reel to reel | Week of Jan. 26, 2012

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3 Superstars in Berlin

Three of the biggest names in opera come together for a once in a lifetime performance. At Boedecker Theater and Chez Artiste. — Boedecker Theater

16 Love

Sixteen-year-old Ally “Smash” Mash lives between the carefully painted white lines of Junior Tennis. Unbeaten and about to go pro, she has no time for lazy newcomer Farrell Gambles. But when fate and a twisted ankle intervene, she teaches Farrell what it takes to win on the court, and he shows her how to live off of it. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Adventures of Tintin

When an intrepid young reporter purchases a model ship that holds the key to a mystery, he and his dog embark on a globe-trotting adventure. Rated PG. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

A group of talking chipmunks and their human companions get shipwrecked on a remote island. Rated G. At Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Artist

Hollywood 1927. Silent movie matinee idol George Valentin is enjoying the good life, although he seems fonder of his faithful dog than of his trophy wife. He meets funny, sexy young extra Peppy Miller, a dancer set for a big break, and sparks fly. With the advent of the talkies George’s career nosedives, while Peppy’s takes off. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Beauty and the Beast

A three-dimensional version of the classic animated tale about a princess taken captive by a monster who may be more than meets the eye. Rated G. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Bridesmaids

Named her best friend’s maid of honor, down-on-her-luck Annie’s competition with a fellow bridesmaid, the wealthy and beautiful Helen, threatens to destroy the wedding.

At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Conquest

Review unavailable. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax.

Contraband

A former international smuggler is forced to re-enter the criminal underground to settle his brother-in-law’s debt and protect his own family. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

A Dangerous Method

Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous

Method takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships among fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

The Descendants

From Alexander Payne, creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, comes The Descendants, a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney), a distracted husband and back-up parent to two girls who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a life-threatening boating accident off of Waikiki. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Stephen Daldry (The Hours) directs this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a young boy (Thomas Horn) trying to make sense of the world after his father (Tom Hanks) is killed in the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Sandra Bullock plays his mother and Max Von Sydow is the mysterious neighbor who lives across the street. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, a new feature-length adventure into the world of an international anime sensation. A fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Mikael Blomkvist and his colleague, the heavily pierced bisexual fantasy pin-up

Lisbeth, go about nailing a killer of women. All roads lead to a rich family led by Henrik Vanger, whose relatives have a lot to hide. Director David Fincher is a true talent working with an exceptional cast in this version of Stieg Larsson’s combo of prurience and payoff. Rated R. At Century. — Michael Phillips/TMS

Haywire

See full review Page 39. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Hugo

To write off this dreamy, overwhelmingly beautiful movie as mere kids’ stuff would be an injustice. This adaptation of Brian Selznick’s illustrated children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret (John Logan wrote the screenplay) is as much of a personal Martin Scorsese picture as Raging Bull or Taxi Driver. Rated PG. At Century. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

In the Land of Blood and Honey

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, In the Land of Blood and Honey is the story of Danijel and Ajla, two people from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla, a Bosnian captive in the camp he oversees, knew each other before the war, and could have found love. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss is Werner Herzog’s latest documentary. Never afraid to tackle difficult subjects, he uses a triple homicide case to probe the human psyche and ask why people kill and why a state kills. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Ip Man: The Legend Is Born

After Donnie Yen decided to leave the series after the first two films about the real-life master Ip Man (1893-1972), who

popularized the Wing Chun style of martial arts and famously taught Bruce Lee, producers rebooted to give us the early years.

