Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Sook-yin Lee
Starring: Ali Liebert | Cristin Milioti | Kevin McDonald | Mark Rendall | Patrick Gilmore | Sheila McCarthy | Will Sasso
Thom says: “JUNO meets SHORTBUS as one reviewer states. Well, not really & it’s never wise to compare an inferior film to another. My opinion is that this film didn’t belong at TIFF & got a shot due to its
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Daryl Wein
Jason says: “In another recent documentary about a man preaching the gospel of safe sex (DARLING!), there’s a line about how condoms are a matter of simple hygiene. It seems like a simple and obvious thing to say now, but
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Jack Black | Jennifer Jason Leigh | John Turturro | Nicole Kidman | Zane Pais
Michael says: “Stories about dysfunctional families often make for great comedic and dramatic fodder, both in novels and in films. Noah Baumbach was successful mining this territory in 2005’s THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, but while I enjoyed that film,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Sterlin Harjo
Starring: Cody Lightning | Jeri Arredondo | Laura Bailey | Tamara Podemski
Chris says: “Sterlin Harjo’s first feature arrives nearly a decade after SMOKE SIGNALS promised a wave of Native American cinema that never really amounted to much. It’s another coming-of-age, leaving-the-Reservation tale, this time set and filmed in Oklahoma. The main
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Frank Oz
Starring: Alan Tudyk | Andy Nyman | Daisy Donovan | Ewen Bremner | Matthew Macfadyen | Peter Dinklage | Rupert Graves
Chris says: “This dyspeptic British comedy regarding a family funeral for a deceased patriarch shouldn’t work at all. It has too many characters to respectfully consider, an abundance of outlandish plot twists, and a steady current of lowbrow humor. And
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Masanobu Andô | Ryuhei Matsuda | Shunsuke Kubozuka
Jason says: “Takashi Miike showed down a bit a couple years ago to take a stab at doing a big-budget family movie, but since then he’s gotten back to what passes for normal where he’s concerned: Churning out movies at
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Starring: Catherine Keener | EllenPage | Hayley McFarland
Chris says: “Tommy O’Haver’s film raises a question I rarely ask of cinema (unless I’m screening shorts, of course): ‘Did this really need to be made?’ It’s based on a true story: in 1965, single mother Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener)
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Abbie Cornish | Damian De Montemas | Hollie Andrew | Lynette Curran | Olivia Pigeot | Sam Worthington
Michael says: “SOMERSAULT is a little Australian film that had a brief run earlier this year (yes, it’s eligible) but is now available on DVD. Director Cate Shortland’s debut feature is Heidi’s coming-of-age tale; where a young woman begins discovering
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Lian Lunson
Bruce says: “Delightful to watch, LEONARD COHEN: I’M YOUR MAN is not entirely successful. The man, his poetry and music make the film irresistible on one level. Regrettably, the artistic choices – who sings the songs and who speaks to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Kevin Willmott
Starring: Ellen Page | Patrick Wilson | Sandra Oh
Michael says: “It’s difficult reviewing a film that has been so anticipated, and has been much discussed and speculated about for months before its actual release. Fortunately, HARD CANDY is a film, that while not perfect, lives up to the
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