THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Peter Parker gets a new look (and an origin story) in this Marvel remake of everyone’s favorite web slinger. Unlike Toby Maguire’s emo-esque rendition of the wall-crawler, actor Andrew Garfield’s portayal hopes to bring Spidey back to his roots with more wit and fewer tears. Rated PG-13. At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square.
BALLPLAYER: PELOTERO
This compelling documentary narrated by John Leguizamo is a gritty and never before seen look inside the world of Major League Baseball (MLB) training camps in the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel and Jean Carlos are two of the top prospects at an MLB training camp, and they are both about to turn 16, which means they can be signed to an MLB farm team and ultimately move up to the majors. Filmmakers Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley take you inside this never-before-seen world for an up close and personal look at the cost of the American dream. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), a 6-year-old girl, exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality.
At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres
BERNIE
Filmmaker Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunset) returns to his Texas roots for this delightfully poker-faced black comedy — based on a true story — about East Texas assistant funeral home director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black). Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Driven by her cruelty to put four bullets in her, Bernie goes to great lengths to keep up the illusion that she’s still alive. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
A group of British retirees (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith) decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find the place a shell of its former self. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres
BRAVE
Brazenly red-headed Merida, princess, skilled archer and general nuisance at the royal dinner table, accidentally unleashes a curse on her kingdom. She then fights bravely — get it? — to defend her kingdom. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
A CAT IN PARIS
An Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature, A Cat in Paris is a beautifully hand-drawn caper set in the shadow drenched alleyways of Paris. Dino is a pet cat that leads a double life. By day he lives with Zoe, a little mute girl whose mother, Jeanne, is a detective in the Parisian police force. But at night he sneaks out the window to work with Nico — a slinky cat burglar with a big heart. At Boedecker — Boedecker Theater
CINEMA Q FILM FESTIVAL
Join the Denver Film Society this summer to celebrate queer cinema with the third annual Cinema Q Film Festival taking place at the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax July 14-17. Cinema Q presents the best of the best in film that covers every aspect of the LGBTQ community and introduces new visionaries, pays tribute to iconic staples, tells stories from around the world and connects people with a common message of identity and understanding. This year’s films include Cloudburst, Facing Mirrors, Gayby, Go Fish, I Want Your Love, Jack & Diane, Jobriath A.D., Keep The Lights On, Mosquita Y Maria, Spend The Night With Christeene, Trans, Question One, United in Anger and Vito. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
THE CORE
The Earth’s inner core has stopped spinning, and scientist Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) must discover why — before the world literally falls apart — by burrowing into the planet’s center in a vessel piloted by Maj. Beck Childs (Hilary Swank) and Col. Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood). Once there, Keyes and his team of researchers will detonate a device that they hope will get the world to turn again … before it’s too late. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
ELENA
Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov) and Elena (Nadezhda Markina) uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment — he’s a stillvirile, wealthy businessman; she’s his dowdy former nurse who has clearly “married up.” When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan. At Chez Artiste — Landmark Theatres.
FIRST POSITION
Follow in the inspirational footsteps of six talented ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19, as they struggle to maintain form in the face of injury and personal sacrifice on their way to one of the most prestigious youth ballet competitions in the world. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater
FOOTNOTE
This is the tale of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. We see insane academic competition, the dichotomy between admiration and envy for a role model, and several very complicated family relationships. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater
GOODBYE FIRST LOVE
Fifteen-year-old Camille is a serious, intensely focused girl who has fallen in love with cheerful Sullivan, an older boy who reciprocates her feelings, mostly, but wants to be free to explore the world. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Director Christopher Nolan’s D.C. superhero legacy comes to an end as unwelcome and reluctant hero Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) dons his cape and deepens his voice once more. Batman battles for the future of Gotham against ruthless criminal Bane (Tom Hardy) with the help of the “catty” Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square.
HEADHUNTERS
Based on Jo Nesbø’s best-selling thriller, the film stars the talented Aksel Hennie as a charming scoundrel and Norway’s most accomplished headhunter. He is living a life of luxury well beyond his means, and stealing art to subsidize his expensive lifestyle. When his beautiful gallery owner wife introduces him to a former mercenary in the possession of an extremely valuable painting, he decides
to risk it all to get his hands on it, and in doing so discovers something that makes him a hunted man. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater
ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT 3D
The endless chase for that acorn has continental ramifications. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
THE INTOUCHABLES
The Intouchables, by French writer/directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, is the inspiring true story of two men who should never have met — a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres
KATY PERRY: PART OF ME
A 3-D motion picture that goes backstage with Katy Perry to cover her year of sparkling stardom. A fan pleaser, and a bone thrown to those fans of celebrity culture, but yet another summer film to dodge for cinophiles. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
KUMARE
Kumaré is a wise guru from the East who indoctrinated a group of followers in the West. Kumaré, however, is not real — he is the alter ego of American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi who impersonated a spiritual leader for the sake of a social experiment designed to challenge one of the most widely accepted taboos: that only a tiny “1 percent” can connect the rest of the world to a higher power.
