Airplane! (1980)
One of the greatest comedic slapstick films of all time, Airplane! is about a mid-air flight crew that falls ill. The only one who can save them is an ex-pilot who is afraid of flying. Rated PG. At Boulder Outdoor Cinema. 



American Teen
Director Nanette Burstein spent the 2005-06 school year roaming the hallways of Warsaw High School in Indiana. Consciously evoking the archetypes and fearsomely divisive cliques of a John Hughes screenplay, Burstein’s film lets the reality-TV vibe creep in, and suddenly everyone appears to be playing herself or himself, rather than just being. Yet it’s hard not to be pulled into the day-to-day crises and machinations of the five students we meet here. Rated PG-13 (some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking — all involving teens). At Mayan. — Michael Phillips

Bottle Shock
See article on page 60. Rated PG-13. At Mayan.

Brideshead Revival
In some scenes, Laurence Olivier took more time sipping his tea in the 1981 British TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited than it takes to watch all of this brisk, disheveled film version of the Evelyn Waugh novel. Matthew Goode plays Charles Ryder, religious skeptic and Oxford student. He befriends Sebastian (Ben Whishaw), disreputable son of the aristocratic Marchmain household. The film heightens the relationship between Charles and Sebastian’s younger sister (Hayley Atwell). It also positions the fearsome Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson) front and center. Rated PG-13 (some sexual content). At Flatiron, Esquire and Chez Artiste. — Michael Phillips

The Dark Knight
Sensational, grandly sinister and not for the kids, The Dark Knight elevates pulp to a very high level. Heath Ledger’s Joker takes it higher still, and the actor’s death earlier this year of an accidental overdose lends the film an air of a funeral and a rollicking, out-of-control wake mixed together. The film, which improves upon the solemn authority director Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne brought to Batman Begins, has an atmospheric shimmer all its own. It’s a brooding crime saga with some spectacular action sequences. Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of violence and some menace). At Flatiron, Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips

Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn) confirms his standing as poet laureate of men in extreme situations with Encounters At The End Of The World. In this visually stunning exploration, Herzog travels to the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, headquarters of the National Science Foundation and home to eleven hundred people during the austral summer (October to February). Over the course of his journey, Herzog examines human nature and Mother Nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and sometimes absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers and truck drivers who choose to form a society as far away from society as one can get. Not rated. At Starz. — Denver Film Society

Get Smart
If director Peter Segal’s dutiful, heavy-spirited comedy clicks with fans of the old TV series as well as with those too young to give a rip about the original — it’ll be a case of the right cast winning out over the wrong material, material that is immaterial regarding what made the show so popular in its spy-infested, James Bonded, Man From U.N.C.L.E. era. Rated PG-13 (some rude humor, action violence and language). At Colony Square. — Michael Phillips

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Narrated by Johnny Depp, this biopic lays out a history of Thompson’s work and his legacy, leaning heavily on his “gonzo” image, the hard-boozing, hard-drugging, larger-than-life persona that dominated his writing, and sometimes outshone it. The film is informative and a little titillating, but like Thompson’s work itself, it sometimes feels like a smoke screen, a colorful but distracting set of pretenses hiding as much as they reveal. Rated R (language and brief nudity). At Starz. — Tasha Robinson

Hancock
The idea sounds ripe: Will Smith, one of the screen’s most engaging stars, playing a surly wino of a superhero, making a mess of Los Angeles as he comes to the occasional aid of those in need. Enter a PR whiz (Jason Bateman), who takes on Hancock as his latest project and helps him see the value in soft, non-destructive landings and the odd kind word. Not even Smith’s charisma can mitigate the chaos that is Hancock. The violence and the general abrasiveness are a genuine drag. Rated PG-13 (some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language). At  Flatiron. — Michael Phillips

Hell Ride
See full screen review on page 66. Rated R. At Mayan.

Henry Poole is Here
A man abandons his lover and family to spend what he thinks are his last days alone, until one neighbor restores his faith. Rated PG. At Esquire and Colony Square.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
This eagerly anticipated sequel, which comes 19 years after Harrison Ford last donned the Indiana Jones fedora, doesn’t know when to quit. Nor does it extract much fun from a cockamamie story involving aliens, the lost city of El Dorado, the Red Menace and the kid (Shia LaBeouf) Indy never knew he had. Director Steven Spielberg delivers the usual frenetic action scenes, but a lot of this disappointingly humorless picture veers uneasily between solemnity and slapstick and 47 different genres. Rated PG-13 (adventure violence and scary images).  At Flatiron. — Michael Phillips

Mamma Mia!
It’s funny what you buy completely onstage and resist on-screen. Case in point: Mamma Mia! — the ABBA-fueled stage phenomenon that is now a movie. Meryl Streep handles the ABBA tunes with aplomb, but it’s disappointing to see the film version turn out this way — not lousy, but pushy. Free spirit Donna (Streep) lives with her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on a Greek island. Sophie, about to marry, learns her father, whom she never knew, is one of three possible candidates (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard), and all are coming to the wedding. Rated PG-13 (some sex-related comments).  At Century, Flatiron and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips


Man on Wire
A documentary that follows Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire routine performed between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City. The act was hailed as the “artistic crime of the century.” Rated PG-13. At Chez Artiste.


