"THE ROOMMATE" Not yet reviewed. (PG-13) Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza. In this thriller directed by Christian E. Christiansen, a college student (Minka Kelly) finds trouble and terror after being assigned to share a dorm room with a new roommate (Leighton Meester). Also starring Cam Gigandet, Aly Michalka and Billy Zane. 93 minutes.
"SANCTUM" H1/2 (R) Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza. A terrifying adventure shown in an incompetent way. Scuba-diving cave explorers enter a vast system in New Guinea and are stranded. But this rich story opportunity is lost because of incoherent editing, poor 3-D technique, and the effect of 3-D dimming in the already dark and murky caves. A "James Cameron Production," yes, but certainly not a "James Cameron Film." From Roger Ebert. 109 minutes.
"127 HOURS" HHHH (R) CineArts Marin, Fairfax Theatre. The harrowing true story of Aron Ralston, a rock climber whose arm was pinned to a Utah canyon wall by a boulder. In desperation he amputated his own
arm to free himself. James Franco stars in Danny Boyle's film, which is gruesome but not QUITE too gruesome to watch. It's rather awesome what an entertaining and absorbing film Danny Boyle has made here. Yes, entertaining. From Roger Ebert. 93 minutes.
"ANOTHER YEAR" HHHH (PG-13) CineArts Sequoia. Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) are long and happily married. Their frequent visitor is Mary (Lesley Manville), an unhappy woman with a drinking problem who needs shoring up with their sanity. Mike Leigh's new film is one of his best, placing as he often does recognizable types with embarrassing comic and/or dramatic dilemmas. One of the year's best films. From Roger Ebert. 129 minutes.
"BARNEY'S VERSION" HHH1/2 (R) Century Regency. Paul Giamatti stars as an unremarkable Montreal TV producer who drinks too much, smokes too many cigars, and discards two women in quick divorces before finding at last one far too good for him (Rosamund Pike). Dustin Hoffman has a smallish but particularly good role as his father. Giamatti won the 2011 Golden Globe award as best actor. From Roger Ebert. 132 minutes.
"BIUTIFUL" HHH (R) Century Regency. Javier Bardem stars as a low-level criminal in Barcelona who is told by his doctor he has little time to live. He works as a middleman in an industry that makes fake luxury items in sweatshops and sells them to tourists through sidewalk vendors. A man who means well in a mean world, he loves his children and tries to help his workers, but reality conspires against him. Set in the slums of Barcelona, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. From Roger Ebert. 148 minutes.
"BLACK SWAN" HHH1/2 (R) Century Regency, Fairfax Theatre. Natalie Portman in a bravura performance as a driven perfectionist, a young ballerina up for a starring role at Lincoln Center. Her life is shadowed by a smothering mother (Barbara Hershey), an autocratic director (Vincent Cassel), a venomous rival (Mila Kunis) and her deposed predecessor (Winona Ryder). A full-bore melodrama, told with passionate intensity, gloriously and darkly absurd. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. From Roger Ebert. 108 minutes.
"BLUE VALENTINE" HHH1/2 (R) Century Regency, Tiburon Playhouse. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy in two seasons of marriage: Six years ago when love was fresh, and today, when love proves unable to support the weight of real life. Director Derek Cianfrance closely observes the details as this couple fails to comprehend the larger picture. Dean thinks marriage is the station. Cindy thought it was the train. From Roger Ebert. 120 minutes.
"THE COMPANY MEN" HHH (R) Century Northgate. Three men face hard economic times at a big corporation: a junior executive (Ben Afleck), a senior executive (Chris Cooper) and the co-founder (Tommy Lee Jones). The film sees them more as economic units than people, which is also the corporation's POV. Affleck becomes a cog in the "placement industry" and gets a cubicle, a phone and help with his resume. From Roger Ebert. 115 minutes.
"THE DILEMMA" HH (PG-13) Century Northgate. Ron Howard's "The Dilemma" presents the viewer with one. Is it OK to laugh at what was plainly intended as a relationship comedy? Because the best scenes in this Vince Vaughn/Kevin James buddy picture where one buddy's wife is cheating on him and the other buddy finds out give us more to chew on than laugh about. And that uncertainty — "Wait, is that supposed to be funny?" — makes the movie an unsatisfying if often surprising experience, a less warm and fuzzy "Parenthood" from a director long removed from his warm and fuzzy years. From Orlando Sentinel. 117 minutes.
