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August 6 - August 12, 2009
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 (500) Days of Summer
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays L.A. greeting-card writer Tom, whose heart gets kicked around by free-spirited co-worker Summer (Zooey Deschanel). As Tom sifts through memories of his time with Summer, the movie clicks onto different days, out of order, letting us eavesdrop on one vignette or conversation or argument after another. Days plays some fun structural mind games, Deschanel is captivating, and the film has an easygoing, inquisitive spirit. Rated PG-13 (sexual material and language). At Century, Mayan, Flatiron and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Burma VJ
Director Anders Østergaard’s award-winning documentary shows a rare inside look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the cameras of the independent journalist group, Democratic Voice of Burma. While 100,000 people (including thousands of Buddhist monks) took to the streets to protest the country’s repressive regime that has held them hostage for more than 40 years, foreign news crews were banned to enter and the Internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police — even after they themselves become targets of the authorities. Winner of the International Human Rights Film Award at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, as well as the Editing Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Not Rated. At Starz — Denver Film Society
Captain Abu Raed
A universal story of friendship, inspiration and heroism set in contemporary Jordan. Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha) is a lonely janitor at Amman’s International Airport. Never having realized his dreams of seeing the world, he experiences it vicariously through books and brief encounters with travelers. Donning a discarded captain’s hat he finds in the trash at work one day, he is followed by a neighborhood boy who spots him wearing it as he walks home. The next morning he wakes up to find a group of neighborhood children at his door, believing him to be an airline pilot. And thus the friendship begins. Happy for the company and attention, he takes the children to colorful places around the world through his fictional stories and inspires them to believe in their own ambitions. The first Jordanian feature film ever exported to the world’s cinemas. Not rated. At Starz. — Denver Film Society
Donnie Darko (2001)
October 2nd, 1988: just another ordinary day in Donnie Darko’s teen-aged existence. He’s taken his medication, watched Dukakis and Bush debate, and had dinner with the family. Then comes an outrageous accident. Out of the blue, a 2,000 pound jet engine plummets from the sky and crashes into Donnie’s bedroom, obliterating it. Luckily, Donnie isn’t in bed. Or is it luck? As Donnie begins to explore what it means to still be alive, and in short order to be in love, he uncovers secrets of the universe that give him a tempting power to alter time and destiny. From 26-year-old first-time writer-director Richard Kelly comes the provocative Donnie Darko, a genre-busting fable that blasts the American suburban drama into a wildly imaginative realm of time travel, alternative universes and the manipulation of one’s fate. But at the core of Donnie Darko is the simple story of a boy trying to make a stand in a lonely, chaotic world — and discovering that every little thing he does counts on a cosmic scale. Rated R. At Red Rocks. — Denver Film Society
Food, Inc.
This eye-popping documentary from filmmaker Robert Kenner should win a few hearts and minds regarding what we put in our stomachs. But the film got virtually no cooperation from representatives of the dominant players in industrial food production, and as a result, Food, Inc. is a rangy, well-articulated essay rather than a compelling point-counterpoint. Rated PG (some thematic material and disturbing images). At Chez Artiste. — Michael Phillips
Funny People
See full screen review on page 54. Rated R. At Flatiron, Twin Peaks, Century and Colony Square.
