New Movie Releases

Applause

Release Date: January 21, 2011 (NY, LA) 
Studio: World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation 
Director: Martin Pieter Zandvliet 
Screenwriter: Anders Frithiof August, Martin Pieter Zandvliet 
Starring: Paprika Steen, Michael Falch, Sara-Marie Maltha, Shanti Roney 
Genre: Drama 
MPAA Rating: Not Available

Plot Summary: Recovering alcoholic stage actress, Thea Barfoed (Paprika Steen) has gone through turmoil. Having divorced her husband, Christian (Michael Falch), and relinquished custody of their two boys during her heavy drinking days, Thea wants to start over. As her past alcohol use and indiscretions still haunt her, the reality of a new beginning seems bleak. Thea uses her inner actress's charm and manipulation to convince her ex-husband that she is fully recovered and capable of being a good mother to their children; however, she hasn't completely convinced herself. On stage, Thea plays the binge drinking, ostentatious Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Ironically, her stage character bears an uncanny resemblance to her personal life. As her alcoholism and past regrets hang in the balance, Thea must decide whether to confront her inner demons or to let the show go on. 

The Company Men

Release Date: January 21, 2011 (limited) 
Studio: The Weinstein Company 
Director: John Wells 
Screenwriter: John Wells 
Starring: Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Rosemarie DeWitt, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson 
Genre: Drama 
MPAA Rating: R (for language and brief nudity) 
Plot Summary: Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) and Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law (Kevin Costner) which does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal. With humor, pathos, and keen observation, writer-director John Wells introduces us to the new realities of American life.

Mumbai Diaries

Release Date: January 21, 2011 (NY, LA) 
Studio: UTV Communications 
Director: Kiran Rao 
Screenwriter: Kiran Rao 
Starring: Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra, Danish Hussain 
Genre: Drama 
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Plot Summary: Shai (Monica Dogra), an affluent investment banker on sabbatical, strikes up an unusual friendship with Munna (Prateik), a young and handsome laundry boy (dhobi) with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor, and has a brief dalliance with Arun (Aamir Khan), a gifted painter. As Shai's relationship with Munna deepens, Arun discovers in his new house a secret about Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra), the previous tenant, that brings meaning to his solitary life. As they slip away from familiar moorings and drift closer together, the city finds its way into the crevices of their inner worlds.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Release Date: January 21, 2011 (limited) 
Studio: Eleven Arts 
Director: Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno 
Screenwriter: Hideaki Anno 
Starring: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, Maaya Sakamoto, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yamaguchi, Koichi Yamadera, Akira Ishida, Fumihiko Tachiki, Motomu Kiyokawa, Miki Nagasawa, Takehito Koyasu, Hiro Yuuki, Tomokazu Seki, Tetsuya Iwanaga, Junko Iwao, Mugihito 
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi 
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Plot Summary: The landmark anime Evangelion evolves, reaching new heights of intensity in the new feature film, "Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance." In an explosive new story full of brutal action and primal emotion, a group of young pilots maneuver their towering, cyborg Eva Units into combat against a deadly and disturbing enemy. In the battle to prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity's hopes on their shoulders. Now, as the onslaught of the bizarre, monstrous Angels escalates, they find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots: the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari. In this thrilling new experience for fans of giant robot action, the young pilots fight desperately to save mankind - and struggle to save themselves.

The Housemaid

Release Date: January 21, 2011 (limited) 
Studio: IFC Films 
Director: Im Sang-soo 
Screenwriter: Im Sang-soo 
Starring: Jeon Do-yeon 
Genre: Thriller 
MPAA Rating: Not Available 
Plot Summary: A favorite at this year's Cannes, Toronto and Fantastic Fest film festivals, "The Housemaid" is a stylish, sexy thriller about an innocent young woman caught in the twisted web of a rich family's games. Eun-yi (Cannes Best Actress winner Jeon Do-youn of "Secret Sunshine") is hired as a nanny in an lavish mansion by businessman Hoon (Lee Jung-jae) and his very pregnant wife, Hae-ra (Seo Woo). When Eun-yi is seduced by the father of the house, she becomes the unwitting victim in a series of traps laid by the women of the house-Hae-ra, her villainous mother (Park Ji-young), and their seemingly loyal but increasingly bitter housekeeper (Yun Yeo-jong). Intensely erotic and fiendishly entertaining, "The Housemaid" builds to an unforgettable climax as Eun-yi must outwit them and escape their schemes to protect her sanity-and her life-from the vicious family.

No Strings Attached

Release Date: January 21, 2011 
Studio: Paramount Pictures 
Director: Ivan Reitman 
Screenwriter: Elizabeth Meriwether 
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Cary Elwes, Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig, Ophelia Lovibond, Ben Lawson, Chris Bridges, Olivia Thirlby, Jake M. Johnson, Lake Bell, Guy Brannum 
Genre: Comedy, Romance 
MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content, language and some drug material)
Plot Summary: In this comedy, Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are life-long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly "no strings attached." "No strings" means no jealousy, no expectations, no fighting, no flowers, no baby voices. It means they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, in whatever public place they want, as long as they don't fall in love. The question becomes- who's going to fall first? And can their friendship survive?

The Way Back

Release Date: January 21, 2011 
Studio: Newmarket Films 
Director: Peter Weir 
Screenwriter: Peter Weir 
Starring: Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan 
Genre: Drama 
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violent content, depiction of physical hardships, a nude image and brief strong language) 
Plot Summary: "The Way Back" is the fact-based story of the escape of soldiers from a Siberian gulag in 1940. It is based on several sources, most notably the Slavomir Rawicz book "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom." The book is Rawicz's account of being captured by the Red Army in 1939 and his journey to freedom with other inmates. The group crossed the Siberian arctic, the Gobi desert and the Himalayas, finally settling in Tibet and India.