Ip Man: The Legend Is Born stars a young, charismatic Yen look-alike (Yu-Hang To), features a great cameo by the real Ip Man’s 86-year-old son, Ip Chun (he’s Ip Man’s teacher after-hours during his Western-style Hong Kong schooling). At International Film Series — IFS

The Iron Lady

This biopic presents a portrait of Margaret Thatcher, the only woman to be prime minister of the United Kingdom. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Mayan. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance

The film documents how the Joffrey Ballet revolutionized American ballet by daringly combining modern dance with traditional ballet technique, combining art with social statement and setting ballets to pop and rock music scores. The film features rare excerpts from many seminal Joffrey works, including Astarte, Trinity and Billboards. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Joyful Noise

The two leading ladies of a small-town Georgia choir butt heads while trying to win a national singing competition. With Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Last Wild Race/Farther Than the Eye Can See

The Last Wild Race is a multi-award-winning film that follows 56 adventurers from across the globe as they converge on Chilean Patagonia for the last wild race on the planet. Farther Than the Eye Can See follows Erik Weihenmayer’s successful climb of Mount Everest. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Margin Call

A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis. — Boedecker Theater

Melancholia

Justine and Michael are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire, and brother-in-law John. Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly toward Earth. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax and International Film Series. — Landmark Theatres

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

The latest in the “M:I” franchise begins with a Moscow prison break, proceeds to a terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, skedaddles off to Dubai and the world’s tallest building, and then heads to Mumbai, chasing nuclear madmen, goons and Mrs. Patton’s cleavage.

Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS

My Week With Marylin

In the early summer of 1956, 23-year-old Colin Clark came down from Oxford determined to make his way in the film business. He worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Arthur Miller. Nearly 40 years on, his diary account The Prince, the Showgirl and Me was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as My Week with Marilyn. This is the story of that week. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Opera: Tristan und Isolde

This is widely acknowledged as one of the peaks of the operatic repertory. Past performances of this long and demanding piece have claimed the lives of one performer in the role of Tristan, and two conductors, each of them collapsing during the second act. Starring Ian Storey and Waltraud Meier. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Pariah

A good student at her local high school with a flair for poetry, Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Paul Goodman Changed my Life

Review unavailable. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax.

Red Desert

This provocative look at the spiritual desolation of the technological age — about a disaffected woman, brilliantly portrayed by Antonioni muse Monica Vitti, wandering through a bleak industrial landscape beset by power plants and environmental toxins, and tentatively flirting with her husband’s coworker, played by Richard Harris — continues to keep viewers spellbound. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax and International Film Series. — Denver Film Society

Red Tails

See full review Page 39. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Shame

Brandon shuns intimacy with women but feeds his desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his wayward younger sister moves into his apartment, stirring memories of their shared painful past, Brandon’s insular life spirals out of control. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

If you enjoyed the first Guy Ritchie retelling of Sherlock, then you’ll likely leave the sequel feeling satiated. If you hated the first one, you’ll probably find so little pleasure in this that, sometime around the seventh gamerstyle action sequence, you may ponder: Is this doing permanent damage to the medium? At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/MCT

Star Trek II – Wrath Of Khan

While some people were dreaming of a White Christmas, Denver Film Society was dreaming of Ricardo Monteban’s bare shaven chest, William Shatner screaming and giant brain-devouring bugs, and apparently they WERE good this year because Santa gave them the rights to show STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN! At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Sundance Shorts

One of the most eagerly anticipated shows on any IFS schedule is the Sundance Shorts program. Patrons brave the January snows and winds to warm up with the funny, moving, and insightful short films. At International Film Series — IFS

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the feature film version of John le Carré’s classic bestselling thriller. The Cold War of the mid-20th century continues to threaten international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the family’s eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

Underworld: Awakening

After skipping the previous film, Kate Beckinsale returns to the werewolf-versusvampire franchise she helped make famous, this time joining forces with her lycanthrope pals to bag the most dangerous game of all: humans. Rated R. At Century, Coloney Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

War Horse

Steven Spielberg’s enthusiasm and excitement glows in every single frame of War Horse. There isn’t a moment in the movie where you don’t feel Spielberg’s passion for this simple story, and this time, the film is worthy of his enthusiasm. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Way

Martin Sheen plays an American doctor who comes to France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago. Rather than return home, he decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

We Bought a Zoo

Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is a widower with two children who quits his job and, searching for a fresh start for his preteen daughter, played by Maggie Elizabeth Jones, along with his grieving son, played by Colin Ford, finds exactly what he wasn’t looking for: a zoo on the skids. Scarlett Johansson plays the head zookeeper, conveniently single. Damon deftly stays true and above the corn. Rated PG. At Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips/TMS