Here are selected minireviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
“Annapolis”
MILITARY DRAMA|**|PG-13 for language and violence|Sir, yes, sir, we’ve seen this one before; it was called “An Officer and a Gentleman,” with few variations. James Franco plays a blue-collar boy trying to prove his worth at the tough Naval Academy. They use boxing matches instead of warship engagements. Plenty of melodrama and a lot of unearned adrenaline. (Michael Booth)
|95 minutes “Brokeback Mountain”
LOVE STORY|****|R|From Stetson to boot tip, director Ang Lee has remained true to the vigor, the elements-roughened characters of Annie Proulx’s short story (adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana). Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal master their roles as Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two cowboys who meet in 1963 wrangling sheep in Wyoming and begin a 20-year relationship. As their wives, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway bring even more hurting truths to the tale. Yet as much as “Brokeback” resonates with contemporary battles about love and marriage, Lee’s film remains hushed like Ennis and full of desire like Jack. (Lisa Kennedy)| 134 minutes
“Capote”
BIOPIC|*** 1/2|R|On Truman Capote’s first visit to Holcomb, Kan., the famed author experiences some awkward encounters. In a gesture at once superior and defensive, the flamboyant writer of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” touches his scarf and says to a cop he thinks is staring too hard, “Bergdorf’s.” A few beats later, a lead investigator tips his hat to the author and says, “Sears, Roebuck.” This is one of the many fine moments in Bennett Miller’s “Capote,” which depicts with exquisite balance the tension between the urbane and the rural. The film follows Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman in a disquietingly human performance) as he reports what became his greatest book, “In Cold Blood.” Catherine Keener as Nelle Harper Lee provides moral ballast in a tale about art, journalism and ambition. (Kennedy)| 114 minutes
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
FANTASY|***|PG|Faith and possibility are nearer to each another than little Lucy Pevensie’s two front teeth in Andrew Adamson’s loving adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ classic. And one need not be of a particular monotheistic bent to be moved by that notion. World War II refugees Lucy and siblings Edmund, Susan and Peter become our surrogates once they travel through a wardrobe into Narnia, a realm where fauns, centaurs and chatty animals have been enduring a 100-year cold snap, thanks to the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Special-effects magic never overwhelms the truths of their spiritual sojourn: Forgiveness transforms, trusting in the impossible has its own logic, and death is not always what it seems. (Kennedy)|135 minutes
“Curious George”
ANIMATED FAMILY FILM|***|G |An amiable and amusing animated film that brings the beloved children’s character to the big screen for the first time. While it doesn’t reach the same heights as the Pixar or DreamWorks animated films, it should please both youngsters and their parents. Starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Dick Van Dyke, and Drew Barrymore.|87 minutes (James Ward, Visalia Times-Delta)
“End of the Spear”
DOCUDRAMA|** 1/2|PG-13|Steve Saint’s father, Nate, dies at the “End of the Spear,” a missionary pilot murdered with four others in a bungled encounter with Amazon natives in 1956. “End of the Spear” is about that massacre, those who committed it, and Saint’s emotional confrontation with the man who killed his father. It’s an independently produced religious film made with imagination and skill. Co-writer/director Jim Hanon takes us into a “Stone Age world” of violence and revenge, and shows us the animist Waodani people and the trap of violence that was their existence. (Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel)|112 minutes
“The Family Stone”
COMEDY/DRAMA|***|PG-13|Three stars may be a bit generous, but it’s the holidays, and this movie tries very hard to be your new after-the-holidays weeper. Largely, it succeeds, despite stumbling in the middle. The Stone family of grown children gathers at its snowy Massachusetts home to rally around matriarch Diane Keaton, and fight incessantly. (Booth)|95 minutes
“Firewall”
