Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.2 cats
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Andy Stahl | Christopher Denham | Frank Deal | Jane McNeill | Kether Donohue | Kristen Connolly
Thom says: “Oh dear, Barry Levinson (MAN OF THE YEAR, LIBERTY HEIGHTS, BANDITS, GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM, WAG THE DOG, SLEEPERS, DINER, THE NATURAL, & YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES among others) has slipped to directing a horror, sci-fi, thriller about ‘found’ footage
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Christian Petzold
Starring: Jasna Fritzi Bauer | Mark Waschke | Nina Hoss | Rainer Bock | Ronald Zehrfeld
Jason says: “BARBARA starts at an interesting place; others with its basic template will set things up, give the audience a sense of who its characters are before putting them in a new situation. Writer/director Christian Petzold goes a different
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Jean-Marc Mineo
Starring: Aphiradi Phawaphutanon | Caroline Ducey | Jon Foo | Michael Cohen | Pream Busala-Khamvong
Jason says: “Some martial-arts action flicks are all-around great movies, and many are capable, if not exceptional. A distressing number, though, are one trick ponies, with good action scenes being held together by connective tissue that is given so much
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Michael Sladek
Bruce says: “A film such a BAM150 has no right to be in any film festival. It is a vanity project commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) directors Karen Brooks Hopkins and Joseph Melillo, more propaganda than a work
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Leslye Headland
Starring: Adam Scott; James Marsden | Andrew Rannells | Isla Fisher | Kirsten Dunst | Lizzy Caplan | Paul Corning | Rebel Wilson
Chris says: “This night-before-the-wedding comedy cannot transcend the simple fact that in the end, it’s a mishmash of BRIDESMAIDS and THE HANGOVER, even when you can sense a sincere attempt to be something more. Kirsten Dunst (whose sharp timing is
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jonathan Paley | Ross Finkel | Trevor Martin
Jason says: “I’ve already seen and reviewed a couple of movies about Dominican ballplayers trying to make the American major leagues – one fairly lightweight documentary (RUMBO A LAS GRANDES LIGAS) and one feature (the excellent SUGAR) – so I
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Kei’ichi Sato
Starring: Kinya Kitaohgi | Masako Nozawa | Megumi Hayashibara | Yoshihiro Ike
Jason says: “These days, there aren’t a whole lot of movies being made using animation because they wouldn’t work any other way; digital capture and effects have come too far, so even ambitious manga are done live-action now. There are
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Starring: Antonio Garrido | Blanca Portillo | Fernando Tejero | Jose Mota | Juan Luis Galiardo | Salma Hayek
Jason says: “Is Álex de la Iglesia getting a little soft as he ages? Though he’s not credited with the screenplay here (nor is frequent collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarría), it still seems a bit surprising that de la Iglesia, given material
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Giddens Ko
Starring: Hao Shao-wen | Ke Zhendong | Michelle Chen | Owodog | Tsai Chang-hsien | Wan Wan | Yen Sheng-yu
Jason says: “After watching YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE, I learned that it was even more autobiographical than most coming-of-age movies; read a rumor that it was among the most elaborate attempts gestures ever made to declare one’s
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Nicholas Jarecki
Starring: Brit Marling | Laetia Casta | Nate Parker | Richard Gere | Stuart Margolin | Susan Sarandon | Tim Roth
Chris says: “When you have a lead character whose actions are as extremely despicable as those of Robert Miller, you need an actor so rakishly charming as to avoid alienating your audience. Aging like fine cheese, silver-haired Richard Gere nearly
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