Reel to reel | Week of March 15, 2012

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ACT OF VALOR

After the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of Navy Seals is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt to foil the attack. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

21 JUMP STREET

Two young police officers and ex-classmates go undercover at a local high school to investigate a dangerous drug ring. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

ALBERT NOBBS

Glenn Close stars as a woman forced to live as a man in order to work and survive in 19th-century Ireland. After 30 years, a new love threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build. Rated R. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Two young women who have been friends since childhood are daring in their attempts to gain access to a social class beyond their reach. The film is anchored by the friendship of two central characters, who infuse the story with their daring and dreams. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

ARC & SPROUT FILM FESTIVAL

The first annual Sprout Film Festival showcases work featuring people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as subjects and performers. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax.

THE ARTIST

Silent movie matinee idol George Valentin meets funny, sexy young extra Peppy Miller, a dancer set for a big break, and sparks fly. PG-13. At Century, Chez Artiste, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Landmark Theatres

BATTLE ROYALE

Fearful of their nation’s youth, the Japanese government passes The BR Law: Each year, a ninth grade class is sent to a remote island where they will be locked into exploding neck collars, given a random weapon, and forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

BEN-HUR

The Charlton Heston classic. Rated G. At Century.

CHICO & RITA

Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic animated story of love and heartbreak, set against the color and bustle of Havana, New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early ’50s. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

CRAZY HORSE

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman explores one of the most mythic and colorful places dedicated to women, the Crazy Horse — a legendary Parisian cabaret club founded in 1951. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

THE DESCENDANTS

An indifferent father of two girls is forced to reexamine his life when his wife suffers a boating accident. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Esquire. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

DR. SUESS’ THE LORAX 3D

In this animated film, a 12-year-old boy searching for the key to winning over his dream girl must confront a mysterious grumpy creature who is protective of his homeland. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

THE FP

In a dystopian future, a relentless turf war rages. Two rival gangs feud for control of rural wasteland Frazier Park (“The FP”) in the deadly arena of a competitive dance-fight video game, “Beat-Beat Revelation.” At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

FRIENDS WITH KIDS

The last two single members of a close-knit group of friends decide to have a child together while maintaining a platonic relationship. Rated R. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

GHOST RIDER SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE 3D

Still struggling with his curse as the devil’s bounty hunter, the supernatural antihero risks everything to team with a rebel monk to save a young boy and himself. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

HERB AND DOROTHY

Herb and Dorothy Vogel have redefined what it means to be an art collector by amassing one of the world’s most important collections of minimalist and conceptual art in their cramped one-bedroom apartment. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

HUGO

In 1930s Paris, an orphan living in a train station tries to unlock a mystery left behind by his late father. Rated PG. At Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

IN DARKNESS

Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz), a sewer worker and petty thief in Lvov, a Nazioccupied city in Poland, one day encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the liquidation of the ghetto. He hides them for money in the labyrinth of the town’s sewers beneath the bustling activity of the city above. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

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 Mayan. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME

A 30-year-old man-child hunkered down in his mother’s basement ventures out into the real world on an errand, where he winds up on an adventure with his brother. Rated R. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

JOFFREY: MAVERICKS OF AMERICAN DANCE

Back by popular demand, this film documents how the Joffrey Ballet revolutionized American ballet by daringly combining modern dance with traditional ballet technique, melding art with social statement and setting ballets to pop and rock music scores. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

JOHN CARTER

See full review page 43. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND 3-D

A family embarks on an adventure to a mysterious island in this sequel to the 2008 film Journey to the Center of the Earth. Rated PG. Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

NORWEGIAN WOOD

Published in 1987 and since translated into 33 languages, Norwegian Wood is a story of loss and heartbreak in a time of global instability. Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel is brought to the screen by Golden Lion Winner Anh Hung Tran. At Boedecker Theater and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Boedecker Theater

ON THE ICE

Two teenage boys who have grown up like brothers go about their lives in the comfortable claustrophobia of an isolated Alaskan town. Early one morning, on a seal hunt with another teenager, an argument between the three boys quickly escalates into a tragic accident. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

OPERA: VIVA LA MAMMA – LA SCALA

Viva la Mamma is a mad-cap farce about opera singers behaving badly and stage mothers behaving even worse. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORT FILMS 2012: LIVE ACTION

This year the five international nominees are Pentecost, Raju, The Shore, Time Freak and Tuba Atlantic. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

PERFECT SENSE

A hit at Sundance ‘11 and winner of the Edinburgh Film Festival’s prize for Best New British Feature, this genre creation directed by David Mackenzie stars Eva Green and Ewan McGregor as witnesses to the end of the world — strangers who form a desperate romantic connection in the face of an apocalyptic epidemic of sensory loss. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

PROJECT X

Three ordinary high school seniors attempt to make a name for themselves by throwing an unforgettable party, which spirals way out of control. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

SAFE HOUSE

A rogue CIA operative forms an unlikely partnership with a frustrated rookie agent. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

A SEPARATION

Simin wants to leave Iran to provide better opportunities for her daughter. When her husband refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer-suffering father, Simin sues for divorce. Rated PG-13. At Century and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

SILENT HOUSE

See full review page 43. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D

A 3-D version of the spacefaring adventure about Jedi knights and interplanetary intrigue. Rated PG. At Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

THIN ICE

A small-time insurance agent trying to invigorate his business and win back his estranged wife tries to con a retired farmer. Rated R. At Century and Mayan. — Los

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY

A 14-year-old girl, part of a secret race of tiny people, strikes up a friendship with a human boy, unwittingly putting her family in danger. Rated G. At Century. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

THE SNOWTOWN MURDERS

This film is based on the horrifying crimes discovered in Snowtown, Australia, in 1999, where police found dismembered bodies rotting in barrels. The Snowtown Murders, which marks Justin Kurzel’s directorial debut, is a stark journey into the feral subculture of welfare dependence, addiction, domestic violence, brutality and sexual abuse. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Angeles Times/MCT

THIS MEANS WAR

Two deadly CIA partners and best friends fall for the same woman and employ their arsenals against each other to win her. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

A THOUSAND WORDS

A fast-talking literary agent must choose his words carefully when he finds himself bonded to a magical tree that sheds a leaf each time he speaks. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE

A comedy duo blows the billion dollars they’ve been given by a sinister corporation to make a movie, then skip town to try to find a way to pay the money back. At Mayan. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

WAGES OF FEAR

In a squalid South American oil town, four desperate men sign on for a suicide mission to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerine over a treacherous mountain route. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

WANDERLUST

A stressed-out Manhattan couple leave the big city and stumble upon a freewheeling community. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

W.E.

Madonna’s W.E. is a tale about the search for true love in the modern world, viewed through the prism of one of history’s most fabled romances. A transplanted Southerner trapped in an unhappy, abusive marriage becomes obsessed with the love story of Wallis Simpson, who captured the heart of Britain’s King Edward VIII. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres