Reel to reel | Week of August 22, 2013

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The World\'s End, or Boulder Weekly staff releasing another issue.

20 Feet From Stardom

Director Morgan Neville shines a spotlight on the untold true story of backup singers. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

2 Guns

Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington and Bill Paxton star in this saga of drugs and money. Rated R. At Twin Peaks.

The Act of Killing

When approached to make a film about their role in an Indonesian genocide, Anwar Congo and his friends eagerly comply — but their idea of being in a movie is not to provide reflective testimony, but to dance their way through musical numbers, twist arms in film noir gangster scenes and gallop across the prairies as yodeling cowboys. At Denver Film Society and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

The gritty landscape of 1970s Texas Hill Country is the backdrop for this mood-drenched collision of love and crime. After his pregnant wife makes one false move during a bloody shootout, a bank robber faces a 25-year sentence that destroys his dreams of a family life. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Blackfish

The documentary Blackfish unravels the complexities of our relationship with orca whales, employing the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong? At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

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 Century. — Landmark Theatres

Crystal Fairy

In this freewheeling comedy from the director of The Maid, Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad) stars as Jamie, a shaggy, boorish young American traveling through Chile. While searching for a rare hallucinogen — the famed San Pedro cactus — with a trio of Chilean brothers, Jamie invites a mysterious hippie (Gaby Hoffmann) along for the ride, but her free-spirited personality quickly clashes with his self-absorption. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Cutie and the Boxer

A reflection on love, sacrifice and the creative spirit, this candid New York story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara and his artist wife, Noriko. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Despicable Me 2

It’s time for more Minion madness in this animated sequel. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Duel

Driving down a deserted Southern California highway at a safe and sane 55 miles per hour, David Mann (Dennis Weaver) steps on the pedal to pass a large gas trailer truck. Moments later, the truck is back, dangerously tailgating Mann before abruptly cutting him off. For the next 90 minutes, Mann and the never-seen truck driver are pitted against one another in a motorized duel to the death. Writer Richard Matheson conceived Duel after a similar experience with a reckless trucker. Directed by the 23-year-old Steven Spielberg. At SIE FilmCenter. — Denver Film Society

Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy

A six-hour sci-fi comedy trilogy in which each film — Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End — features the Cornetto ice-cream treat. Rated R. At Century.

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 Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of Dec. 31, 2008, and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son, a better partner to his girlfriend and a better father. At Denver Film Society and Mayan.

Harold’s Going Stiff

Harold is suffering from a new disease that is slowly turning him into a zombie. A young nurse, Penny, is sent to help ease the symptoms of Harold’s illness, and they quickly become very close. After an experimental new treatment fails, Harold’s condition deteriorates quickly and they end up on the run from a group of violent vigilantes. Part of The Watching Hour. At SIE FilmCenter. — Denver Film Society

How to Make Money Selling Drugs

A shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an insider’s guide to the violent but extremely lucrative drug industry. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Hunt

This film is a disturbing depiction of how a lie becomes the truth when gossip, doubt and malice are allowed to flourish. At Boedecker and SIE FilmCenter. — 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

Jobs

This biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs follows Jobs’ power struggles in Silicon Valley. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Kick-Ass 2

Homemade superheroes return to the screen as Red Mist plots his revenge against Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, who get help from friendly imitators. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Forest Whitaker stars as a White House butler whose 34-year tenure sees incredible social change. Based on the life of Eugene Allen. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Monsters University

This prequel to Monsters, Inc. follows Mike and Sulley through their scare training. Rated G. At Colony Square.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

A teen girl discovers she’s the descendant of a line of half-human, half-angel warriors who prevent demons from destroying the world. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square and Twin Peaks

Pacific Rim

When giant monsters rise from the Pacific Ocean, mankind turns to massive robots piloted by soldiers to defeat them. At Century.

Paranoia

Liam Hemsworth, younger brother of action star Chris, is an entry-level corporate employee told to spy on his boss’s mentor. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

Planes

Kids will love this Disney spinoff of the company’s animated classic Cars. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

In this sequel, Percy teams up with his other-worldly friends to go after the Golden Fleece. Rated PG. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

Rising from Ashes

Two worlds collide when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda to help the first Rwandan National Cycling Team in their six-year journey to compete in the Olympic Games in London. Setting out against impossible odds, both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past. At SIE FilmCenter. — Denver Film Society

Seven Samurai (1954)

Roger Ebert said Seven Samurai “is not only a great film in its own right, but the source of a genre that would flow through the rest of the century… this was the first film in which a team is assembled to carry out a mission — an idea which gave birth to its direct Hollywood remake, The Magnificent Seven, as well as The Guns of Navarone, The Dirty Dozen and countless later war, heist and caper movies.” At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Sinbad: Make Me Wanna Holla

A night of comedy and funk. Aug. 22 only. Not Rated. At Century.

The Smurfs 2

The Smurfs turn to their human friends for help rescuing Smurfette from an evil wizard. At Century.

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 Century and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Still Mine

In his first lead role after decades of playing supporting characters, James Cromwell (The Artist, L.A. Confidential) gives a tour de force performance in Still Mine, an exquisitely crafted and deeply affecting love story about a couple in their twilight years. Rated PG-13. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Spark: A Burning Man Story

Each year, 60,000 people from around the globe gather in a dusty windswept Nevada desert to build a temporary city, collaborating on large-scale art and partying for a week before burning a giant effigy in a ritual frenzy. Rooted in principles of self-expression, self-reliance and community effort, Burning Man has grown famous for stirring ordinary people to shed their 9-to-5 existence and act on their dreams. Spark takes us behind the curtain with Burning Man organizers and participants, revealing a year of unprecedented challenges and growth. At SIE FilmCenter. — Denver Film Society

The Way, Way Back

A lonely and awkward yet intelligent teenage boy begins his transition into adulthood. At Century, Colony Square and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

We’re the Millers

Everything that can go wrong does in this comedy when a small-time pot dealer to the soccer mom world decides to help out some local kids. Rated R. At Twin Peaks, Colony Square and Century.

The Wolverine

Logan must travel to Japan to battle an old acquaintance while stripped of his immortality. Rated PG-13. At Century.

The World’s End

A pub crawl aiming for a long-awaited pint at the World’s End pub draws a group of middle-aged friends into a battle to save the world. Rated R. At Century.

You’re Next

A family trying to make it through another reunion becomes the target of a massacre. Not Rated. At Twin Peaks and Century.