January 2011 Movies

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle

Romania's official selection for the 2011 Academy Award centers around an 18-year-old about to be released from a juvenile detention center.

Florin Serban, Catalin Mitulescu, Pistireanu George, Ada Condeescu, Mihai Constantin

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

A documentary about the folk singer Phil Ochs.

Kenneth Bowser

The Social Network

On the Harvard campus in 2004, sophmore Mark Zuckerberg starts the social networking site, Facebook.

Brenda Song, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Scott Rudin, Rooney Mara, David Fincher, Michael De Luca, Kevin Spacey

I Love You Phillip Morris

When a local Texas policeman, Steve Russell (Jim Carrey), turns to cons and fraud to allow him to change his lifestyle (in more ways than one), his subsequent stay in the state penitentiary results in his meeting the love of his life, a sensitive fellow inmate named Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). What ensues can only be described as a relentless quest as Russell attempts escape after escape and executes con after con, all in the name of love.

Jim Carrey, Leslie Mann, Ewan McGregor, Rodrigo Santoro, David Jensen, Andrew Lazar, Far Shariat, Glenn Ficarra

Season of the Witch

In 14th century France, a group of knights in 14th century France must transport a woman accused of witchcraft to a mountain abbey, where the monks will seek to understand and destroy her powers, believed to be the source of the Black Plague.

Nicolas Cage, Claire Foy, Stephen Campbell Moore, Dominic Sena, Ryan Kavanaugh, Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, Bragi Schut Jr.

Country Strong

A rising young singer-songwriter becomes involved with a fallen country singer. As they embark on a career resurrection tour with her husband and manager and a beauty queen-turned singer, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Tobey Maguire, Jenno Topping, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester, Shana Feste, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw

Blue Valentine

"Blue Valentine" chronicles a disintegrating marriage between Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams), told in flashback.

Ryan Gosling, Derek Cianfrance, Jamie Patricof, Joey Curtis, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky, Cami Delavigne, Michelle Williams

The Absent

A high school teacher is forced to choose between his career and a love affair with one of his students. The pressure mounts when his twin brother, Oscar, returns after serving 25 years in jail for killing their parents.

Sage Bannick, Chris Sivertson, Ari Bernstein, Damon Abdallah

No One Killed Jessica

Jessica, a young attractive model trying her hand at bartending, is shot dead at a celebrity party for refusing to serve a drink after closing hours. The culprit Manish, son of a prominent politician, inebriated by a deadly cocktail of alcohol and a sense of entitlement, pulls the trigger in a fit of rage. With 300 of Delhi's swish set present at the party, many of whom are witnesses to the murder, Manish looks all set to go to the gallows. Except, that it doesn't quite turn out that way. Now two women, Jessica's sister, Sabrina and the feisty TV reporter, Meera will have to drum up every resource at their disposal to outwit Manish at his own game, if the truth is to have any chance of prevailing over money and political clout.

Raj Kumar Gupta

The Time That Remains

An examination of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day.

Elia Suleiman, Ali Suliman, Saleh Bakri

The Dilemma

Set in Chicago and explores the fallout surrounding infidelity between lovers and friends.

Channing Tatum, Brian Grazer, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Howard, Allan Loeb, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder

The Green Hornet

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), son and heir to Los Angeles’ largest newspaper fortune, is a rich, spoiled playboy who has been happy to maintain a direction-less existence. When his father James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) dies, Britt meets an impressive and resourceful company employee, Kato (Jay Chou). They realize that they have the resources to do something worthwhile with their lives and finally step out of James Reid’s shadow. Kato builds the ultimate weapon, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car with every weapon imaginable and Britt decides that in order to be heroes, they will pose as villains. With the help of Britts new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they learn that the chief criminal in the city is named Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). He has united all the gangs under his power, and he quickly sees that the Green Hornet is a direct threat to the prosperous criminal underworld he controls.

David Harbour, Cameron Diaz, Michel Gondry, Evan Goldberg, Jay Chou, Edward James Olmos, Christoph Waltz, Neal H. Moritz

Ong Bak 3

Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers.

Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai

Barney's Version

A man leads a reckless life highlighted by three marriages, two children and being a "person of interest" in the mysterious disappearance of his bosom buddy.

Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Robert Lantos, Rachelle Lefevre, Dustin Hoffman, Scott Speedman, Richard Lewis, Domenico Procacci

Burning Palms

Five dark and comedic stories that take place in Los Angeles.

