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Here are selected minireviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
“All the King’s Men”
POLITICAL DRAMA|** 1/2|PG-13|In Steven Zaillian’s version of Robert Penn Warren’s political classic, Sean Penn finally locates the pol from Mason City standing in front of a hayseed audience drawn by the barbecue. Only the spark of connection between the actor and the indelible Willie Stark feels too long coming to make “All the King’s Men” necessary viewing. Jude Law, Mark Ruffalo and Kate Winslet as narrator Jack Burden and his childhood friends don’t cure the film’s odd malaise. Indeed the dance between their gentile South and Stark’s rural ways zaps the film of its resonant power. Penn has a sharp moment when he recognizes he’s been played as a sap. But it’s Patricia Clarkson as Sadie Burke who burns truest. She’s not onscreen near enough. (Lisa Kennedy)|128 minutes
“The Ant Bully”
ANIMATED|**|PG|A stellar cast in the same old hill. Another week, another animated movie with a scorchingly starry vocal cast. This time it’s “The Ant Bully.” With Meryl Streep! Julia Roberts! Nicolas Cage! Produced by … Tom Hanks! Despite the wattage, though, the movie sheds no new light. Structurally, it’s reminiscent of this summer’s superior “Monster House,” with an awkward boy (Zach Tyler Eisen) experiencing adventures and learning to trust what he’d once feared while his clueless parents are on a weekend vacation. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press)|97 minutes
“Barnyard”
ANIMATION|**|PG|Politically correct, anatomically incorrect and ugly to look at, the only thing that saves “Barnyard” is the writer/director’s gift for gags and almost-edgy humor. This silly parable about the responsibilities of leadership is about a barnyard looked over by Big Ben, the head cow, voiced by Sam Elliott. Ben lives by a stern credo. His son, Otis (Kevin James), is meant to inherit daddy’s protect-us-from-coyotes duties. But Otis is a party animal. Hook him up with the boys from Jersey (Jersey cows), and he’s taking joyrides, jamming the mic at impromptu concerts and break-dancing. Because this movie is all about what the critters do when the farmer (a vegan, we’re told) dozes off. They stand on their hind legs and cut loose. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel)|83 minutes
“The Black Dahlia”
NOIR DRAMA|** 1/2|R|Brian De Palma tries to re-create the sense of classic film noir, but gets lost in his own penchant for gratuitous blood. Casting choices didn’t help, as Josh Hartnett is too boyish to play a hard-boiled cop, and Aaron Eckart’s potential nasty streak is sidetracked by poor plot development. Both men are obsessed with solving the notorious real-life case of the Dahlia; Hilary Swank goes glam here as a Dahlia imitator who catches Hartnett’s eye. (Michael Booth)|115 minutes
“Boynton Beach Club”
LIGHT DRAMA|** 1/2|NOT RATED|It’s not a great movie, or even a really good one, but “Boynton Beach Club” gets credit for depicting a neglected part of American life: Growing old with style and grace. Residents of a sunny, well-built Florida community deal with grief, romance, disappointment and insurance forms – just like the rest of us! Familiar faces like Dyan Cannon make it seem like a comfortable television movie. (Booth)|105 minutes
“Darshan, the Embrace”
DOCUMENTARY|**|NOT RATED|Less a documentary than an act of worship, “Darshan: The Embrace” is a glowing introduction to the life and work of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the so-called hugging saint. Recognized worldwide for her spiritual and humanitarian work, Amma, as she’s more commonly known, ministers to the poor of India with food and open arms. Jan Kounen’s awestruck film follows the mahatma from one jampacked event to another, eavesdropping as she offers advice on everything from caring for a skin condition to the correct way to feed an elephant. Yet this sincere and tranquil film reveals little of the woman beneath the halo. Photographs and film of the young Amma – whose family believed her to be mad – are few and fleeting, leaving a movie long on adulation but short on specifics. (Catsoulis, The New York Times)|92 minutes
“The Devil Wears Prada”
DRAMA/COMEDY|***|PG-13|Instead of a gossipy comedy, “The Devil Wears Prada” is more often a fairly sage fable about the price of work. Andy
Sachs (Anne Hathaway), has the enviable position of being fashion editor, Miranda’s (Meryl Streep) newest assistant at Runway. Hers is a job “that millions of girls would kill for.” Or so Andy is told time and again. Andy starts to be changed by her job, but she never calculates. It takes her a long time to understand what working for Miranda might cost her. Around the time Andy is ready to quit and goes whining to Runway’s wiseman Nigel (Stanley Tucci), the movie becomes interesting about ambition, power and fashion – both the art and industry of it. “The Devil Wears Prada” says that fashion is that odd meeting of the seemingly trivial with the pursuit of something that resonates. (Kennedy)|106 minutes
