Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Catherine Keener | Hope Davis | Jennifer Jason Leigh | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Samantha Morton
Marilyn says: “The most important film we caught in Toronto was SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK written and directed by Charlie Kaufman who said at the Q&A that he appreciated the audience very much because they clearly ‘got it.’ The film starring
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Amy Adams | Meryl Streep | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Viola Davis
Michael says: “It’s probably a good thing that playwright John Patrick Shanley wrote and directed the movie adaptation of his acclaimed play Doubt. While another filmmaker might have made a better movie, Shanley’s film certainly recaptures the power and drama
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Julia Roberts | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Tom Hanks
Bruce says: “CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR is not a film I was looking forward to seeing. To my surprise it was my favorite among the Hollywood year-end fare. Had I thought it through I might have not been so surprised. After
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Albert Finney | Brian F. O’Byrne | Ethan Hawke | Marisa Tomei | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Rosemary Harris
Bruce says: “A few weeks ago the producer of BELLA, an independent film that opened at the same time as BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, sent out an email chain letter that was a rant against Lumet’s film, a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Bruce Greenwood | Catherine Keener | Chris Cooper | Clifton Collins Jr. | Philip Seymour Hoffman
Michael says: “If I were casting the role of Truman Capote, author of that seminal work of non-fiction, In Cold Blood, Philip Seymour Hoffman is not the first name that would have popped into my head. Fortunately, three high school
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Richard Kwietniowski
Starring: John Hurt | Minnie Driver | Philip Seymour Hoffman
Bruce says: “In OWNING MAHOWNY, Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has just been promoted to Assistant Manager of a large Toronto bank when the loan sharks descend upon him. He has to come up with some money fast. Dan is
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Todd Louiso
Starring: Jack Kehler | Kathy Bates | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Sarah Koskoff
Chris says: “Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a schlub whose wife commits suicide and leaves him a note that he can’t bear to read. Instead, he finds solace in increasingly dangerous dosages of gas fumes. With a screenplay written by Hoffman’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: 4.3 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
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Anna Paquin | Barry Pepper | Brian Cox | Edward Norton | Levani | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Rosario Dawson | Tony Siragusa
Phred says: “I just saw the 25TH HOUR, and read a bunch of reviews. Opinions are extremely mixed, with some people loving and others hating it. I loved it. It has many many faults. The dialog is sometimes embarrassing, the
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