Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Daniel Patrick Carbone
Starring: Chris Kies | Christina Starbuck | Colm O'Leary | Nathan Varnson | Ryan Jones | Thomas Cruz
Jason says: “Dead things appear early on in HIDE YOUR SMILING FACES, as three kids poking around an abandoned building find a dead bird and do not exactly treat it with respect. It’s a good starting point for writer/director Daniel
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ryotaro Makihara
Starring: Shinpachi Tsuji | Tamio Oki | Yoko Hikasa | Yoshimasa Hosoya
Jason says: “I know some folks who will dismiss HAL because it’s animated (and from Japan – the characters even have big eyes!) but might otherwise seek out the humanistic flavor of science fiction it represents. It’s a nifty little
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Brendan Meyer | Dan Stevens | Lance Reddick | Leland Orser | Maika Monroe | Sheila Kelly
Jason says: “Initially, THE GUEST almost seemed like a step back for the team of writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard. It introduced pleasant enough cast and set up a kind of familiar ‘stranger in the house is more
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Stuart Murdoch
Starring: Emily Browning | Hannah Murray | Olly Alexander | Pierre Boulanger
Jason says: “GOD HELP THE GIRL is hardly the first time someone has taken a set of songs with an existing strong narrative and made a movie out of them, and as such not the first to demonstrate that slavish
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lee Jae-kyu
Starring: Cho Jung-seok | Han Ji-min | Hyun-bin | Jung Jae-young | Park Sung-woong | Song Young-chang
Jason says: “Palace intrigue stories, no matter what the culture, tend to develop over time, playing out in subtle ways requiring either inner monologues or exposition that doesn’t necessarily fit well into a movie. There are good ones, but it’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Chiemi Karasawa
Bruce says: “Elaine Stritch has always maintained a ‘take no prisoners’attitude throughout her career so it is no surprise that she agreed to make this documentary with a caveat: ‘I don’t want this to be a fluff piece. It’s got
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Alessandro Nivola | Colin Firth | James Hamrick | Kristopher Higgins | Reese Witherspoon | Seth Meriwether
Michael says: “For his latest film, Atom Egoyan tackled the controversial true story of the West Memphis Three, a court case about the shocking murder of three young boys. Three young men were targeted as the murderers because of the
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Starring: Adan Jodorowsky | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Brontis Jodorowsky | Jeremias Herskovits | Pamela Flores
Jason says: “I wouldn’t necessarily expect Alejandro Jodorowsky to be particularly prone to nostalgia; the director, writer, and ‘psychomagician’ has, throughout his career, favored the grandly imaginative and metaphysical to the mundane to an extent that few in any medium
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jerzy Rose
Starring: Adam Paul | Adebukola Bodunrin | Lyra Hill | Mike Lopez | Ted Temper
Jason says: “Even by black comedy standards, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY is kind of on the mean side. That’s no knock; mean can work, especially in a movie like this that is more about tying jokes together than building to one
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: James Ward Byrkit
Starring: Elizabeth Gracen | Emily Foxler | Hugo Armstrong | Lauren Maher | Maury Sterling | Nicholas Brendon
Jason says: “COHERENCE is one of the talkiest, most actor-centric sci-fi films you’re ever likely to see, but this is a case where that’s a pretty good thing. Sure, something this odd and improv-heavy can invite disaster when a neat
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