Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Michael Colford
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Paul Downs Calaizzo
Starring: Jillian Bell | Lil Rel Howery | Micah Stock | Michaela Watkins | Utkarsh Ambudkar
Michael says: “I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON, the opening night film of the 21st annual Provincetown International Film Festival. Aimless, out-of-control woman in her late 20’s struggles to get her life on track… by
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lucio Castro
Starring: Juan Barberini | Mia Maestro | Ramon Pujol
Chris says: “Lucio Castro’s first feature kicks off with ten-to-fifteen dialogue-free minutes; it may well put some viewers to sleep (like the man sitting behind me in the theater, barely two minutes in!), but as I adjusted to its unusual
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Rob Garver
Chris says: “Although never a celebrity like Roger Ebert, Pauline Kael was arguably the most influential film critic of her time and easily one of the more outspoken ones. Her unique career trajectory, from running a Berkeley moviehouse to landing
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Tom Harper
Starring: Craig Parkinson | James Harkness | Jessie Buckley | Julie Walters
Chris says: “Jessie Buckley is so damn good she altogether shreds and transcends this film’s standard “I wanna be a star” trajectory; almost as impressive is how the film itself nearly does the same with its not-entirely-expected, somewhat corny but
Read the review...By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Dava Whisenant
Starring: Chita Rivera | David Letterman | Florence Henderson | Martin Short | Sheldon Harnick | Steve Young | Susan Stroman
Chris says: “If a deep dive into the obscure world of 1960s industrial musicals doesn’t at least pique your interest, then this is not a documentary for you. If it at all does, however, you won’t mind spending ninety minutes
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Emmanuelle Seignier | Mads Mikkelsen | Mathieu Amalric | Oscar Isaac | Rupert Friend | Willem Dafoe
Chris says: “In theory, Willem Dafoe seems a misguided choice to play Van Gogh, given the age difference, lack of resemblance, etc. Happily, he makes a stunning transformation without resorting to extravagant physical enhancements like Gary Oldman as Churchill–he embodies the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Dante Pereira-Olson | Frank Pando | Joaquin Phoenix | John Doman | Judith Roberts | Vinicius Damasceno
Thom says: “The presentation of this film was enticing and over her career director Ramsay has made the impressive RATCATCHER and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, as well as the mediocre MORVERN CALLAR; moreover, the nearly always great performance
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Tim Wardle
Starring: documentary
Chris says: “A stranger-than-fiction doc even *more* fun than but almost disturbing as CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS? No wonder it’s the feel-good-then-feel-bad indie hit of the summer. The first half hour or so is immensely entertaining; the increasingly wacko plot twists
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Cory Finley
Starring: Anton Yelchin | Anya Taylor-Joy | Olivia Cooke
Chris says: “Starts off a little boring and leaden, with two rich girls(Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy, both very good) in a passive-aggressive pas de deux. It achieves some focus once the what-to-do-about-the-creepy-stepfather problem is established—a narrative we’ve seen too
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Tom Volf
Starring: documentary
Chris says: “As an opera singer, Maria Callas had an undeniably great voice, but in her time she was also unmatched as to how she embodied her roles onstage (and offstage as well.) Tom Volf’s documentary is a lovingly assembled
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