reel to reel | Week of August 4, 2011

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reel to reel For a list of local movie times visit boulderweekly.comAdventureland

Unable to afford the vacation he’d dreamed of, recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) takes a gig at a local amusement park, only to learn that the dead-end job is actually good preparation for the real world. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Another Earth

In the sci-fi drama Another Earth, Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a bright young woman accepted into MIT’s astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. A brilliant composer, John Burroughs (William Mapother), has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child with his loving wife. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Art of the Steal

A not-to-be-missed look at one of the art world’s most fascinating controversies and a celebrated selection at the Toronto, New York and AFI Film Festivals, The Art of the Steal chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of art valued at more than $25 billion. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Babe: Pig in the City

After winning the sheepherding contest, Babe comes home to the reality that Farmer and Mrs. Hoggett may lose their land. The prize porker and Mrs. Hoggett go to the big city in a desper ate attempt to save the farm but become separated. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Ballet: Mediterranea

Mauro Bigonzetti renews the production of Mediterranea at La Scala while maintaining its strength and colors, and the sense of travel through the musical cultures of the countries that face each other on the Mare Nostrum. Musical genres range from popular Turkish music to Ligeti and Mozart to archaic Grecian melodies. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest is a documentary film directed by Michael Rapaport about one of the most influential and groundbreaking musical groups in hip-hop history. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Beginners

Beginners imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion and surprises of love. Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father, Hal, has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who — following 44 years of marriage — came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Carrie

Carrie (Sissy Spacek) may be ostracized, but the  shy teen has the ability to move objects with her mind. So when the high school “in crowd” torments her with a sick joke at the prom, she lashes out with devastating — and deadly — power.

At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Buck

Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback, travels the country for nine months a year helping horses with people problems. Buck follows Brannaman from his abusive childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Captain America: The First Avenger

Steve Rogers is a scrawny guy who is transformed into a World War II super-soldier in Captain America: The First Avenger, the latest comic book adaptation to invade theaters. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Detroit Free Press/ MCT

Cars 2

Anthropomorphic automobiles head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix in this sequel to the 2006 animated film Cars. Rated G. At Flatiron and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

The Change-Up

Two friends — a married lawyer and a freewheeling slacker — somehow switch bodies and try to avoid ruining each other’s lives. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Cowboys & Aliens

See full review Page 37. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Think Eat Pray Love for guys. This comedy centers on a happily married Cal (Steve Carell), whose world unravels when he finds out his high-schoolsweetheart wife (Julianne Moore) is cheating on him and wants a divorce. Suddenly Cal must learn to navigate the treacherous waters of the dating pool, with the help of his overeager wingman Jacob (Ryan Gosling, in a rare comic turn), who believes there are possibilities for romance everywhere. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Friends with Benefits

“No relationship. No emotions. Just sex!” So says the website art director played by Justin Timberlake to the executive headhunter played by Mila Kunis. She’s up for it. Why not throw in some intercourse? The script has a serrated edge, and the filmmakers try to make something more authentic than we’re used to seeing in this genre. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square, and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

Fright Night

When 17-year-old Charley (William Ragsdale) discovers that his handsome, charming next-door neighbor Jerry (Chris Sarandon) is actually a bloodthirsty vampire, he enlists the aid of Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a has-been horror film actor who now hosts “Fright Night,” a local TV show. Together, the duo set out to rid Charley of his coffin-dwelling neighbor. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Grapes of Wrath

John Ford’s version of John Steinbeck’s novel is deeply atmospheric. It was filmed by the great Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane) and it’s made with great feeling for the dispossessed. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

In the new film, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is still hunting Horcruxes, which contain amounts of Voldemort’s (played by Ralph Fiennes) soul. The so-called Elder Wand, stolen from the crypt of Harry’s mentor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), must be put into the right hands. Smart yet not slavish direction, and the still-perfect casting from way back when, make this final chapter an entertaining and satisfying success. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

Horrible Bosses

We’ve all had them. We’ve all had to suffer their indignities — or else just quit our jobs. But three friends come up with an alternative to dealing with their monstrous bosses with the help of an ex-con. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century and Colony Square. — Rene Rodriguez

Independence Day

When aliens in enormous spacecraft suddenly arrive in Earth’s atmosphere and start blowing things up, it falls to a cocky pilot (Will Smith) and a goofy scientist (Jeff Goldblum) to save the planet from total devastation and destruction. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Man Who Fell To Earth

Space oddity David Bowie lands on late-20thcentury Earth from a drought-stricken planet, seeking water and help for what remains of his civilization. His highly advanced technology allows him to become a wealthy industrialist (a forerunner to certain Californian entrepreneurs), but American decadence — including television, booze, sex and stock issues — proves to have a much stronger gravitational pull. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Midnight in Paris