THRILLER|** 1/2|PG-13|This is the bank security system that Jack Stanfield built. This is the system that Jack built that cyberrobber Bill Cox (Paul Bettany) plans to steal millions from. This is the wife (Virginia Madsen) and kids Bill will use as leverage to break into the system that Jack built. If “Firewall” feel familiar, it because star Harrison Ford infuses this sometimes tense, more often routine, thriller with his brand of emotion. Security, vulnerability and the American family under siege are themes that might have earned additional thought. But “Firewall,” directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Joe Forte, gives us little reason to bestow deeper meaning on what is basically a pre-owned Ford vehicle. (Kennedy)|105 minutes
“Glory Road”
INSPIRATIONAL SPORTS DRAMA|***|PG|A predictable sports movie that pushes the gospel themes a bit too hard, “Glory Road” is nevertheless a great story because it’s nearly all true. In 1966, white coach Don Haskins assembled a ragtag team of black and white players at Western Texas university, starting more blacks than any Southern team. The players endured racism and underdog status to make the unlikeliest of runs to the national championship game against all-white Kentucky. Ignore the soundtrack and emotional bullying, and enjoy a great moment in sports history. (Booth)|105 minutes
“Good Night, and Good Luck”
HISTORY LESSON|*** 1/2|PG|In George Clooney’s should-see film, David Strathairn plays Edward R. Murrow, the legendary broadcast journalist who in 1954 took on Joseph McCarthy. Thanks to newsreel footage, the junior senator from Wisconsin (who used fabrication and intimidation in his hunt for communists) stars as himself. It would be easy to enjoy this handsome movie as merely clash-of-the-titans drama. Director and cast – Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella – make what could have been static gripping. But Clooney – who plays producer Fred Friendly and also co-wrote the movie – knows that this historic brawl continues to have meaning for not just our political but also our pop culture. (Kennedy)|90 minutes
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
FANTASY|***|PG-13|It’s year four at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, 14-year-old protagonist Harry and chums Ron and Hermione face not only the brewing menace of Lord Voldemort but the swirling frenzy of hormones. “Who to invite to the Yule Ball?” isn’t as dire a question as “Who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire for the Triwizard Tournament?” But it feels nearly as pressing to our young friends. Warfare, unexpected loss and grief rub against childhood crushes and the quandaries of friendship. Harry Potter – the boy and the big-screen franchise based on J.K. Rowling’s novels – continues to grow up. Director Mike Newell’s dark and lively installment keeps it a maturation well worth watching. (Kennedy)| 157 minutes
“Hoodwinked”
FAIRY TALE REDUX|***|PG|Making their clever CGI-animated feature debut, Cory and Todd Edwards and Tony Leech have seized a tale any big, bad wolf knows like the back of his paw. In “Hoodwinked,” the Little Red Riding Hood yarn gets retold by four unusual suspects: a granny with a secret, a wolf with an undercover job, a dunderheaded Woodsman and an increasingly rebellious tween by the name of Red. Detective Nicky Flippers, the suave frog piecing together their “Rashomon”-style tales is more Nick Charles than Sam Spade. Not only does “Hoodwinked” turn a familiar tale upside down and shake it madly, it makes winking, nudging sport of fairy tales and detective movies. Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, David Ogden Stiers and Patrick Warburton provide their voices. (Kennedy)|83 minutes
“Imagine Me & You”
ROMANTIC COMEDY|** 1/2|R|You’ve seen this fairy-tale version of modern London before, where all the people are young and beautiful, the houses big, the weather appropriately atmospheric. The twist is a newlywed woman falling for another woman. Makes for an enjoyable, if not very interesting, romantic comedy. (Booth)|95 minutes
“Last Holiday”
COMEDY|** 1/2|PG-13|Directed by Wayne Wang, this comedy about a woman who goes on a Euro-spree when she learns she has three weeks to live is more candy corn than Capra corn. Too bad. Because embedded in Georgia Byrd’s sojourn to the posh Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic are some truths about class and work worth pondering. Queen Latifah’s turn as a New Orleans department store sales associate who dreams big but lives hunkered within her means until bad news strikes offers some guilt-free pleasures. As Georgia’s life wanes and she begins to live large, other lives will be transformed. Nary a one of these epiphanies surprises – but a few charm. Gérard Depardieu, LL Cool Jay and Timothy Hutton also star. (Kennedy)|112 minutes
