CONTINUING
Here are selected minireviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
“Babel”
DRAMA|*** 1/2|R|The director who brought us the cohesive chaos of “21 Grams” and “Amores Perros” takes his philosophy of interconnectedness around the globe. Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu believes in following the widespread consequences of one random act of violence, and the results here are typically spectacular. Morrocan boys fire a rifle into the distance and nearly kill tourist Cate Blanchett; her husband (Brad Pitt) scrambles to find her a doctor while back in Los Angeles, his nanny takes the kids on a harrowing trip to Mexico. In Japan, the original owner of the rifle copes with his own family problems. The acting performances are powerful, and frequently moving to the point of tears. (Michael Booth)|135 minutes
“Bobby”
AMERICAN TRAGEDY|***|R|With its all-star cast and vast collection of characters, Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby” is like one of those Irwin Allen disasters pics from the ’70s. And while that might sound like a slam, it’s not. Seldom have the kitchy tricks of that genre been utilized to recount the story of a true disaster: the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June 1968. Stars abound. Demi Moore as a soused lounge singer and Sharon Stone as the wife of the hotel manager are among those doing exceptional turns. The titular hero appears in documentary footage. Not a perfect movie, “Bobby” is a compelling film of tender moral decency that boasts a number of moments not to be shrugged off. Writer-director Estevez looks back not in anger, but in heartache. “Bobby” does not accuse, it mourns. (Lisa Kennedy)
|120 minutes
“Borat”
COMEDY|*** 1/2|R |What’s the word somewhere between outrageous and unredeemable? Sacha Baron Cohen takes his fake-Kazakhstan journalist character so deep into racism, sexism, any kind of -ism, you have to follow wholeheartedly or give up and walk out. Using comic confrontations with real people, Cohen gives narrow-minded Americans just enough rope to hang themselves with. Parents should know it’s one of the crudest movies released in years – it often makes “Jackass” look erudite – though this reviewer found it irresistibly hilarious. (Booth)|77 minutes
“Casino Royale”
JAMES BOND RETURNS|***|PG-13
|His name is Craig, ahem, Daniel Craig. And as promised, in director Martin Campbell’s movie based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced the Brit agent, his Bond is a rougher bit of business than all but one of the 007s that came before him. Craig survived the slings and arrows of many a fan to inhabit this role – and dig in he does in this satisfying, globe-trotting story about a high-stakes game of Texas hold ’em played against terror-funding creep Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson). Eva Green plays Vesper Lynd, the accountant sent to keep an eye on the Treasury’s sizable stake. A chilly killer, Bond hasn’t a prayer where Vesper’s concerned. But you’d be a dope to imagine a happily-ever-after romp. After a particularly jard go of it, a bartender ask Bond if he wants his martini shaken or stirred. “Do I look like I give a damn?” he says. That reply serves us well this first outing with Craig. We don’t care that “Casino Royale” isn’t a brand new cocktail. We care only that it’s a very tasty one. (Kennedy)|125 minutes
“Deck the Halls”
HOLIDAY COMEDY|*|PG|Another leaden slice of fruitcake, with about as much nutritional value. An over-organized optometrist (Matthew Broderick) organizes his annual “Christmas traditions” for his family of four in his idealized, postcard-pretty town, Cloverdale, Mass. Then, a burned-out car salesman (Danny DeVito) and his trashy brood move in across the street. Buddy Hall resolves to decorate the daylights out of his house until it’s visible “from outer space.” But this is a mean-spirited Christmas comedy without the guts to be mean. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel)|95 minutes
“Dèjá Vu”
ACTION|* 1/2|PG-13|Whether or not you get that nagging sensation that you’ve seen “Dèjá Vu” before, your brain will seriously hurt trying to figure out whether its central gimmick works. (It doesn’t.) There are the obligatory explosions and car chases, even a little tease of nudity, everything you’d expect in a big, mindless action movie. Only “Dèjá Vu” has its mind on far more ambitious, complicated subjects: The possibility of going back in time and saving hundreds of people from dying in the bombing of a New Orleans ferry. Denzel Washington endures all the physical demands of director Tony Scott’s film with his typical aplomb and even gets a few laughs as Doug Carlin, the no-nonsense Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent investigating the attack. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press)|125 minutes
“The Departed”
CRIME DRAMA|***|R|Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon bring edge and finesse to the tarnished fellas they play in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.” Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is a state cop rookie who never walks a beat before he’s plunged into an identity-snuffing undercover job, working for Boston mobster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Damon brings more than a bit of Tom Ripley to his portrayal of the talented Detective Colin Sullivan, who surreptitiously keeps surrogate dad Costello informed. With flashes of razor-sharp dialogue by William Monahan, and a pack of guys who can wield the rough langauge to brutal and amusing effect (Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin, in particular), “The Departed” doesn’t approach Scor-
