Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: E.L. Katz
Starring: Amanda Fuller | David Koechner | Ethan Embry | Pat Healy | Sara Paxton
Jason says: “Given the fairly impressive cast, decent behind-the-scenes talent, and loudly proclaimed praise for CHEAP THRILLS coming out of its festival appearances, I expected more from the movie. What I got was an acceptable gross-out movie with a nugget
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jan Schmidt-Garre
Jason says: “Jan Schmidt-Garre’s BREATH OF THE GODS is not a movie advocating yoga as much as it is an overview of the modern form’s history. In fact, it’s almost certainly going to be of strongest interest to those who
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Lance Edmands
Starring: Adam Driver | Amy Morton | Brandon Wardwell | Emily Meade | John Slattery | Louisa Krause | Margo Martindale
Chris says: “It is impossible to see BLUEBIRD without drifting to thoughts of THE SWEET HEREAFTER. Both stories are set in small towns and feature an incident involving a school bus driver. BLUEBIRD takes place in the remote logging country
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Pablo Berger
Starring: Angela Molina | Daniel Giménez Cach | Inma Cuesta | Macarena Garcia | Maribel Verdú | Sofia Oria
Jason says: “Two movies based on Snow White came out in the United States last year, and that seemed a little excessive. That wasn’t the extent of it, though – aside from the inevitable direct-to-video knock-offs, BLANCANIEVES came out in
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Katie Aselton
Starring: Anslem Richardson | Jay Paulson | Kate Bosworth | Katie Aselton | Lake Bell | Will Bouvier
Jason says: “When building a survival-in-the-wild thriller, most writers start with something like BLACK ROCK and then add stuff – elaborate kills, extra plot twists, maybe some sort of weird backdrop. That’s the usual path, but the makers of this
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Shannah Laumeister
Chris says: “Bert Stern’s contributions to the art of photography are major enough to justify a feature-length documentary about them: for starters, look to his truly innovative Smirnoff Vodka ads that transformed Madison Avenue advertising in the 1950s, his portraits
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jeremy Gardner
Starring: Adam Cronheim | Alana O'Brien | Jamie Pantanella | Jeremy Gardner | Larry Fessenden | Niels Bolle
Jason says: “There’s a case to be made for THE BATTERY although it involves an premise that I’m not hugely fond of – that the filmmakers aren’t really making a zombie movie, but exploring the bond and antagonism that form
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Raoul Ruiz
Starring: Chamila Rodriguez | Christian Vadim | Pedro Villagra | Santiago Figueroa | Sergio Hernández | Sergio Schmied | Valentina Vargas
Bruce says: “Some films should come with their own primer. Certain people might find that concept quite insulting. For me, having background information before viewing NIGHT ACROSS THE STREET would have been very helpful. Raul Ruiz, who died last year
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Starring: Delphine Chuillot | Ethan Hawke | Joanna Kulig | Kristin Scott Thomas | Samir Guesmi
Bruce says: “It has been seven years since MY SUMMER OF LOVE, so to say the THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. Although an entirely different type of film, comparisons to MIDNIGHT IN PARIS are
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: David Ayer
Starring: America Ferrera | Anna Kendrick | Frank Grillo | Jake Gyllenhaal | Michael Peña | Natalie Martinez | Zone
Thom says: “Gyllenhaal brought me to this buddy cop drama that used that too-oft-used new film technique of using hand-held cameras for film footage. Has this worked well anywhere except for [REC]2. Brian Taylor & Mike Zavala are best friends
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