“Cowboys & Aliens”
***1/2
Sure, it’s a mashup that could have gone south, but director Jon Favreau gives this meeting of cowboys, Apache and, yup, aliens a decidedly (and appreciated) Western flavor. Daniel Craig plays the laconic hero who wakes up in the New Mexico Territory with a shackle on a wrist and no memory. Harrison Ford is the town of Absolution’s embittered overlord. Written by a posse of pop-knowledgeable fellas, the script could have wrassled with our hallowed genre a bit more. But, heck: Stylish, character-rich entertainment is nothing to shake a stick at. PG-13. 1 hour, 52 minutes. Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post
“The Help”
**1/2
Fine performances from Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone as two housekeepers and the aspiring journalist who hopes to tell their stories make this adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s popular novel worth the price of the ticket. But screenwriter-director Tate Taylor skips toward the lite, when 1962 Jackson, Miss., was anything but for its black residents during segregation. PG-13. 2 hours, 17 minutes. Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post
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