“Facing the Giants”
FOOTBALL DRAMA|**|PG|The religious proselytizing in this football movie is about as subtle as a blindside hit by a 300-pound defensive end. Writer-director Alex Kendrick plays the coach of a perennially bad high school team. Beset by problems in his personal life and on the brink of being fired if his team doesn’t start showing some promise, he cries out to God in anger. He has an epiphany that leads him to quit diagramming plays and start delivering locker-room sermons. This smacks of one of those sports movies in which a variety of game footage was slapped together without concern over whether it makes sense. The movie ends with an affirming message about the need to give your all so that, win or lose, you can walk away with your head held high. (Strickler, McClatchy Newspapers)
“Gridiron Gang”
TEEN SPORTS DRAMA|** 1/2|PG-13|Troubled teens behind bars learn self-respect and responsibility in a football program created by a concerned probation officer in this modestly satisfying formula rah-rah football film. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (Garner, Gannett News Service)|105 minutes
“The Guardian”
ACTION DRAMA|**|PG-13|Maybe it’s the intelligently cooked up chemistry between Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher as Coast Guard rescue swimmers at different ends of their careers. Or maybe, it’s the fine independent streak of their love interests (Sela Ward and Melissa Sagemiller). Or maybe it’s simply a relief to take in a movie free of terrorists of unknown nationality or heroes defusing bombs and dodging bullets. Likely, it’s the pleasant convergence of all these qualities that makes Andrew Davis’ “The Guardian” such fine popcorn fare. (Kennedy)|135 minutes”Half Nelson”
REALIST DRAMA|*** 1/2|R|Up-and-
comer Ryan Gosling and first-time feature director Ryan Fleck combine to make a terrific indie movie, with the kind of grit and unrelenting realism that can be painful to watch. Gosling plays a well-intentioned history teacher in a Brooklyn middle school, struggling with a growing drug habit. He befriends a serious, promising girl named Drey (Shareeka Epps), who is dealing with drug issues of her own in a troubled family. Gosling’s performance is worthy of an Oscar nod. (Booth)|102 minutes
“Haven”
DRAMA|***|R |Frank E. Flowers’ promising debut about love, exploitation and collapsed tax shelters, “Haven” features a fine ensemble, including Bill Paxton and Stephen Dillane as an amiable if crooked businessman annd his money launderer. Orlando Bloom and Zoë Saldana play Shy and his beloved. Flowers’ terrain covers the star-crossed and culture-clashed in the Cayman Islands. Writer-director Flowers, a Cayman native, makes some foolhardy – and enjoyable – decisions about structure. (“Traffic” comes to mind). But seldom has a Caribbean island been so richly revealed – often in telling, incidental detail. (Kennedy)|98 minutes
“Hollywoodland”
NOIR|***|R|In this atmospheric noir mystery, Ben Affleck plies the alchemy of the personal and professional to conjure a portrait of an actor whose entanglements help, then hamper, then destroy him. And who better than a man once known by the moniker “Benifer” to tussle with the tribulations of George Reeves, star who becomes vulnerable to his public’s demands with nothing but his own decisions to blame? Reeves played television’s Superman in the ’50s. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins have fire and force as the married woman Reeves has an affair with and her movie mogul husband. Inspired by Reeves’ death in 1959, ruled a suicide, “Hollywoodland,” with Adrien Brody as a detective “Hollywoodland” does a compelling job of teasing lasting doubts into a rumination about Lalaland and celebrity. (Kennedy)|96 minutes
“The Illusionist”
PERIOD DRAMA|*** 1/2|PG-13|Neil Burger nicely adapts an evocative short story by Steven Millhauser, re-creating pre-World War I Venice and the great era of of magicians. Edward Norton plays Eisenheim, a master conjuror who has a grudge against the crown prince and a flame for the prince’s duchess girlfriend (Jessica Biel). The illusions are beautifully done, and Norton’s natural intensity makes Eisenheim as riveting as a magician is supposed to be. (Booth)|110 minutes
“Invincible”
SPORTS DRAMA|** 1/2|PG|Jerry Bruckheimer’s production crew is reaching a bit too deep in the playbook in search of inspirational sports stories. Vince Papale caught exactly one pass in the NFL and spent three years on the kickoff and punt squads. His blue-collar roots and status as the oldest NFL rookie give the story some meat, but not enough to make a whole movie. The filmmakers have taken all the loopy joy out of star Mark Wahlberg, who acts like a funeral director instead of a charismatic athlete. (Booth)|100 minutes
