Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Timothy Wheeler
Jason says: “Are you a swimmer?’ asked the man at the ticket booth who knew full well I was there because I had a season pass for this film series. I said I wasn’t, and he pointed out that even
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas | Ryan Gosling | Tom Burke | Vithaya Pansringarm | Yayaying Rhatha Phongam
Chris says: “ONLY GOD FORGIVES is similar to DRIVE, only without any redeemable characters, narrative momentum, or moral structure whatsoever. That may sound a little glib, but sadly, it’s not much of an exaggeration. Once again working with director Nicolas
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Elizabeth Mims | Jason Tippet
TC says: “To outsiders, Santa Clarita, California looks like a really great place to live. It is less than an hour from Los Angeles, is ranked as #18 among the Top 100 places to live by Money magazine, and sits
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Alice Braga | Amy Adams | Elisabeth Moss | Garrett Hedlund | Kristen Stewart | Sam Riley | Tom Sturridge
Chris says: “The best one can say about this, the first filmed version of Jack Kerouac’s seminal 1957 novel is that it’s not embarrassing. If that sounds like faint praise, it aptly mirrors the film’s modest ambitions. Rather than transform
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Jeremy Frindel
Thom says: “While I have a great admiration for Jeffrey Kagel (Krishna Das) on turning his life around a making a sizable contribution to the world scene, I wasn’t all that swept up with this film, mainly for the simple
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Maya Kenig
Starring: Arad Yeni | Elya Inbar | Gur Bentvich | Salit Achimiriam | Tzahi Grad
Thom says: “This charming Film Movement entry from Israel has a lot to recommend it. A 15-year-old girl arrives in Israel during the 2006 war between Israel & Lebanon. Her mother has sent her to the Middle East from California
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Nobuteru Uchida
Starring: Kiki Sugino | Maho Yamada | Makiko Watanabe | Takeshi Yamamoto | Yû Koyanagi | Yûki Shinohara
Bruce says: “ODAYAKA is a psychological study regarding how people react to disaster. Inspiration for the film was drawn from real life events, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which caused over fifteen thousand deaths, many injuries and three level 7
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Richard Griffin
Starring: Elyssa Baldassari | Michael Reed | Monica Saviolakis | Nathaniel Sylvia | Patrick Keeffe | Sarah Nicklin
Jason says: “This is not the first time independent director Richard Griffin has tried to give his audience the creeps without having his tongue planted in his cheek – given how prolific the Rhode Island filmmaker has been since he
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Norio Osada
Starring: Do-an Chau Mao | Kenji Isomura | Lan Tanh | Yusuke Kawazu
Jason says: “It’s almost certain that there have been movies made under more insane circumstances than NUMBER10 BLUES/GOODBYE SAIGON (both titles appear on-screen at once), or worthier ones made in a war zone, but that does nothing to take away
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Janet Tobias
Jason says: “There’s enough staged footage with actors in NO PLACE ON EARTH that one almost wonders why director Janet Tobias didn’t just present this story of a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis in caves for the better part
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