reel to reel | Week of August 11, 2011

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30 Minutes Or Less

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer returns with this comedy about a pizza-delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) who is kidnapped by dimwitted criminals (Danny McBride and Aziz Ansari) and forced to help them rob a bank. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony, and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Another Earth

See full review Page 53. Rated PG-13. At Century and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest is a documentary film directed by Michael Rapaport about one of the most influential and groundbreaking musical groups in hip-hop history. At Mayan and Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

Buck

Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback, travels the country for nine months a year helping horses with people problems. The movie follows Brannaman from his abusive childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Captain America: The First Avenger

Steve Rogers is a scrawny guy who is transformed into a World War II super-soldier in Captain America: The First Avenger, the latest comic book adaptation to invade theaters. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Detroit Free Press/ MCT

Cars 2

Anthropomorphic automobiles head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix in this sequel to the 2006 animated film Cars. Rated G. At Flatiron. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Change-Up

Two friends — a married lawyer and a freewheeling slacker — somehow switch bodies and try to avoid ruining each other’s lives. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

Circumstance

A suspenseful tale of love and family upended by obsession and suspicion, is also a provocative coming-of-age story that cracks open the hidden, underground world of Iranian youth culture. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Cowboys & Aliens

Jon Favreau directs this Western about an amnesiac (Daniel Craig) in 1873 who stumbles into an Arizona town ruled by a ruthless sheriff (Harrison Ford) who doesn’t take kindly to strangers. Then aliens come swooping down and start blasting everything in sight. Tell me this does not sound like the coolest movie ever. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Think Eat Pray Love for guys. This comedy centers on a happily married Cal (Steve Carell), whose world unravels when he finds out his high-schoolsweetheart wife (Julianne Moore) is cheating on him and wants a divorce. Suddenly Cal must learn to navigate the treacherous waters of the dating pool. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Crime After Crime

In 1983, Deborah Peagler, a woman brutally abused by her boyfriend, was sentenced to 25 years to life for her connection to his murder. Twenty years later, as she languished in prison, a California law allowing incarcerated domestic violence survivors to reopen their cases was passed. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

The Devil’s Double

Summoned from the front line to Saddam Hussein’s palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper, An Education) is thrust into the highest echelons of the “royal family” when he’s ordered to become the fiday — or body double — to Saddam’s son, Uday Hussein (also Dominic Cooper). At Mayan. — Landmark Theatre

Final Destination 5

You would think by now, the makers of this wildly successful franchise would try something a little different. But why mess with a good thing? Once again, a bunch of teens who were supposed to have died but didn’t start getting visits from the Grim Reaper, resulting in spectacularly elaborate deaths. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Friends with Benefits

“No relationship. No emotions. Just sex!” So says the website art director played by Justin Timberlake to the executive headhunter played by Mila Kunis. Rated R. At Flatiron, Century, and Colony Square. — Michael Phillips

From Russia With Love

In this, the second of the James Bond series of films, Bond (Sean Connery) travels to Turkey to meet a mysterious Russian woman (Daniela Bianchi) who claims to have fallen in love with his photograph. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

Haters, head for the door. But Gleeks? Get your Glee on. Glee: The 3D Concert Movie may be as spontaneous as a Pringles commercial, with cast members of the hit TV series re-creating — on stage — their biggest musical moments. Rated PG. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Roger Moore/MCT

The Happiness of Katakuris

One of an amazing seven features directed in 2001 by Japan’s prolific shock auteur Takashi Miike, The Happiness of the Katakuris is a gleefully morbid musical comedy about a family of oddballs who open an inn in the mountains. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

In the new film, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is still hunting Horcruxes, which contain amounts of Voldemort’s (played by Ralph Fiennes) soul. The so-called Elder Wand, stolen from the crypt of Harry’s mentor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), must be put into the right hands. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

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 Flatiron, Century and Colony Square. — Rene Rodriguez

Horrible Bosses We’ve all had them. We’ve all had to suffer their indignities — or else just quit our jobs. But three friends come up with an alternative to dealing with their monstrous bosses with the help of an ex-con. Rated R. At Flatiron and Century. — Rene Rodriguez

Illegal

Tania is a former teacher from Russia, living illegally in Belgium with her 14-year-old son, Ivan.One day, they are stopped on the street for a routine check by the police; Tania is arrested and placed in an immigration detention center for women, while Ivan manages to escape. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Independence Day

