Film Clips: Grey Albert on a Ledge for the Money

Quien es mas macho, Liam Neeson, Sam Worthington o Janet McTeer?

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  • Lakeshore Entertainment
  • Katherine Heigl plays an unlikely bail-bonds woman in One for the Money.



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’’ALBERT NOBBS 2 stars (R ) Glenn Close has earned an Academy Award Best Actress nomination for playing the title character, a woman passing as male hotel waiter in 19th century Ireland. Close’s 30-year dedication to bring the character to the big screen doesn’t quite transfer to an engrossing story, although Janet McTeer genuinely earns her supporting actress nomination as another cross-dressing woman who brings masculine swagger to her masquerade. — Curt Holman
’’THE GREY 3 stars (R ) Liam Neeson reaffirms his status as the new Chuck Norris in this icy thriller about oil refinery workers fighting wolves in the Alaskan wilds. Director Joe Carnahan delivers a cracking first hour that features a terrifying plane crash and grisly animal attacks, but the film’s second half slows down considerably to ponder questions of faith and mortality. Neeson’s sorrowful gravity always serves to take the guilt out of his guilty pleasure action films. — Holman
LE HAVRE (NR) Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Leningrad Cowboys Go American’‘) brings his deadpan comedic style to this story of a French shoeshiner who tries to help an immigrant child in the titular port city.
MAN ON A LEDGE 2 stars (PG-13) Disgraced cop turned convict Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthingon) threatens to leap from the ledge of a high-rise Manhattan hotel. Is he really suicidal, or is he part of a complicated heist to clear his good name? Like Worthington struggling with his American accent, Man on a Ledge tries to impersonate earlier, better New York caper flicks like Dog Day Afternoon and Inside Man. Danish director Asger Leth builds suspense in the heist scenes, but doesn’t capture the Big Apple’s colorful character, so everything feels overcooked and slightly phony. It ends on a satisfying note, but Man on a Ledge’’ won’t put on the edge of your seat. — Holman
’’ONE FOR THE MONEY (PG-13) When newly-divorced Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) loses her job at Macy’s, she is left with few options for employment. But when Stephanie finds work at her cousin’s bail-bond business, her first assignment is to track down an old lover (Jason O’Mara) who has skipped out on paying bail.
DULY NOTED
A MOMA TREASURY OF SHORT FILMS (NR) This collection of vintage cinematic short subjects spans from 1903’s iconic “The Great Train Robbery” to the pastel-colored animation of 1936’s “Popeye Meets Sindbad the Sailor” to “Orchard Street’s” silent depiction of the New York shopping district in 1955. A MoMA Treasury of Short Films. Sat., Feb. 4. 2 and 8 p.m. High Museum, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. $5-$7. 404-733-4200. www.high.org’’
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. 31, 9:30 p.m. $8. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.’’ — Holman
SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) Josef von Sternberg directs his sultry muse Marlene Dietrich as a Western prostitute caught up in China’s bloody internal conflicts. Painting With Light. Wed., Feb. 1. 7:30 p.m. Emory Cinematheque. 205 White Hall, 301 Dowman Drive, Emory University. Free. filmstudies.emory.edu/home/events/film-series/emory-cinematheque.html’’
WONDERROOT’S LOCAL FILMMAKERS NIGHT (1952) This evening of short films from Atlanta artists spans from comedy sketches to abstract animation and features Jeff Shipman’s “Superhero” starring local stage actors Allison Hastings and Stacy Melich. Thu., Feb. 2, 10 p.m. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. $6. 404-873-1939. www.plazaatlanta.com.

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