“The Last Kiss”
DRAMA|**|R|A romantic drama cut with guy-anxiety humor, “The Lass Kiss” ends with a twist that finally delivers on the pedigree of its makers. Zach Braff stars as Michael, an architect about to turn 30 and soon to be a dad. Paul Haggis (“Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby”) adapted Gabriele Muccino’s movie. Before Michael’s penitence, however, this tale, about four lifelong buddies wrestling with love and responsibility rings too familiar. Jacinda Barrett plays Michael’s girlfriend Jenna. Rachel Bilson arrives as too young threat Kim. For all the late twentysomething angst, the real emotional traction comes from Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson as Jenna’s parents. (Kennedy)|105 minutes
“Little Miss Sunshine”
COMEDY|*** 1/2|R|Turns out brainy misfits and slightly embittered intellectuals need triumphant tales too – no matter how askew. With their debut feature, “Little Miss Sunshine,” co-directing marrieds Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris deliver an R-rated, pro-dysfunctional family road movie. Not to mention the best comedy of the summer. The title comes from the kiddie beauty pageant Olive Hoover intends to win. Abigail Breslin delights (in the most authentic way possible) as the 7-year-old who inspires her emotionally challenged kin, played by Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell and Paul Dano, to hit the road. (Kennedy)|101 minutes
“Monster House”
ANIMATION|**|PG|Something untoward is taking place at the house across the street from 12-year-old DJ (Mitchel Musso). Mr. Nebbercracker and his fixer-upper seem to be gobbling kids’ toys with greater frequency as Halloween approaches. What can DJ and friends Chowder and Jenny do? “Monster House” features a brief scene of marital bickering, longer instances of teenage nihilism and a troubling lesson on personal liberation. Director Gil Kenan and exec producers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg hoped for funny-scary. But they never pull off that transit between fright to delight and back again. Voice talent includes Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jon Heder. (Kennedy)|80 minutes
“Open Season”
ANIMATED ANIMALS|***|PG|Ranger Beth rescued Boog when he was just a cub. Raised with a cozy bed of his own and a stuffed teddy, this bear’s necessities include a lullaby and the use of a toilet. He’s even the star of the local nature talk. So imagine the big fella’s dismay when a sugar-fueled misunderstanding in the tolerant burg of Timberline has him deported – days before hunting season. The call of the wild is a jarring thing for an ursine guy who refers to townsfolk as his “peeps.” “Open Season” refers not just to the bad timing of Boog’s exile, but to the payback the fauna give the hunters gathered for the opening of shoot-to-stuff season. As battles go, the onslaught is inventive fun. Even the hunters in the theater might be game for the joke. (Kennedy)|87 minutes
“School for Scoundrels”
COMEDY|***|PG-13|Goofball guy comedy “School for Scoundrels,” explores the insecurities of Everyman: How aggressive must we be to succeed? Playing alpha male would be great, sure. But remaining the beta, dolphin-hugging male is a lot less tiring. Jon Heder plays pathetic Roger, a Manhattan meter maid stuck in his dorky regulation uniform shorts “through Dec. 1.” When he writes a parking ticket for a couple of wannabe gangsters, they bust a cap in his official golf cart and ruin his year. When the third kid in a row dumps Roger as a Big Brother, a friend gives him a phone number: Call Dr. P, he’ll teach you how to stand up for yourself. Enter the sleekest shark in the movie waters these days, Billy Bob Thornton, as the abusive and no doubt falsely credentialed leader of the School for Scoundrels. Dr. P promises to make each student a lean, mean, dating machine, and mean is as Dr. P does. (Booth)|99 minutes
“The Science of Sleep”
SURREAL DRAMA|*** 1/2|R|In “The Science of Sleep,” Stephane in Paris is a young man intimidated by the present and wounded by the recent past, determined to ignore both with childish exuberance. Gael Garcia Bernal (“The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien”) plays Stephane with stupefying emotional and linguistic range – he must switch from buoyancy to petulance to despair, in French, English and Spanish, without warning. Stephane is an inventive multimedia artist stuck in a numbing day job, pasting together business calendars for companies that actively disdain creativity. He spends his evenings in his cramped childhood bedroom, “inventing” time machines that go back exactly one second, or animating stuffed ponies that gallop through cellophane clouds.