Zoe Saldana, Rosamund Pike, Christopher B. Landon, Nick Stahl, Jamie Chung, Lake Bell, Paz Vega, Dylan McDermott

The Heart Specialist

Zoe Saldana, Wood Harris, Mya, Method Man, Dennis Cooper

Enter the Void

Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta star in a visceral journey set against the thumping, neon club scene of Tokyo, which hurls the viewer into an astonishing trip through life, death, and the universally wonderful and horrible moments between.

Gaspar Noe, Nathaniel Brown

Every Day

Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt play a couple whose troubled marriage escalates into crisis when a sexy colleague, played by Carla Gugino, enters the mix.

Liev Schreiber, Richard Levine, Carla Gugino, Helen Hunt, Eddie Izzard, Brian Dennehy

A Somewhat Gentle Man

An ex-convict released from prison tries to live a normal, quiet life but is also looking for vengeance against the snitch who put him in jail.

Stellan Skarsgard, Hans Petter Moland

Plastic Planet

Reveals the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem with interviews with the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations.

Werner Boote

The Way Back

A fact-based story centered on soldiers who escaped from a Siberian gulag in 1940.

Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Mark Strong, Duncan Henderson, Peter Weir, Joni Levin, Nigel Sinclair, Saoirse Ronan

No Strings Attached

Emma and Adam have the best relationship ever! They’re twentysomething pals who, you know, do it. A lot. But then Adam goes and falls in love with Emma and ruins everything.

Ivan Reitman, Liz Meriwether, Greta Gerwig, Cary Elwes, Jeffrey Clifford, Tom Pollock, Joe Medjuck, Roger Birnbaum

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Ad...

In the battle to prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity's hopes on their shoulders. As the onslaught of monstrous Angels escalates, a group of young Eva pilots find their burden shared by two new pilots: the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari.

The Company Men

The impact of a corporate downsizing on both its casualties and survivors.

Kevin Costner, Ben Affleck, Craig T. Nelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, John Wells, Paula Weinstein, Claire Polstein

The Housemaid

A man's affair with his family's housemaid leads to a dark consequences.

Im Sang-soo, Jeon Do-yeon

Dhobi Ghat

Four people from different background intersect in Mumbai and alter eachother's lives profoundly.

Kiran Rao

The Mechanic

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a well-paid assassin who executes people at the request of the American government. But after assassinating a former close associate, Bishop does something that's unprofessional and out of control: he takes on a apprentice (Ben Foster), the son of the man he just killed.

Jason Statham, Danny Dimbort, Simon West, Shane Salerno, Beau Brasso, Rene Besson, Trevor Short, David Winkler

The Rite

An American priest studies at an exorcism school in Italy.

Richard Brener, Rutger Hauer, Toby Emmerich, Alice Braga, Christy Fletcher, Mikael Hafstrom, Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson

127 Hours

The story of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who, while hiking Utah's back-country in 2003, had to self-amputate part of his arm with a dull knife when it was pinned by a boulder in an accident.

James Franco, Kate Mara, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, Amber Tamblyn, Clemence Poesy, Lizzy Caplan

Seconds Apart

Judging by their privileged lifestyles, one would never guess that Seth and Jonah are murderous twins who share an evil kinship. Damned from the moment of their births, the brothers possess a gruesome talent for telekinesis - a power they use in the most horrific ways imaginable. As fellow students meet gory fates, local law enforcement begins to suspect the twins' connection to the depraved murders.

Antonio Negret, Orlando Jones, Samantha Droke, Edmund Entin, Gary Entin

From Prada to Nada

Two sisters, one a young beauty who chooses passion over logic, the other a law student whose fixed moral compass keeps her from following her desires, are uprooted from their luxurious home when their father suddenly passes away. Out of money and out of options, the women move into their Great Aunt Aurelia's modest, but lively home in the Latino-centric Boyle Heights neighborhood where they find themselves thrown into a world that, despite their heritage, seems completely foreign. Over time, they discover the beauty of the culture they once fought so desperately to hide. And in the process they find the one thing that had eluded them: love.

Gigi Pritzker, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama, Fina Torres, Luis Alfaro, April Bowlby, Camilla Belle, Kuno Becker

Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmas...

Set in Foshan, China, during the Sino Japanese War, one man rises to the fore, Grandmaster Ip Man. Upon refusing to teach his fighting art to the invading Japanese soldiers, he is forced to fight for the honor of his country in a series of battles that will culminate in a kill or be killed showdown with Japan’s greatest fighter, General Miura.

Donnie Yen, Wilson Yip, Sammo Hung

Kaboom

The story follows the sexual awakening of a group of college students.

Kelly Lynch, Rooney Mara, Juno Temple, Gregg Araki, Roxane Mesquida, Thomas Dekker

Biutiful

The story is about a troubled man who is confronted by a former friend, now a police officer.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Maricel Alvarez, Javier Bardem