The BolderLife Festival films are showing this week at the SIE Film Center. For a full listing of the films go to denverfilm.org.
The Anonymous People
Deeply entrenched social stigma have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum created by this silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of addiction that continue to perpetuate a lurid public fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, a grassroots social justice movement is emerging. Courageous addiction recovery advocates have come out of the shadows and are organizing to end discrimination and move toward recoverybased solutions. The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of the citizens, leaders, volunteers, corporate executives and public figures who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement is fueling a changing conversation that aims to transform public opinion. At Boedecker. —Boedecker Theater
Blue Is the Warmest Color (La vie d’Adèle)
This film was the sensation of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival even before it was awarded the coveted Palme d’Or. Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is a young woman whose longings and ecstasies and losses are charted across a span of several years. At 15, she is approaching adulthood and dreams of experiencing her first love. A handsome male classmate falls hard for her, but an unsettling erotic reverie upsets the romance before it begins. Adèle imagines that the mysterious, blue-haired girl she encountered in the street slips into her bed and possesses her with overwhelming pleasure. That blue-haired girl is a confident older art student named Emma (Léa Seydoux), who will soon enter Adèle’s life for real, making way for an intense and complicated love story that is touchingly universal in its depiction.
Rated NC-17. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres
The Book Thief
This film tells the story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a new family in World War II Germany. Young Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) embarks upon a journey marked by discovery, courage, friendship — and the power to triumph over the most daunting obstacles. Rated PG-13. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres
The Broken Circle Breakdown
An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, propelled by a soundtrack of foot-stomping bluegrass, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a romantic melodrama of the highest order. Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight. She has her own tattoo shop and he plays the banjo in a bluegrass band. They bond over their shared enthusiasm for American music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage — but when an unexpected tragedy hits their new family, everything they know and love is tested. NR. At Mayan. —Landmark Theatres
Captain Phillips
This film is director Paul Greengrass’ interpretation of the real-life hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in 2009 by Somali pirates. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
If you and the kids liked the first version, then you’ll no doubt like the second. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks.
Dallas Buyers Club
Matthew McConaughey stars in Dallas Buyers Club as real-life Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose free-wheeling life was overturned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. Rated R. At Esquire, Colony Square and Century. — Landmark Theatres
Delivery Man
Loser David Wozniak (Vince Vaughn) is quietly going about his life when he finds out that the sperm he donated 20 years earlier has created 533 kids. He’s in debt to the mob and his pregnant girlfried finds no humor in his situation. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Ender’s Game
When aliens attack Earth, International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham and Col. Hyrum Graff turn to a young boy, Ender Wiggin, to help them save the planet. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Enough Said
Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a divorced, single parent masseuse who meets Albert (James Gandolfini), a nice guy in the same boat. Love and laughs follow. Rated PG-13. At SIE Film Center.
Free Birds
Two “odd couple” turkeys overcome their many differences to get turkey off of the Thanksgiving menu forever. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square.
Frozen
When the snow queen traps a tiny kingdom in eternal winter, Anna and Kristoff, accompanied by Sven the reindeer and a comical snowman that has trouble keeping his head, set out to end the spell. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Gravity
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this visually stunning film that strands two astronauts in space. Rated PG-13. At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square.
The Great Beauty
Gorgeously photographed in Rome and Tuscany, The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) is a dazzling, lyrical and at times surreal dramatic comedy, like a modern-day La Dolce Vita. The magnetic Toni Servillo plays dapper journalist Jep Gambardella, slick and soulful, who has been a permanent fixture in Rome’s literary and social circles since the legendary success of his one and only novel. When his 65th birthday coincides with a shock from the past, Jep finds himself taking stock of his life. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres
Home Alone
This is the old classic where the kid whose parents deserve prison time for forgetting him while they fly off for a family vacation has to defend his home against inept burglars. Rated PG. At Esquire.
Homefront
After losing his wife, an ex-DEA agent moves with his 10-year-old daughter to a small town to offer her a better way of life, but he picked the wrong town. Let the action begin. Rated R. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Jennifer Lawrence dazzles in this adventure sequel. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Kill Your Darlings
A true story of friendship, love and murder, Kill Your Darlings recounts the pivotal year that changed Allen Ginsberg’s (Daniel Radcliffe) life forever, bringing him together with William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) and Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that would lead to their Beat Revolution. Rated R. At Mayan and Century. — Landmark Theatres.
