Reel to reel | Week of June 21, 2012

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17 GIRLS

Based on a 2008 headline-grabbing news story about an alleged pregnancy pact among 17 high school girls in the fishing town of Gloucester, Mass. — an act at once unexpected and incomprehensible to adults and boys in their world. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Apparently, before he became the president known for freeing slaves, Abraham Lincoln was a hunter of the undead — who kept slaves. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

THE AVENGERS 3D

A team of superheroes including Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Thor unite to save the world. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

BEL AMI

The historical drama based on the 1885 novel of the same name by Guy de Maupassant is the story of George Duroy (Robert Pattinson), who travels through 1890s Paris. From cockroach-ridden garrets to opulent salons, he uses his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

BERNIE

Filmmaker Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunset) returns to his Texas roots for this delightfully pokerfaced black comedy — based on a true story — about East Texas assistant funeral home director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black). Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Driven by her cruelty to put four bullets in her, Bernie goes to great lengths to keep up the illusion that she’s still alive. At Century and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

A group of British retirees (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith) decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find the place a shell of its former self. At Century and Esquire. — Landmark Theatres

BRAVE

Brazenly red-headed Merida, princess, skilled archer and general nuisance at the royal dinner table, accidentally unleashes a curse on her kingdom. She then fights bravely — get it? — to defend her kingdom. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

THE BRIDE WORE BLACK

In this Francois Truffaut thriller, Jeanne Moreau stars as a woman whose fiancé is nastily murdered by five men. Utilizing a series of disguises, the cool-customer Moreau tracks down all five culprits, sexually enslaves them, and then engineers their deaths. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

CAFE DE FLORE

Inspired by the jazz album of the same name, Cafe de Flore chronicles a love story between a man and a woman in 2011 Montreal, and between a mother and her handicapped son in 1969 Paris. The film’s non-linear narration creates tiny snapshots of the lives of the main characters, making a mosaic of seemingly disconnected images and music. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

THE DICTATOR

Sacha Baron Cohen is back with a character that sports a funny accent and antagonizes others. Shock! But unlike Borat, Admiral General Aladeen is neither revealing nor inherently hilarious. Rated PG-13. At Century. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

ELENA

This is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Both in second marriages, Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment. A sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, and she must hatch a desperate plan. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

A HAPPY EVENT

Based on an autobiographical novel by phi losopher Éliette Abécassis, A Happy Event stars Louise Bourgoin as Barbara, a student unprepared for pregnancy and parenting. As she struggles to finish her Ph.D. thesis, she starts a passionate relationship with Nicolas (Pio Marmaï) and decides to have a child. The film chronicles her pregnancy and their relationship as the “happy event” brings them closer but also threatens to tear them apart. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Denver Film Society

HIDE AWAY

Directed by Chris Eyre, Hide Away follows the story of a successful businessman (Josh Lucas) attempting to resurrect his life. Entering an idyllic harbor as a broken and haunted man, he buys and boards the dilapidated sailboat Hesperus. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

HUNGER GAMES

In the post-apocalyptic ruins of North America, a teenage girl competes in a nationally televised battle to the death against 23 of her peers. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square. — Los Angeles Times/MCT

HYSTERIA

A lighthearted romantic comedy that tells the surprising story of the birth of the electro-mechanical vibrator at the very peak of Victorian prudishness. At Esquire — Landmark Theatres

I WISH

Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and grandparents in a small town by a smoking volcano. His parents’ divorce has split the family, with his younger brother Ryu and their reckless rock musician dad living more than 100 miles away. At Denver FilmCenter/ Colfax. — Landmark Theatres

THE INTOUCHABLES

The Intouchables, by French writer/directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, is the inspiring true story of two men who should never have met — a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects. At Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

KUMARÉ

Kumaré is an enlightened guru from the East who builds a following of disciples in the West, but he is not real. He is an American filmmaker named Vikram Gandhi who has transformed himself as the centerpiece of a social experiment designed to explore and test one of the world’s most sacred taboos. What starts as a lark ends up changing lives in this playful yet genuine and insightful look at belief and spirituality. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

LIVE BALLET: RAYMONDA – BOLSHOI

With courtly grandeur, chivalric battles and a dream sequence, this classic is full of great dances set to an exotic score by Alexander Glazunov. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

