The Smell of Success (2011) Movie Preview

A decidedly irreverent satire about the wages of greed and an enchanting comic adventure that riffs on an iconic theme – the American salesman – with a twist. For this tale of door-to-door marketers takes place in a world heretofore never seen on screen: that of 1960s manure salesmen, AKA “the Men of Manure.” Having brought to life an original assortment of American misfits and dreamers, with “The Smell of Success” now turns an unabashedly comic eye to the wonders of the American wasteland… literally.

It all begins when a tragic fan accident ends the life of Mr. Roses, the scientific genius behind Roses Manure Company, forcing his cosmetics salesgirl daughter Rosemary (TÉA LEONI) to take control of the company. Rosemary isn’t sure if she has a nose for the family business, but when she discovers the company is about to go under, she is determined to find a way to turn the foul into financial profits. To do so, she’s going to need the help of her father’s best salesmen — led by the steely-eyed; silver tongued Patrick Fitzpatrick (BILLY BOB THORNTON) for whom “bull” is not just a product but an art form – even if they don’t exactly trust a lady in charge.

But the times, they are a changing and so is the business. When the suspiciously clean-cut Jimmy St. James (KYLE MACLACHAN) and his band of slick salesmen drop into town ready to take over with their newfangled “fertilizer” and fancy marketing techniques, it becomes clear that Rosemary’s quest is no longer simply about selling as much crap as she can. It’s all-out war.

Protektor (2011) Movie Preview

A Czech journalist joins a Prague radio station what broadcasts Nazi propaganda in order to protect his Jewish wife. However, as the Nazi rule over Czechoslovakia calls for more and more collaboration, his relationship with his wife spirals downward.

Habermann (2011) Movie Preview

German mill owner spends WWII trying to save his wife, daughter and Czech workers from Nazi terror, but faces his own tragic end in an unexpected way. The film is based on true events surrounding the expulsion of Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia in 1945.

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2011) Movie Preview

From a young man in Nazi-occupied Paris to the sultry crooner who bedded Brigitte Bardot and married Jane Birkin to the vulnerable poet hidden behind a shroud of provocation—Serge Gainsbourg’s is a life large enough for grand treatment on film. One of France’s greatest mavericks is brought back to life (uncannily, by Eric Elmosnino) in this imaginative and visually flamboyant film debut from one of France’s greatest cartoonists. In French with English subtitles.

Life 2.0 (2011) Movie Preview

This feature-length documentary follows a group of people whose lives are dramatically transformed by a virtual world — reshaping relationships, identities, and ultimately the very notion of reality.

Mysteries of Lisbon (2011) Movie Preview

Raul Ruiz’s masterful adaptation of the eponymous nineteenth-century Portuguese novel (by Camilo Castelo Branco) evokes the complex intertwined narratives of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens. The core story centers on Joao, the bastard child of an ill-fated romance between two members of the aristocracy who are forbidden to marry, and his quest to discover the truth of his parentage. But this is just the start of an engrossing tale that follows a multitude of characters whose fates conjoin, separate and then rejoin again over three decades in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.

Special Treatment (2011) Movie Preview

A high class prostitute (Isabelle Huppert) and an eminent psychoanalyst discover that they share many things in common. They are both unhappy with their professions, seeking a way out that involves unique contact with each other’s worlds.

A clown and an abusive sociopath vie for the attentions of a beautiful woman in this metaphorical drama from filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia. In 1938, civil war is raging in Spain, and the performers with a traveling circus are confronted by a band of Partisans who want them to fight against Franco — or else. While the circus artists fight bravely, they’re no match for the fascist leader’s army, and many meet a bloody fate while others, like the Stupid Clown (Santiago Segura), end up in prison. The clown asks his young son, Javier, to avenge him someday, and in 1973, Javier (Carlos Areces) becomes a clown himself, working with a traveling carnival alongside Sergio (Antonio de la Torre), a man with an ugly and violent nature. Sergio has a girlfriend, a lovely trapeze artist named Natalia (Carolina Bang), who lives under his constant threats and abuse, and Javier soon falls for her. While Javier hates Sergio for what he does to Natalia, he has a hard time working up the courage to stand up to the bully, much as his father was hard-pressed to stop Franco’s violent minions. Balada Triste de Trompeta (aka The Last Circus) earned Álex de la Iglesia prizes for Best Screenplay and Best Direction at the 2010 Venice Film Festival.

Griff the Invisible (2011) Movie Preview

Griff, office worker by day, superhero by night, has his world turned upside down when he meets Melody, a beautiful young scientist who shares his passion for the impossible.

The Caller (2011) Movie Preview

Starring Stephen Moyer (True Blood) and Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight), this supernatural thriller tells the story of troubled divorcee Mary Kee (Leferve) who is tormented by a series of sinister phone calls from a mysterious woman. When the stranger reveals she’s calling from the past, Mary tries to break off contact. But the caller doesn’t like being ignored, and looks for revenge in a unique and terrifying way.

Atrocious (2011) Movie Preview

Directed by first-time helmer Fernando Barreda Luna and produced by Octavi Martínez, David Sanz, and Jessica Villegas Lattuada, After its international premiere, the film screened at Slamdance this past January, garnering a tide of online buzz and comparisons to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The film centers on the Spanish police’s discovery of hours of recorded evidence that shed new light on a gruesome murder investigation. The found footage documents a family’s summer holiday, where a brother and sister investigate a terrifying local urban legend. As their investigation intensifies, strange occurrences in and around the house escalate rapidly, before culminating in unspeakable atrocities.