Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Michael Colford
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Thomas Gustafson
Starring: Judy McLane | Nathaniel David Becker | Tanner Cohen | Wendy Robie
Michael says: “Based on the short film FAIRIES (which was entered into the Chlotrudis Short Film Festival a few years ago) WERE THE WORLD MINE focuses on Timothy a young gay high school student who, after winning the role of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Céline Sciamma
Starring: Adele Haenel | Louise Blachère | Pauline Acquart
Michael says: “This lovely French film dives deep into the world of adolescent girls and budding sexuality. Marie watches from the outside, while her friend Floriane, and the object of her desire, Anne, perform and compete in the world of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Michelle Williams | Wally Dalton | Will Patton
Bruce says: “Kelly Reichardt from the looks of things is the modern chronicler of quiet desperation. WENDY AND LUCY is similar in many ways to her critically acclaimed earlier work, OLD JOY. The story is sparse, almost non-existent. There are
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Joshua Seftel
Starring: Dan Ackroyd | Hilary Duff | Joan Cusack | John Cusack | Marisa Tomei
Jason says: “Not really close to the thematic sequel to GROSSE POINTE BLANK that some are trying to paint it as, despite sharing John Cusack as a hitman and Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It’s an angrier
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.75
Director: Ari Folman
Michael says: “Just because a film’s subject matter is powerful doesn’t mean it will be well-executed. That was the situation I found with WALTZ WITH BASHIR, Ari Folman’s acclaimed, animated documentary that details the director’s quest to uncover his repressed
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Elizabeth Banks | Ellen Burstyn | James Cromwell | Jeffrey Wright | Josh Brolin | Richard Dreyfuss | Scott Glenn
Bruce says: “W. works as a conversation piece; were the film hilarious, educational or consciousness raising in any way, it would have redeeming qualities. There is no apparent reason to make such a film and no reason to see it.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Thomas McCarthy
Starring: Danai Jekesai Gurira | Haaz Sleiman | Hiam Abbass | Marian Seldes | Richard Jenkins
Michael says: “THE STATION AGENT was no fluke. Thomas McCarthy has delivered a sophomore effort that holds the possibly fleeting distinction of my favorite film of the festival so far. THE VISITOR is a ’cause’ film, focusing on the tragic
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Chris Messina | Javier Bardem | Patricia Clarkson | Penélope Cruz | Rebecca Hall | Scarlett Johansson
Bruce says: “Two girls are invited to Barcelona to spend July and August with friends Judy and Mark Nash (Patricia Clarkson and Kevin Dunn). Vicky (Rebecca Hall), whose fiancée is staying behind in New York, is working on a thesis
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Christina Clausen
Bruce says: “It is hard to believe that a simple kid from an ordinary all-American middle class family in Kutztown, PA could be considered one of the great artists of his time. Keith Haring visually defined his generation ,creating a
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Fumihiko Sori
Starring: Meisa Kuroki | Shosuke Tanihara | Yasuko Matsuyuki
Jason says: “VEXILLE has taught me not to complain about Hollywood productions that spend ‘too much’ on visual effects or expensive animation. As much as VEXILLE might have still been a mediocre action movie if an American-sized budget had been
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