reel to reel | Week of Feb. 9, 2012

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ADDICTION INC

 

In the 1980s, Victor DeNoble was a research scientist at a major tobacco company, where he was given the task of finding a substitute for nicotine that would not cause heart attacks. He succeeded, but in the process he proved something the industry had been denying for years: that cigarettes were addictive. At Boedecker Theater and Chez Artiste. — Boedecker Theater

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

When an intrepid young reporter purchases a model ship that holds the key to a mystery, he and his dog embark on a globe-trotting adventure. Rated PG. At Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

ALBERT NOBBS

Glenn Close stars in this emotional and thought-provoking tale of a woman forced to live as a man in order to work and survive in 19th-century Ireland. After 30 years of keeping up the charade, a new love threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres Square

THE ARTIST

Hollywood 1927. Silent movie matinee idol George Valentin is enjoying the good life, although he seems fonder of his faithful dog than of his trophy wife. He meets funny, sexy young extra Peppy Miller, a dancer set for a big break, and sparks fly. With the advent of the talkies George’s career nosedives. At Century, Colony Square and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

AU HASARD BALTHAZAR

This religious fable from director Robert Bresson traces the lives of a farm girl, Marie, and her beloved pet donkey, Balthazar. The two eventually become separated, but their experiences follow strangely parallel paths. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

A three-dimensional version of the classic animated tale about a princess taken captive by a monster who may be more than meets the eye. Rated G. At Century and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

BIG MIRACLE

Amid the Cold War, a small-town reporter and his environmentalist ex-girlfriend lead an unlikely international coalition to save a family of gray whales trapped in the Arctic circle.

At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

CHICO & RITA

Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Their journey — in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero — brings heartache and torment. A sensual animated love story. At International Film Series. — IFS

CHRONICLE

See full review page 37. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

A DANGEROUS METHOD

Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships among fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

THE DESCENDANTS

From Alexander Payne, creator of Sideways, comes The Descendants, a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney), a distracted husband and back-up parent to two girls who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a life-threatening boating accident off of Waikiki. At Century, Colony Square and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

DRIVE

Breakout Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn throttles into the fast lane with this precision-crafted action caper. Ryan Gosling stars as a wheelman for hire, stunt-driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Stephen Daldry (The Hours) directs this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a young boy (Thomas Horn) trying to make sense of the world after his father (Tom Hanks) is killed in the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez/MCT

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Mikael Blomkvist and his colleague, the heavily pierced bisexual fantasy pin-up Lisbeth, go about nailing a killer of women. All roads lead to a rich family led by Henrik Vanger, whose relatives have a lot to hide. Rated R. At Century. — Michael Phillips/TMS

THE GREY

When their plane crashes in the remote Alaskan wilderness, a group of roughneck oil rig workers struggle to survive injuries, the elements and a vicious pack of wolves. Rated R. At Century, Colony Squre and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

HAPPY

This feature documentary takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

HAYWIRE

An elite black-ops soldier seeks vengeance after being betrayed and set up during a mission. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

THE HELP

Best Picture nominee The Help stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Academy Award nominee Viola Davis (Doubt) as Aibileen and Academy Award nominee Octavia Spencer as Minny — three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

Sam is a pretty college sophomore so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

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 Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, In the Land of Blood and Honey is the story of two people from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

THE INNKEEPERS

Set in the venerable Yankee Pedlar Inn, which is about to shut its doors for good after over a century of service. Believed by many to be one of New England’s “most haunted hotels,” the last remaining employees — Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) — are determined to uncover proof before it shuts down for good. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

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 Century, Colony Square and Mayan. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND 3D

A family embarks on an adventure to a mysterious island in this sequel to the 2008 film Journey to the Center of the Earth. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL

The latest in the M:I franchise begins with a Moscow prison break, proceeds to a terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, skedaddles off to Dubai and the world’s tallest building, and then heads to Mumbai, chasing nuclear madmen, goons and Mrs. Patton’s cleavage. Rated PG-13. At Century. — Michael Phillips/TMS

MAN ON A LEDGE

As a police negotiator tries to talk a fugitive former cop off a ledge, she discovers he may have a plan to prove his innocence and reveal an NYPD conspiracy. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