A lark, a souffle, a delightful shaggy-dog story with Owen Wilson as its shaggy hero. What’s he doing in a Woody Allen movie about a B-list screenwriter who time-travels from the present to the Jazz Age? Disarming the audience with his wistful joie de vivre, that’s what. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square, Flatiron and Mayan. — Carrie Rickey

Nora’s Will

Nora had a plan. It would bring her ex-husband, Jose, and the rest of their family together for a magnificent Passover feast. But there is a flaw in her plan — a mysterious photograph from the past, hidden under the bed, which leads Jose to reexamine their relationship and rediscover their undying love for each other. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Opera: Nabucco

Nabucco follows the plight of the Jews as they are assaulted, conquered and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the King Nabucco. Historical events are used as background for a romantic and political plot. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Page One: Inside The New York Times

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, Page One: Inside the New York Times deftly gains unprecedented access to The New York Times newsroom. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry. At Boedecker and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax­. — Landmark Theatres

Predator

Two real-life governors — Arnold Schwarzenegger (Dutch) and Jesse Ventura (Sgt. Blain) — use their muscled intellects to pursue a force more sinister than state budget crises: an otherworldly creature deep in the jungle. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Queen of the Sun: What the Bees are Telling Us

Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Genetic experiments on primates lead to them developing intelligence and eventually battling humans for supremacy. Rated PG. At Flatiron, Century and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

Sarah’s Key

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a 10-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard — their secret hiding place — and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released. Sixty-seven years later: Sarah’s story intertwines with that of an American journalist investigating the roundup. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Smurfs

See full review Page 37. Rated PG. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

In 19th-century China, 7-year-old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong — or “old sames” — bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Tabloid

Thirty years before the antics of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears were regular gossip fodder, Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney made her mark as a tabloid staple ne plus ultra. Academy Awardwinner Errol Morris’ documentary follows the salacious adventures of this beauty queen with an IQ of 168 whose single-minded devotion to the man of her dreams leads her across the globe, into jail, and onto the front page. At Esquire­. — Landmark Theatres

Terminator 2

A sequel to the sci-fi action thriller that made him and star Arnold Schwarzenegger A-list Hollywood names, writer/director James Cameron upped the ante with this follow-up by employing a more sweeping storyline and cutting-edge special effects. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Terri

A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, Terri, directed by Azazel Jacobs (Momma’s Man) and produced by the team behind Blue Valentine and Half Nelson, is a moving and often funny film about the relationship between Terri (Jacob Wysocki), an oversized teen misfit, and the loquacious but well-meaning vice principal (John C. Reilly) who reaches out to him. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

In this third installment, we learn that the NASA space program was a cover-up that allowed the crew of Apollo 11 to explore the alien ruins on the dark side of the moon. Michael Bay continues to offer up soulless and frenetic trash. PG-13 At Flatiron, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

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 eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Vincent Wants to Sea

Embattled by the embarrassing symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome, Vincent (Florian David Fitz) has just lost his mother. His burdened father (Heino Ferch), an ambitious politician running for office, sends him off to a rehabilitation clinic where he will learn how to manage his twitches, tics and ill-timed but unpremeditated verbal outbursts. At the clinic Vincent finds solace in Marie (Karoline Herfurth), a feisty anorexic whose partiality for spontaneous adventure happens to coincide with Vincent’s objective of getting to the Mediterranean Sea to spread his mother’s ashes and fulfill her last wish: to see the water one last time.At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Winnie the Pooh

Disney’s latest revival, and musical homage, to A.A. Milne’s loveable bear is longer on charm than it is on laughs. Or length. The bear is out of honey, “and a Pooh bear takes care of his tummy.” But Pooh also has “a very important thing to do.” Sad old Eeyore (voiced by Bud Luckey) has lost his tail, and the gang makes various plans to round up a replacement. Rated G. At Flatiron, Century. — Roger Moore

Winter in Wartime

Nazi-occupied Holland, 1945. In a snow-covered village, 13-year-old Michiel is drawn into the Resistance when he aids a wounded British paratrooper. Michiel‘s boyish sense of defiance and adventure soon turns to danger and desperation, as he is forced to act without knowing whom to trust among the adults and townspeople around him. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

White Material

From Claire Denis, the incomparable director of Beau Travial, L’Intrus, and 35 Shots of Rum, comes White Material — a rich and thrilling account of a woman driven to the edge. An official selection of the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals, the film is a riveting exploration of the complexities of racial conflict and the limits of human will.

At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Zookeeper

Kevin James stars as the title character, a guy getting questionable romantic advice from the talking animals in his care. A comedy that smells like the monkey house. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks. — David Hiltbrand

Zazie dans le Metro

This merry farce depicts a satirical view of French society. Twelve-year-old Zazie must stay for two days with her relatives in Paris so her mother can spend time with her lover. Zazie escapes her uncle’s custody, setting out to explore Paris on her own. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater