Local colleges bring the movies to the students
By Brian Goslow

There’s good news for those of you who love movies but A) don’t have a car on campus and/or B) think that dropping close to $10 at the theatre is a little excessive. Local colleges feel your pain, so they’ve brought the movies to you.

Probably the best deal you’ll find is the Kimball Film Series at the College of the Holy Cross. It features movies so recent they still may be showing on local second-run theatre screens. Missed “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” or “Superman Returns?” Don’t worry, it’ll be screening on College Hill this fall. Movies are shown at HC’s Kimball Theatre on Weds.at 3 and 8 p.m. and on Fri. and Sat. night at 7 p.m… and talk about the cheapest of cheap dates ~ admission (which is open to the public) is always FREE. Your only challenge getting there before all the seats are taken as it’s first come, first served. For this week’s films, call (508) 793-2455.

And if you’re actually enrolled at HC, you’ve got a couple of other options, too. The college’s Student Government Association runs Crusader Movie Rental, stocking over 600 DVDs ~ with new releases arriving constantly – as well as 50 VHS flicks. While you’re there, you can also buy discount tickets for the Blackstone Valley Cinemas De Lux and Showcase Cinemas Worcester North for $7 you’re your Student ID instead of the normal $9.50 (ouch) charge.

The city’s longest running independent film series, Cinema 320 at Clark University, returns on Sept. 5 with “The Heart of The Game,” a documentary capturing the girls’ basketball team at Roosevelt High School in Seattle. Each film featured gets a week’s stay, normally screening at the Jefferson Academic Center (in Room 320, get it?) on Tues., Thurs., and Sat. at 7:30 p.m. and on Sun. at 1 and 3 p.m.; to be on the safe side, due to the difference in film lengths, you might want to double check show times at cinema320.com or call (508) 793-7477. Admission is $5.50; $3.50 with a current Clark ID or proof that you’re over 60.

Also coming to Cinema 320 is the French-made “Russian Dolls,” the sequel to “L’Auberge Sepagnol.” Xavier, a lovesick student played by Romain Duris, is now pursing a career as a novelist, and it’s not completely smooth sailing. But he’s still romping around the streets and bedrooms of Paris, London, and St. Petersburg with fabulously stunning women, so how bad can things be? Find out September 19-24.

Cinema 320’s early fall schedule is also includes “Fateless,” a film based on Nobel Prize winning author Imre Kertesz’s novel about a Hungarian Jewish boy’s travails during the Holocaust, “Why We Fight,” Eugene Jarecki’s documentary on US military history since the end of WW II, “On A Clear Day,” the story of a suddenly out-of-work Glasgow shipyard, and the India circa 1938-based “Water,” which follows a widow banned from remarrying and banished to a home for outcast widows while the rest of the world is captivated Gandhi’s preaching for peace.

If you find yourself on the campus of WPI on Sunday evening, you can probably a movie you wanted to see but missed being screened courtesy of SocCommm, aka the WPI Social Committee. Due to the high turnout from the WPI community at these screenings ~ billed as “two dollars for two hours of pleasure…” ~ access to the shows is limited. For the latest schedule, check out soccomm.wpi.edu/films.pl.

Assumption College’s Student Government Association is teaming up with the Central Massachusetts Men’s Resource Center to show director Sut Jhally’s documentary “Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity” on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Both men and women are invited to join in the open discussion period that will follow the 60-minute film.

Assumption is also showing movies as part of its ongoing “Justice Talks: A Series of Discussions on Critical Social Issues” program. The Oscar Award-winning “Crash” will be shown on Sept. 25 and the groundbreaking “Brokeback Mountain” on Nov. 6, both at 8 p.m. Complimentary beverages and popcorn will be provided. All three films screen at La Maison Auditorium at Assumption..

CenterStage at Fitchburg State College presents “Films From The Boston Jewish Film Festival” on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 and 9. Offerings include director Daniel Anker’s “Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust,” Boston College professor John Michalcyzyk’s documentary “Displaced! Miracle at St. Ottilien,” and a third film to be selected from this year’s BJFF line-up. Ticket information is available at fsc.edu/cultural. Fitchburg State’s also known for regularly showing locally made documentaries, many the work of FSC students.

Nichols College in Dudley is showing “Pirates of the Caribbean” on the Shamie Lawn on Sept. 21 prior to the start of its regular Thurs. evening and Sun. afternoon and night series of current films (“An Inconvenient Truth” is scheduled for Oct. 5 and 8). Worcester State College and Framingham State College regularly show recent movies, too.

So, there you go ~ by no means a complete rundown of all the movies that are showing on area campuses this fall, but certainly enough to get you started. For updates, schedules, and other information, either check an individual school’s website or head to socialweb.com, where most local colleges and universities post their entertainment schedules weekly.