Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen | Nicolas Bro | Paprika Steen | Ulrich Thomsen
Beth C says: “This must be the first time I’ve ever favorably rated a film that got a 48 on METACRITIC. Usually they love a film that I hated but this time it’s the other way around. I found it
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jean-Pascal Hattu
Starring: Bruno Todeshini | Cyril Troley | Valerié Donzelli
Bruce says: “Thematically speaking, 7 YEARS is sort of a French BREAKING THE WAVES in the way it plays with the notion of a surrogate sexual partner. Unlike BREAKING THE WAVES, Vincent (Bruno Todeshini) is prison bound, not bedridden. He
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Starring: Ayaka Onoue | Kenji Mizuhashi | Risa Mizuno | Satomi Hanamura | Yoshimi Kondou
Jason says: “I wish I’d watched and written about this movie when I actually purchased the DVD almost two years ago since, this is a great little movie that was only available on North American DVD for a lousy four
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Yong-hwa Kim
Starring: Ah-jung Kim | Jin-mo Ju | Yong-geon Kim
Jason says: “The thing about 200 POUNDS BEAUTY is that there’s no satisfying way to end it. The premise (fat girl becomes a beauty through extensive surgery) leads to the film either presenting radical, dangerous cosmetic surgery as a viable course
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
Starring: Cristina Ciofu | Ion Sapdaru | Mircea Andreescu | Teodor Corban
Beth says: “This was a Rumanian film about a small town TV station owner/call-in show host who decides to mark the 16th anniversary of the Communist overthrow by having a special show, in which he asks two men to debate
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Marwan Hamed
Starring: Adel Imam | Nour El-Sherif | Youssra; Hend Sabri
Bruce says: “Opulent, expensive and larger than life, this adaptation of a best-selling Egyptian novel is the type of film one rarely sees anymore. Clocking in at nearly three hours, it’s both a Robert Altman-esque intersecting narrative ensemble piece and
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Bunta Sugawara | Chiaki Kuriyama | Etsushi Toyokawa | Hiroyuki Miyasako | Ryunosuke Kamiki
Michael says: “A children’s film by Takashi Miike, auteur responsible for the nightmarish (AUDITION), the sick (VISITOR Q), and the bizarre (HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS) certainly seems like an oxymoron. And upon initial viewing, this fable about Japanese goblins attempting
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Patrick Creadon
Michael says: “Patrick Creadon’s WORDPLAY certainly is a crowd-pleaser, with a combination of celebrities talking about their crossword habits, interviews with the New York Times puzzle editor and one of the creators, and a look at the Annual Crossword competition
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Paul Morrison
Starring: Delroy Lindo | Emily Woof | Sam Smith
Michael says: “In the tradition of feel-good films like BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM or BILLY ELLIOT combined, WONDROUS OBLIVION shows us our collective prejudices but allows us to overcome them in a slightly formulaic, but ultimately more successful film than
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy | Liam Cunningham | Padraic Delaney
Beth says: “Ken Loach directing Cillian Murphy, about the lead up to and the start of the Irish Civil War in the 20’s. I really liked this film, and give it 4 cats, however, I have to put a large
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