G-Force
The new Disney macho rodent action picture, G-Force, has the vibe of a typical R-rated Jerry Bruckheimer headbanger. Its sensibility isn’t so much childish as smarmily adolescent. Premise: Bill Nighy’s consumer-electronics maven plans to take over the world. U.S. government-funded guinea pigs must prevent the worst. The pacing’s unvaryingly nervous, as if a gerbil directed it. Luckily, Nicolas Cage is amusing voicing the commando mole, Speckles, single-handedly giving this energetically soulless enterprise some personality. Rated PG (some mild action and rude humor). At Flatiron, Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
The Gold Retrievers
Josh and his trusty dog, Bosco, must venture into a cursed forest in the hopes of finding the fabled treasure which will save their house from foreclosure. Starring Billy Zane, Steve Guttenberg and Curtis Armstrong and introducing Noah Centineo as Josh. Ages 8 to 12. Free showing at Starz. — Denver Film Society
The Hangover
The Hangover takes care of its target audience — males who, after seeing director Todd Phillips’ earlier and funnier Old School, dreamed of joining the Old School fraternity. This film belongs to the what-happened-last-night? genre typified by Dude, Where’s My Car? Groom-to-be Doug (Justin Bartha) is whisked to Vegas from L.A. by his pals (Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms), with Doug’s eerie future brother-in-law (Zach Galifianakis) in tow. Chaos ensues; laughs do not (although Helms is an exception). Rated R (pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material). At Flatiron, Century and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
This meticulously atmospheric, wonderfully acted Potter adventure lands happily — broodingly, but happily — near the top of the series heap. As the concerns of novelist J.K. Rowling’s characters gravitate toward matters of the heart and the hormones, the Potter films are leaving childhood behind. Yet the friendship of the central trio — Harry (Daniel Radcliffe); Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) — remains the key to the magic. Audience familiarity, in this case, breeds nothing but contentment. Rated PG (scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality). At Flatiron, Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Herb & Dorothy
This documentary tells the extraordinary story of Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and Dorothy Vogel, a librarian, who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means. In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to minimalist and conceptual art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Devoting all of Herb’s salary to purchase art they liked, and living on Dorothy’s paycheck alone, they continued collecting artworks guided by two rules: the piece had to be affordable, and it had to be small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. Within these limitations, they collected over 4,000 pieces and proved themselves curatorial visionaries; most of those they supported and befriended went on to become world-renowned artists. Not Rated. At Starz. — Denver Film Society
The Hurt Locker
Vivid, assured and extremely suspenseful, director Kathryn Bigelow’s latest (and strongest) film takes moviegoers by the collar and throws them headlong into one horrifying life-and-death situation after another. Jeremy Renner plays a soldier in Iraq running toward the explosives while everyone else is ducking and covering. He’s a bomb tech whose job entails disarming one Improvised Explosive Device (IED) after another, day after day. Time will tell if this politically neutral war movie is a classic, but it’s certainly a formidable experience. Rated R (war violence and language). At Mayan, Century and Flatiron. — Michael Phillips
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Not bad, not good, Ice Age 3 may be OK enough to do what it was engineered to do, i.e., baby-sit your kid for a while and rake in the dough. Lack of comic distinction and forgettable computer animation have always held back the Ice Age projects. Dawn of the Dinosaurs lays out one life-and-death scenario after another, dutifully. No wonder the comparatively simple frustrations endured by the squirrel-rat hybrid Scrat offer some relief. Rated PG (some mild rude humor and peril). At Twin Peaks and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Jerichow
Jerichow, a small town in northeastern Germany, is an impoverished region where few jobs are to be had — an area of crisscrossing highways, deep forests and cliffs that fall sharply into the sea. This is the setting for a fateful drama of three people who find themselves at a fortuitous crossroads. Following his mother’s death, Thomas (Benno Fürmann), a former soldier who has been dishonorably discharged from the army, returns to his hometown to renovate his mother’s house. One night, Thomas meets Ali (Hilmi Sözer), a Turkish immigrant who owns a chain of snack bars in the area. Always suspicious of the people who work for him, Ali takes an unusual liking to Thomas. He trusts him and offers him a job as his driver and assistant. Laura (Nina Hoss) is Ali’s restless, beautiful wife. Thomas sees her whenever he drives his delivery truck to Ali’s brick-fronted villa deep in the woods. One day, the three of them head to the beach. Thomas sits next to Laura, while Ali dances, drunken and absentmindedly, to the notes of a Turkish tune, unknowingly setting in motion a series of events that will change the course of their lives. A gripping neo-noir written and directed by Christian Petzold (Yella). Not Rated. At Starz. — Denver Film Society
Moon
This film could alternatively be titled 2009: A Space Odyssey, as it’s virtually impossible not to be reminded of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece between Kevin Spacey’s soothing ministrations as a computer named Gerty and Sam Rockwell’s efforts to cope as the lone occupant of a lunar outpost. Rockwell plays Sam, a technician working on a strip-mining operation on the moon. There’s an accident, a rescue and suddenly another man in this vacuum-sealed life who looks like a younger version of Sam. Director Duncan Jones, son of musician David Bowie, struggles to find entertainment within the esoteric. Rated R (language). At Century and Mayan. — Betsy Sharkey
 Office Space (1999)
Hey, Peter. Whaaat’s happening? Office Space is the comedy for everyone who has ever hated a job (so, everyone). Peter Gibbons, a software engineer for Initech, comes to a vocational revelation after being hypnotized. While trying to win the heart of a waitress (who doesn’t wear enough flair), Peter attempts to get back at his annoying and creepy boss. Aided by coworkers Samir and Michael Bolton, the crew creates a computer code that will steal money from the company and place it in their own separate bank account (just like in Superman 3). Rated R. At Boulder Outdoor Cinema.
