Hey there Everyone!

This week there are couple of new openings that you might want to catch, but for this week’s Chlotrudis Monday Night Movie of the week, we’ll be heading to the Coolidge Corner Theatre for a film that’s been out already for a few weeks. THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL is a fascinating documentary about which Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe says, “THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL is ostensibly about birds, but only in the way that a game of Scrabble is about tiles. [Irving]’s made a very good profile of both Mark Bittner and the kooky side of San Francisco. Even if Bittner is a freak, he’s one of nature.” Join us at the Coolidge for the 7:30 showing of this well-received film.

THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL

directed by Judy Irving

It’s no secret that San Francisco has a long and colorful history as a haven for misfits. But in her documentary, director Judy Irving introduces us to what may be the city’s most unusual band of outsiders: dozens of wild parrots living in the city’s Telegraph Hill district, and their lone human friend and caretaker, Mark Bittner, a kind-hearted longtime drifter. More than just a document of an odd urban phenomenon, Irving’s film is also a compelling and uplifiting love story.

Fans of the stylishly violent, neo-noir, martial arts film will want to take note of OLDBOY. Ned Hinkle claims this was his top film of the Toronto International Film Festival, but it doesn’t look to be for my taste. If you go to see this one, opening for one week at the Kendall, let me know what you think. There’s also the bizarre looking DON’T MOVE, starring a decidedly un-glamorous Penelope Cruz. The reviews on this one are pretty mixed, and the trailer did nothing to entice me to see it. I was sorely tempted by the Harvard Film Archive’s screening of Chlotrudis nominees UNTOLD SCANDAL, with director E J-Yong present, but Les Liaisons Dangereuse has never been my favorite story, and I’m rather tired of seeing new adaptations of it.

Mainly you should all be gearing up to catch a movie or seven at this upcoming Independent Film Festival of Boston. Only in its third year, the IFFB has taken the Boston film scene by storm featuring quality independent narratives and documentaries, along with many of their filmmakers, in a cohesive festival that’s sure to please the Chlotrudis member. This year’s festival begins Thursday, April 21 and runs through Sunday, April 25 at the Somerville Theatre, The Brattle Theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and new this year, the Museum of Fine Arts. Look for multiple Chlotrudis members volunteering at all venues and make sure you say hello! The selection of films is pretty intriguing this year, including BROTHERS, the latest film by director Susanne Bier (OPEN HEARTS), starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas, the lead from RECONSTRUCTION. The newest film by Hal Hartley is called THE GIRL FROM MONDAY, and it will be screening Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! The documentary MURDERBALL is inexplicably this year’s hot film to see, at least among the IFFB volunteers. It follows a team of quadrepalegic rugy players who make it to the Special Olympics. Perhaps of most interest to many Chlotrudis members, is the sophmore directing effort from our pal Don McKellar. CHILDSTAR plays Friday and Sunday at the Somerville Theatre, and is a co-presentation with the Chlotrudis Society for Indpendent Film! Support CSIF and laugh at the quirky antics of Mr. McKellar… don’t miss it!

Mary Kay Place and Liv Tyler in Steve Buscemi's LONESOME JIMThe festival kicks off with the latest directorial effort from another much-loved Chlotrudis Award winner, Steve Buscemi. In this humorous and moving portrait of working-class life, Jim (Casey Affleck) begrudgingly returns to his hometown in rural Indiana after failing to make it on his own in New York. Living in his childhood room, he soon remembers why he left: a doting but overbearing mother (Mary Kay Place), a distant father (Seymour Cassel), and a depressed older brother (Kevin Corrigan). Shortly after his homecoming, a mysterious accident forces Jim to take on his brother’s duties in the family home and factory. A glimmer of hope springs from his developing relationship with a beautiful nurse (Liv Tyler) and her young son, showing Jim how to move forward without leaving everyone behind. Mr. Buscemi will join IFFB crowd on Thursday night at the Somerville Theatre. Come on all you members who voted Steve Best Supporting Actor in GHOST WORLD, you know you don’t want to miss this opportunity to see him live!

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, April 15 – 21.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Area Theatrical Premiere
Memories of Murder (Fri. – Mon.)
Special Event: The 48 Hour Film Project! (Tue. & Wed.)
Special Event: A Night with Dean Sluyter
A Night at the Opera (Thu.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Nina’s Tragedies
Academy Award Nominated Shorts
Millions
Watermarks
Midnite Madness
The Animation Show (Fri. & Sat.)

FEI Theatres Capitol Theatres, Arlington
Millions
Hotel Rwanda
Sideways

FEI Theatres Somerville Theatres, Somerville
Sideways
Millions
Hotel Rwanda (Sun. – Wed.)
Bombay Cinema Presents
CHANDRAMUKHI
The Independent Film Festival of Boston Opening Night Film!
Lonesome Jim director Steve Buscemi in attendance!

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Alain Resnais
Not on the Lips (Fri.)
Same Old Song (Sat.)
Je t’aime, je t’aime and Statues Also Die (Sat.)
Providence (Sun.)
Stavisky… (Sun.)
Visions from the South: Korean Cinema 1960-2005
Untold Scandal (Mon.) Director in Person!
Black and White on Screen
Dutchman Free Screening! (Mon.)
Film and Autobiography
Memoirs of a Tropical Jew (Tue.)
Frames of Mind
Lost in Translation (Wed.)
Philosophy and Film: Deleuze
Fortini/Cani (Wed.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Dear Frankie
The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Schultze Gets the Blues
Walk on Water
Born into Brothels
Millions
Finding Neverland
Paper Clips
Million Dollar Baby (ineligible)

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Look at Me
Don’t Move
Old Boy
The 48-Hour Film Project (Tue. & Thu.)
Off the Map
Walk on Water
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Downfall
Born into Brothels

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Don’t Move
Melinda and Melinda
Downfall
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Born into Brothels
Million Dollar Baby (ineligible)

Loew’s Harvard Square, Cambridge
The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Melinda and Melinda
The Upside of Anger
Schultze Gets the Blues
Million Dollar Baby (ineligible)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Cinema Tropical
Sexual Dependency (Fri. – Sun.)
Cinema Vino
Mondovino (Fri. – Sun. & Thu.)
Museum School Film Annual (Thu.)
Black Maria Film and Video Festival (Thu.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
Downfall

West Newton Cinema, West Newton
Dear Frankie
Look at Me
Walk on Water
Hotel Rwanda
The Chorus
Schultze Gets the Blues
Paper Clips

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

Chlotrudis Monday Night at the Movies & Indie Film Round-Up, April 15 – 21
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