Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Jason Eisener
Starring: Brian Downey | Gregory Smith | Nick Bateman | Pasha Ebrahimi | Robb Wells | Rutger Hauer
Jason says: “HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN arrives with one of the most straightforward, descriptive titles for an action movie since SNAKES ON A PLANE. That simplicity serves it fairly well; it’s exactly the sort of 1980s exploitation pastiche the name
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
Starring: Eihi Shiina | Kazuki Namioka | Minoru Torihada | Yumiko Hara | Yûrei Yanagi
Jason says: “Yoshihiro Nishimura’s HELLDRIVER is a Yoshihiro Nishimura film, and he doesn’t do things halfway. So how a person reacts to the opening scene (and, I presume, any preview they make for the movie) will likely serve as a
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Rating: 3.6
Director: Vera Farmiga
Starring: Dagmara Dominczyk | Donna Murphy | John Hawkes | Joshua Leonard | Vera Farmiga
Michael says: “One of my favorite films at this year’s Provincetown International Film Festival was HIGHER GROUND, starring and directed by the charming and talented Vera Farmiga (UP IN THE AIR; DOWN TO THE BONE). HIGHER GROUND tackles the complex
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Mona Achache
Starring: Anne Brochet | Garance Le Guillermic | Josiane Balasko | Togo Igawa
Michael says: “Somehow I missed hearing about this film until it showed up last week at the Kendall Square Cinema, even though it played at the Boston French Film Festival. Not that I was surprised. THE HEDGEHOG is based on
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Anne Dorval | Monia Chokri | Niels Schneider | Xavier Dolan
Michael says: “Caught up with HEARTBEATS, Xavier Dolan’s follow-up to the Chlotrudis multiple-nominee, I KILLED MY MOTHER. Once again, Dolan writes, directs and stars, this time tackling the mysteries of love, particularly in the more modern age of fluid sexuality.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.6
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: André Wilms | Blondin Miguel | Elina Salo | Jean-Pierre Darroussin | Kati Outinen
Bruce says: “The 2009 French film WELCOME, directed by Philippe Lioret, somehow escaped under the Chlotrudis radar in spite of having a limited release in May of 2010. WELCOME is a story about a man who becomes involved with the
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Brendan Gleeson | David Wilmot | Don Cheadle | Liam Cunningham | Rory Keenan
Diane says: “Directed and written by John Michael McDonagh, writer of NED KELLY, but more importantly (don’t tell him I said that!), the brother of Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES, plays The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Pillowman). “THE GUARD’s best
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Sophia Takal
Starring: Alex Ross Perry | Kate Lyn Sheil | Lawrence Michael Levine | Louis Cancelmi | Sophia Takal
Jason says: “Ignore the first scene of this movie; it sets a tone and a theme that winds up being a relatively minor part of what follows. The remaining hour or so turns into something much more interesting than the
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Starring: Kanata Hongo | Kazunari Ninomiya | Ken'ichi Matsuyama | Natsuna | Yuriko Yoshitaka
Jason says: “It’s a funny thing that the first live-action GANTZ film feels kind of old-school; considering that the director’s last project was a CGI feature, the original manga does not hide that it is produced with digital tools, and
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Miranda July
Starring: David Warshofsky | Hamish Linklater | Isabella Acres | Joe Putterlik | Miranda July
Jason says: “THE FUTURE is kind of amazing, in its annoying little way. It finds the shortest possible path from its characters doing something nice to them being ridiculous and insufferable, and then spends the next hour or so finding
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