MISS REPRESENTATION

It’s clear the mainstream media objectifies women, but what most people don’t realize is the magnitude of that phenomenon and the way objectification gets internalized — a symbolic annihilation of self-worth — and impedes girls and women from realizing their full potential. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

MY REINCARNATION

Namkhai Norbu’s rose to greatness as a Buddhist teacher in the West, while his son, Yeshi, recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, breaks away from his father’s tradition to embrace the modern world. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Boulder Weekly

MY WEEK WITH MARYLIN

In the early summer of 1956, 23-year-old Colin Clark worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film that united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Arthur Miller. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

ONE FOR THE MONEY

A newly divorced, recently laid-off woman lands a job with a shady bail-bond business and gets swept up in a world of murder and deception. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

OUT OF SIGHT

Florida bank robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) plays a genteel game of cat and mouse with Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), the stunning federal marshal he meets in the trunk of a getaway car, in this Steven Soderbergh-directed film that shows off his trademark nonlinear storytelling. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

PARIAH

A good student coming at soon her local high school with a flair for poetry, Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. At Chez Artiste.

— Landmark Theatres

PINA When Roger Ebert said that 3-D is “unsuitable for grown-up films of any seriousness, the mind of German director Wim Wenders, who chose the new technology to film his documenta-German – Locally Programmed choreographer Since 1941 Pina Bausch. The film that Wenders, the mind behind the breathtaking cinematography of the 1987 film Wings of Desire, has made uses 3-D to film Bausch’s work, and the results are gorgeous. Wender’s use of 3-D for art, as opposed to spectacle, is nothing short of groundbreaking. Even without the 3-D, by using multiple cameras to film dances meant to be performed from a stage to a seated audience, Wenders offers a fresh point of view that exaggerates and accentuates the beauty of Bausch’s choreography.

At Century and Twin Peaks.

RED TAIL

Producer George Lucas labored for years to make this film about crew of African- American pilots (including Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Method Man) in the Tuskegee training program who were called into action in World War II. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

RESERVOIR DOGS

Undoubtedly one of the best films of the 1990s, Reservoir Dogs announced the arrival of one of contemporary cinema’s hottest talents — and he came out shooting. At International Film Series — IFS

SAFE HOUSE

A rogue CIA operative who has been on the run for a decade forms an unlikely partnership with a frustrated rookie agent.

Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE

A 3-D version Sof Pthe O spacefaring N S O R Sadventure. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

SING YOUR SONG

Sing Your Song surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte. Belafonte’s groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement and impacted many other social-justice movements. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

The Cold War of the mid-20th century continues to threaten international relations.

Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

THE TREE OF LIFE

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING

Kate Beckinsale returns to the werewolfversus-vampire franchise she helped make famous, time joining forces with her lycanthrope pals to bag the most dangerous game of all: humans. Rated R. At Twin Peaks.

— Rene Rodriguez/MCT

WEEKEND Jean-Luc Godard’s scathing late-’60s satire is one of cinema’s great anarchic works.

Determined an inheritance I TO R I U M from a dying relative, a petit-bourgeois couple travel civilization crashes and burns around them.

At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

THE WHALE

When Luna, a baby orca, gets separated from his pod and unexpectedly starts making contact with people along a scenic fjord in British Columbia, no one can quite SATURDAy & SUNDAy believe it. fEbRUARy As word 4-5 spreads @ 7 & 9 about PM Luna, people become torn between their love for the lonely young whale and fears that human contact might harm him. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

See full review WEDNESDAy page 37. At Century, Colony fEbRUARy 8 @ 7 & 9 PM Square and Twin Peaks.

VOLVER

This magical tragicomic melodrama catches Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz at the peak of their respective powers. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater THURSDAy & fRiDAy fEbRUARy 9-10 @ 7 & 9 PM

THE VOW

After waking from a coma caused by a car accident, a newlywed wife copes with severe memory loss while her husband tries to win her heart again. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times

YOUNG GOETHE IN LOVE

Germany 1772 — the young and tumultuous Johann Goethe aspires to be a poet but after failing his law exams is sent by his father to a sleepy provincial court to mend his ways. A lively, deeply felt film that con-vinces us a historical figure’s life was as compelling as the work he achieved. A Boedecker Theater and International Film Series. — IFS