Some reviews originate at newspapers that do not award star ratings. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“A Joyful Noise” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 5D
“Iron Lady” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 5D
“In the Land of Blood and Honey” *
Reviewed above
“Carnage” * ½
Reviewed above
“Contraband” * * *
Reviewed on Page 7D
“The Divide” * * *
Reviewed online at
“Nuremburg: Its Lesson for Today” Not reviewed
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn”
Animated adventure. * * * ½ PG. The freelance journalist and his intrepid dog Snowy are well-known figures with an eye for trouble. And being modestly famous doesn’t keep them out of danger. One of the great conceits of the Herge comic book this is based on is that Snowy, a white wire fox terrier, is usually a couple of clues ahead of his master. So Snowy has to wait for Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) to figure out that the model sailing ship he bought from a street vendor has a hidden clue in it, a clue to the lost treasure of that very ship — the Unicorn. (Roger Moore, McClatchy News Service) 107 minutes
“Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked”
Rodent redux. * PG. The Chipmunks and their female counterparts, the Chipettes, return, and so does Dave (Jason Lee). A cruise goes awry, and all of the above end up shipwrecked. There is something for absolutely everyone. (Peter Harlaub, San Francisco Chronicle) 87 minutes
“The Artist”
Silent movie. * * * ½ PG-13. There is vigorous praise for this 1927 tale of a silent-era star struggling against the tide of the talkies. Stars include Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman and Penelope Ann Miller. (Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post) 100 minutes
“A Dangerous Method”
Psychodrama. * * * R. Psychoanalysis has two dads in Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. In David Cronenberg’s elegant period drama their collaboration and falling out are put on the couch thanks to a catalyst named Sabina Spielrein. Keira Knightley is the young Russian who becomes Jung’s patient and paramour — and finally a psychoanalyst in her own right. One wishes screenwriter Christopher Hampton had found a way to bring more cultural context into the mix. Even so, there’s plenty of insight and fine turns by Michael Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as his vexing mentor. At the Esquire. (Kennedy) 99 minutes
“The Darkest Hour”
Sci-fi. PG-13. Two Internet entrepreneurs (Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella) are sent to Moscow to finish a business deal. When they learn that a Swedish opportunist (Joel Kinnaman) has stolen their idea, they head to a nightclub to lick their wounds and distract themselves with perky female tourists (namely Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor). There the four — and the scheming Swede — will remain for the next few days as fireballs from outer space transform most of humanity into untidy piles of cremains. (Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times) 89 minutes
“The Devil Inside”
Horror. * R. This film joins a long, woozy-camera parade of found-footage scare pictures. Twenty years after killing three meddlesome Catholic exorcists, an American woman possessed (Suzan Crowley) and confined to an asylum in Rome is visited by her grown daughter (Fernanda Andrade). The daughter and a documentary filmmaker along for the ride want the truth. (Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune) 87 minutes
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Crime thriller. * * * ½ R. David Fincher and writer Steven Zaillian bring Steig Larsson’s indelible serial-crime-solving duo to the multiplex. Rooney Mara gives brooding genius Lisbeth Salander a kind of youthful waver beneath her hard Goth armor. Daniel Craig makes muckraking journalist Mikael Blomkvist a more virile animal. Hey, he can’t help it; he’s Craig, Daniel Craig. (Kennedy) 138 minutes
“Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol”
Action. * * * PG-13. Director Brad Bird and screenwriters André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum tell a simple, good-guys-against-bad-guys story complete with a bullet train of action and an arsenal of cool gadgets. The movie starts with a clever jailbreak by Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, stuck in a Moscow prison. He is dispatched to infiltrate the Kremlin along with agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). It’s all a setup by madman Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) who is trying to cover his theft of a Russian nuclear launch device. (David Germain, The Associated Press) 132 minutes
“My Week With Marilyn” Drama. * * * R. In 1956, a young and eager Colin Clark was third assistant editor on the London set of “The Prince and the Showgirl.” The trifle was directed by Sir Laurence Olivier, who starred opposite Marilyn Monroe. Based on Clark’s memoirs, this well-acted drama, starring Michelle Williams, doesn’t illuminate the mystery of Monroe so much as remind us how complicated, demanding and intimate the role of spectator can be. At the core of “My Week With Marilyn” is the time Clark (Eddie Redmayne) spent squiring Monroe around the English countryside after third husband Arthur Miller departed for New York. (Kennedy) 99 minutes
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
Victorian bromance. * * ½ PG-13. Less could have been so much more in this sequel that introduces audiences to Sherlock Holmes’ most capable enemy, Professor James Moriarty. Even so, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law charm again as the steampunk versions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s supersleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and his partner in crime solving, Dr. John Watson. Former girl with the dragon tattoo Noomi Rapace plays a gypsy ally. As Moriarty, Jared Harris provides nicely low-key menace. (Kennedy) 129 minutes
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Suspense. * * * * R. An expertly crafted rendering of the classic John le Carre espionage novel about trickery in the lofty upper reaches of British intelligence, with Gary Oldman in the title role. (Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle) 127 minutes
“War Horse”
Friendship saga. * * * ½ PG-13. Robustly entertaining, “War Horse” brings to the big screen Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 children’s novel about a young man named Albert, his horse, Joey, and the war that separates them and rends Europe — the first World War. (Kennedy) 140 minutes
“We Bought a Zoo”
Family adventure. * * * PG. Matt Damon portrays Benjamin Mee, who buys a zoo and moves his children to the shambling, 18-acre property. The film is inspired by the real-life Mee’s 2007 memoir. (Kennedy) 126 minutes
“Young Adult”
Dramedy. * * * R. Mavis Gary is, well, mean and Charlize Theron isn’t afraid to go there in this bitter pill of a comedy from director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. There is her hometown where she plans on winning back her high-school boyfriend (Patrick Wilson). Forget that he’s married, happily. Forget that he’s a new, incredibly pleased if tuckered papa. Patton Oswalt is terrific as an old classmate and the conscience of the movie. (Kennedy) 94 minutes
GIANT SCREEN
IMAX — Denver Museum of Nature & Science
DinoMax 3-D double feature: “Dinosaurs Alive!” and “Waking the T. Rex: The Story of SUE”; “Under the Sea 3D” and “Born to Be Wild 3D.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-2009,
IWERKS — The Wildlife Experience “Turtle Vision 3D,” “Sharks 3D,” “The Alps” and “Heli Skiing: Living the Dream.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, 720-488-3300,
