Thermae Romae II (Japan; 112 min.) directed by: Hideki Takeuchi starring: Hiroshi Abe; Aya Ueto; Masachika Ichimura; Kazuki Kitamura; Ivan Kostadinov Jason says: “2012’s THERMAE ROMAE adapted a manga with a delightfully high-concept premise – an architect of Roman bath
Read the review...The Theory of Everything (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: James Marsh
Starring: Charlie Cox | David Thewlis | Eddie Redmayne | Felicity Jones | Maxine Peake
Jason says: “Stephen Hawking’s life story is extraordinary, but not necessarily cinematic – its milestones are often losing the ability to do things, and his accomplishments can be difficult for laymen to understand. So what do you do? In this
Read the review...Ten (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.75
Director: Michael J. Epstein | Sophia Cacciola
Jason says: “By the time TEN is over, it has maybe managed to beat its story into making some kind of sense, or at least into the kind of nonsense that the audience can sort of work with. That’s probably
Read the review...That Demon Within (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.8 cats
Director: Dante Lam
Starring: Christie Chen Si-xuan | Daniel Wu Yin-cho | Dominc Lam Ka-wah | Fung So-po | Nick Cheung Ka-fai
Jason says: “You can tell from the opening moments of THAT DEMON WITHIN that it’s not going to be your standard cops ‘n robbers movie, and it’s sure not going to stand out for how grounded and realistic it is.
Read the review...The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Isao Takahata
Starring: Aki Asakura | Hikaru Ijûin | Nobuko Miyamoto | Takei Chii | Yukiji Asaoka
Jason says: “Though Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement from directing animated features with THE WIND RISES deserved all the attention it got last year, there is somewhat less noise being made about Isao Takahata’s swan song, THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA, though
Read the review...To Be Takei (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Jennifer M. Kroot
Jason says: “For a while, I found George Takei’s twenty-first century career little more than tacky, an old man who was one a minor part of a pop culture phenomenon becoming a parody of himself in an effort to hang
Read the review...Summer in February (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Christopher Menaul
Starring: Dan Stevens | Daphne Neville | Dominic Cooper | Jane Cussons
Jason says: “SUMMER IN FEBRUARY takes place in 1913 Cornwall, which had become an artists’ colony, and in some ways that community is more interesting than any of the people in it. There’s nothing wrong with the story the filmmakers
Read the review...Suck It Up Buttercup ()
Suck it Up Buttercup (USA; 87 min.) directed by: Malindi Ficklestarring: Robyn Ross; Gregory Konow; Lacy Marie Meyer; Alex Raymond; Brian Stuart Boyd; Steven Durgarn Lorraine says: “SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP premiered at the Bare Bones International Film and Music
Read the review...Suburban Gothic (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Richard Bates Jr
Jason says: “According to the post-movie Q&A, writer/director Richard Bates Jr. initially couldn’t get any projects off the ground after EXCISION, in part because that movie, despite garnering many positive reviews and festival awards, was just absurdly dark. So for
Read the review...#Stuck (2014)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Stuart Acher
Starring: Abraham Benrubi | Joel David Moore | Madeline Zima
Jason says: “Given that its name is a hashtag, one might expect #STUCK to have social media play some sort of central part of the story, and maybe cringe at the inevitable mishandling. Fortunately, filmmaker Stuart Acher doesn’t choose to
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