Pontypool
Shock jock Grant Mazzy has, once again, been kicked-off the Big City airwaves and now the only job he can get is the early morning show at CLSY Radio in the small town of Pontypool which broadcasts from the basement of the small town’s only church. What begins as another boring day of school bus cancellations, due to yet another massive snow storm, quickly turns deadly. Bizarre reports start piling in of people developing strange speech patterns and evoking horrendous acts of violence. But there’s nothing coming in on the news wires. So... is this really happening? Before long, Grant and the small staff at CLSY find themselves trapped in the radio station as they discover that this insane behavior taking over the town is being caused by a deadly virus being spread through the English language itself. Do they stay on the air in the hopes of being rescued or, are they in fact providing the virus with its ultimate leap over the airwaves and into the world? Not Rated. At Startz — Denver Film Society
Pressure Cooker
Pressure Cooker profiles the lives of three high school seniors from Northeast Philadelphia, each with unique hardships but with the shared goal of winning scholarships to the country’s best culinary schools. Their unlikely hero is irreverent Culinary Arts teacher Wilma Stephenson. A legend in the school system, Mrs. Stephenson’s hilariously blunt boot-camp method of teaching Culinary Arts is validated by years of scholarship success. Against the backdrop of the row homes of working-class Philadelphia, she has helped countless students reach the top culinary schools in the country. And under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school are swept aside as Erica, Dudley and Fatoumata prepare to achieve beyond what anyone else expects from them. Not Rated. At Starz. — Denver Film Society
The Proposal
In this disposable romantic comedy, Ryan Reynolds plays the beleaguered Man Friday to a fearsomely mean book editor played by Sandra Bullock. The editor, a Canadian living in New York, has visa troubles and is threatened with deportation. She strong-arms the assistant into marrying her — quickie divorce to follow — under the suspicious eye of Immigration Services. It’s not terrible, but there’s not much fun to be had watching the Wicked Witch of the Upper East Side get her comeuppance and thaw out and fall in love. Rated PG-13 (sexual content, nudity and language). At Flatiron. — Michael Phillips
Public Enemies
Johnny Depp stars as charismatic Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger, and Christian Bale plays G-man Melvin Purvis. The film is a fascinating bundle of contradictions — authentic in a million details, deeply romanticized in others. Cool, calm and collected, this is more love story than gangster picture (Marion Cotillard plays Dillinger’s lover), and it’s more vivid around the edges than at its center. Yet a genuine filmmaking intelligence guides every scene. Director Michael Mann focuses on 1933-34, the final year and a half in Dillinger’s life. Rated R (gangster violence and some language). At Flatiron. — Michael Phillips
Shrink
See full screen review on page 54. Rated R.
Star Trek
The new Star Trek seeks to extend a lucrative brand with a young demographic. But it’s a real movie — breathlessly paced bordering on manic, but propulsively entertaining. The script ping-pongs early on between Iowa and Vulcan, as the destinies of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) entwine. The plot issues — of moderate interest at best — deal with the space-time continuum and alternate reality. The film may not be memorable science fiction, but it's an engaging pop diversion. Rated PG-13 (sci-fi action and violence and brief sexual content). Rated PG-13. At Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The first Transformers was a headache, but I sort of enjoyed it. It was a Slurpee brain-freeze of a blockbuster. This sequel is more like listening to rocks in a clothes dryer for 2.5 hours. Nobody’s looking for anything other than relentless, brainless action, but director Michael Bay offers nothing but visual and aural chaos. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox run for their lives while the U.S. military and their metallic allies deal with evil robots. Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material). At Flatiron. — Michael Phillips
The Ugly Truth
Yet another romantic comedy portraying a career woman as a harpy with nice clothes and no dates, The Ugly Truth feels about 150 years out of date — or it would, if the script weren’t so clinically dependent on the topics of masturbation and genitalia and raunch. Katherine Heigl plays Abby Richter, Type-A TV producer who hires loutish local cable-access host Mike Chadway (played by Gerard Butler) to boost ratings. Soon Mike is playing a Cyrano role between Abby and the surgeon she’s smitten with. Yet Mike’s heart is slowly breaking. Rated R. At Century, Flatiron and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips
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