Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Starring: Bahman Ghobadi | Behnaz Jafari | Said Mohamadi
Michael says: “The Iranian film BLACKBOARDS is certainly a strong piece of filmmaking from a woman director, a rarity in Iran. The stunning, desolate opening shots of BLACKBOARDS are undeniable in their power and reeled me in immediately, yet the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Connie Nielsen | John Travolta | Samuel L. Jackson | Timothy Daly
Robin says: “It’s RASHOMON meets THE GENERAL’S DAUGHTER as John Travolta reprises a role similar to his in the latter film as helmer McTiernan drives this action vehicle that begins with two different tellings about a deadly event that smacks
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Arik Kaplun
Starring: Evelyn Kaplun | Mosko Alkalai | Nir Levy | Shmil Ben Ari
Diane says: “Director Arik Kaplun, himself a Russian immigrant to Israel, looks at the hurdles faced by Russian immigrants in Tel Aviv. The Gulf War looms, a pregnant and penniless woman is abandoned by her husband, conflicts over money lead
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Catherine McCormack | Elizabeth Hurley | Josh Lucas | Sarah Polley | Sean Penn
Michael says: “Completed in 2000, this schizophrenic film starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth Hurley, Sarah Polley and Catherine McCormack is finally being released this fall. Based on a best-selling Anita Shreve novel, and directed by action lenser Bigelow (NEAR DARK, POINT
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Joel Zwick
Starring: Andrea Martin | John Corbett | Lainie Kazan | Michael Constantine | Nia Vardalos
Ellen says: “For some reason I feel guilty about seeing MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. On some level it seems mainstream and I haven’t seen anyone else post about it. But, I will announce here that I thoroughly enjoyed the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Gianni Amelio
Starring: Enrico Lo Verso | Francesco Giuffrida | Rosaria Danzè
Diane says: “I went to see this one because I loved Gianni Amelio’s 1994 LAMERICA–to jog your memory, two Italians go to Albania to take advantage of government money for new businesses and it ends miserably, miserably. “THE WAY WE
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Hal Hartley
Starring: Baltasar Kormákur | Bill Sage | Helen Mirren | James Urbaniak | Julie Christie | Robert John Burke | Sarah Polley
Michael says: “I have been eagerly anticipating this film because it featured three of my favorite movie types… Hal Hartley, Sarah Polley and Helen Mirren. “Buzz around this new film had been rather negative… largely, I think, due to the
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Gary Winick
Starring: Aaron Stanford | Bebe Neuwirth | John Ritter | Sigourney Weaver
Clinton says: “There certainly was a lot of buzz at Sundance on this feature, helped of course by the newsmaking 4 million dollar purchase by Miramax, but this comedy left me terribly dry and even a little ticked off. Oscar
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jessie Nelson
Starring: Dakota Fanning | Dianne Weist | Michelle Pfeiffer | Sean Penn
Robin says: “Acting ranges from dependable to first-class, especially Penn and the adorable Dakota Fanning. There is bound to be comparison made to Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of the mentally challenged Raymond in RAIN MAN and there is, sometimes during I
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Patricia Cardoso
Starring: America Ferrera | George Lopez | Ingrid Oliu | Lupe Ontiveros
Laura says: “Winning both the Audience and Special Jury Awards at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival encouraged HBO Films to release Patricia Cardoso’s crowd pleaser theatrically. While REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES suffers from an obvious and simplistic screenplay (Josefina Lopez
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