Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Stephen Kessler
Jason says: “It’s okay to look at the title of PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE and have a reaction somewhere between dismissal and dread. Documentaries about musicians who have faded into obscurity in part due to substance abuse are so common
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alain Gagnol | Jean-Loup Felicioli
Starring: Bernadette Lafont | Bruno Salomone | Dominique Blanc | Jean Benguigui | Oriane Zani
Jason says: “One of two ‘underdog’ nominees for Best Animated Feature in last year’s Academy Awards, A CAT IN PARIS is at the very least as deserving than the other cat-themed feature nominated, although that undersells its charm quite a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: David Oyelowo | John Cusack | Macy Gray | Matthew McConaughey | Nicole Kidman | Scott Glenn | Zac Efron
Thom says: “I’m a huge fan of Lee Daniels and following SHADOWBOXER & PRECIOUS I was excited about seeing this and it was every bit as thrilling as I expected. It’s clear after all three films that Daniel’s is turning
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Wuershan
Starring: Chen Kun | Chen Tingjia | Feng Shaofeng | Kris Phillip | Yang Mini | Zhao Wei | Zhou Xun
Jason says: “Newcomers should not be too put-off by the fact that PAINTED SKIN: THE RESURRECTION has a subtitle or a roman numeral depending on whether the title is written in English or Chinese; the first text on the screen
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Lorraine Levy
Starring: Areen Omari | Emmanuelle Devos | Jules Sitruk | Khalifa Natour | Mehdi Dehbi | Pascal Elbe
Jason says: “My half-a-lifetime-ago high school French tells me that the title of this movie doesn’t quite translate to ‘The Other Son’, but to ‘The Son of the Other’ and that does turn out to be a fairly important distinction.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Gael Morel
Starring: Beatrice Dalle | Didier Flamand | Dimitri Durdaine | Ludovic Berthillot | Malik Issolah | Stéphane Rideau
Thom says: “I had expected to become a huge fan of Director Morel after 3 DANCING SLAVES (2004) but an earlier & later offering (FULL SPEED (1996) & APRES LUI (2007)) proved more problematic. So this was a thrilling surprise
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Joachim Trier
Starring: Anders Danielson Lie | Hans Olay Brenner | Ingrid Olava | Malin Crepin | Petter Width Kristiansen | Tone Mostraum
Thom says: “Director Trier was responsible for the highly-praised REPRISE (2006) that was also lauded by this viewer so to say I was surprised at how much I disliked this film is putting it mildly. The story takes place over
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Julian Farino
Starring: Alia Shawkat | Allison Janney | Catherine Keener | Hugh Laurie | Leighton Meester | Oliver Platt
Thom says: “Director Farino appears to have laid his groundwork on established, top-of-the-line, television series like ‘SEX & THE CITY,’ ‘BIG LOVE,’ ‘ROME,’ & ‘ENTOURAGE.’ Since a majority of the cast also cut their teeth on television series it only
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan | Ercan Kesal | Firat Tanis | Muhammet Uzuner | Taner Birsel | Yilmaz Erdogan
Michael says: “Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s seventh film (following the outstanding trio of DISTANT, CLIMATES, and THREE MONKEYS continues the trend proving him to be a filmmaker of note. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA clocks in at 157 minutes, and
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Elisabeth Sperling | Trish Dalton
Bruce says: “ONE NIGHT STAND is a documentary tracking four creative teams as they each labor to create a fifteen minute musical in twenty-four hours. The activities begin at 8:00pm and at 8:00 the following night the curtain rises. The
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