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
“Prometheus” * * *
Reviewed on Page 1C
“Madagascar 3”
* * * ½
Reviewed on Page 5C
“Moonrise Kingdom” * * * ½
Reviewed on Page 6C
“I Wish”
Reviewed on Page 5C
“Payback” * *
Reviewed on Page 6C
“Peace, Love & Misunderstanding” * * *
Reviewed at
“6 Month Rule”
Reviewed at
“God Bless America” * *
Reviewed at
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
“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
“For Greater Glory”
War epic. R. An epic dramatization of a little-known chapter of Mexican history called the Cristiada — in which the country’s Roman Catholics rebelled against a government crackdown on religion — “For Greater Glory” is at times so heavy-handed that the movie itself seems at war. Unfortunately, the enemy is not just the repressive administration of President Plutarco Calles (Ruben Blades), who in 1926 signed into law a systematic smothering of Catholicism, but the audience. When the fighting is finally over, you may feel like surrendering, along with Calles. A pet project of Mexican producer Pablo Jose Barroso, whose earlier films include the evangelical-themed “The Greatest Miracle” and “Guadalupe,” the movie has a giant chip on its shoulder. (Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post) 143 minutes
“The Intouchables”
Comedy. * * * R. On paper, this film looks like eat-your-vegetables cinema: the story of a wealthy, white disabled man and the troubled black youth from the projects who becomes his reluctant caretaker. Surely, life lessons will be learned by all and an unlikely friendship will form across racial and socioeconomic lines and we’ll all feel good about ourselves walking out of the theater afterward.
It could have been painfully mawkish, but writers and directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano upend expectations by infusing the comedy with a subversive, playful tone throughout, with some totally inappropriate humor and even some surprises. It’s sweet but not saccharine, and the result is irresistibly crowd-pleasing. At the Mayan. (Lemire) 112 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
“Men in Black 3”
Fantasy sequel. * * ½ PG-13. While not exactly essential, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones’ return as the titularly clad operatives comes with the charm of reprised, well-liked characters and a “didn’t-see-that-coming” conclusion that makes up for sci-fi ride’s early sequelitis. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the time-traveling take finds Agent J (Smith) headed back to 1969 in hopes of saving K — and the planet. Despite his jagged teeth, nemesis Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) makes a dull baddy. Thankfully, Josh Brolin proves to be understated fun as the younger K and the arrival of multidimension-gleaning character Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg) adds touchingly to this space-time ride. In 2-D and 3-D at area theaters. (Kennedy) 106 minutes
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
Fairy-tale action. * * PG-13. From “Hanna” to “The Hunger Games,” TV’s “Grimm” to “Once Upon a Time,” big screens and small have been rife with fairy-tale redux and revisions recently, some forward thinking, others mired in old-school gender ideas. Based on the trailers, there was reason to hope for something inventive from first-class advertising director Rupert Sanders’ debut feature. “What kind of sucker, are you?” you may be wondering. “Snow White and the Huntsman” is a too earnest (if action-packed) return to one of the Brothers. Grimm’s enduring and vexing heroines. Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron have a pretty face-off as Snow White and the malevolent queen out to get her. Chris Hemsworth portrays the tracker of the title. Giant talents — Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, and Ray Winstone among them — appear as the famous dwarfs. (Kennedy) 126 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 “The Secrets of Turtle Reef 3D,” “Wild Amazon: Hidden Land of Change” and “Planet’s Best: North American Wildlife Encounters.” Dates, times and tickets vary. 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, 720-488-3300, thewildlife