"THE FIGHTER" HH1/2 (R) Century Larkspur Landing, Century Northgate, Fairfax Theatre. Colorful supporting performances help, but a vaguely defined lead diminishes the power you'd expect in this story based on a real fighter. Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, Christian Bale is his goofy crackhead half-brother, Melissa Leo is his possessive mom, and Amy Adams is the barmaid who knows he'll never get anywhere until he frees himself of his family. The hero comes across as such a victim of lifelong domination that even when he wins, he feels like a loser. Directed by David O. Russell. From Roger Ebert. 115 minutes.
"FROM PRADA TO NADA" Not yet reviewed. (PG-13) Century Northgate. In director Angel Gracia's Latina twist on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," rich sisters left penniless must move in with their aunt in East Los Angeles. Starring Camilla Belle and Alexa Vega. 107 minutes.
"GET LOW" HHH (PG-13) CineArts Marin. Robert Duvall plays a backwoods hermit who figures his time is coming, and enlists the local undertaker (Bill Murray) in planning a big funeral send-off that he will pay for himself and enjoy while he's still alive. Melodrama, human comedy, and a sweet reunion with an old squeeze (Sissy Spacek). Nice work by Lucas Black as the undertaker's assistant. From Roger Ebert. 102 minutes.
"THE GREEN HORNET" H (PG-13) Century Larkspur Landing, Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza. An almost unendurable demonstration of a movie with nothing to be about. Pointless dialogue scenes go nowhere much too slowly, and then pointless action scenes go everywhere much too quickly. Seth Rogen deserves much of the blame. He co-wrote and stars as Britt Reid, a spoiled little rich brat who grows up the same way; Jay Chou is Kato, the role Bruce Lee played on TV. Together, they devise a damn fool plan to fight crime by impersonating criminals. With Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") as the local crime lord and Cameron Diaz as young Reid's would-be secretary with nothing to do. From Roger Ebert. 108 minutes.
"THE ILLUSIONIST" HHHH (PG) Smith Rafael Film Center. A magician named Tatischeff fails in one music hall after another, and ends up in Scotland, where a young woman takes care of him and believes in him, even when he's reduced to performing in store windows. An animated film based on the final screenplay of Jacques Tati, and directed by Sylvain Chomet ("The Triplets of Belleville"). From Roger Ebert. 90 minutes.
"INCEPTION" HHHH (PG-13) Lark Theater. An astonishingly original and inventive thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a man who infiltrates the minds of others to steal secrets. Now he's hired to IMPLANT one. Ken Watanabe is a billionaire who wants to place an idea in the mind of his rival (Cillian Murphy). DiCaprio assembles a team (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page) to assist him, in a dazzling achievement that rises above the thriller level and enters the realm of mind control — in the plot and in the audience. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "The Dark Knight"). From Roger Ebert. 148 minutes.
"INSIDE JOB" Not yet reviewed. (PG-13) CineArts Marin. The new documentary from Charles Ferguson (director of the Oscar-nominated "No End in Sight") examines the 2008 economic crisis and the resulting global financial collapse through interviews with insiders, politicians and journalists. Narrated by Matt Damon. 108 minutes.
"THE KING'S SPEECH" HHHH (R) Century Cinema, Century Regency, Century Rowland Plaza, CineArts Sequoia, Fairfax Theatre, Tiburon Playhouse. After the death of George V and the abdication of his brother Edward, Prince Albert (Colin Firth) becomes George VI, charged with leading Britain into World War II. He is afflicted with a torturous stammer, and his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out an unorthodox speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) to treat him. Civilized and fascinating, this is the story of their unlikely relationship. (The R rating, for language, is absurd; this is an ideal film for teenagers.) From Roger Ebert. 118 minutes.
"MADE IN DAGENHAM" HHH1/2 (R) Lark Theater. Delightful serious comedy about the historic 1968 in Ford's British plant that ended its unequal pay for women and began a global movement. Sally Hawkins plays Rita O'Grady, who caught the public fancy as a strike leader. Bob Hoskins is a sympathetic union organizer, and Miranda Richardson plays Barbara Castle, the minister of labor who unexpectedly sided with the striking women. From Roger Ebert. 113 minutes.
