Some reviews originate at other newspapers that do not award star ratings. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“Biutiful”
Reviewed on Page 5D
“Sanctum” Reviewed on Page 4D
“Undertow” Reviewed on Page 4D
“The Strange Case of Angelica Reviewed at left
“The Roommate”Not reviewed
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“Another Year”Drama PG-13. Mike Leigh and his deft ensemble mine our daily lives for their quiet meaning in this gem that centers on a contented couple Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen). Lesley Manville is terrific as their needy friend Mary. (Lisa Kennedy) 129 minutes
“Black Swan”
Ballet thriller R. Is “Black Swan” an ugly duckling or a rare beauty? Many will be torn when it comes to this perversely magnificent psychological thriller, starring an undaunted Natalie Portman as a ballerina who gets the part of a lifetime — the Swan Queen and her dark double — if she can keep it together. (Kennedy) 113 minutes
“Blue Valentine”Drama R. Derek Cianfrance’s romantic drama moves back and forth between young marrieds Dean and Cindy’s stagnating present and their full-of-hope courtship. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams do stripped-bare work. But the film is also a gorgeous object, rich with textured sounds and delicately observed images. (Kennedy) 114 minutes
“Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
Adventure PG. While their teen siblings are off in America. the youngest Pevensies, Lucy and Edmund (Georgie Henley and Skander Keynes), steer this sturdy sequel into the roiled realm of Narnia. Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) returns as an ally. Nattering cousin Eustace (Will Poulter) provides the film’s most winning transformation. (Kennedy) 118 minutes
“The Company Men”Drama R. The weight of the recession falls on three highly compensated employees a global transportation concern — played by Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper — in writer-director John Wells’ strong, painful and expertly acted drama. Kevin Costner and Rosemarie DeWitt also star. (Kennedy) 104 minutes
“Country Strong”
Melodrama. PG-13. Gwyneth Paltrow is a recovering-alcoholic country singer trying for a comeback. Real-life country-music superstar Tim McGraw plays her manager/ husband. The film also stars Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) 112 minutes
“The Dilemma”Comedy PG-13. Vince Vaughn and Kevin James headline this comedy from director Ron Howard about a guy who discovers his best friend’s wife canoodling with another man. What’s he to do: tell his friend or keep mum? (Stephanie Merry, The Washington Post) 118 minutes
“The Fighter”Boxing drama R. Based on a real family saga, David O. Russell’s drama about a boxer’s last shot at a career and the kin in his way is a late-season Oscar contender. Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg play brother pugilists. And in opposing corners, there’s Melissa Leo as their mother and Amy Adams as Micky’s supportive girlfriend. (Kennedy) 114 minutes
“The Illusionist”Animated gem PG. Adapting an unproduced 1956 script from the late Jacques Tati, director Sylvain Chomet weaves the story of an old illusionist in an odd magenta suit who trundles from gig to gig with his rabbit, his top hat, his three-legged table. In Scotland, he acquires a poor young lady who tags along and persuades him to visit Edinburgh. There they remain, lodging with the acrobats and the ventriloquist and the inevitable sad clown, wending their way through the bustle and mist of that majestic, enchanting city. (Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle) 82 minutes
“IP Man 2”
Martial arts R. The first “Ip Man” was set in mainland China, this sequel is set in Hong Kong, where Ip Man (played by Donnie Yen) and his family have settled in the aftermath of World War II. He tries to establish a school to teach his brand of martial arts but finds himself threatened by rival schools, as well as the biggest bullies on the block: the British colonialists who stage brutal boxing vs. kung fu faceoffs in which they try to prove their way of pugilism is superior. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers) 108 minutes
“The King’s Speech”Period bromance R. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush play brilliantly off each other as stammering Prince Albert, the man who will be King George VI, and his Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. (Kennedy) 118 minutes
“Love and Other Drugs”Romantic dramedy R. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway as the pair with toothsome chemistry in the story of a Viagra salesman and the woman who recognizes the huckster he is — because she knows how to sell a bill of goods, too. (Kennedy) 90 minutes
“The Mechanic”Action R. A new version of the original film from nearly 40 years ago with Charles Bronson. This outing stars the sleeker, buffer, balder Jason Statham as Arthur Bishop — hit man extraordinaire, connoisseur of music, wine and large-caliber weaponry, a man whose only potential flaw is his own conscience. (John Anderson, The Washington Post) 95 minutes
“No Strings Attached”Romantic comedy R. It’s not that the characters aren’t affable. Medical intern Ellen Kurtzman and TV production assistant Adam Franklin are. And portrayers Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are easy on the eyes. It’s just the movie makes it nearly impossible to care how the pair get from a casual sexual relationship to the inevitable emotional hookup. (Kennedy) 108 minutes
“Rabbit Hole”
Drama R. Months after their 4-year-old son was killed in an accident, Howie and Becca still struggle with the lonesomeness of grief. Their portrayers Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, however, find stalwart company in director John Cameron Mitchell and David Lindsay-Abaire’s adaption of the latter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. (Kennedy) 92 minutes
“The Rite”Psychological thriller PG-13. Colin O’Donoghue portrays a young American priest who travels to Rome to take an exorcism course. He is introduced to Father Lucas (played by Anthony Hopkins), a new-age exorcist with unorthodox methods. (Tom Horgen, Star Tribune, Minneapolis) 112 minutes
“Somewhere”Tone poem R. In this terrifically observed story of a bad-boy actor spending time with his tween daughter, Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning have sweet chemistry. Writer-director Sofia Coppola has become the auteur of privileged ennui. Sometimes it catches (“Lost in Translation”). Here, Johnny Marco — even as sweetly played by Dorff as he is — never ever quite earns his close-up. (Kennedy) 98 minutes
“TRON: Legacy”Fantasy reboot PG-13. The “legacy” the title refers to is less that of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) to only child Sam (Garrett Hedlund), and more the dazzling bequest of one generation of visual special-effects whizzes to another. (Kennedy) 127 minutes
“True Grit”Western redo PG-13. For their flinty and spare version of the classic Western, Joel and Ethan Coen return to the source — Charles Portis’ 1968 novel, not the 1969 John Wayne flick. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld puts the Methodist starch back in 14-year-old Mattie Ross. Jeff Bridges plays Marshal Rooster Cogburn, the man she hires to help track her father’s killer. Matt Damon arrives with moustache, fancy spurs and buttery buckskin of a dandy Texas Ranger. (Kennedy) 110 minutes
“The Way Back”Prison escape PG-13. Peter Weir’s film is an entertaining, old-fashioned prison-escape movie from a Soviet gulag set in early World War II. Stars include Colin Farrell , Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 133 minutes
GIANT SCREENIMAX — Denver Museum of Nature & Science
“Hubble 3-D” and “Under the Sea 3-D.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-7009,
IWERKS — The Wildlife Experience
“Dolphins & Whales,” “Wild Ocean” and “Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees.” Opening Saturday: “Animalopolis,” “Dolphins” and “The Living Sea.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, 720-488-3300,
