Contact Us Advertising Information Online exclusives Cover Story Buzz Feature In Case You Missed It Vote 2009 Boulderganic Fall 2009 Student Guide 2009 Boulder Weekly Sweet 16 Anniversary Boulderganic 2009 Summer Scene 2009 Email Newsletter Legal Services Best of Boulder 2009 Annual Manual 2009 Newspaper of the Future Kids Camp Guide 2009 Wedding Marketplace 09 Jobs available Student Guide 2008 Best of Boulder 2008 Annual Manual 2008 Join Our Mailing List
|
August 21-27, 2008
buzz@boulderweekly.com
Body of War
A look at one American veteran who has been injured in the Iraq war. The film focuses on his struggles with returning home to critical indictment of the government’s handling of the invasion. Not rated. At Chez Artiste.
Bottle Shock
A retelling of the famous “Judgment of Paris,” a blind wine tasting in which early California wine makers pitted their products against French vineyards. The results took the wine world by storm, and this film is stirring up controversy of its own with claims of skewed portrayals. Rated PG-13. At Century and 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 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
Death Race
The warden of a notorious prison forces an ex-con to participate in a vicious road race where prisoners torture and kill one another down the road. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
Elegy
A culture critic’s world is turned around when a young student creates in him a sense of sexual possessiveness. Rated R. At Esquire.
  E.T. (1982)
A Spielberg masterpiece, E.T. is the story of a stranded extra-terrestrial, scared and alone on Earth. He is befriended by a young suburban boy, Elliott, who helps keep him safe. When they both become ill, authorities enter the picture and threaten to tear them apart. Rated PG. At Boulder Outdoor Theater.
Fly Me to the Moon
An animated 3-D snore about three houseflies who stow away aboard Apollo 11. The animation is hard on the eyes, and the script is full of witless Russian-vs.-American cliches. Kelly Ripa does the voice of one of the fly moms. Rated G. At Century. — Michael Phillips
Frozen River
Two single mothers — one Mohawk and one white — are drawn into the world of border smuggling in upstate New York. Rated R. At Mayan.
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
Henry Poole is Here
Told he has only a few months to live, Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) moves near the house where he grew up and finds his spiritual void filled by a strange sight: a water stain on his house’s exterior stucco that some of his neighbors believe to be the face of Jesus. Henry is also drawn to the beaming divorcee next door (Radha Mitchell) and her troubled but sweet young daughter (Morgan Lily). This is mild, gentle, sincere comedy-drama — but it’s mighty placid and schematic, too. Rated PG (thematic elements and some language).At Century, Colony Square and Mayan. — Michael Phillips
The House Bunny
A Playboy bunny, kicked out of the mansion, turns to a sorority for solace. With her fellow clueless sisters, she must fight to keep their house using blonde-girl catch-phrases and a horrifying amount of perkiness — enough to make any feminist’s stomach churn. Could this be the worst plot of the year? We think so. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.
The Longshots
A poor Illinois town rallies behind their Pop Warner team’s female quarterback. Rated PG. At Flatiron and Colony Square.
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.
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 and Century. — Michael Phillips
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1982)
Oh, Clark Griswold, will you ever win? This is the first film in the legacy of Griswold family vacations that never seem to go as planned. Rated R. At Boulder Outdoor Cinema.
The Pineapple Express
A dope dealer (James Franco) and his steady customer (Seth Rogen) go on the run after the latter witnesses a drug-related murder and drops a precious joint at the scene of the crime. Few recent comedies have started so well and ended so poorly. At its sharpest, the script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who co-wrote Superbad, recalls what made Superbad worth seeing: the sidewinding conversational riffs, the why-am-I-laughing? wordplay. Then, around the midpoint, the film falls apart, the violence overshadowing the laughs. Rated R (pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence). At Century, Flatiron, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips
The Rocker
It’s the 1980s, and Robert “Fish” Fishman (Rainn Wilson aka Dwight Schrute) is the drummer for an up-and-coming rock ’n’ roll outfit. In order to gain success, the band drops Fish. Fish spends the next 20 years in misery, wondering what could have happened. But when his nephew needs him to drum for his high-school band, A.D.D., Fish has a chance to reclaim glory. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron and Century.
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
This animated feature was executive-produced by George Lucas, who may be feeling a tad sheepish about the results. A mechanical overture to the forthcoming Clone Wars TV series, the movie is one long, grinding battle scene, and the visual style is genuinely ugly. It’s coming soon, free, to a TV near you, so save your money, younglings. Rated PG (sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking). At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips
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. — 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
See full screen review on page 52. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century and Colony Square.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
See full screen review on page 52. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Colony Square and Century.
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 and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Respond: buzz@boulderweekly.com |
| |