sese greatness. Still, it flexes performances by two young actors strong enough to counter Nicholson’s impressively repellent portrayal of Costello. (Kennedy)|135 minutes
“Fast Food Nation”
DRAMA|**|R|This uneven adaptation takes on many of the issues from Eric Schlosser’s best-selling nonfiction work of the same name. Director Richard Linklater creates some memorable scenes and characters, as Greg Kinnear tries to research why his burger company’s meat is showing up contaminated. We also see the plight of Mexican immigrants hired to work at low wages and high rates of injury at a Colorado meatpacking plant. But Linklater too often loses the thread of the narrative in side issues, including animal rights arguments and cheap swipes against Republican political policies. In the end there’s simply too much wide-ranging material in
Schlosser’s expose to make one coherent feature film. (Booth)
“Flags of Our Fathers”
WAR DRAMA|*** 1/2|R|Based on James Bradley and Ron Powers’ best seller, “Flags of Our Fathers” follows the three surviving flag raisers made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s photo “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.” Bereft of their three other comrades, they climb an ersatz Mount Suribachi. They traverse the nation selling war bonds. They flashback to the carnage that has them proclaimed heroes. Few directors capture America’s contradictions the way Eastwood does. With a sturdy ensemble that includes Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and a breakout performance by Adam Beach as the Pima Indian Ira Hayes, he compassionately engages themes of heroism (real and imagined), patriotism (earnest and manipulated), duty to country and love of battlefield comrades. (Kennedy)
|132 minutes
“Fur: An Imaginary Portrait
of Diane Arbus”
LENS ON AN ARTIST|***|R|Director Steven Shainberg’s smart, through-looking-glass fantasy about famed photographer Diane Arbus is one of those independent films that boasts astute performances yet never becomes a transcendent outing. Nicole Kidman delivers a typically fine-tuned turn as the photographer who in the 1960s created works that challenged notions of normal and abnormal. Robert Downey Jr’s eyes beguile and challenge behind the thick pelt he wears as Lionel, neighbor and catalyst of Diane’s transformation from anxious to artistic. Arbus killed herself in 1971. She was 48. Yet it’s not Arbus’ end that makes “Fur” beautiful but also dour at times. It’s the earnest burden of art with a capital A weighing on the film’s mood. (Kennedy)|120 minutes
“Flushed Away”
CG TOON|***|PG|From the glorious nation of Kazakhstan comes the heart-warming tale of a pet mouse. … Wait wrong movie. “Flushed Away” may have a bathroom-humor title, but the characters’ dental work gives it away. This is Aardman territory (the Wallace & Gromit folks) with the ooomph of DreamWorks CG muscle. When Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman) takes an unexpected porcelain ride into London’s sewer system, he lands in a rat-infested metropolis full of characters and mischief. Toad (Ian McKellen) is trying to retrieve from scavenger rat Rita (Kate Winslet) a goodie he needs to carry out a very bad deed. Indeed. Written with the snap and pop of wet towel in a locker-room, “Flushed Away,” has fine banter for adults and plenty of inventive action – and serenading slugs – for the kids. (Kennedy)|84 minutes
“For Your Consideration”
COMEDY|*** 1/2|PG-13|Christopher Guest gently takes on Hollywood itself in his latest almost-real feature film. We join the cast of an uproariously awful indie movie called “Home for Purim,” as some evil Oscar buzz descends on the set. With their usual cast of stellar comedians, Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy explore the particular egoism of actors, and how a little awards hysteria threatens to drive them all thoroughly nuts. Not quite as drop-dead funny as “Waiting for Guffman” or “Best in Show,” this one nevertheless preserves Guest’s reputation as an American comedy original. (Booth)|83 minutes
“The Fountain”
FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION|** 1/2|R|
From the director of the feverish and squalid “Requiem for a Dream” comes an equally feverish, if not quite so squalid, science-fiction fantasy. Hugh Jackman plays a desperate man in three time periods centuries apart, in each searching for a fountain of youth that will help cure the brain tumor of his wife (Rachel Weisz). Aronofsky crafts some beautifully poetic moments, especially in the future segment as musical compositions accompany Jackman in a bubble-style spacecraft toward a distant nebula. But Aronofsky is not so skilled with one-on-one dialogue in the present, and some of the melodrama feels overbaked. (Booth)|93 minutes
“Happy Feet”
MUSICAL TOON|***|PG|It’s the lockstep of the penguins versus the soft- shoe of an outcast in “Happy Feet,” the hard-to-resist animated musical about Mumble, an Emperor penguin, who can’t carry the necessary mating song, but can tap dance like the amazing Savion Glover. Elijiah Wood provides the voice of adolescent Mumble. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman play his flustered folks. Director and co-writer George Miller – the man who brought us Mad Max but also Babe “the talking pig” – uses this tale of Mumble’s difference and his gift to craft a sweet, if incomplete, lesson about conformity, individuality and community. Robin William outdoes himself giving voice to both Ramon, one of the slang-tossing Adelie Amigos and the “preach it penquin, preach it” Lovelace. (Kennedy)|96 minutes
“The Nativity Story”
BIBLICAL DRAMA|***|PG|Hard to believe the story of Jesus and the manger hasn’t been told dozens of times, but Hollywood finally gives the biblical centerpiece a respectful rendering. Keisha Castle-Hughes is perfect as Mary, a young innocent bewildered by the demands of the annunciation. Director Catherine Hardwicke adds human touches as Mary and Joseph (Oscar Isaac) get to know each other on the long journey toward Bethlehem. The jokey handling of the three wise men is a bit much, but most families will find a moving and artfully handled presentation of the most beloved story in Christianity. (Booth)
|95 minutes
“The Queen”
DRAMA|****|PG-13|This masterful insight into a remarkable week in pop-culture history should make most short lists for best picture. Helen Mirren brings all her smart charms to the role of Queen Elizabeth II, in the week after the former princess of Wales, Diana, is killed in a Parisian auto accident. Newly elected prime minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) has the unenviable task of teaching the reclusive, out-of-touch royal family how the mourning British public wants to handle the tragedy. There’s plenty of comedy at the royals’ expense, but Stephen Frears makes everyone all too human. Why did we demand such a public beatification of Diana? “The Queen” will have you questioning your own headline habits. (Booth)
|101 minutes
“Shut Up & Sing”
DOCUMENTARY|*** 1/2|R|The Dixie Chicks, the top-selling female band in history, were shooting video for Internet fans when lead singer Natalie Maines made her infamous comment in Europe that she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Oscar- winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck saw the brewing firestorm and immediately asked if they could begin making a documentary about the Chicks, the political overreaction to the comment, and the effect on their careers and family lives. The results are entertaining all out of proportion to the subject. The Chicks are dedicated, smart, musical, humble in the right places, and charming family women, not to mention tough business planners. The fact they are gorgeous and prone to saying exactly what’s on their minds doesn’t hurt. If you didn’t hate corporate radio before this, you certainly will afterward. Featuring moving versions of classic Chicks songs like “Lullaby,” “Travelin” Soldier” and “Long Time Gone.” (Booth)|93 minutes
“Stranger Than Fiction”
TRAGICOMEDY|****|PG-13|Not since “Groundhog Day” has a tickler been so metaphysically engaging while being just as lovingly entertaining. And though this tale about Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who discovers that he’s a character in a novel and is soon to die, also stars and “SNL” alum – Will Ferrell – it achieves its abundant, generous moral with nary a smirk and maybe even a few tears. Emma Thompson is marvelously tormented as author Karen Eiffel, who can’t figure out how to kill off her protagonist. When Harold locates her, her dilemma becomes profound. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays bakery owner Ana Pascal, the subject of Harold’s audit and affections. Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah add flavor to this delight, directed by Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”) and written by newcomer Zach Helm. (Kennedy)|113 minutes
“Tenacious D: The Pick
of Destiny”
ROCK FABLE|** 1/2|R|For the uninitiated, there are more than enough easy gags in Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ rock fable about how their band, Tenacious D, came to be to keep the flatulence-loving among you chuckling. Yet the guitar-shredding comedy becomes funnier by half (a star) for the fans of the popular band. “Pick of Destiny” begins in a pious household in Kickapoo, Mo., with long-haired Lil’ JB thrashing and trashing all dining decorum with a song fit for a stevedore. After a tanning and a meandering journey to Hollywood, the heavy-metal aspirant (Black) meets his rock guru, Kyle Gass, on a Venice boardwalk. Soon enough, the two embark on a Grail-style quest for the guitar pick from hell – literally. “Pick of Destiny” is a “kitchen sink with InSinkErator” comedy, throwing all manner of pop-culture morsels into its mix. Alas, there is enough ribald rhyming of the word “rock” to earn the movie an R rating. Too bad. There’s little heavy about this metal-loving comedy, and there’s a lot that is good-hearted. Fun cameos by Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins and Meat Loaf. (Kennedy)|97 minutes
“Turistas”
HORROR|*|R|A pack of good-looking young Americans (and a couple of Brits) are waylaid in a remote corner of the world. They don’t speak the language. And their paranoia rises as they confront what appears to be a huge conspiracy aimed at picking them off, one by one, doomed to a fate they cannot guess. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel)|89 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 “Beavers” 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
“Manna from Heaven”
SU & DEC. 17|Annunciation Radio is presenting two screenings of “Manna from Heaven,” a Christmas-themed film produced by Five Sisters Productions. The film is billed as an “uplifting film about lost dreams and renewed hope.” Sunday’s screening is at 6:30 p.m. at the Colorado Cinema Cherry Creek Stadium 8 in the Cherry Creek Mall. The Dec. 17 screening is at 6:30 p.m. in Fort Collins at the Cinema Saver 6, West Drake Road and South Shields Street. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.|Soda, popcorn and the film are included in the $25 ticket, all proceeds go toward the purchase of a radio station that will feature EWTN, the Eternal Word Television Network
|303-806-8778, 303-523-9760