When aliens in enormous spacecraft suddenly arrive in Earth’s atmosphere and start blowing things up, it falls to a cocky pilot (Will Smith) and a goofy scientist (Jeff Goldblum) to save the planet from total devastation and destruction. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Jules and Jim

Hailed as one of the finest films ever made, legendary director François Truffaut’s early masterpiece charts the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession over the course of 25 years. Talk back discussion after 7 p.m. screening. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Labyrinth

While babysitting, teenage Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) makes a terrible wish — that her baby brother (Toby Froud) would be taken by goblins. Her wish comes true when Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie) whisks the boy off to his castle. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Life, Above All

Just after the death of her newly born sister, 12-year-old Chanda learns of a rumor that has spread like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. The rumor destroys her family and forces her mother (Lerato Mvelase) to flee. Chanda leaves home and school in search of her mother and the truth. At Chez Artiste and Boedecker. — Landmark Theatres

Midnight in Paris A lark, a souffle, a delightful shaggy-dog story with Owen Wilson as its shaggy hero. What’s he doing in a Woody Allen movie about a B-list screenwriter who time-travels from the present to the Jazz Age? Disarming the audience with his wistful joie de vivre, that’s what. Rated PG-13. At Century and Mayan. — Carrie Rickey

Nora’s Will

Nora had a plan. It would bring her ex-husband, Jose, and the rest of their family together for a magnificent Passover feast. But there is a flaw in her plan — a mysterious photograph from the past, hidden under the bed, which leads Jose to reexamine their relationship. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Opera: Thaïs

The monk Athanaël attempts to convert the beautiful courtesan Thaïs to Christianity, despite the many warnings of his friends. At Boedecker Theater. — Boedecker Theater

Page One: Inside The New York Times

With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax­. — Landmark Theatres

Queen of the Sun: What the Bees are Telling Us

This engaging and uplifting film weaves an unusual story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

See full review Page 53. Rated PG-13. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

The Room

Writer/director Tommy Wiseau stars as a successful banker with a great respect for — and dedication to — the people in his life, especially his future wife Lisa (Juliette Danielle). As the film depicts friendships and relationships, it raises life’s most-asked question: “Can you really trust anyone?” At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Sarah’s Key

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a 10-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families. To protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard — their secret hiding place — and promises to come back for him as soon as

they are released. Sixty-seven years later: Sarah’s story intertwines with that of an American journalist investigating the roundup. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

The Sleeping Beauty

French provocateur Catherine Breillat continues her deconstruction of classic fairytales. While in slumber, this sleeping beauty comes of age through a series of vivid dreams. 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? Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara and Hank Azaria share the screen with the computeranimated little blue people, who are chased from their village by the evil Gargamel and wind up in our world. Rated PG. At Flatiron, Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Rene Rodriguez

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

In 19th-century China, 7-year-old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong — or “old sames” — bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

Stephen Sondheim’s Company

Neil Patrick Harris leads an all-star cast including Patti Lupone, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer and Martha Plimpton. Company was nominated for 14 Tonys, winning Best Musical, Best Score and Best Lyrics. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

In this third installment, we learn that the NASA space program was a cover-up that allowed the crew of Apollo 11 to explore the alien ruins on the dark side of the moon. PG-13 At Flatiron and Twin Peaks. — Michael Phillips

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. At Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

True Stories

Talking Heads front man David Byrne co-wrote, composed, directed and stars in this quirky musical journey into the odder side of small-town America. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

Vincent Wants to Sea

Embattled by the embarrassing symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome, Vincent has just lost his mother. His father, an ambitious politician, sends him off to a rehabilitation clinic. His objective is to get to the Mediterranean Sea to spread his mother’s ashes. At Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

Winnie the Pooh

Disney’s latest revival, and musical homage, to A.A. Milne’s loveable bear is longer on charm than it is on laughs. Or length. Rated G. At Century. — Roger Moore

Winter in Wartime

Nazi-occupied Holland, 1945. In a snow-covered village, 13-year-old Michiel is drawn into the Resistance when he aids a wounded British paratrooper. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

The Woodmans

A fascinating, unflinching portrait of the late photographer Francesca Woodman, told through the young artist’s work and remarkably candid interviews with her artist parents Betty and George. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater