Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Thomas Bidegain
Starring: Agathe Dronne | Djemel Barek | Ellora Torchia | Finnegan Oldfield | François Damiens | John C.Reilly
Bruce says: “Having written the screenplays for RUST AND BONE, DHEEPAN, and SAINT LAURENT Thomas Bidegain is no outsider dabbling in film. He directs his first film with the hand of a master. The acting, editing, cinematography and use of
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Benjamin Dickinson
Starring: Alexia Rasmussen | Benjamin Dickinson | Dan Gill | Nora Zehetner | Reggie Watts
Jason says: “There’s a plot to CREATIVE CONTROL to go with its speculative elements, but truth be told, it’s not at its strongest when either of those are front and center. Instead, it sings when the filmmakers find nifty little
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Bob Nelson
Starring: Clive Owen | Jaeden Lieberher | Maria Bello | Matthew Modine | Patton Oswalt | Stephen Tobolowsky
Jason says: “The title of THE CONFIRMATION doesn’t do it a lot of favors, unless the misadventures that its characters go through parallel that particular Catholic ritual in ways that aren’t particularly obvious to those of us who don’t share
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Pablo Trap
Starring: Franco Masini | Gastón Cocchiarale | Giselle Motta | Guillermo Francella | Lili Popovich | Peter Lanzani
Bruce says: “Director Trapero (White Elephant) strikes all the right notes in this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale about the Puccio clan. Guillermo Francella is sensational as Arquimedes Puccio, a vigilante who kidnapped and killed several people from prominent families in protest of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Pablo Larraín
Starring: Alejandro Goic | Alfredo Castro | Antonia Zegers | Jaime Vadell | Marcelo Alonso | Roberto Farías
Bruce says: “Although I have not yet seen SPOTLIGHT, I’m sure there is a comparison to be made. Both films deal with priests and abuse cover-ups. Pablo Larrain (TONY MANERO, NO) takes us to a house in a remote Chilean
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Yang Qing
Starring: Bai Baihe | Chen Kun | Qin Hao | Yu Entai
Jason says: “There are bits of CHONGQING HOT POT that are clever, nifty, and well-executed enough that one almost wishes that filmmaker Yang Qing had a little bit more room to maneuver than he has in a contemporary Chinese crime
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: James Le Gros | Jared Harris | Kristen Stewart | Laura Dern | LilyGladstone | Michelle Williams
Michael says: “I haven’t seen all of Kelly Reichardt’s films, but CERTAIN WOMEN is the fourth, and the most fully realized in a string of strong films including OLD JOY, WENDY & LUCY, and MEEKS’ CUTOFF. Based on a collection
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Starring: Banlop Lomnoi | Jarinpattra Rueangram | Jenjira Pongpas | PetcharatChaiburi
Thom says: “I’ve been quite a fan of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul for some 15 years now since and his brilliant return to form here is as exciting as films get if your aura takes a cerebral nature. He’s been
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Aoi Miyazaki | Kazuhiro Yamaji | Koji Yakusho | Suzu Hirose
Jason says: “I’ve been wrong about these things on a fairly regular basis, so I’m not going to question the American release of Mamoru Hosada’s THE BOY AND THE BEAST on the same day that the Walt Disney Company puts
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Susan Johnson
Starring: Andy Bustillos | Bel Powley | Desmin Borges | Gabriel Byrne | Vanessa Bayer
Brett says: “If anyone hasn’t gotten the memo, Bel Powley is an extremely captivating performer on screen. In the coming-of-age film CARRIE PILBY, Powley sets the tone from the very first shot with casual, subdued mannerisms that make all the
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