Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Michael Colford
Rating: 3.9
Director: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Cherry Jones | Frank Hoyt Taylor | Joel Edgerton | Lucas Hedges | Madelyn Cline | Nicole Kidman | Russell Crowe | Xavier Dolan
Thom says: “This is a very good achievement by director Joel Edgerton, the Australian actor, in this his second feature after THE GIFT (2015) which was just OK. I loved how he used his compatriots Kidman & Crowe in this largely
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Eero Milonoff | Eva Melander | Jörgen Thorsson
Chris says: “From the writer of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, a contemporary fable about Tina (Eva Melander), a somewhat dumpy middle-aged guard for the Swedish border patrol who is excellent in her job, mostly due to her intense, visceral, almost superhuman
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Ethan Hawke
Chris says: “An unconventional biopic (mostly because it’s about someone you’ve never heard of), it features a trio of notable performances, one expected (Alia Shawkat, more impressive with each role she appears in) and one unexpected (musician Charlie Sexton is pretty
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Starring: Christian Convery | Kaitlyn Dever | Maura Tierney | Oakley Bull | Steve Carrell | Timothée Chalamet
Chris says: “Another great performance from Timothée Chalamet (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME was definitely no fluke) and a good one from Steve Carell (despite him generally being better suited to comedic roles such as BATTLE OF THE SEXES). Along
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Emmanuelle Seignier | Mads Mikkelsen | Mathieu Amalric | Oscar Isaac | Rupert Friend | Willem Dafoe
Chris says: “In theory, Willem Dafoe seems a misguided choice to play Van Gogh, given the age difference, lack of resemblance, etc. Happily, he makes a stunning transformation without resorting to extravagant physical enhancements like Gary Oldman as Churchill–he embodies the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Bart Layton
Starring: Ann Dowd | Barry Keoghan | Blake Jenner | Evan Peters | Jared Abrahamson | Udo Keir
Thom says: “Bart Layton was the director of note on the very good 2012 documentary feature THE IMPOSTER and he brings a lot of nice effects to this “true crime” drama, somewhat, but irresponsibly, played for chuckles at the thieves ineptitude.
Read the review...By Michael Colford
Director: Matthew Miele
Starring: documentary
Thom says: “Here’s a perfectly competent, entertaining film about the iconic, internationally celebrated, fabulous New York destination hotel, the Carlyle. The hotel is the very definition of swanky, with elaborate furnishings, immaculate, refined service, & a staff that is devoted
Read the review...By Jeffrey Pike
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Nathan Morlando
Starring: Bill Paxton | Colm Feore | Joe Cobden | Josh Wiggins | Sophie Nélisse
Jeffrey says: “A tidy, well-wrought, low-budget thriller, with some of the spirit of both LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and ANIMAL KINGDOM, it earns its thrills the hard way, by slowly building tension to nearly intolerable levels, rather than spilling
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska
Starring: Andrzej Konopka | Jakub Gierszal | Kinga Preis | Marta Mazurek | Michalina Olszanska
Lorraine says:”I saw THE LURE at the Nashville Film Festival. What a fun and wild ride. A retelling of the mermaid story. On the one hand, it might feel like a lot of everything — it is mermaids and vampires
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Adam Driver | Golshifteh Farahani | Method Man | Nellie | Rizwan Manji | TrevParham | William Jackson Harper
Thom says: “Jim Jarmusch has had a long, storied, varied, nearly historic career with few missteps. PERMANENT VACATION (1980) (2 cats), STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984) (4.5 cats), DOWN BY LAW (1986) (5 cats), MYSTERY TRAIN (1989) (5 cats), NIGHT ON
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