At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED 3D
The quest continues as zoo animals struggle to return to New York. This time, the path from Africa to America swings through Europe and tags along with a traveling circus. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
MAGIC MIKE
While it would be great to think that a movie about male strippers would be for women what movies like Striptease and Showgirls were for men, the loose threads of a plotline here suggest that Magic Mike really is just about encouraging more men to womanize and more women to fall for their ploys.
Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
MONSIEUR LAZHAR
Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) plays the title character in Monsieur Lazhar, a film that deals with grief in a way that feels surprisingly upbeat. As an Algerian immigrant who inherits a classroom of children whose last teacher killed herself while on the clock, Lazhar works through his own personal loss while helping them come to grips with theirs. At Denver FilmCenter. — Landmark Theaters
MOONRISE KINGDOM
Once more, writer/director Wes Anderson dips his stylish pen into murky, melancholy tales of whimsy. This time out, the Royal Tenenbaums auteur follows a young “Khaki Scout” who flees from his troop and troop leader (Edward Norton) while camping on an island to unite with his prepubescent and troubled gal pal. Her parents, played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, and the island cop (Bruce Willis) give chase in this Instagram fairy tale. At Century and Mayan. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.
MULHOLLAND DR.
A woman is abandoned on Mulholland Drive in Hollywood following a car accident. Suffering from amnesia, she makes her way to an apartment where she meets an aspiring actress who helps her put the pieces of her life back together. Mulholland Dr. marks a return to form for director David Lynch (Eraserhead, Lost Highway), whose twisted film recalls the best of Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, blended into an epic, mind-boggling mystery tale spiced with black comedy. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres
MY LOVELY SISTER
Marco Carmel’s My Lovely Sister is a charming and beautifully acted film about the love and hate between two sisters, based on a Moroccan Jewish (Mizrahi) folk tale. The film is infused with a whimsical, supernatural component that elevates the content. It’s also, in a sly way, a pointedly political film about an issue that is generally taboo in Israeli society. While this is not a preachy film about intermarriage and assimilation, it does deal with a real question that complicates Israeli life: What happens when Jews and Arabs become close enough to fall in love? At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
NEIL YOUNG JOURNEYS
In May of 2011, Neil Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario, to downtown Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, where he intimately performed the last two nights of his solo world tour. Along the drive, Young recounted insightful and introspective stories from his youth to filmmaker Jonathan Demme, a longtime friend, fan and collaborator. At Esquire.
— Landmark Theatres
OPERA: LA TRAVIATA
Hugo De Ana’s larger-than-life production is “compelling … a triumph,” (The Opera Critic) when it fills the stage at the Arena di Verona, Italy. Albanian lyric soprano Ermonela Jaho, hailed as a “revelation” in the role of Violetta, is paired with Sardinian tenor Francesco Demuro as her impassioned lover, Alfredo. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater
PEOPLE LIKE US
His father’s sudden death brings 20-something Sam home, where a family secret forces him to reconsider his life choices. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square.
PROMETHEUS 3D
Mid-21st-century anthropologists discover cave paintings in Great Britain that share impossible similarities to other cave paintings across the world. The reason? Aliens! Humanity sends a spaceship out to the likely source of the alien life, and chaos ensues. All the stars aligned for Ridley Scott’s first science fiction film since the 1982 classic Blade Runner to be a great film, but Prometheus is nothing but a black hole of undeveloped characters and gaping plot gaffes. Rated R. At Century. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.
SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
In the scrappy romantic comedy Safety Not Guaranteed, an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle Magazine employees (Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni) to look for the story behind it. They discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he’s solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society
SAVAGES
See full review page 40. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
TAKE THIS WALTZ
When Margot (Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine), 28, meets handsome artist Daniel (Luke Kirby), their chemistry is intense and immediate. But Margot suppresses her sudden attraction; she is happily married to Lou (Seth Rogen), a cookbook writer. When Margot learns that Daniel lives across the street from them, the certainty about her domestic life shatters. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres
TED
John, an awkward 30-something with a dead end job (Mark Wahlberg), has his world turned upside down when his girlfriend (played by Mila Kunis) gives him an ultimatum: Ditch the best friend, a teddy bear (voiced by Seth McFarlane) who miraculously came to life when John was a child, or lose the girl. Rated R. At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.
TO ROME WITH LOVE
While Rome is a city abundant with romance and comedy, To Rome With Love is about people having adventures that will change their lives forever. Directed by Woody Allen. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theaters
YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
Mark Duplass (co-director of Jeff, Who Lives at Home and Cyrus) stars as Jack, a slacker who’s still emotionally unstable a year after his brother Tom’s death. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Tom’s ex-girlfriend, Iris (Emily Blunt), offers her family cabin in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. There, he runs into Iris’ sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), a lesbian reeling from the abrupt end of a seven-year relationship. At Century and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theaters
