Some reviews originate at newspapers that do not award star ratings; some movies are not screened in advance for critics. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“American Reunion” * * ½
“How to Start a Revolution”
“The Trouble With Bliss”
Reviewed at
“Intruders”
Reviewed at
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“Coriolanus”
Shakespearean drama. * * * R. In his first film as a director, Ralph Fiennes takes on the title role in “Coriolanus,” one that is, appropriately enough, not the most lovable of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes, but clearly some kind of great man. Coriolanus is an almost insanely capable general, someone you would certainly want on your side, but one who is also vain and condescending and considers even social niceties to be a compromise of his inner core. He transposes “Coriolanus” to a dystopian fantasy modern world, in which Rome is a fascist state, beset by wars and the threat of wars and with hungry citizens marching in the street for food. Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain and Gerard Butler also star. At the Chez Artiste. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle)121 minutes
“Footnote”
Intellectual comedy. * * * PG.
Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar’s tale of two Talmudic scholars set in present-day Jerusalem, while not exactly side-splitting, is quietly riotous. And, yes, the guffaws are bittersweet. After all, the two academics locked in an eternal competition are Professor Shkolnik and, alas, Professor Shkolnik. Father and son. Shlomo Bar Aba plays Eliezer with a dsypeptic scowl. Lior Ashkenazi portrays his successful son Uriel, a bear of a man and a rock star in his field. Both are spot-on, as are actresses who play their capable and exhausted by the wives. At theChez Artiste. (Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post)105 minutes
“The Hunger Games”
Dystopian adventure. * * * ½ PG-13. Still not acquainted with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark? Then you might be considered a pop-culture contrarian. This impressively weighty adaptation of the first of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy makes a sinewy, sharp-boned argument for the young denizens of Panem’s District 12. And Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson make it easy to care about the pair sent from the coal-mining district to compete against combatants from 11 other districts — and one another — in the titular ritual of governmental retribution. Kids forced to kill other kids — not the easiest subject for a PG-13 film. Director Gary Ross doesn’t overstep the rating while never losing sight of how much is at stake. (Kennedy) 132 minutes
“Jeff, Who Lives at Home”
Coming-of-age tale. * * R. This is a surprising misfire from brothers Jay and Mark Duplass, a hug-it-out, touchy-feely movie that succumbs to the maudlin sentimentality they had avoided in their previous pictures (“The Puffy Chair,” “Baghead,” “Cyrus”). The movie starts out promisingly, as the titular 30-year-old pothead (Jason Segel) launches into a post-bong rant about the M. Night Shyamalan movie “Signs” and how the film holds the key to understanding the universe. Jeff, who is so unmotivated his harried mother (Susan Sarandon) can barely get him to leave the basement, is finally forced to venture outside and run an errand for her. Ed Helms stars as his brother. (Rene Rodriguez, McClatchy Newspapers) 83 minutes
“Mirror Mirror”
Fantasy. * * ½ PG. This film is not a faithful retelling of the versions by the Brothers Grimm or Walt Disney. Julia Roberts plays the Queen in a kingdom we’re introduced to by her opening narration – she was married to a King (Sean Bean) who promptly set off into the forest and was not seen again. That left her as the autocratic ruler of a kingdom with painfully high taxes, and the mother of Snow White (Lily Collins), who is a captive in the castle until she’s 18. There is a financial crisis. Brighton (Nathan Lane), her aide and accountant, tells her she’s broke. That comes at an inconvenient time, because Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer) has wandered into the kingdom, and the Queen knows if she marries him, he can solve her finances. (Roger Ebert, Universal UClick) 106 minutes
“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
Romance. * * ½ PG-13. The film is based on Paul Torday’s novel, a political satire that was a best seller in the U.K., and allows an opening into the worlds of British and Yemeni politics, the devotion of salmon fishermen and the possibilities of romance among humans and salmon, who in this story must both swim upstream. Amr Waked and Ewan McGregor star. (Ebert) 101 minutes
“21 Jump Street”
Spoof. * * * R. The Reagan-era TV series that inspired this inspired comedy was serious about its laughable premise. A team of young-looking police officers went undercover as high-school students to investigate youth-related crimes. In the revival, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play high-school antagonists turned police- academy grads who find themselves thrown together in an identical back-to-school operation. Their captain (Nick Offerman of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”) explains the program was revived because “the people who think these things up have no creativity or imagination. All they do now is recycle (stuff) from the past and expect us not to notice.” (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune) 109 minutes
“We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Drama. * * ½ R. Director Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s dark novel a tormented mother and the teen son who commits a heinous crime is as vivid as it is frustrating. Despite a fearless performance by Tilda Swinton, the drama is less an illuminating look at being the parent of a child who commits a malevolent act than it is an indulgent drama about sins of ambivalent mothering. Bad seed? Bad mother? Both. Surely there’s more to consider than these conclusions. John C. Reilly plays the clueless father. At the Esquire. (Kennedy)112 minutes
“Wrath of the Titans”
Epic. * * PG-13. Why, you may be wondering, are the Titans feeling wrathful? The seeds of their present discontent can be traced back a decade (or two years in movie time) to the events related in “Clash of the Titans” (2010), where Perseus (Sam Worthington) defeated the Kraken and hopefully retired to raise his young son. Perseus, you may recall, is a demigod, the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and a human mother. Or maybe you don’t recall. Anyway, Perseus’ retirement is not meant to be because there is a crisis in the world of the gods. (Ebert) 93 minutes
GIANT SCREEN
IMAX — Denver Museum of Nature & Science
“Tornado Alley 3D” and “Flying Monsters 3D.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 2001 Colorado Blvd., 303-322-2009,
IWERKS — The Wildlife Experience “Turtle Vision 3D,” “Sharks 3D,” “The Alps” and “Alaska Dogs.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, 720-488-3300, thewildlife
