Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emily Mortimer | Kelli Garner | Patricia Clarkson | Paul Schneider | Ryan Gosling
Michael says: “To think this is the second film that I have seen in four years that prominently features a Real Doll (the first being the low-budget, creepy horror flick, LOVE OBJECT.) LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a whimsical
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Griffin Dunne
TC says: “FIERCE PEOPLEhas taken a long, roundabout road to the big screen. Filmed in 2004, and having premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, it has been this close to release several times since then, only
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Hal Hartley
Starring: Elina Löwensohn | James Urbaniak | Jeff Goldblum | Liam Aiken | Parker Posey | Saffron Burrows | Thomas Jay Ryan
Michael says: “At certain points throughout FAY GRIM, the latest film by Chlotrudis Award winner Hal Hartley, particularly as the screen went black and the credits began to roll, a little thrill of excitement skittered down my spine. It’s the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Ann Consigny | Emmanuelle Seignier | Issach De Bankolé | Jean-Pierre Cassel | Marie-Josée Croze | Marina Hands | Mathieu Amalric | Max von Sydow | Patrick Chesnais
Bruce says: “Julian Schnabel suspects that Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) was superficial and arrogant, not a particularly likeable man, before he suffered the fatal stroke that turned him into a sensitive, reflecting human being. Bauby was editor of Elle magazine
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Starring: Bernard Blancan | Jamel Debbouze | Roschdy Zem | Sami Bouajila | Samy Nasceri
Bruce says: “Algeria, 1943. Men are marching through the streets urging others to join them in saving France from Nazi Germany. ‘We must liberate France, Mother,’ exclaims Saïd (Jamel Debbouze). ‘I prefer poverty to losing you,’ his mother replies. DAYS
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Julia Loktev
Starring: Gareth Saxe | Josh Philip Weinstein | Luisa Williams
Chris says: “SPOIERS AHEAD! “It’s ideal to go into Julia Loktev’s remarkable debut feature not knowing anything, but it’s also damn near impossible to write about it without disclosing what it’s about. (However, basic knowledge of the plot did not
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Julia Roberts | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Tom Hanks
Bruce says: “CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR is not a film I was looking forward to seeing. To my surprise it was my favorite among the Hollywood year-end fare. Had I thought it through I might have not been so surprised. After
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Xiaogang Feng
Starring: Daniel Wu | Xun Zhou | You Ge | Ziyi Zhang
Jason says: “Even in an age where period martial-arts epics have been made by the likes of Ang Lee, Kaige Chen, and Zhang Yimou, THE BANQUET stands out as high-gloss. Much of the behind-the-scenes crew worked on CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Abderrahmane Sissiko
Starring: Aissa Maiga | Balla Habib Dembélé | Maimouna Hélène Diarra
Bruce says: “Occasionally a film comes along that defies one’s imagination. BAMAKO is such a film. Residents of a Mali village, disgruntled with the pauperization of their country imposed by outside forces, decide that they will stage a mock trial
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Danièle Thompson
Starring: Albert Dupontel | Cécile de France | Valérie Lemercier
Bruce says: “The Hôtel Plaza Athénée , the Théâtre des Champs Élysées next door and a small bistro en face named Café aux Théâtres are all nestled together on the Avenue Montaigne. Three main stories involving upheaval in the arts
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