Reel to reel | Week of October 17, 2013

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Raise your hand if you are too old to make an action movie.

After Tiller

This is a film about Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kan. who conducted late-term abortions until he was shot and killed in 2009. Rated PG-13. At Century.

Big Ass Spider

A hotshot exterminator joins forces with the military to squash a giant arachnid that’s spinning a web of destruction around Los Angeles. At Mayan. — Landmark Theaters

Blue Jasmine

After everything in her life falls to pieces, elegant New York socialite Jasmine moves into her sister Ginger’s modest apartment in San Francisco to try to pull herself back together again. Rated PG. At Esquire and Colony Square.

Captain Phillips

This film, starring Tom Hanks as Captain Phillips, is director Paul Greengrass’s interpretation of the real-life hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in 2009 by Somali pirates. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Carrie

Another remake of the classic. A shy girl who gets treated like crap by her family and peers discovers she has super evil powers and decides to get even. Rated R. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

CBGB

This film looks at New York’s dynamic punk rock scene through the lens of the ground-breaking Lower East Side club started by eccentric Hilly Kristal in 1973 originally as a home for “country, bluegrass and blues” (thus the club’s name) and which showcased cutting-edge bands through its closing in 2006. Rated R. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

If you and the kids liked the first version, then you’ll no doubt like the second. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Despicable Me 2

It’s time for more Minion madness in this animated sequel. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks.

Don Jon

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is addicted to porn. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is addicted to romantic Hollywood movies. When the pair’s fantasy worlds collide, it gets interesting. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Drinking Buddies

Here is a two-couple rom-com set in a microbrewery that transcends convention enough to be meaningful, but conforms enough to be enjoyable. Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) work together at a craft brewery. They have one of those friendships that feels like it could be something more. But Kate is with Chris (Ron Livingston), and Luke is with Jill (Anna Kendrick). And Jill wants to know if Luke is ready to talk about marriage. The answer to that question becomes crystal clear when Luke and Kate unexpectedly find themselves alone for a weekend. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Elysium

In the future, two classes of people exist: the very rich who live a beautiful life on a space station called Elysium, and the very poor who carry on a dreadful existence down on Earth. Rated R. At Colony Square.

Enough Said

Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a divorced, single parent masseuse who meets Albert (James Gandolfini), a nice guy in the same boat. Love and laughs follow. Rated PG-13. At Esquire and Century. — Landmark Theatres

Escape Plan

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up to break out of an escape-proof prison. Rated PG- 13. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

The Family

An offbeat action comedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro, who play mobsters in the witness protection program. Rated R. At Colony Square.

The Fifth Estate

This is a film about WikiLeaks and its role in our new world where our own government is constantly spying on us and whistleblowing has become a life-threatening pursuit. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Gravity

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this visually stunning film that strands two astronauts in space when a routine spacewalk goes wrong. Also in 3-D. Rated PG- 13. At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square.

Herb & Dorothy 50×50

Herb & Dorothy 50×50, a follow-up to the award-winning documentary Herb & Dorothy, tells the story of a remarkable new chapter in the life of the legendary art collecting couple, Herb and Dorothy Vogel, through their historical gift project. At SIE Film Center. — Denver Film Society

In a World…

Carol, a struggling vocal coach, strikes it big in the cutthroat world of movie-trailer voiceovers, only to find herself in direct competition with the industry’s reigning king: her father. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Inequality for All

In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic policy expert Robert Reich takes on the enormous question of what has been happening to our economy. Rated PG. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Insidious: Chapter 2

Director James Wan gives us a terrifying sequel to his original horror film. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks.

Instructions Not Included

Valentin (Eugenio Derbez) is a playboy in Acapulco until someone leaves a baby on his doorstep telling him it’s his. This begins a journey that leads him to Hollywood where he becomes a stunt-man while raising his daughter alone. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Forest Whitaker stars as a White House butler whose 34-year tenure sees incredible social change. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square.

Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy

When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the world came to a crashing halt as the nation grieved for its leader whose promise of a brighter future was cut tragically short. During this time the president’s widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, received thousands of letters from the public offering their heartfelt condolences. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Machete Kills

Just when it looks like a madman and his billionaire partner are about to take over the world, the President calls on super agent Machete to save the day. Rated R. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Muscle Shoals

Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Ala., is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America’s most creative and defiant music. At its heart is Rick Hall, who founded FAME Studios. Overcoming crushing poverty and staggering tragedies, Hall brought black and white together in Alabama’s cauldron of racial hostility to create music for the generations. He is responsible for creating the “Muscle Shoals sound” and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start its own successful studio, known as Muscle Shoals Sound. Greg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals’ magnetism, mystery and why it remains influential today. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy teams up with his other-worldly friends to go after the Golden Fleece. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks.

Prisoners

How far would you go to save your kid? What would you be willing to do? These are the questions that Hugh Jackman’s character Keller Dover is forced to answer when his 6-year-old daughter mysteriously disappears. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Romeo and Juliet (2013)

The ultimate romantic story, traditionally told in a Renaissance setting, Romeo & Juliet shows us love at its purest and tragedy at its most fateful. Having been decades since its last representation through film, Romeo & Juliet offers a new generation the opportunity to savor and cherish literature’s most enduring romance. Rated PG-13. At Century and Chez Artiste — Landmark Theatres

Runner Runner

A Princeton college student who earns his tuition money by gambling online winds up in Costa Rica trying to get back his losses from the gambling sites owner who he thinks swindled him. The two team up, but when things go bad they turn on each other. Rated R. At Century, Twin Peaks and Colony Square.

Rush

Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard creates a visual masterpiece that recreates the well-documented 1970s rivalry between race-car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Rated R. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Salinger

This film features interviews with 150 subjects, including J.D. Salinger’s friends, colleagues and members of his inner circle who have never spoken on the record before, as well as film footage, photographs and other material that has never been seen. Rated PG-13. At SIE Film Center — Denver Film Society

Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema

Sans Souci is a niche film festival specializing in the integration of dance and cinema and offering a rich program of short films from around the world. Meaning “without worry,” Sans Souci was conceived one fine spring day in 2003 when the founders sat on the porch of a 1967 Marlette Mobile home in the Sans Souci Trailer Park in Boulder, musing about the pleasures of viewing and creating dances for the screen. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Shining

You know the one; “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Rated R. At Esquire.

Short Term 12

A compassionate 20-something who works with troubled kids runs into her own troubles when her life starts spinning out of control. Rated R. At Mayan and SIE Film Center — Denver Film Society

Spartacus: The Bolshoi Ballet Live

This grandiose epic recounts the story of a Roman slave’s fight for freedom. With its famous Khachaturian score, since the 1960s it has been considered one of the greatest ballets in the Bolshoi repertoire, and one that gives full expression to the virility and strength for which Russia’s male dancers are renowned. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Spectacular Now With sly humor and an intensity of feeling, The Spectacular Now creates a vivid, three-dimensional portrait of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. At SIE Film Center.

The Summit

In August 2008, 22 climbers from several countries and in several separate expeditions wound up at High Camp on K2. This documentary shows what happened next on this mountain where one in four climbers never make it down. NR. At Mayan.

Wadjda

Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun-loving, entrepreneurial and always pushing the boundaries of what she can get away with. Rated PG. At Chez Artiste — Landmark Theatres

We Are What We Are

In We Are What We Are, a seemingly wholesome and benevolent family, the Parkers, have always kept to themselves, and for good reason. Behind closed doors, patriarch Frank (Bill Sage) rules his family with a rigorous fervor, determined to keep his ancestral customs intact at any cost. As a torrential rainstorm moves into the area, tragedy strikes, and his daughters Iris and Rose are forced to assume responsibilities that extend beyond those of a typical family. Rated R. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Additional films showing at the Denver Film Society’s SIE FilmCenter include: Escape from Tomorrow; Bad Milo; Plimton; Navajo Star Wars.