“The Matador”
DARK COMEDY|***|R|Writer-Director Richard Shepard’s singed comedy “The Matador” offers wicked proof a movie can rehabilitate even the most amoral character. Julian Noble calls himself a “facilitator of fatalities.” Played by Pierce Brosnan, Julian works for an organization that sends him hither and yon, facilitating. Brosnan’s mustache can’t obscure his fine looks, but it helps. And Julian hints at what James Bond might look like once the martinis catch up and M sends him packing. Salesman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) has his dark places too – his and wife Bean’s young son died a few years earlier. Only Danny’s hope hasn’t been extinguished. When Julian meets Danny in a Mexico City hotel bar, it’s the kind of hookup made in a movie heaven where the utterly implausible becomes sweet opportunity. (Kennedy)|97 minutes
“Match Point”
CLASS DRAMA|***|R|Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays former tennis pro Chris Wilton. Bored with touring, he has become an instructor at an English country club. As luck would have it, his first student, Tom Hewett becomes a friend. Matthew Goode plays this scion to a self-made millionaire (Brian Cox). Good fortune smiles even more broadly when Tom’s sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) falls for Chris. Only Chris falls harder for Tom’s fiancée, Nola (Scarlett Johannson). Not only has Allen revisited the themes of his late masterpiece “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” he has given us a compelling rebuff to George Stevens’ “A Place in the Sun.” (Kennedy)|124 minutes
“Memoirs of a Geisha”
PERIOD DRAMA|** 1/2|PG-13|Arthur Golden’s best seller about a girl sold into servitude in Kyoto who later becomes a renowned geisha in pre-World War II Japan demanded a deft gift with the epic and the intimate. It’s an elusive mix that seldom gets its due in director Rob Marshall’s attractive but not quite memorable adaptation. Ziyi Zhang as Sayuri, Michelle Yeoh as her mentor and Gong Li as her rival give the film great glamour and its best drama. Yet, as honorable as Robin Swicord’s script is, Sayuri’s ambivalence about her skill and her “art” gets lost in the translation from page to screen. Ken Watanabe also stars. (Kennedy)|137 minutes
“Mrs. Henderson Presents”
PERIOD COMEDY|***|R for nudity, language and adult subject matter|Stephen Frears presents a light version of dark days in London, when the plucky Brits tried to keep their mind off the horrible bombing blitz. Judi Dench plays a rich widow who buys a West End theater to launch a vaudeville revue; Bob Hoskins is the equally stubborn and charming theater manager. They break taboo by showing nude women onstage, tastefully of course; the attraction of this period piece is the charisma of both Dench and Hoskins, two grand lions of British acting. (Booth)|102 minutes
“Munich”
DRAMA|** 1/2|R|Spielberg attempts to capture the horror and futility of terrorism, whether carried out by political factions or the Israeli government. Yet he can’t resist making the hunt for the 1972 Olympic murderers a thriller, which undermines his commentary on violence. And he never asks the PLO to answer the same tough moral questions he poses for Jewish assassins. Once again, Spielberg gives in to caution. (Booth) | 160 minutes
“Nanny McPhee”
FAMILY FUN|*** 1/2|PG|Long ago, Nanny McPhee would have been played by Julie Andrews. But screenwriter-star Emma Thompson plies her own exquisite magic. As the mysterious nanny who comes to the aid of the seven very naughty Brown children, she has an odd walk and an amusing way of tilting her head. And Thompson and Colin Firth (as Mr. Brown, a widower) know how to keep a good gag running. As Aunt Adelaide, Angela Lansbury has wicked fun delivering unkind observations and crueler ultimatums. Her latest forces Mr. Brown to seek a wife. Upon her arrival, McPhee cautions the children, “When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go.” “Nanny McPhee” is such a marvel that, in the end, the children aren’t the only ones who’ll regret her departure. (Kennedy)|98 minutes
“The New World”