(Booth)|105 minutes
“Superman Returns”
ACTION|***|PG-13|Turns out there’s not a lot left to say about Superman, even though he’s been gone from the big screen for nearly 20 years. Director and co-writer Bryan Singer does a serviceable job of recreating the Superman mythology for a new generation, but there’s not much spice here or personal style to revive a comic book franchise the way “Batman Begins” did last summer, or “Spider-Man” did in summers previous. Brandon Routh alternates between imitating Christopher Reeve and trying hard not to imitate him, so it’s impossible to forget Reeve’s iconic role in the franchise. (Booth)|148 minutes
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
COMEDY|** 1/2|PG-13|With its Southern twang, the title of Will Ferrell’s latest comedy is tantalizingly clever. Heck, it even has a hint of the mournful, like maybe race-car driver Ricky Bobby might jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Turns out Ricky Bobby’s fall from racing grace is never that tragic, but there still are reasons for singing the blues. Mildly crude yet oddly tame, this NASCAR comedy (cowritten by Ferrell and director Adam McKay) runs on underinflated tires. Too many of the scattered laughs are muted, though Ferrell’s Ricky stays likable. The iffy edge captured by the Blue Collar Comedy Tour’s trash-talking good ol’ boys isn’t just absent, it’s hankered for. John C. Reilly stars as Ricky’s best friend. Baron Sacha Cohen plays racecar ace Jean Girard. Oh yeah, he’s French and gay. (Kennedy)|108 minutes
“The U.S. vs. John Lennon”
DOCUMENTARY|*** 1/2|PG-13 for language and mature content|Less a confirmation of legitimate paranoia than a celebration of John Lennon’s ebullient personality, this film is a winner nonetheless. Purporting to be an expose of the Nixon administration’s wiretapping and general hounding of Lennon on immigration issues, the documentary’s strengths are in giving us long clips of Lennon talking intelligently, wittily and provocatively about his anti-Vietnam War efforts. For those who missed Lennon in his prime, the outtakes may be a revelation. (Booth)|95 minutes
“Zen Noir”
DRAMA|***|NOT RATED|”Zen Noir” begins deceptively like yet another private-eye spoof, with a nameless detective, unshaven but hatted, peering into a mirror and mouthing trite gumshoe voice-over dialogue. But once the detective steps into a Buddhist temple to investigate the death of a monk who has keeled over during meditation, he enters another universe, where he is confronted by the serenely implacable Master. Gradually, the detective discovers that the real mystery he must unravel is himself. “Zen Noir” is essentially, even literally, a chamber drama that unfolds entirely inside the temple. Writer-director Marc Rosenbush collaborates with inspired cinematographer Christopher Gosch to create a high-styled film that is visually rich and stunning. (Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times)|71 minutes
GIANT SCREEN
“Greece: Secrets of the Past”
IMAX: The story of a 21st-century Greek archaeologist who is uncovering the secret history of his ancient ancestors|$8, $6 ages 3-12 and 65-plus|Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-7009, dmns.org
“Roving Mars”
IMAX: A documentary of the MER mission|$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 presents “Lost Worlds” and “Dolphins” on its 45-by-60-
foot screen|$4.95-$7.95; free 2 and under|10035 S. Peoria St., 720-488-3300, wildlifeexperience.org|PARKER
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Denver Art Museum Cinema Fall 2006 Film Series
TU|DAM presents a film series”On the cutting edge of cinema’s modernist revolution in the 1960s and 1970s.” The series offers films Tuesdays through Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. The box office opens at 4 p.m. The series continues this week with “Persona” (1966). Tickets are $7-$8 |Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Auraria Parkway, 303-820-3456, denverartmu
seum.org
