Film Clips: Thor, Something Borrowed and more May 06 2011

This weekend’s openings

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OPENING FRIDAY
THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER (NR) Israel’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film of the 83rd Academy Awards, this tragicomedy follows the HR manager (Mark Ivanir) of a large industrial bakery and his attempts to prevent a scandal.

JUMPING THE BROOM (PG-13) Angela Bassett stars in this light-hearted-looking wedding film about a groom (Laz Alonso) from downtown, a bride (Paula Patton) from uptown, and how their families collide over a long weekend on Martha’s Vineyard.

POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD 3 stars (PG-13) Gonzo documentarian Morgan Spurlock puckishly recounts his effort to secure corporate sponsorship for this film about cinematic product placement. The director of Super Size Me doesn’t so much attack the manipulative effects of advertising as draw attention to its incessant presence in modern life. Spurlock delivers plenty of amusing meta-jokes about selling out, so in The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, he essentially gets to have his pomegranate juice corporate backing and drink it, too. — Curt Holman

SOMETHING BORROWED 2 stars (PG-13) More like Something blew. Insecure, dowdy Rachel (“Big Love’s” Ginnifer Goodwin) wrestles with guilt when she has an affair with Dex (Colin Egglesfield), the fiancée of her overbearingly free-spirited best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson). As a wisecracking pal, “The Office’s” Jon Krasinski is the only cast member allowed to be funny, so this laugh-deficient comedy mostly consists of Hudson behaving like a jerky narcissist and Goodwin and Egglesfield blandly mooning over each other. — Holman

THERE BE DRAGONS (PG-13) The Mission director Roland Joffe helms this biopic of the founder of Opus Dei (played by Wes Bentley) and the conflicts of the Spanish Civil War. Dan Brown fans might recall Opus Dei as the sinister religious organization in The Da Vinci Code, but There Be Dragons reportedly takes a more positive point of view.

THOR 3 stars (PG-13) Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Norse god of thunder, faces exile on Earth as a powerless (but still cut) human as part of the evil scheme of his resentful brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Superfluous 3-D effects and too many characters clutter the latest film in the Marvel Comics “Universe,” but Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh still gives the film the derring-do of an Old Hollywood swashbuckler, with help from Hemsworth’s performance as a god who grows up. Other scene-stealers include Natalie Portman’s astrophysicist, Idris Elba’s celestial sentry and a marauding suit of armor called The Destroyer. — Holman

WINTER IN WARTIME In Nazi-occupied Holland 14-year-old Michiel comes face to face with the harsh reality of war. Michiel’s involvement with the Resistance thrusts him into adulthood without warning as he struggles to distinguish between good and evil.


DULY NOTED
ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL (NR) For its 35th year, the Atlanta Film Festival presents 125 narrative and documentary features and short films. The cinematic celebration includes special programs devoted to music, sports, gay issues and locally made movies via the “Georgia on Our Mind Film Series. Through May 7. Prices and times vary. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. 678-495-1424. atlantafilmfestival.com.

GHOULIES (1985) A surprise hit on home video, this cheapie horror-comedy depicts a band of impish demons unleashed by foolhardy devil worshippers. Splatter Cinema. Tue., May 10, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990) The Plaza Theatre teams up with Criminal Records to celebrate Free Comic Book Day with a screening of the first live-action film about the unaccountably popular mutant kung fu reptiles. Cowabunga. Sat, May 7, 3 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.