Now Showing
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
“Men in Black 3” * * ½
Reviewed on Page 6C
“Tonight You’re Mine”
Reviewed on Page 7C
“The Color Wheel”
Reviewed on Page 7C
“We Have a Pope” * * * ½
Reviewed on Page 7C
“Small, Beautifully Moving Parts”
Reviewed at
“Chernobyl Diaries “
Not reviewed
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.
“Battleship”
Board-game-inspired action. * * ½ PG-13. This film is big, dumb fun that knows it’s big, dumb fun and enthusiastically embraces its big, dumb, fun nature. Director Peter Berg has crafted an almost fetishistic homage to Michael Bay — like Bay’s “Transformers” series, this is yet another action extravaganza inspired by a Hasbro product — with its epic set pieces, swaggering bravado, panoramic skies and cheesy romance. And because it’s a little cheeky and doesn’t seem to take itself totally seriously, it’s more enjoyable than one might expect from a movie based on a board game created in the 1960s. Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson are among the cast. (Christy Lemire, The Associated Press) 131 minutes “Bernie”
True crime tale. * * * PG-13. Director Richard Linklater and Jack Black (“The School of Rock”) reunite for this far more dramatic outing based on a true story set in East Texas. In 1998 Bernie Tiede was tried for the murder of Marjorie Nugent, a widow he’d befriended. While Linklater calls this dark comedy his “Fargo,” this entertaining film is less outright hilarious and strangely more thoughtful about death, companionship and community. Shirley MacLaine is the cantankerous victim, Nugent.. Matthew McConaughey is Danny Buck, the district attorney. (Kennedy) 104 minutes “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
“Crooked Arrows”
Sports drama. PG-13. This high-school sports drama has two — but only two — original selling points: Its protagonists are Native Americans, and the sport in question is lacrosse. That’s something you don’t see every day. Other than that, however, the film’s moves are taken straight out of the “Bad News Bears” playbook. Roster of struggling but plucky players? Check. Troubled and reluctant coach seeking redemption? Check. Arrogant arch- rivals seeking comeuppance? Climactic, high-stakes game? Inspirational message about the power of believing in yourself? Check, check and check. Brandon Routh plays a former high-school lacrosse hotshot turned real estate developer and manager of his reservation’s casino. When Joe’s unscrupulous boss (Tom Kemp) wants more land to expand the casino, Joe is forced to take on a coaching gig before his tribal council will consider him worthy of being granted the contract. (Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post) 104 minutes
“Dark Shadows”
TV remake. * * ½ PG-13. Entombed for 200 years by a scorned witch, vampire Barnabas Collis returns to his ancestral home in 1972 to find his descendants a much diminished lot and the world full of new oddities. Though hardly in a class with director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp’s most memorable collaborations (starting with “Edward Scissorhands”), this big-screen reprise of the cult-beloved daytime TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1971, is an often amusing, teasingly naughty lark. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green. (Kennedy) 120 minutes
“First Position”
Dance documentary. * * * Not rated. “First Position” is a welcome antidote to tawdry reality shows like “Dance Moms” and breathless competitions like “So You Think You Can Dance.” Director Bess Kargman’s documentary follows a half-dozen aspiring professional ballet dancers at the Youth America Grand Prix, an elite competition for performers ages 9-19 where prizes, scholarships and contracts with prestigious companies await. At the Chez. (Lemire) 84 minutes
“Headhunters”
Thriller. * * * ½ R. It’s not often a thriller keeps me wound up as well as “Headhunters” did. I knew I was being manipulated and didn’t care. It was a pleasure to see how well it was being done. Unlike too many thrillers that depend on stunts, special effects and a queasy-cam, this one devises a plot where it matters what happens. It’s not all kinetic energy. It’s from Norway. At its center is an everyman, Roger Brown (played by Aksel Hennie), who is an executive headhunter. While interviewing job candidates, he learns information that’s invaluable in his second job, as an art thief. (Ebert) 100 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 gang’s 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
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting”
Pregnancy comedy. * * PG-13. A good-looking cast of popular actors (Elizabeth Banks, Cameron Diaz and Chris Rock are a few) can only do so much with material that’s superficial and sitcommy. Director Kirk Jones’ film is “inspired by” the Heidi Murkoff advice book of the same name, one that every pregnant woman on the planet surely has read since its initial publication in 1985. But similar to 2009’s “He’s Just Not That Into You,” the script from Shauna Cross and Heather Hach merely uses a familiar nonfiction title as a leaping-off point to explore various intertwined relationships, ostensibly for hilarious comic effect. (Lemire)110 minutes
GIANT SCREEN
IMAX — Denver Museum of Nature & Science
“To the Arctic 3D,” “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
