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 WEEKEND
“Beyond the Lights” ** ½ PG-13. Reviewed on 6C.
“Dumb and Dumber To” PG-13. Reviewed at denverpost.com/movies
“Rosewater” R. Reviewed on 5C.
“The Theory of Everything” * * * * PG-13. Reviewed on 5C.
“The Way He Looks” * * * * Not rated. Reviewed on 4C.
continuing
Selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically:
“Big Hero 6” Animated adventure. * * * PG. Need a hug? Not only the booster-seat crowd will want one from Baymax , the over-sized, inflatable robot invented to be a personal health assistant in this Marvel comic-inspired tale of grief, comfort and smarts. When tragedy strikes, prodigy Hiro Hamada and his brother’s ultra-smart friends unite as the masked gang of the title to halt a tech- thieving villain. The vivid action is set in an Amer-Asian burg called San Fransokyo. Voice talent includes Damon Wayans Jr., Maya Rudolph, and Denver’s own T.J. Miller as Fred, the technology fan with surprisingly deep pockets. Yes, Hiro (voice of Ryan Potter) may be the young brainiac with the story arc but Baymax (Scott Adsit) is irresistible. (Kennedy) 109 minutes
“Birdman” Dark comedy. * * * * R. In this dark, soaring, fantastical comedy, director Alejandro G. Iñárrituhe finds no shortage of the damaged. Michael Keaton nakedly embodies Riggan Thomson, a former superhero franchise star angling for an artistic triumph on Broadway. Thomson tries to mount, direct and star in an adaptation — his own! — of a Raymond Carver short story. Edward Norton plays MIke Shiner, the brilliant thespian Thomson hires, who becomes in many ways a necessary arch-enemy. At the Esquire. (Kennedy) 119 minutes
“Fury” WWII drama. * * ½ R. “Fury” is a handsome film and not merely because Brad Pitt plays Don “Wardaddy” Collier, the central figure in this visceral World War II drama about a tank commander and his crew at the vicious end of World War II in Europe. (Kennedy) 133 minutes
“Gone Girl” Drama. * * ½ R. The book is better. Even though Gillian Flynn adapted her scorching 2012 best-seller about a wife gone missing and a husband suspected of a violent deed, director David Fincher’s portrait of marital contempt is a lesser affair. (Kennedy) 145 minutes
“Interstellar” Sci-fi adventure. * * * * PG-13. Earth is down to its final crop — corn — when reluctant farmer and former astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and young daughter Murph learn that NASA still exists. And that Professor Brand (Nolan vet Michael Caine) is working to get humans through a newly discovered wormhole. If — and it’s the biggest “if” of all — Brand and a crew of astronauts can find a sustaining home. Anne Hathaway plays Brand’s daughter, astronaut Amelia Brand. Movies journey to space to contemplate Earth. They hurl headlong into the future to ponder the past and the present. We escape into their multiplex fantasies to re-engage emotional realities. With this cinematic, storytelling feat, Christopher Nolan and co-writer Jonathan Nolan have delivered a tale spectacular and doggedly humane, one that tussles with fathers and daughters, our pioneering spirit and parental passions, the desire to go and are ache to stay. IMAX and 35mm formats in addition to digital. (Kennedy) 168 minutes
“John Wick” Thriller. R. Keanu Reeves in his darkest and most tormented role yet: a stunningly lethal contract killer who goes on a rampage after a Russian thug murders his dog. The rest is pure revenge-movie gold. (Peter Debruge, Variety) 101 minutes
“Nightcrawler” Dark drama. * * ½ R. In writer-director Dan Gilroy’s atmospheric film, a slightly off autodidact finds his calling chasing down night-time police blotter disasters and freelancing his video to a local TV news director desperate for ratings. What it really has going for it is an idiosyncratic, transfixing performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom. (Kennedy) 117 minutes
“The Skeleton Twins” Drama. * * * ½ R. “Saturday Night Live” alums Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are wonderfully believable as twins Milo and Maggie in this bittersweet, touchingly authentic tale of sibling reconciliation and reckoning. At the Chez. (Kennedy) 92 minutes
“St. Vincent” Comedy. * * * ½ PG-13. First-time feature director and writer Theodore Melfi has two reasons why this tale of an accidental babysitter and his hopeful ward is a minor comedic miracle. The obvious one is Bill Murray as drinking, gambling, stripper-engaged Vincent McKenna. The surprise comes by way of Jaeden Lieberher as Oliver, the wise-child whose almost divorced mom Maggie is doing the best she can. (Kennedy) 103 minutes
“Whiplash” Drama. * * * ½ R. Go figure. Writer-director Damien Chazelle’s harrowing and elegant tale of an ambitious young jazz drummer and his bullying teacher is not a terrific jazz music film. And yet, the film is one of the best of 2014. At the Mayan. (Kennedy) 106 minutes
