Film Clips: This weekend’s movie openings January 21 2011

Can ‘The Company Men’ go ‘From Prada To Nada’ with ‘No Strings Attached?’

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  • Paramount Pictures
  • WHAT’S UP, DOC? Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in ‘No Strings Attached’


OPENING FRIDAY

THE COMPANY MEN 2 stars (R) Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and a particularly moving Tommy Lee Jones play executives who reassess their materialistic values when their global transportation company institutes round after round of layoffs. To borrow an outplacement center’s cheesy slogan, “I have faith, courage and enthusiasm!” writer/director John Wells shows admirable faith in his A-list and demonstrates courage by producing such a potential bummer about downbeat American trends. The enthusiasm seems missing from The Company Men, however, a fuzzily well-intentioned socioeconomic critique that seldom musters much passion for its subject. — Curt Holman

FROM PRADA TO NADA (PG-13) Angel Gracia directs Camille Belle and Alexa Vega in a contemporary, Latina spin on Sense and Sensibility as two spoiled sisters move in with an aunt in East L.A.

IN MY SLEEP (PG-13) This thriller depicts a young man afflicted by parasomnia, which causes him to commit deeds in his sleep he doesn’t remember upon waking.
MY DOG TULIP (NR) This hand-drawn, 2-D animated film features the voice of Christopher Plummer as an elderly Englishman who becomes unexpectedly attached to a German Shepherd. Other voice talents include the late Lynn Redgrave and Isabella Rossellini.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED (R) Natalie Portman plays a commitment-averse medical resident who strikes up a purely carnal relationship with an old friend (Ashton Kutcher). The flick’s rom-com vibe suggests these crazy kids’ hearts will win out over their libidos. (Not to be confused with July’s rom-com Friends With Benefits.)

DULY NOTED
BURIED (2010) Ryan Reynolds plays a U.S. contractor in Iraq who struggles to survive after being buried alive in a coffin. Through Jan. 23. Cinefest Film Theatre, Georgia State University, 66 Courtland St., Suite 240. 404-413-1798. www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcft.

EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE (NR) The second film of in four part film series re-imagines the sci-fi animated series blockbuster “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (also written and directed by Hideaki Anno) from Japanese television. Jan. 21-27, Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.

THE ROOM (2003) 1 star (R ) This hilariously incompetent, sub-Skinemax-level romantic triangle has become a wildly entertaining monthly viewing party, a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Writer-director-star Tommy Wiseau strikes a freaky presence as a long-haired, heavy-lidded, thick-accented bank employee cuckolded by his vicious fiancée (Juliette Danielle). The film’s bizarre touches, like framed photographs of spoons, inspire audiences to throw plastic spoons at the screen, and more. Not to be missed. Tue., Jan. 25, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.

TEHROUN (2008) (NR) Three young roommates struggle to get ahead in contemporary Tehran, but the city’s poverty and crime might get the better of them. Free-$7. Fri., Jan. 21, 8 p.m. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.

WOMEN WITHOUT MEN (2008) (NR) Photographer/videographer Shirin Neshat depicts the intersecting lives of four diverse women in Iran in 1953, on the eve of the CIA-backed coup that placed the Shah in power. Iranian Film Today. Free-$7. Sat., Jan. 22, 8 p.m. Rich Theatre, High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-5000. www.high.org.