"THE MECHANIC" HH (R) Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza. Jason Statham plays a professional killer who specializes in murders that don't seem like murders. Donald Sutherland is his aging and wise mentor, and Ben Foster is Sutherland's son, whom Statham mentors in turn. A remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film, well made by Simon West, but despite an affecting Sutherland performance, it lacks heart and sells its soul to action movie contrivances. From Roger Ebert. 92 minutes.
"NO STRINGS ATTACHED" HH Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza, CineArts Marin, Tiburon Playhouse. Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher), who met when they were 6, now meet when they're maybe 26. They're not looking for love, but after they sleep together they decide to be sex buddies as a matter of convenience. Good enough while it lasts, but then romance threatens, and the movie handles it with dreary sitcom predictability. From Roger Ebert. 106 minutes.
"NUREMBERG" Not yet reviewed. Not rated. Smith Rafael Film Center. Stuart Schulberg's lost 1948 documentary, never before shown in the United States, details the postwar trials of Nazi war criminals. The filmmaker's daughter, Sandra Schulberg, and Josh Waletzky collaborated on the restored version, which features new narration by Liev Schrieber. 80 minutes.
"THE RITE" HHH (PG-13) Century Larkspur Landing, Century Northgate, Century Rowland Plaza. Anthony Hopkins plays an experienced exorcist in Rome who mentors a student priest (Colin O'Donoghue). Alice Braga plays a journalist who joins them. Dark, atmospheric, well-acted, evocative cinematography, and of course much thrashing about. From Roger Ebert. 112 minutes.
"THE SOCIAL NETWORK" HHHH (PG-13) Smith Rafael Film Center. The life and times of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), who created Facebook, became a billionaire in his early 20s, and now has 500 million members on the site he created. A fascinating portrait of a brilliant social misfit who intuited a way to involve humankind in the Kevin Bacon game. Everybody likes Facebook — it's the site that's all about YOU. With Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the Napster founder who introduced Zuckerberg to the Silicon Valley fast lane, Andrew Garfield as the best friend who gets dumped, and Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins, who sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea. One of the year's best films. From Roger Ebert. 120 minutes.
"TANGLED" HH1/2 (PG) Century Northgate. "Tangled," which is in 3-D, gives ample opportunity to grimace at its blatant updating. Describing her situation (trapped for all her life in a tower), Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) explains herself like a Facebook page: "It's complicated." Instead of the prince of the Grimm fairy tale, we get Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), a rogue on the run who seeks a hiding place in the tower. The romance doesn't match the visual splendor, but no matter: the lushness is enough. For a story about shrugging off suffocating parental security, it's a good lesson: sometimes, Mother doesn't know best. From Associated Press. 104 minutes.
"TRON: LEGACY" HHH (PG) Century Northgate. Twenty years after he leaves his son at bedtime and steps out for a spin on his motorcycle, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) summons him mysteriously to a portal into the software program he invented — and now inhabits. Young Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is needed to help his dad and the beautiful Quorra (Olivia Wilde) to ward off an evil cabal that wants to conquer the Internet and/or the world. The plot is impenetrable, but Jeff Bridges is solid in three roles (younger, older and digital), and the visuals are a sensational sound-and-light show, cutting-edge in the tradition of the 1982 film. From Roger Ebert. 125 minutes.
"TRUE GRIT" HHH1/2 (PG-13) Century Larkspur Landing, Century Regency, Century Rowland Plaza, Fairfax Theatre. An entertaining remake of the 1969 film, and more, by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn easily fills John Wayne's boots, and Hailee Steinfeld is very special as young Mattie Ross, who hires the old marshal to help her hunt down the varmint that killed her old man. Not a "Coen brothers film," but a flawlessly executed Western in the grand tradition. Strong support from Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. From Roger Ebert. 110 minutes.
"THE WAY BACK" HH1/2 (PG-13) Century Northgate. The incredible story of how a group of prisoners escaped from a prison camp in the Siberian gulag and began a 4,000-mile trek on foot to freedom in India. The long walk upstages the characters, who are not always sharply defined. Russell Boyd's cinematography of mountains, snowscapes and the desert is breathtaking. An honorable film by Peter Weir ("Master and Commander"), but a long slog in more ways than one. From Roger Ebert. 133 minutes.
