reel to reel | Week of Sept. 29, 2011

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50/50

When a young man is diagnosed with cancer, he and his best friend try to cope with the shock. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Abduction

See full review Page 37. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Amigo

When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael (Joel Torre) comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Chris Cooper) to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. But Rafael’s brother (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local guerillas. At Century. — Denver Film Society

Attack the Block

Attack the Block follows a gang of tough innercity kids who try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures. At Century. — Denver Film Society

Bellflower

Best friends Woodrow and Aiden spend all of their free time building Mad Max-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for a global apocalypse. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Bird’s Nest: Herzog and de Meuron in China

Many events for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games took place in the brand new, 100,000seat National Stadium which, because of its curved steel-net walls, was soon dubbed by locals as the “bird’s nest.” At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Buck

“Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will.” So says Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy. At IFS Muezinger Auditorium and Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Contagion

When a lethal airborne virus causes a pandemic, the medical community races to find a cure as people struggle to survive in an unraveling society. At Century, Colony, and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Crazy, Stupid, Love

After discovering his unfaithful wife wants a divorce, a straight-laced 40-something tries to readjust to single life under the tutelage of a young ladykiller. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Crime After Crime

A documentary about social injustice that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. At IFS VAC Auditorium. — International Film Series

Courageous

Dedicated law-enforcement officers vow to become better fathers and renew their faith after a tragedy in their community. Rated PG-13. At Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Debt

Two retired Mossad agents receive shocking news about a mission they were presumed to have accomplished decades before, and they might need to finish the job. Rated R. At Century and Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom

A bizarre murder mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China, the soon-to-be- Empress Wu Zetian, and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie, at the infamous Imperial Palace. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

The Devil and Daniel Webster

The great American orator Daniel Webster is locked in combat with Mr. Scratch, who is really the Devil incarnate. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Fillm Society

Dolphin Tale

See full review on Page 37. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Dream House

A high-powered New York publisher quits his job and moves his family to a quaint New England town, only to discover their new home was once a grisly murder scene and they might be the killer’s next targets. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Drive

A stunt driver for Hollywood movies who moonlights as a wheelman for robberies must use his skills behind the wheel to protect the woman he loves. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT

Eames: The Architect and the Painter

The Architect and the Painter is the first film about Charles and Ray Eames since their deaths and the only film to peer inside their collaboration, their marriage and the “Renaissance studio” they created in a gritty warehouse in Venice, Calif. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Future

When 30-something couple Sophie (writer/ director July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) decide to adopt a stray cat, their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space, and testing their faith in themselves and each other. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Guard

Two policemen must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang — one, an unorthodox Irish policeman and the other, a straight-laced FBI agent. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Happy Happy

Kaja is an eternal optimist in spite of living with a man who would rather go hunting with the boys, and who refuses to have sex with her because she “isn’t particularly attractive” anymore. Whatever. That’s life. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Hedgehog

Inspired by the beloved New York Times best seller,

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, The Hedgehog is the timely story of Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic), a young girl bent on ending it all on her upcoming 12th birthday. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Help

Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Octavia Spencer star in this adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s novel as women in 1960s Mississippi who form an unlikely bond that shatters societal mores of the era. Rated PG-13. At Century and Colony Square. — Rene Rodriguez

Higher Ground

Acclaimed actress Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) makes her directorial debut with this look at a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatre

I Don’t Know How She Does It

A financial executive tries to balance her marriage to a recently laid-off architect, her two young children and her high-stress job. Rated PG-13. At Century and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Interrupters

The latest film by the director of Hoop Dreams. At IFS VAC Auditorium. — International Film Series

Killer Elite

An ex-special-ops agent is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor, which will require him to take on a group of assassins. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Life in a Day

What do you get when you ask the people of the world to chronicle a single day in their lives? You get 80,000 submissions, 4,500 hours of footage, from 192 countries. Kevin Macdonald has taken this raw material, all shot on July 24, 2010, and created a 90-minute paean to what it means to be human in the world today. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Lion King

A 3-D version of the classic animated film about a young lion cub who must overcome his devious uncle to lead their kingdom. Rated G. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Magic Trip

