Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Starring: Andrea Di Stefano | Barbora Bobulova | Lisa Gastoni
Bruce says: “**SPOILERS** “In my opinion Ferzen Ozpetek’s films have improved with every film he has made beginning with STEAM , followed up by HIS SECRET LIFE and FACING WINDOWS. I unhappily report that SACRED HEART (CUORE SACRO in Italian)
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Audrey Tautou | Cécile de France | Kelly Reilly | Kevin Bishop | Romain Duris
Bruce says: “RUSSIAN DOLLS is written by a director who loves his characters yet is not afraid to have them make plenty of mistakes as they discover how to love and be loved. Employing plenty of digital tricks in the
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Ken Takakura | Li Jiamin | Qui Lin | Shinobu Terajima | Wen Jiang
Bruce says: “China and Japan have a contentious relationship for hundreds of years, particularly in the years since Japan occupied parts of China and Taiwan in the early 20th century. Diplomatic relationships did not resume until 1972 and attitudes on
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Mat Whitecross | Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Arfan Usman | Farhad Harun | Jason Salkey | Riz Ahmed | Shahid Iqbal | Sher Khan | Waqar Siddiqui
Bruce says: “Michael Winterbottom, one of the most prolific film directors currently working, is often attracted to political subjects in films like WELCOME TO SARAJEVO and IN THIS WORLD. Those films touched on the aftermath of wars in Yugoslavia and
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
Starring: Burghart Klaußner | Imogen Kogge | Sandra Hüller
Bruce says: “Films about illness and disability used to run the risk of being slotted into the ‘Ailment of the Week’ made-for-TV film category. That insult is mostly a thing of the past since television is now many times more
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Gabriele Salvatores
Starring: Angela Baraldi | Claudia Zanella | Elio Germano | Gigio Alberti
Bruce says: “Being no fan of Salvatores’ Oscar winning MEDITERRANEO or the more recent I’M NOT SCARED, I was a bit hesitant about seeing QUO VADIS, BABY? While I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, the film is not without its problems,
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Director: Christian Volckman
Starring: Catherine McCormack | Daniel Cragi | Patrick Floersheim
Tom says: “I can’t spell Renaissance without looking it up, but I can enjoy it anyway! Visually amazing. Like a still black and white drawing that won’t stop moving, flat but with depth. The story, it may be good, but
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Richard Glatzer | Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Chalo González | Emily Rios | Jesse Garcia
Michael says: “Sometimes a movie receives accolades and hype that makes you pause and scratch your head. QUINCEAÑERA took the audience and Jury Prizes for Best Dramatic Feature at Sundance earlier this year. It’s not that Richard Glatzer and Wash
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Rating: 1.75
Director: Jamie Babbit
Starring: Camilla Belle | Edie Falco | Elisha Cuthbert | Martin Donovan | Shawn Ashmore
Michael says: “This disappointing follow-up to Babbit’s entertaining debut, BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER has trouble deciding what it wants to be; a campy comedy, a tense thriller, a serious family drama, or a horror film. What it reminded me most
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Rating: 4.3 cats
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Heather McCrory | Helen Mirren | James Cromwell | Michael Sheen
Chris says: “I’m convinced that Helen Mirren is capable of anything: She can quietly steal scenes in a Robert Altman ensemble piece (GOSFORD PARK), turn a recurring role into an icon (television’s ‘Prime Suspect’) and even survive an embarrassment like
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