"YOGI BEAR" H (PG) Century Northgate. Yogi always was "smarter than the average bear." But parents and grandparents dragging tykes along to the 3-D big screen "Yogi Bear" will probably remember him as funnier than the average bear, too. Or funnier than this. A computer-animated Yogi and Boo Boo inhabit a real-world Jellystone Park, with the unfunny Tom Cavanagh as Ranger Smith and nothing-funny-to-play Anna Faris as the ranger's love interest. And Yogi and Boo Boo? They're passably voiced by Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake, two actors given virtually no amusing lines in the multi-writer script (a "Wild Hogs" alumnus among them). From Orlando Sentinel. 75 minutes.
DINNER AND A MOVIE — Caffe DiVino, 37 Caledonia St., Sausalito; 331-9355. Feb. 8, 7 p.m.: Pasta dinner and screening of "Big Night." $18.
"GOLDEN AGE OF SOUL" — Redwood High School Little Theater, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur; 927-5005; www.larkspurlibrary.org. Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m.: Music historian Richie Unterberger presents and discusses rare film clips of soul musicians from the 1960s and '70s. Free.
MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES — Mill Valley Library, 375 Throckmorton Ave.; 389-4292, ext. 116; www.millvalleylibrary.org. Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.: "Stardust Memories." Free.
MOSTLY BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL — Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael; 454-1222; www.cafilm.org. Feb. 7 through 10: Highlights from the annual showcase of cinema from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Feb. 7, 7 p.m.: "Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls." $5.50 to $10.25. Feb. 8, 7 p.m.: "The Ipcress File." $5.50 to $10.25. Feb. 9, 7 p.m.: "Boy." $5.50 to $10.25. Feb. 10, 7 p.m.: "Beneath Hill 60." $5.50 to $10.25.
NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE — Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; 924-5111; www.larktheater.net. Feb. 5, 1 p.m.: High-definition presentation of the National Theatre London production of Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear." $30. Feb. 10, 7 p.m.: High-definition presentation of the National Theatre London production of the musical "Fela!" $24.
"SUPER BOWL XLV" — Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; 924-5111; www.larktheater.net. Feb. 6, 3 p.m.: High-definition live broadcast of NFL football's main event pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers, including hot dog or pizza, beer or soft drink and popcorn. $10 to $20. Reservations recommended.
"THACKARY'S TIME" — Dance Palace, Fifth and B streets, Point Reyes Station; 663-1075; www.dancepalace.org. Feb. 5, 8 p.m.: Kathy Klausner and Beni Strebel's documentary follows surfer and occasional carpenter Thackary Grossman on a search for his biological father. Free.
TIBURON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL — Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito; 381-4123; www.tiburonfilmfestival.com. Feb. 8, 6 p.m.: "Something's Gonna Live." Free.
"WASTE LAND" — Lark Theater, 549 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; 924-5111; www.larktheater.net. Feb. 4, 4:20 p.m.; Feb. 5, 4:20 p.m.; Feb. 9, 5 p.m.: Lucy Walker's Oscar-nominated documentary shows artist Vik Muniz creating large-scale photographs of people who pick through the garbage in one of the world's largest landfills in Rio de Janeiro. $6.75 to $9.50.
THE AMERICAN — (R, 105 minutes, 2010). George Clooney is starkly defined as a criminal as obedient and focused as a samurai. He manufactures weapons for specialized jobs. He lives and functions alone. He works for a man who might as well be a master. He uses few words. Only his feelings for a prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido) supply an opening to his emotions. Zen in its focus.THE TOWN — (R, 124 minutes, 2010). Effective thriller about career bank robbers, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Jeremy Renner is loopy and scary as the flywheel on an otherwise disciplined criminal team. Could have been better if it followed the characters more than the buried plot structure. But worth seeing.WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS — (R, 130 minutes, 2010). Gordon Gekko is back, and he may still be a little greedy, in Oliver Stone's sequel to his 1987 hit. Michael Douglas reprises his iconic role, and Shia LaBeouf is the hungry young trader who wants to marry his daughter (Carey Mulligan). Josh Brolin is a Wall Street predator who spreads rumors that destroy the firm of LaBeouf's mentor (Frank Langella). Entertaining story about ambition, romance and predatory trading practices, but it seems more fascinated than angry. Have we grown used to greed?
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