Reel to reel

0

6 MONTH RULE

A realistic, funny and, at times, heartbreaking look at dating, love and friendship told from the point of view of Tyler, a perpetual bachelor. Tyler follows a set of rules specifically designed to help him avoid emotional attachment. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

THE AVENGERS 3D

A team of superheroes including Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Thor unite to save the world. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

BATTLESHIP

The classic naval combat game brought to life with plenty of visual effects and slowmotion action sequences. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square.

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 Century and 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 seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find the place a shell of its former self. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW

Panos Cosmatos’ moody sci-fi head trip is set within the confines of a stark and sterile laboratory circa 1983, where Dr. Barry Nyle is conducting tests on a young subject, a quiet and stunned girl named Elena. This human guinea pig is becoming aware of a power hidden deep inside of her. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

CASABLANCA

Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

CHELY WRIGHT: WISH ME AWAY

The story of Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as gay. Over three years, the filmmakers were given extraordinary access to Chely’s struggle and her unfolding plan to come out publicly. Using interviews with Chely, her family, her pastor and key players in Nashville interwoven with Chely’s intimate private video diaries, the film goes deep into her back story and then forward as she steps into the national spotlight. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax — Denver Film Society

DARK SHADOWS

A vampire (Johnny Depp) is freed from his tomb after two centuries and set loose in the world of 1972. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

DERBY BABY

If you’ve attended a women’s roller derby bout in the sport’s post-modern incarnation, you’ve seen the love, the pure addiction that drives tens of thousands of women around the globe to don fishnets, pseudonyms and the privilege of kicking each other’s asses. Emmy-winning filmmakers Robin Bond and Dave Wruck take you on a quest to learn why women’s flat track roller derby is the most controversial and fastest-growing sport in the world. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax — Denver Film Society

DETACHMENT

Oscar winner Adrian Brody plays a substitute teacher who conveniently avoids emotional connections by drifting from classroom to classroom. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

THE DICTATOR

Sacha Baron Cohen is back with a character that sports a funny accent and antagonizes others. Shock! But unlike Borat,

Admiral General Aladeen is neither revealing nor inherently hilarious. In what could have been a powerful and insightful statement in the wake of the Arab Spring is mostly a tired retread of moderately funny vulgar jokes. Rated PG-13. At Century. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

FIRST POSITION

Every year, thousands of aspiring dancers enter one of the world’s most prestigious ballet competitions, the Youth America Grand Prix, where lifelong dreams are at stake. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Frank (Joel Murray) has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture, which he sees as overrun with cruelty, stupidity and intolerance. Divorced, recently fired and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking his own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stupidest, most intolerant people he can imagine. Frank finds an unusual accomplice in a high school student named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), and they embark on a nationwide assault on our country’s dumbest, most irritating celebrities. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax — Denver Film Society

HEADHUNTERS

Headhunters is an intense action thriller, as well as a provocative investigation into questions of betrayal, revenge and deadly ambition. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

HUNGER GAMES

In the post-apocalyptic ruins of North America, a teenage girl competes in a nationally televised battle to the death against 23 of her peers. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

HYSTERIA

A lighthearted romantic comedy that tells the surprising story of the birth of the electro-mechanical vibrator at the very peak of Victorian prudishness. At Esquire — Landmark Theatres

I WISH

Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and grandparents in a small town by a smoking volcano. His parents’ divorce has split the family, with his younger brother Ryu and their reckless rock musician dad living more than a hundred miles away. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

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. After Driss (Omar Sy) is hired as caretaker for Philippe (François Cluzet), they learn that sometimes you have to reach into someone else’s world to find what’s missing in your own. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

LOST BOHEMIA

For more than 100 years artists and performers have lived and worked in the 165 studios atop Carnegie Hall, including Marilyn Monroe, Isadora Duncan, Barnett Newman, Norman Mailer, Marlon Brando, George Balanchine and Bill Cunningham. As the tenants were evicted to make room for renovations, Josef Birdman Astor began to film his vanishing neighbors, showing the power and frailty of this arts community. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANT- ED 3D

The quest continues for Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the Giraffe as they 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.

MEN IN BLACK III

Seeing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as Agent J and Agent K, two representatives from a clandestine organization that protects us from aliens, is nothing new. But the addition of Josh Brolin as a younger version of Agent K and a surprisingly fun screenplay is something entirely different for the franchise.

Let’s not call it good, but it’s light years from bad. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

MONSIEUR LAZHAR

See full review page 44. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, director/ co-writer Wes Anderson’s comic romance/drama tells the story of two 12-year-olds, Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in every which way. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

OPERA: ANNA BOLENA – MAGGIO MUSI- CALE FIORENTINO

Envelope-pushing director Graham Vick describes his production of Anna Bolena as “two women making use of the bed to get to the throne, and a man making use of the throne to get to the bed.” The man, of course, is Henry VIII. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

PAYBACK

A glance at the headlines from Europe, the news from Washington or this month’s bills will confirm that we live in an age of debt, a concept at once straightforward and almost metaphysically complex. Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s book by the same title. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax and Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING

Jane Fonda makes a triumphant return to the screen in this comedy about reunion and second chances. Catherine Keener stars as Diane, a conservative New York City lawyer who is in desperate need of an escape after her husband asks for a divorce. Along with her two children (Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff), she takes refuge at her estranged hippie mother Grace’s (Fonda) farmhouse. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

POLISSE

The daily grind for the police officers of the Child Protection Unit — taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children and confronting the excesses of teen sexuality; enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax — Denver Film Society

PROMETHEUS 3D

Mid-21st century anthropologists discover cave paintings in Great Britain that share impossible similarities to other cave paintings from the same time period. 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, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

ROCK OF AGES

The scenic tour of the classic age of rock falls flat on originality, but offers some appeal for those not yet tired of the highschool musical motif. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

When Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes imprisonment by the wicked queen (Charlize Theron), she is chased down by the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), which turns out to be a pretty good thing. Featuring most of the same characters and general plot points as the beloved classic story, this retelling slaps a coat of gritty seriousness on the whole affair, resulting in a visually thrilling if overly simple experience. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

THAT’S MY BOY

Adam Sandler as the idiot dad instead of the idiot son or idiot boyfriend. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

TURN ME ON, DAMNIT!

15-year-old Alma (Helene Bergsholm) is consumed by her out-of-control hormones and fantasies that range from sweetly romantic images of Artur, the boyfriend she yearns for, to down-anddirty daydreams about practically everybody she lays eyes on. At Chez Artiste — Landmark Theatres

WE HAVE A POPE

The story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next pope. Never the front runner and completely caught off guard, he panics as he’s presented to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. To prevent a worldwide crisis, the Vatican’s spokesman calls in an unlikely psychiatrist. Playing at Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

WHALEDREAMERS

Julian Lennon co-produced this chronicle of tribal elders from around the world gathering in Australia to celebrate their spiritual relationships with nature, especially the Mirning people’s relationship with whales. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING

The book What to Expect When You’re Expecting is approaching 30 — about time to start bearing its own offspring, though the disjointed high drama of this film may not exactly make a parent proud. The ensemble cast that includes every available face from Jennifer Lopez to Chris Rock leads to heavy-handed dramatics panning in an overall sitcommy film. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.