LOST BOHEMIA

For more than 100 years, artists and performers have lived and worked in the 165 studios atop Carnegie Hall, including Marilyn Monroe, Isadora Duncan, Barnett Newman, Norman Mailer, Marlon Brando, George Balanchine and Bill Cunningham. As the tenants were evicted to make room for renovations, Josef Birdman Astor began to film his vanishing neighbors, showing the power and frailty of this arts community. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED 3D

The quest continues as zoo animals struggle to return to New York. This time, the path from Africa to America swings through Europe and tags along with a traveling circus. Rated PG. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

MEN IN BLACK III

Seeing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as Agent J and Agent K, two representatives from a clandestine organization that protects us from aliens, is nothing new. But the addition of Josh Brolin as a younger version of Agent K and a surprisingly fun screenplay is something entirely different for the franchise.

Let’s not call it good, but it’s light years from bad. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

MONSIEUR LAZHAR

Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) plays the title character in Monsieur Lazhar, a film

that deals with grief in a way that feels surprisingly upbeat. As an Algerian immigrant who inherits a classroom of children whose last teacher killed herself while on the clock, Lazhar works through his own personal loss while helping them come to grips with theirs. At Boedecker. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb. out to the likely source of the alien life, and chaos ensues. All the stars aligned for Ridley Scott’s first science fiction film since the 1982 classic Blade Runner to be a great film, but Prometheus is nothing but a black hole of undeveloped characters and gaping plot gaffes. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, director/ co-writer Wes Anderson’s comic romance/drama tells the story of two 12-year-olds, Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), who fall in love, make a secret pact and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore. At Century and Mayan. — Landmark Theatres

MY WORST NIGHTMARE

In her rambunctious new comedy, longtime festival favorite Anne Fontaine explores the unexpected routes taken when a stale marriage requires a little spicing up. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society

NUIT #1

Anne Emond’s debut feature is a bold, intimate and erotic study of a one-night stand. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society.

OTTER 501

As an abandoned otter pup is rescued and returned to the wild, we get to tag along with a young marine biologist in learning about the plight of sea otters, the ocean ecosystem and the efforts to save this species from the brink of extinction. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theatres

PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING

Jane Fonda makes a triumphant return to the screen in this comedy about reunion and second chances. Catherine Keener stars as Diane, a conservative New York City lawyer who is in desperate need of an escape after her husband asks for a divorce. Along with her two children (Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff), she takes refuge at her estranged hippie mother Grace’s (Fonda) farmhouse. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax and Chez Artiste. — Landmark Theatres

POLISSE

The daily grind for the police officers of the Child Protection Unit — taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children and confronting the excesses of teen sexuality; enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax — Denver Film Society

PROMETHEUS 3D

Mid-21st century anthropologists discover cave paintings in Great Britain that share impossible similarities to other cave paintings from the same time period. The reason? Aliens! Humanity sends a spaceship

ROCK OF AGES

Tom Cruise is the most notable name among a cast that includes Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec Baldwin singing essentially karaoke versions of hair-metal songs. Based on the Broadway hit, the film takes itself a “hair” too seriously, which is an unforgivable way to present the 1980s. Still, if nostalgia is your thing and/or Poison is your band, have a good time because it doesn’t get better than this. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

ROMEO AND JULIET IN YIDDISH

Presented in conjunction with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. In what might be the first Yiddish “mumblecore” film, a bitterly lapsed Jew in graduate school undertakes a Yiddish translation of Shakespeare’s great classic while her houseguest, a Hasidic dropout, is “leaking” Kabbalistic magic. At Boedecker. — Boedecker Theater

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

Do you need to know more than that this film was created by the producers of Little Miss Sunshine? No. But OK. Three jaded magazine employees set out on a quest to get the story behind a bizarre classified ad. They’ll be funny, and they’ll be a little bit sad. Rated R. At Century.

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in an apocalypse film that tries to haul some of the trappings of a rom-com through the not-zombie-related end of humanity. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

When Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes imprisonment by the wicked queen (Charlize Theron), she is chased down by the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), which turns out to be a pretty good thing. Featuring most of the same characters and general plot points as the beloved classic story, this retelling slaps a coat of gritty seriousness on the whole affair, resulting in a visually thrilling if overly simple experience. Rated PG-13. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — The Reader of Omaha, Neb.

THAT’S MY BOY

See full review page 40. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks.

WAR OF THE BUTTONS

In occupied France, the young pre-teen hero Lebrac falls for a new girl in town, who is in danger because she is Jewish. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax. — Denver Film Society.