In 1964, 29-year-old Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, decided to drive across the country to the New York World’s Fair and film the trip. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax and Chez Artiste. — Boedecker Theater

Midnight in Paris

This new romantic comedy from writer/director Woody Allen tells the story of a family that travels to the picturesque French capital on business. It is the story about a man’s great love for Paris, and the illusion that a life different from one’s own is always better. Rated PG-13. At Century and Mayan. — Boedecker Theater

Moneyball

The general manager of a cash-strapped professional baseball team uses advanced new statistical tools to try to field a competitive team on a budget, but his nontraditional approach doesn’t always go over well with the old guard.

Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Mozart’s Sister

Accomplished singer, harpsichordist and violinist Nannerl is Wolfgang’s (David Moreau) elder by five years. Originally held up as the family’s child prodigy, she has now been forced to accompany the star of the family, her younger brother. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Mysteries of Lisbon

The core story centers on Joao, the bastard child of an ill-fated romance between two members of the aristocracy who are forbidden to marry, and his quest to discover the truth of his parentage. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

New Beijing: Reinventing a City

Beijing is at the center of a building boom unprecedented in the history of humanity, with contributions by some of the world’s most celebrated architects. Viewers tour their achievements. At Denver Art Museum’s Sharp Auditorium — Denver Film Society

Octubre

A deadpan dark comedy about a loan shark and a devout Catholic woman. Octubre is Peru’s official submission to the Academy Awards — announced last week. At IFS Muezinger Auditorium. — International Film Series

One Fall

The film tells the story of a man (writer/director Marcus Dean Fuller) who miraculously survived a terrible fall from a spectacular 200-foot-high precipice that is the area’s major attraction. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother has a menage a trois, nudity, pot use and profanity. But the unfailing sweetness of Paul Rudd’s lead performance makes what could have been another raunchy and rude R-rated farce a bracing change-of-pace in a summer of aggressive comedies about aggressive people. Rated R. At Century. — Roger Moore/MCT

Rashomon

Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the same story: the murder of a man and the rape of his wife. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Genetic experiments on primates lead to them developing intelligence and eventually battling humans for supremacy. Rated PG-13. At Century and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Rocky Horror Picture Show

The longest-running midnight movie of all time stars Tim Curry as the kinky yet endearing “transsexual from Transylvania,” Dr. Frank N. Furter, with Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick as his hapless guests Brad and Janet. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Sarah’s Key

Sarah, a 10-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they arrest Jewish families. To protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard and promises to come back for him when they are released. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Senna

Brazilian Formula One racing legend Ayrton Senna’s remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he has since attained. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Shaun of the Dead This “rom zom com” (romantic zombie comedy) follows the bloody funny adventures of underachiever Shaun and his best mate Ed as they cope with a zombie invasion of North London. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Shut Up Little Man!

The most important audio recording released in the ’90s wasn’t a collection of songs by a selftortured alternative star. The most important recording released in the grunge era was entitled ShUT Up LiTTLE MAn! It was a covert audio recording of two older drunken men living in a small flat in San Francisco. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Fillm Society

Simon Boccanegra (Opera)

Simon Boccanegra is a story about politics and love — a deadly combination. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Space Camp

The young attendees of a space camp find themselves in space for real when their shuttle is accidently launched into orbit. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Smurfs

A Smurfs movie was probably inevitable. But doesn’t this feel as if it’s arriving a decade late? Rated PG. At Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Straw Dogs

When a Hollywood screenwriter and his actress wife return to her small hometown in the South to prepare the family home for sale after her father’s death, tensions build in their marriage and old conflicts with the locals re-emerge. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life follows the journey of a family’s eldest son through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is a hilariously gory, goodspirited horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Weird World of Blowfly

The Weird World of Blowfly tells the story of Clarence Reid, a Miami musician who wrote and produced romantic and spiritual songs for some of the greatest Southern soul and R&B acts of the 1960s and ’70s. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

What’s Your Number?

Fearing that she might have passed over her one true love, a woman looks back at the last 20 men with whom she’s had relationships. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Denver Film Society