La Scala Opening Night LIVE: La Traviata
Catch this favorite on La Scalla’s opening night performance, live via satellite. Starring Diana Damrau (2:40, one intermission, Italian with English subtitles). At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Last Vegas
An aging group of friends heads to Vegas to throw a party for the last of their single crew. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks and Colony Square.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
In case you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance. This film tells the story of the White House butler who served eight presidents. Rated PG-13. At Century.
Muscle Shoals
Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Ala., is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America’s most creative and defiant music. At SIE Film Center.
Nature Double-Feature: Fuzzy Baby Animals & Microworlds
Fuzzy Baby Animals features an assortment of animals in cute, cuddly, infant form. Spectacular visuals are coupled with furry little critters to create a riveting, heart-melting picture the entire family will enjoy.
Microworlds examines the patterns, cycles and daily rituals that are repeated on every scale, both in nature and in the lives of all creatures, from the earthworms in our backyards to the alien beauty of a garden snail. (Run time for both combined is 1:00, NR). At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Nebraska
After receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail, a cantankerous father (Bruce Dern) thinks he’s struck it rich, and wrangles his son (Will Forte) into taking a road trip to claim the fortune. Shot in black and white across four states, Nebraska tells the stories of family life in the heartland of America. Rated R. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres
Oldboy
This Spike Lee film is a remake of the provocative South Korean thriller about a man who is suddenly kidnapped and held in isolation for 20 years. He doesn’t know why he has been taken and then, just as mysteriously, he is released. That’s when the real mystery begins. Rated R. At Century.
Out of the Furnace
Christian Bale plays Russell, a blue-collar guy who works at the local steel mill and also takes care of his sick father. When Russell’s brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) comes home from Iraq and gets involved with local bad guys and disappears, it’s up to Russell to solve the case. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
Philomena
This dramatic comedy tells the incredible true story of one mother’s search for her lost son. After becoming pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena was sent to a convent to be looked after as a “fallen woman.” When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns for adoption in America. Philomena (Judi Dench) spent the next 50 years searching for him in vain. Then she met Martin Sixsmith (co-writer Steve Coogan), a world-weary political journalist. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also create an unexpectedly close bond between them. Rated PG-13. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres
RiffTrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Live comic commentary on top of a really bad holiday movie. What’s not to like? NR. At Century
Rising from Ashes — Bike Art Month
This film is a feature-length documentary about two worlds colliding when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda, Africa, to help a group of struggling genocide survivors pursue their dream of a national team. As they set out against impossible odds both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
The Spectacular Now
With sly humor and an intensity of feeling, this film (directed by James Ponsoldt) creates a vivid, three-dimensional portrait of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Thor: The Dark World
Thor battles to save Earth from really bad, evil things … again. It is a sequel after all. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.
Tiger Eyes
This film marks the first major motion picture adaptation from the work of iconic author Judy Blume, whose books have sold more than 82 million copies in 41 countries. Davey is a 17-year-old girl abruptly relocated by her grieving mother to the strange “atom bomb” town of Los Alamos, N.M. With the sudden and violent death of her father, the displaced Davey no longer knows who to be or how to fit in. But when she meets Wolf, a mysterious young Native American, while exploring the surrounding canyons, she feels he is able to see past her pain and into her true self. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Twelve Years a Slave
In the pre-Civil War U.S., Solomon Northup, a free black man, is abducted and sold into slavery. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres
20 Feet from Stardom
Millions know their voices, but no one knows their names. In his compelling new film 20 Feet From Stardom, award-winning director Morgan Neville shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
A Winter of Cyclists: Bike Art Special Screening
This documentary captures the inaugural Icy Bike Winter Commuting Challenge, following 12 cyclists as they attempt to bicycle commute during the winter months. Watch as they challenge each other during the cold, dark and snowy Colorado winter and experience the surprising camaraderie that forms as nearly 200 like-minded riders from across the U.S., Canada and other countries join in the Challenge. For those who cycle in the winter now, this film is a tribute to you. And for those who are considering it, catch a memorable glimpse of what could await you. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater
Additional films showing at SIE Film Center include: Diana; The Motel Life; British Arrow Awards; The Story of Luke.
