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
“Dark Shadows” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 1C
“Sound of My Voice” * * *
Reviewed on Page 7C
“The Lady” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 5C
“Boy” * * * ½
Reviewed on Page 5C
“The Perfect Family” *
Reviewed at
“Surviving Progress” * * * ½
Reviewed at
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
Travel comedy. * * * ½ PG-13. The hotel of the title is a retirement destination in India for “the elderly and beautiful.” It has seen better days, and if you want to see what the better days looked like, just examine the brochure, which depicts a luxurious existence near Udaipur, a popular tourist destination in Rajasthan. To this city travel a group of seven Brits with seven reasons for making the move. As we meet them jammed on the bus from the airport, we suspect that the film will be about their various problems and that the hotel will not be as advertised. What we may not expect is what a charming, funny and heartwarming movie this is, a smoothly crafted entertainment that makes good use of seven superb veteran actors. (Roger Ebert, Universal Uclick) 124 minutes
“Bully”
Documentary. * * * ½ PG-13. Lee Hirsch’s empathetic, provocative film features five families living with the fallout of bullying. What’s missing here makes the title a bit of bait-and-switch: The so-called bully remains too much a mystery. Still, “Bully” is smart and compassionate must-see about the pain of wounded kids and the frustration felt by their parents. (Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post) 98 minutes
“Chimpanzee”
Nature documentary. * * * G. Having qualms about Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield’s stunningly observant documentary about an orphaned chimp named Oscar might sound a bit like hating puppies. But this film’s astonishing views are too often undercut with a coddling script full of unnecessary anthropomorphic tics meant to rope kids in when the images do the job so well. “The Jungle Book,” anybody? (Kennedy) 78 minutes
“Darling Companion” Comedy drama. * PG-13. It is depressing to reflect on the wealth of talent that conspired to make this inert and listless movie. I walked in knowing it was directed by Lawrence Kasdan (“Grand Canyon,” “The Big Chill”). And that the cast included Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Richard Jenkins, Dianne Wiest and Sam Shepard. How could it fail to be good? Lacking that, how could it fail to be fair? How could it be so appallingly pointless? How could it be such thin soup? All the rest of the movie involves a search for the missing dog. Three days of it. At the Chez. (Ebert) 103 minutes
“The Five-Year Engagement”
Comedy. * * R. This film is so scattered and over-long, it really feels like it lasts five years, and even the inherent likability of stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt can’t overcome the film’s pervasive sense of strain. It almost gets to the point where you hope these two will break up for good, just because it’s the pragmatic thing to do and because it would finally wrap things up. (Christy Lemire, The Associated Press) 124 minutes
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
Superhero flick. * * * ½ PG-13. Leave it to director/writer Joss Whedon to find potent, wry, even touching chemistry in a bickering collection of superheroes used to going it alone. The creator of Buffy, slayer of vampires, knows his way around bold action, special effects that earn the moniker, and character above all. The gangs all here marshaled on screen by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Franchisees Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk, as well as Black Widow and Hawkeye. (Kennedy) 143 minutes
“Marley”
Music documentary. * * * ½ PG-13. This is an ambitious and comprehensive film and does what is probably the best possible job of documenting an important life. Authorized by all the members of his scattered family and with rights to all of his music and a wealth of previously unseen film and video footage, it shows the growth of a legend. What is interesting is that Marley seems not to have had a concrete goal for his career other than to use music to bring people together. His instincts were good, and to an unusual degree he found independence in a white-ruled music industry. At the Mayan. (Ebert) 144 minutes
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
Animated romp. * * PG. There’s an inviolable law of animated films — the more “names” you have in the voice cast, the weaker you know your film is. Aardman, those meticulous Brits who build clay models and painstakingly animate them into Wallace & Gromit cartoons and the hit “Chicken Run,” tip their hand that way with “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.” A pirate picture that’s entirely too late to the party to have much in the line of fresh pirate gags, it is stuffed with name voice actors, from Hugh Grant as The Pirate Captain to Salma Hayek, Brendan Gleeson, Imelda Stanton, Anton Yelchin and Jeremy Piven. Grant’s Pirate Captain is something of a bust, even though his crew adores him. He figures he’s due for the “Pirate of the Year” award. But he’s always come up short in the booty and pillaging department. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) 128 minutes
“The Raven”
Mystery. * * R. Edgar Allen Poe, one of America’s greatest literary geniuses, comes to life as a dashing, conflicted writer caught in a series of maddening events shortly before his mysterious death. John Cusack’s accessible, Hollywood-friendly Poe is a charming, penniless rogue and boozer, and Cusack brings an inherent likability to the role. But a lurching plot and director James McTeigue’s (“V for Vendetta”) indecisive tone prevent Cusack from ever rising above a slight portrayal. (John Wenzel, The Denver Post) 111 minutes
“Safe”
Violent action. * ½ R. This is the worst Jason Statham movie since the last Jason Statham movie, carrying on the bargain-budget action star’s tradition of building a body of work out of, well, dead bodies. Writer-director Boaz Yakin proves the ideal enabler for Statham’s brand of mindless carnage. Together, they turn Manhattan into little more than a shooting gallery, stacking up corpses in service of a supposed story about one man’s path to redemption. (David Germain, The Associated Press) 95 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 “Planet’s Best: North American Wildlife Encounters.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, 720-488-3300, thewildlife
