty of the work and the additional pressures porn players face maintaining personal relationships. Rebel’s like an athlete, or better
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Elie Chouraqui
Starring: Alun Armstrong | Andie MacDowell | David Straithairn
Laura says: “Chouraqui’s vision of a love story put to the ultimate test is only partially successful. MacDowell, giving her best performance since UNSTRUNG HEROES, is convincing as a woman who’ll stop at nothing to find her husband yet aside
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Henry Jaglom
Starring: Anouk Aimée | Greta Scacchi | Maximillian Schell | Ron Silver
Diane says: “If I have to watch a movie about the movie industry, I’ll take this one over MULHOLLAND DR. FESTIVAL IN CANNES by Henry Jaglom is a romantic comedy/satire of Hollywood deal-making. The very entertaining screenplay shows writers, real
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