HISTORICAL EPIC|*** 1/2|PG-13|Terrence Malick is rightfully known as a director of dreamy epics, pitting mankind against indifferent nature at crucial historical moments. Here he takes on Pocahontas and early English settlers. Q’orianka Kilcher is stunning as Pocahontas, though some will find the pace frustratingly slow. Malick may not offer the movie you want, but you may find he provides the movie you need. (Booth)|135 minutes
“The Pink Panther”
COMEDY REMAKE|** 1/2|PG|Steve Martin attempts to revive the classic Blake Edwards-Peter Sellers collaboration about the idiot inspector Clouseau, and his unlikely success in solving international crimes. The humor is shallow, but funny enough in places to entertain 8- to 11-year-olds, and some of their parents. (Booth)|92 minutes
“Pride & Prejudice”
PERIOD DRAMA|***|PG|This tale has been told many times, true, but then, so has every classic. This version turns out to be a gem, with Keira Knightley fitting perfectly into the challenging mold of sharp and loving Elizabeth Bennet. Matthew MacFadyen makes a suitably dashing and arrogant foil in Mr. Darcy, and Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn lighten the proceedings with star supporting turns. (Booth)|110 minutes
“Roving Mars”
DOCUMENTARY|****|G |This is an exceptional large-format film, though it would be better if the movie helped viewers distinguish between real footage and computer-animated guesses at what Mars looks like. The first half is more like “Getting to Mars,” a peek into the detailed work a huge cadre of workers must finish before the craft can head for Mars. It gets even better when it lands and begins to rove, gathering information about rocks that gets the NASA wonks really excited. (Chris Hewitt, Knight Ridder Newspapers)|40 minutes
“Rumor Has It”
ROMANTIC COMEDY|**|PG-13|A good idea is a good idea until it becomes a bad one. Such was the Yogi Berra-style thought that struck too early in Rob Reiner’s “Rumor Has It,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. “Rumor” has some stylish barbs. What this romantic comedy doesn’t have, but strains to, is much substance. Reiner tempted fate quoting “The Graduate.” If you are cannibalizing a classic, you should make sure your contribution is worthy. “Rumor Has It” is Kraft sliced singles to ripe camembert. Nichols’ satirically pungent ambitions are reduced to an epiphany about love and marriage – and an unconvincing one at that. (Kennedy)|97 minutes
“Something New”
ROMANTIC COMEDY|***|PG-13 |Sanaa Hamri’s directorial debut is an observant, enjoyable riff on the problems of romance and the career gal. As a bonus track, “Something New” teases the lesser-known concerns of Los Angeles’ black professional class. Told from the perspective of aspiring-class Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) who gets involved with white landscape designer (Simon Baker) the movie may cover new ground for some. Yet if you’ve watched “Sex and the City” or UPN’s “Girlfriends” (or better, both), you’ll recognize Kenya and her friends. Four women created this film: director Hamri, screenwriter Kriss Turner, star Lathan and producer Stephanie Allain. That makes “Something New” a chick flick in the best sense of the phrase. (Kennedy)|100 minutes
“Syriana”
DRAMA|*** 1/2|R|A political movie, intelligent and very much of-the-moment, that will scorch you with its polished cynicism. Americans from the CIA to the oil companies to Congress use Middle Eastern kingdoms as their pawns, and small players like George Clooney and Matt Damon ponder where their loyalties lie. Steven Gaghan previously wrote “Traffic,” and the interweaving story lines have the same alluring, devastating effect. We’re taught a lot; the question is, did we learn anything? (Booth)|112 minutes
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”
MYTHIC WESTERN|*** 1/2|R|When Melquiades Estrada is killed by a border patrol agent, his first burial hardly deserves the name. His second is a disgrace. Only friend and fellow cowboy Pete Perkins – Tommy Lee Jones – believes in justice and a proper burial. In his directorial debut, Jones and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga deliver a tale worthy of Greek drama. Pete kidnaps the agent, takes possession of Melquiades’ corpse and sets off into Mexico to bury his friend (Jose César Cedillo). Melquiades’ third interment is the stuff of myths remade for modern woes. “Three Burials” is a stunning visual ballad about loss and a staggeringly soulful meditation on loyalty. That would be enough. That it speaks to one of our nation’s most volatile issues makes it a remarkable achievement. (Kennedy)|121 minutes
