Reel to reel | Week of November 21, 2013

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Purple eyebrows? Yep, he is evil.

About Time

A father explains to his son that all men in the family can time-travel. So the son goes back in time to find a girlfriend, which turns out to be harder than he thought. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square.

AKA Doc Pomus

Paralyzed with polio as a child, Brooklyn-born Jerome Felder reinvented himself first as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, then emerged as a one of the most brilliant songwriters of the early rock and roll era, writing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Viva Las Vegas” and dozens of other hits. For most of his life Doc was confined to crutches and a wheelchair, but he lived more during his 65 years than others could experience in several lifetimes. At Boedecker. —Boedecker Theater

All Is Lost

Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man wakes to find his 39-foot yacht taking on water. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

American Promise

This film spans 13 years as Idris and his best friend Seun make their way through one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys’ divergent paths from kindergarten through high school graduation at Manhattan’s Dalton School, this provocative, intimate documentary presents complicated truths about America’s struggle to come of age on issues of race, class and opportunity. At SIE Film Center. — Denver Film Society

The Book Thief

This film tells the inspirational 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. The film is narrated by Death — at a place and time when, as the narrator notes, he was extremely busy. 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

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 Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

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.

Continuum: Engaging Cycles of Injustice

“I’m 15 years old, my cousin is 14, and we’re here at a truck stop, you know … being forced to go from truck to truck, asking if the guy would like to have sex with us … And we’re young girls, terrified out of our minds.” – Shari, a survivor of human trafficking from Toledo, Ohio. At SIE Film Center. —Denver Film Society

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 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.

Direct from Broadway: Jekyll and Hyde

This musical brings new life to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story of the epic battle between good and evil. David Hasselhoff made his Broadway debut in the dual title role, bringing his performing talent off the television screen to the musical theatre stage. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

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. Much action transpires. 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 Mayan and Colony Square. — Landmark Theatres

Escape Plan

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up to break out of an escape-proof prison. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks.

Film/STILL: Persepolis

In conjunction with the Clyfford Still Museum’s Drawing into Painting/Painting into Drawing exhibition, the Denver Film Society and Clyfford Still Museum present Film/Still: Persepolis. As with the evolution of sketch drawing on paper to the painted canvas, the genesis of the graphic novel to animated feature film shows the relationship of separate art mediums connected in story and form. At SIE Film Center. — Denver Film Society

Five Dances

Writer-director Alan Brown has taken five gifted New York dancers and fashioned a story about Chip (Ryan Steele in his first film role), an extraordinarily talented 18-year-old recently arrived from Kansas. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

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 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.

How I Live Now

American teenager Daisy has attitude to burn. Her parents send away for the summer to live with her aunt and cousins in the English countryside. Defiant and unhappy, city girl Daisy refuses at first to warm to her bucolic new surroundings. Slowly, however, Daisy begins to thaw. Plus, there’s something about quiet, watchful 17-year-old Eddie that not only intrigues Daisy, but stirs something deep inside. Before she knows it, she’s falling madly in love with Eddie, and he with her. Their perfect summer is blown apart by the sudden outbreak of a 21st century world war, leaving them isolated and forced to fend for themselves. Rated R. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres.

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

This sequel begins as Katniss Everdeen is returning from her victory in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. As she travels the district she senses a rebellion is at hand even as she prepares for the 75th games. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Johnny Knoxville as 86-year-old Irving Zisman goes road-tripping with Billy, his 8-year-old grandson. Rated R. At Twin Peaks 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. — Landmark Theatres.

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, Colony Square and Century.

Mind’s Eye

This is a mind-bending sci-fi film, produced by local filmmaker Meryem Ersoz, and shot in 20 different locations in Boulder County, including inside of the Boedecker Theater itself. The film deals with the paradoxes of time and memory, trauma and loss — and what could be more paradoxical and self-reflexive, more Escher-like, than sitting in a theater watching the theater that you are sitting in? At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

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 and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Nebraska

Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways) directs Nebraska, a bittersweet dramatic comedy about a father and-son road trip through an emotionally and economically parched homeland. 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

Rush

Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard creates a visual masterpiece that recreates the well-documented 1970s rivalry between race-car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Rated R. At Colony Square.

Spinning Plates

You don’t have to be a foodie to thoroughly enjoy this documentary, a fascinating story about three extraordinary restaurants and the incredible people who make them what they are. These amazing restaurants and their stirring stories include an upscale, cutting-edge restaurant in Chicago named the seventh-best in the world, whose chef must battle a life-threatening obstacle to pursue his passion; a 150-year-old family restaurant in Balltown, Iowa, that’s still standing only because of the unbreakable bond with its community; and a fledgling Mexican restaurant in Tucson, Ari., whose owners are risking everything just to provide for their young daughter. NR. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres.

Still Mine

This film is an exquisitely crafted and deeply affecting love story about a couple in their twilight years. Based on true events and laced with wry humor, Still Mine tells the heartfelt tale of Craig Morrison, who comes up against the system when he sets out to build a more suitable house for his ailing wife, Irene. He quickly gets blindsided by local building codes and bureaucratic officials. Hauled into court and facing jail, Craig takes a final stance against all odds in a truly inspirational story. Rated PG-13. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Sunlight Jr.

Quickie-mart employee Melissa and boyfriend Richie are poor but very much in love. Living in a Florida motel and supported by Melissa’s small hourly wage and Richie’s monthly disability check, they are nevertheless thrilled to learn that Melissa is pregnant. When Melissa’s abusive ex begins sniffing around, her job is threatened and the couple faces eviction, their tenuous financial situation threatens to bring their modest but happy life crashing down. At SIE Film Center. — Denver Film Society

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.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali

This film covers Ali’s toughest bout: his battle to overturn a five-year prison sentence for refusing U.S. military service in Vietnam. The film zeroes in on the most controversial years of Ali’s life, when an emerging sports superhero chooses faith and conscience over fame and fortune. 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

Wadjda

Wadjda, a 10-year-old girl living in Saudi Arabia, is fun-loving, entrepreneurial and always pushing the boundaries of what she can get away with. Rated PG. At SIE Film Center and Chez Artiste — Landmark Theatres