Night of Truth, The (Burkina Faso/France; 100 min.) directed by: Fanta Régina Nacrostarring: Moussa Cissé; Adama Ouédraogo Bruce says: “The 57 countries of Africa are largely the creation of colonists, Europeans who carved up the continent as they licked
Read the review...Mysterious Skin (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Gregg Araki
Starring: Bill Sage | Brady Corbett | Elisabeth Shue | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Mary Lynn Rajskub | Michelle Trachtenberg
Bruce says: “We all bring our own baggage into every experience. It is hardly surprising that the effect of any common experience and the baggage we carry away from it will vary for each of us. Most of the time,
Read the review...My Summer of Love (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.4
Director: Pawel Pavlikovsky
Starring: Emily Blunt | Nathalie Press | Paddy Considine
Michael says: “MY SUMMER OF LOVE revolves around two teenaged girls who are drawn together over the course of one summer as kindred spirits who have suffered disappointment especially from the men in their lives. Director Pawel Pavlikowsky, who handled
Read the review...Murderball (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Dana Adam Shapiro | Henry Alex Rubin
Chris says: “The very idea of ‘quadriplegic wheelchair rugby’ may initially sound like some sort of sick joke, but this documentary emphatically shows it’s nothing to scoff at. Rivaling (and besting) most fictional ‘inspirational’ sports films, MURDERBALL follows Team USA
Read the review...Munich (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Ayelet Zurer | Ciarán Hinds | Daniel Craig | Eric Bana | Geoffrey Rush | Mathieu Almaric | Mathieu Kassovitz
Hilary says: “Just a few words on MUNICH: “I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Spielberg actually redeems himself as a filmmaker, not just a blockbuster-izer, up until the last 10 minutes when he takes out his Significance
Read the review...Moog (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Hans Fjellestad
Hilary says: “This uneven documentary tells the story of (recently-deceased) electronic music innovator, Dr. Robert Moog. An electrical engineer and theremin enthusiast, Moog’s name became synonymous with the synthesizer in the 1960s. “There are some interesting interactions between Moog and
Read the review...Mondovino (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jonathan Nossiter
Peg says: “If SIDEWAYS was wine’s MANHATTAN, MONDOVINO is its ROGER AND ME. An ambitious, sprawling (2 and a quarter hours and maybe a bit too long) documentary which mainly takes place in France, Italy and California (with brief segments
Read the review...Memories in the Mist (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Buddhadev Dasgupta
Starring: Mithun Chakraborty | Rahul Bose | Sameera Reddy
Bruce says: “Sumanta, a young man, has filed a report on local corruption and is taken to task by his boss. ‘Who isn’t corrupt in this country?’ the boss asks. When the young man insists he followed through perfectly on
Read the review...Mirrormask (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Dave McKean
Starring: Gina McKee | Rob Brydon | Stephanie Leonidas
Michael says: “The visually spectacular fantasy by the comic world’s rock gods Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman has been getting very mixed reviews. Critics are comparing it to Alice in Wonderland and LABYRINTH for its tale of a young girl
Read the review...Millions (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Alexander Nathan Etel | Daisy Donovan | James Nesbitt | Lewis Own McGibbon
Chris says: “No junkies or zombies in Danny Boyle’s first family film, which asks, ‘What would happen if two young boys found a duffel bag stacked with cash that seemingly just fell from out of the sky?’ MILLIONS sort of
Read the review...Memories of Murder (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Kang-ho Song | Roe-ha Kim | Sang-kyung Kim
Michael says: “This challenging film of the misuse of power by the police during a dictatorial regime is further proof of the rise in the Korean film industry. In 1986 a small village in South Korea was plagued by its
Read the review...Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Gong Li | Michelle Yeoh | Zhang Ziyi
Chris says: “I never had any desire to read Arthur Golden’s obscenely popular novel. At first, this adaptation confirmed my worst suspicions: a sumptuously filmed but middlebrow Hollywood take on a subject that deserves better. Still, despite a slow start
Read the review...Melinda and Melinda (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Brooke Smith | Chloe Sevigny | Jonny Lee Miller | Radha Mitchell | Will Ferrell
Janet says: “I keep dragging myself to these Woody Allen movies—mostly, at this point, to see the clothing and interior decor. The young couples in the film are decorating their upscale pads in an Anthropologie style with touches of the
Read the review...Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Miranda July
Starring: Carlie Westerman | John Hawkes | Miranda July | Tracy Wright
Bruce says: “Miranda July’s ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW is the delightful film chosen to open the new Independent Film Center in New York on the site of the old Waverly Theater. July’s career has included video and
Read the review...The Masseur (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Starring: Alan Paule | Coco Martin | Jaclyn Jose
Bruce says: “Filmed in video in only eight days THE MASSEUR tells the story of workers in the Manila sex industry, in particular an all male massage parlor. Director Brillante Mendoza makes a wise choice in telling the story of
Read the review...March of the Penguins (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Luc Jacquet
Chris says: “Even if nature documentaries aren’t necessarily your thing, this one is worth checking out. Director Luc Jacquet and his crew capture the extraordinary mating ritual of the Emperor penguin, a bird indigenous to the harshest climate on the
Read the review...Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Diane says: “Marilyn Agrelo’s MAD HOT BALLROOM is another in the growing field of docu’s following a competition. Here, New York fifth-graders vie in ballroom dancing. Agrelo’s attempts to delve into the home lives and views of her subjects ends
Read the review...Ma Mère (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.75
Director: Christophe Honoré
Starring: Emma de Caunes | Isabelle Huppert | LouisGarrel
Michael says: “Despite the starring presence of the divine Isabelle Huppert, MA MÉRE proves to be the first misstep of the festival. Set in the Canary Islands, MA MÉRE uses the gorgeous beaches and resort towns as a backdrop to
Read the review...A Love Song for Bobby Long (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Shainee Gabel
Starring: Gabriel Macht | John Travolta | Scarlett Johanssen
Barbara says: “I know Scarlett Johansson is a favorite of a lot of members and she does not disappoint in this film. I think she and John Travolta have two of the most expressive sets of eyes in film. The
Read the review...Los Angeles Plays Itself (2005)
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Thom Andersen
Chris says: “Home to Hollywood, sprawling metropolis Los Angeles is the most photographed city in the world. Thom Andersen’s equally sprawling, ambitious documentary uses this little factoid as a jumping off point to explore not only how filmmakers have portrayed
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