“Transamerica”
ROAD MOVIE|***|R|”Transamerica” is about longing and belonging. No wonder first-time director Duncan Tucker chose to tell the bittersweet saga of Bree, a pre-op transsexual who must deal with her past before gaining her future, as a road movie. Award-winner Felicity Huffman’s performance as Bree is striking in much the way Charlize Theron’s was in “Monster.” Tucker had the good sense to use a tried-and-true form to explore Bree’s emotionally epic drama of wanting to have a body that feels physically in keeping with one’s sense of self. (Kennedy)|103 minutes
“Walk the Line”
BIOPIC WITH TUNES|***|PG-13 | Based on two Johnny Cash memoirs, “Walk the Line” is James Mangold’s pulsing valentine to Cash and June Carter Cash. It recounts the singer’s early years and takes us through the late 1960s. There were tours and hit songs, tours and a drug bust, family and more tours. Cash and Carter’s music gives the movie its undeniable soundtrack. But it’s their thwarted yet constant tale of friendship and love that makes “Walk the Line” more a romance than a full portrait of the artist as a young man in black. (Kennedy)|135 minutes
“When a Stranger Calls”
HORROR|***|PG-13 for intense terror, violence and some language|This remake of the 1979 version scores over that earlier film by stripping the tale down to its essentials – girl in a big, strange house, watching two kids she hasn’t bothered to meet, getting a succession of prank-to-menacing phone calls. The threats eventually turn explicit. Camilla Belle is no Jamie Lee Curtis, but she conveys the pluck and strength and resourcefulness of modern girlhood. (Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel)|87 minutes
“The White Countess”
PERIOD DRAMA|***|R for violence and mature subject matter|The last of the Merchant-Ivory collaborations before the untimely death of producer Ismail Merchant, this is a moving re-creation of mood and character in 1930s Shanghai. Ralph Fiennes plays a blind American who wants to open the perfect nightclub to match Shanghai’s simmering political tensions. He finds Natasha Richardson, an exiled Russian countess, to be his alluringly melancholy hostess. They negotiate a romance while Japan prepares to invade the city. Though not deeply emotional, the movie clearly bears the sophisticated and meticulous mark of a Merchant-Ivory production. (Booth)|125 minutes
“The World’s Fastest Indian”
PICARESQUE DRAMA|** 1/2|PG-13 for language and drug content|The fastest Indian motorcyclist, in this case; the mostly true story of New Zealander Burt Mundro’s effort in 1967 to set the land speed record at Utah’s Bonneville salt flats. Anthony Hopkins chews a ton of scenery in this maudlin crowd-pleaser. Lots of cute kids and old coots; not much subtlety. (Booth)|127 minutes
GIANT SCREEN
“The Human Body”
IMAX: A day in the life of the human body|$8, $6 ages 3-12 and 65-plus|Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-7009, dmns.org
“Mystic India: An Incredible Journey of Inspiration”
IMAX: The film begins in 1792 and follows an 11-year-old who left his home to begin a journey of spiritual awakening. It’s the true story of the boy’s seven- year trip covering 8,000 miles|$8, $6 ages 3-12 and 65-plus|Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-7009, dmns.org
Wildlife Experience
IWERKS: The museum offers films on its giant-screen theater: “Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance” and “The Living Sea”|$6, $5 seniors, $3 children, free 5 and under|10035 S. Peoria St., 720-488-3300, wildlifeexperience.org|PARKER
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
CU International Film Series
-APRIL 23|The annual festival, established in 1941, offers films, screenings, special events and programs. Times vary. Most films are $5, $4 CU-Boulder students with ID|Muenzinger Auditorium, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-1531, internationalfilmseries.com|BOULDER
Silents are Golden Film Series
|The Rialto Theater and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra presents “Three Shorts Films About Love,” 7 p.m. Tickets are $8. A free open-house is 5-7 p.m.|Rialto Theater, 228 E. 4th St., 970-962-2120|LOVELAND
Movies on the Marsh
TH|Thorne Ecological Institute presents a program of adventure films in collaboration with the Boulder International Film Festival, 6-7:30 p.m.|Sombrero Marsh Environmental Education Center, 1466 N. 63rd St., 303-499-3647, thorneeco.org|BOULDER
