Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Antonio Banderas | Peter Coyote | Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Howard says: “The latest from Brain DePalma is an enjoyable albeit forgettable romp. Its basically a mystery thriller about second chances. The first half of the movie is the best with non-stop plot twists with minimal dialogue.” 2 cats
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lucia Small
Laura says: “When famed but failed architect Glen Howard Small drew up his will, he requested that the middle daughter of his first, somewhat estranged, family should write his biography. Once filmmaker Lucia Small, who has extensive production credits with
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Zacharias Kunuk
Starring: Lucy Tulugarjuk | Natar Ungalaaq | Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq | Sylvia Ivalu
Michael says: “Despite another late night, all seven Chlotrudis-members made it to an 11:00 screening on Saturday morning, of a three-hour Inuit film entitled, THE FAST RUNNER at the High Falls Film Festival. Winner of the Award for Best Canadian
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Todd Haynes
Starring: Celia Weston | Dennis Haysbert | Dennis Quaid | Julianne Moore | Patricia Clarkson | Viola Davis
Diane says: “Well, after 400 miles of driving I got to see FAR FROM HEAVEN! This is my second real movie in Montana. Both times I was completely disoriented when I came out of the theater–where am I? “The only
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Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Dougray Scott | Jeremy Northan | Kate Winslet | Saffron Burrows
Nathaniel R. says: “There are things to enjoy here, though, amidst the dull surroundings. Aside from the editing, which seems a bit clumsy -perhaps mirroring the overall construction of the story – the technical aspects are all fine. The collective
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sam Irvin
Starring: Cassandra Peterson | Gabi Andronache | Heather Hopper | Lucia Maier | Mary Jo Smith | Mary Scheer | Richard O'Brien | Scott Atkinson
Hilary says: “Last night, the Boston Chlotrudis contingent had the opportunity to meet Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and see her new movie ELVIRA’S HAUNTED HILLS. Even without the full get-up (she doesn’t appear in costume for charity events due
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Director: Petter Næss
Starring: Jørgen Langhelle | Marit Pia Jacobsen | Per Christian Ellefsen | Sven Nordin
Janet says: “This film is said to be doing tremendous box office and even revitalizing the film industry in Norway. But if you see just one Norwegian film this year, make it COOL AND CRAZY instead. ELLING is a too-broad
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Rating: 4.4
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Beth Grant | Drew Barrymore | Jake Gyllenhaal | Jena Malone | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Mary McDonnell | Noah Wylie | Patrick Swayze
Diane says: “Donnie Darko is a schizophrenic adolescent who sees through the falsity of authority figures and classmates, and is hallucinating in a dangerous way. Janet, like reviewer Gerry Peary, saw Donnie as a Jesus figure because he sacrifices himself
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Stacy Peralta
Michael says: “I’ve been racking up the docs as the year approaches a close, and I’d meant to catch DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS in the theatre after it opened to strong, positive reviews. DOGTOWN uses amazing historical footage and an impressive
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Stephanie Black
Laura says: “LIFE & DEBT is a particularly powerful film in today’s climate, when Americans are more open to questioning why their country isn’t necessarily loved as much as they believe it should be. The biggest irony of Black’s film
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Gail Dolgin | Vincente Franco
Michael says: “This heart-rending film looks at a Vietnamese-American girl, taken from her mother at the age of 7 and air-lifted to the United States near the end of the VietNam War. She is adopted by a single woman in
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Peter Care
Starring: Emile Hirsch | Jena Malone | Jody Foster | Kieran Culkin | Vincent D'Onofrio
Michael says: “Whoo Boy! I haven’t seen a movie that I’ve disliked this much in quite a while. “Set presumably in the 70’s, 4 boys in Catholic school misbehave, pay the consequences and grow up a little. Despite a host
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: David Jacobson
Starring: Artel Kayàru | Bruce Davison | Jeremy Renner | Matt Newton
Bob G. says: “Jeremy Renner takes an almost impossible task — demythologizing serial cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer — and hits it out of the park. He has Dahmer’s blandness, which was his key to remaining undetected for so long, down pat.
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: John McKay
Starring: Andie MacDowell | Anna Chancellor | Bill Paterson | Imelda Staunton | Kenny Doughty
Laura says: “Were it not for MacDowell’s honest performance, the genuine heat between her and Doughty, and an imaginative use of musical themes, CRUSH would be pure Lifetime television fare. While jealousy among female friends is a true enough phenomenon,
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Carlos Carrera
Starring: Ana Claudia Talancón | Damien Alcazar | Gael García Bernal | Sancho Gracia
Laura says: “Or should that title be the crimes of Father Amaro? Carlos Carrera’s pot boiler, adapted from an 1875 novel by screenwriter Vicente Lenero, is long on licentiousness and short on subtlety. While the grey shadings of Benito’s character
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Roman Coppola
Starring: Angela Lindvall | Billy Zane | Elodie Bouchez | Gerard Depardieu | Jeremy Davies | John Philip Law
Hilary says: “Roman Coppola officially joins the family business with his directorial debut, CQ. For anyone out there who loves BARBARELLA (and I know there’s at least one other person among the membership that will admit this) it’s a must-see.
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Knut Erik Jensen
Janet says: “THE BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB with snow. This documentary about a men’s choir in the small fishing village of Belgevad, Norway, starts out seeming like it will be short, skimpy, funny, then goes much deeper than you’d ever
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Director: George Clooney
Starring: Drew Barrymore | George Clooney | Julia Roberts | Sam Rockwell
Hilary says: “I think Steven Soderbergh should be quite flattered: George Clooneys directorial debut, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, is a tribute to his work. Clearly the films they’ve done together have had a great influence on Clooney. Stylistically, the
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Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Bill Weber | David Weissman
Clinton says: “This thoroughly charming and visually exciting documentary follows the hippie drag troupe who started a legendary anarchist gender-ambiguous theatre movement in late 60’s San Francisco. The Cockettes, a more ribald and daring kick-line than their New York namesakes,
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Ian Holm | Iben Hjejle | Nigel Terry | Tim McInnerny | Tom Watson
Laura says: “In Paris, Napoleon mostly waits for the unveiling of the imposter in order to make his move. The film rouses itself when Napoleon turns around Pumpkin’s (Iben Hjeile, HIGH FIDELITY) fruit business with military strategy, but little else
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