Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Junichi Okada | Rie Miyazawa | Tadanobu Asano
Beth says: “Kore-eda’s newest. He was there, and spoke eloquently before the film (I couldn’t stay for the Q&A). He basically said, ‘this is my first period piece, I wanted to do a samurai film that sort of felt the
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ryan Fleck
Starring: Anthony Mackie | Ryan Gosling | Shareeka Epps
Chris says: “Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling), a young, white history teacher and girls’ basketball coach in a mostly black Brooklyn middle school would seem like the ideal mentor. Eschewing the required curriculum, he genuinely inspires his students to think about
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Danny Leiner
Starring: Edie Falco | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Olympia Dukakis | Tony Shaloub
Michael says: “GREAT NEW WONDERFUL is being billed as a 9/11 comedy, and the film is funny, and is also tangentially about the events of September 11, 2001, but for me this film falls squarely into the category of drama
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Amos Gitai
Starring: Carmen Maura | Hana Laszlo | Hiam Abbass | Natalie Portman
Michael says: “FREE ZONE is Amos Gitai’s latest film, illuminating life in Israel and all its strife from a decidedly female point of view. The story revolves around three women, an Israeli, an American living in Israel, and a Palestinian
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Daniel Burman
Starring: Arturo Goetz | Daniel Hendler | Julieta Diaz
Bruce says: “Daniel Burman’s FAMILY LAW is the third film in a trilogy about the meaning of family. In each film (WAITING FOR THE MESSIAH and LOST EMBRACE were the first two) a young man named Ariel (Daniel Hendler) is
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Jack Nicholson | Leonardo DiCaprio | Mark Wahlberg | Martin Sheen | Matt Damon | Ray Winstone | Vera Farmiga
Bruce says: “Adapted from the critically acclaimed Hong Kong film INFERNAL AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTED is fairly faithful to its source. The wonderful, intricate plot remains intact – a mole from the local mobsters has infiltrated the police force and a
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hans Canosa
Starring: Aaron Eckhart | Brianna Brown | Erik Eidem | Helena Bonham Carter | Olivia Wilde
Michael says: “Hans Canosa’s second feature film (the first being ALMA MATER, which I had never heard of) is a two-person piece about a formerly married couple who haven’t seen each other in many years, then re-connect at a wedding.
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Todd Field
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley | Jennifer Connelly | Kate Winslet | Patrick Wilson
Chris says: “Alexander Payne’s sharp, wickedly funny adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s novel ELECTION remains one of the best-ever book-into-film conversions. A long-belated follow-up to his great directorial debut IN THE BEDROOM, Todd Field’s adaptation of another Perrotta novel doesn’t scale
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jessica Sanders
Michael says: “Jessica Sanders’ AFTER INNOCENCE is an emotional and inspirational documentary about men who were wrongfully convicted of horrific crimes, then exonerated 15 – 20 years later due to the emergence of DNA testing. The horror of being innocent
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Géla Babluani
Starring: George Babluani | Pascal Bongard | Philippe Passon
Bruce says: “**Spoilers Beyond Second Paragraph** “In spite of garnering prizes at Sundance, the Venice Film Festival and the European Film Awards 13 TAZMETI has remained relatively obscure. Beautifully constructed, acted and filmed 13 TZAMETI is an unusual thriller. Sébastian
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