Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Starring: Aaron Eckhart | David Koechner | Katie Holmes | Maria Bello | Rob Lowe | Robert Duvall | William H. Macy
Chris says: “This satire about a slick lobbyist for the tobacco industry (perfectly embodied by Aaron Eckhart) isn’t nearly as subversive or edgy as it thinks it is. Actually, it plays like a less eccentric, dumbed-down version of I HEART
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Ali Selim
Starring: Alan Cumming | Elizabeth Reaser | Tim Guinee
Michael says: “This independent film has the feel of a studio picture, with a straight-forward narrative, that hits all the right moments and hammers them home. Basically a nostalgia piece, telling the tale of a young German woman who came
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Eran Riklis
Starring: Adnan Tarabshi | Ashraf Barhom | Evelyn Kaplun | Eyad Sheety | Hiam Abbass | Makram Khoury
Bruce says: “The setting of THE SYRIAN BRIDE is the Golan Heights where the Syrian population numbered 147,000 when captured by Israel in1967. Held under military authority until 1981, Israel offered citizenship or permanent residency to the residents. Today the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jonathan Dayton | Valerie Faris
Starring: Abigail Breslin | Alan Arkin | Beth Grant | Greg Kinnear | Paul Dano | Steve Carrell | Toni Collette
Beth C. says: “This film did an excellent job by bringing together a broad range of comedic talent. The film was by most standards a formulaic American summer comedy. But, that’s OK! Because as long as the jokes are funny
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Dustin Hoffman | Emma Thompson | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Queen Latifah | Will Ferrell
Michael says: “Despite rather major concessions to plot, and the fact that Scot and I came up with better motivations for certain characters to make the plot work better, I found STRANGER THAN FICTION to be a valiant piece of
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jeff Stanzler
Starring: Aasif Mandvi | Abdel Kechiche | Elodie Bouchez | Robin Wright Penn | Sandra Oh
Bruce says: “The strangeness of this film’s title matches the tenor of the film. SORRY, HATERS is one of the most disturbing, unsettling films I’ve seen. With two sensational performances by Robin Wright Penn and Abdel Kechiche the film is
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Rebecca Dreyfus
Michael says: “Despite the local interest and fascinating subject; the notorious art-theft at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, STOLEN proves the adage, ‘there’s not much there there.’ Director Rebecca Dreyfus focuses on famous art-theft detective Harold J. Smith, who could
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Abbie Cornish | Damian De Montemas | Hollie Andrew | Lynette Curran | Olivia Pigeot | Sam Worthington
Michael says: “SOMERSAULT is a little Australian film that had a brief run earlier this year (yes, it’s eligible) but is now available on DVD. Director Cate Shortland’s debut feature is Heidi’s coming-of-age tale; where a young woman begins discovering
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Haskell Wexler
Bruce says: “Haskell Wexler has quite a reputation. He has won two Oscars for BOUND FOR GLORY and WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? He achieved cult status with MEDIUM COOL, a feature film using the 1968 Democratic Convention riots in
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Malcolm Ingram
Chris says: “Contrary to what popular television shows like Will and Grace tell us, not all gay people live in hip, urbane neighborhoods. Malcolm Ingram’s documentary counters this stereotype by chronicling two gay bars in backwoods Mississippi. One, Rumors, stands
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