Mirrors
An ex-cop must protect his family from an evil force that uses mirrors to enter the human world. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Mongol
A grandly kitschy rendering of Genghis Khan’s early years, Mongol might as well be called Braveheart in a Yurt. Director Sergei Bodrov isn’t trying to get anyone to look at the historical figure’s tactical wiles, or the cost of all that bloodshed, in a challenging way. Mainly Mongol is out for pretty pictures and epic photogenic mythmaking. Rated R (sequences of bloody warfare). At Starz. — Michael Phillips

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
This over-the-top action sequel, starring Brendan Fraser, is likely to click with the public, given the enormous profitability of the first two Mummy movies. Dragon Emperor begins promisingly, with a pleasantly outsize prologue about an ancient warlord turned to stone by a curse. But with all the attempts to smack viewers in the face with fleeting, competing “Wows,” a lot of the “Wows” turn into “ehs” as the film progresses. Rated PG-13 (adventure action and violence). At Flatiron, Century and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

The Pineapple Express
See full screen review on page 66. Rated R. At Century, Flatiron, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

The Princess Bride (1987)
Princess Buttercup has been kidnapped as the future bride of evil Prince Humperdinck. To rescue her and reclaim his one true love, the adventurous Westley embarks on a journey through a kingdom filled with monsters, swordfights and Inigo Montoya. Rated PG. At Boulder Outdoor Cinema.


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The four stars of the original Sisterhood (America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel) are back for this smart, confident second act, reprising their roles as friends who share some remarkable blue jeans that mysteriously transform to fit each of them. Nothing about this movie feels revolutionary, but don’t let its easy charm fool you: Serious issues lurk beneath the cinematic sheen. Rated PG-13 (mature material and sensuality). Rated PG-13. At Century, Flatiron, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Jessica Reaves

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The Army of the Republic, led by the Jedi, battles the droid armies across the galaxy. Rated PG. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Step Brothers
This movie is stupid, predictable and fairly funny, though even its bigger laughs make you wonder if the whole arrested-adolescent streak in contemporary screen comedy may be running its course. Will Ferrell plays Brennan, 39 and living with mom (Mary Steenburgen). John C. Reilly plays Dale, 40, still at home with dad (Richard Jenkins). The parents meet, fall in love, and suddenly you have a blended-family situation of extreme volatility followed by extreme bonding. Rated R (crude and sexual content and pervasive language). At Century, Flatiron, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

Swing Vote
Kevin Costner plays an unemployed plant worker (and father of a 12-year-old girl) whose vote will decide a presidential election following an electronic voting error. The premise is comfortably far-fetched, and Swing Vote is best taken as a tale of a father and a daughter coming through a rough patch to a better place, rather than anything to do with actual real-world politics. Rated PG-13 (language). At Flatiron and Century. — Michael Phillips

Tell No One
This French thriller focuses in on Alexander, a pediatrician wrongfully accused but never prosecuted for the death of his wife, Margot. Eight years after the incident, two bodies are found near Margot’s former resting spot and the case reopens. Things get stickier when Alexander receives an e-mail, showing his wife alive and older. Not rated. At Mayan.

Tropic Thunder
A pampered actor and his co-stars become part of a real war in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Flatiron.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
In this latest film by Woody Allen, two women in Barcelona fall in love with the same man, whose ex-wife is about to enter the picture. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Colony Square and Century.

The Visitor
A reclusive widower (Richard Jenkins) visiting New York City for an economics conference forges an unexpected friendship with a Syrian drummer (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend (Danai Gurira) in writer-director Tom McCarthy’s simple, moving story about connections and goodbyes. It’s a pleasure to see veteran character actor Jenkins step up to a leading role. Rated PG-13 (brief strong language). At Starz. — Michael Phillips

The Wackness
Facing his high school graduation and a long, solitary summer before college, friendless Luke (Josh Peck) stews in his own lack of purpose. Angry at his empty life, he half-unwillingly strikes up an inappropriately close relationship with his therapist (Ben Kingsley), then becomes interested in his therapist’s stepdaughter (Olivia Thirlby). Kingsley seems to be enjoying himself as the scenery-gnawing doc, but most of the film, set in New York City in 1994, lacks his energy and sense of spontaneity. Rated R (pervasive drug use, language and some sexuality). At Starz. — Tasha Robinson

Wall-E
A hunk of metal with binoculars for eyes — can this be the screen’s latest true hero? Yes. In Pixar’s marvelous new feature, set 700 years from now, planet Earth has become an uninhabitable garbage dump, whose last resident (besides a roach) is the title robot. How he saves the planet is the subject of director Andrew Stanton’s story, beautifully realized. Rated G. At Flatiron, Century and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips

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