Buck ****

"Buck" is a touching portrait of a real life cowboy who teaches horsemanship in 4-day clinics around the country (and even Italy, according to this year's schedule). Buck Brannaman is a gentle soul who suffered as a child at the hands of a violent father, and he treats horses with the consideration and respect that his father never game him. And as he says, he often finds that he's dealing more with horses with people problems than people with horse problems in his classes. One of the real life models for "The Horse Whisperer," Buck is profiled in interviews with his friends, family, and co-workers, including Robert Redford, who employed Buck on his "Whisperer" project.

This documentary is a first effort from Cindy Meehl, a horsewoman who decided she had to be the one to tell Buck's story. It's a wonderful effort, was a fan favorite at Sundance, and actually got a warm round of applause from the audience I saw it with in Denver today. See it.

Bad Teacher **

Unfortunately, "Bad Teacher" is one of those thin comedies that stuffs all the funny lines into the preview. Cameron Diaz gives her all, but Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel are wasted in a woefully underwritten high school comedy that could have had some real bite. If you haven't seen the preview, there are a few laughs.

Super 8 IMAX ***

Writer/director J.J. Abrams ("Lost") and producer Steven Spielberg bring us this retro sci-fi thriller that is very good for its type. Kids making their own Super 8 movie in 1979 (like Abrams himself did) witness a spectacular train crash, and soon strange things are happening in their small town. The mystery is prolonged just long enough, and the kids are all engaging and well-defined. Lead actor Joel Courtney is excellent, Elle Fanning is superb, and the deputy sheriff dad, played by Kyle Chandler, is solid. The special effects are spectacular in IMAX, but any big screen will do. Accessible to both a younger audience and their parents, it's a good afternoon at the movies.

Green Lantern 3D ***

A so-so start for a comic hero franchise, "Green Lantern" suffers from an amorphous driving force ("Will") versus a cloud of destruction with an ugly face ("Fear") that might work on the page, but does not translate onto the screen. The comic book high jinks are there, and the special effects deliver the thrills, but there's nothing to hold on to. Ryan Reynolds is fine as the hero, and looks the part, both as test pilot and as the newly-anointed Lantern, but he's given too much leeway to wink at the story, and there's no chemistry with the girl, played too coldly by Blake Lively. The opening weekend presages a weak $100 million box office given the reported $200 million expense, and word of mouth is likely to be weak.

The Tree of Life ****

A visually stunning, atmospheric, poetic work from Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life" asks the biggest questions imaginable while grounding itself in the every day as a disillusioned man (Sean Penn) reflects on his life and the influences of his demanding father and loving mother. In the film's most accessible, most conventional middle section, Malick recreates a child's view of growing up, perhaps the best ever captured on film, in the 50's. All actors are superb, but Brad Pitt is astounding as the complicated father - stern, imaginative, religious, inventive, musical. It's a long, demanding movie, but richly rewarding.

Beginners ****

75 is a bit old for a beginner. And so is 35, for that matter. Yet that is what we have here in this story of Hal, who comes out as gay at age 75 after his wife dies, and his son, Oliver, who grapples with his father's life and death and his own inability to commit to a relationship. A warm, funny, very clever movie, "Beginners" is the work of writer/director Mike Mills, who based the story on his own experiences with his father. Deftly, exuberantly played by Christopher Plummer as the dad, and wryly, subtly played by Ewan McGregor as the son, the movie jumps from epoch to epoch effortlessly, giving us glimpses of Oliver's childhood and the distance he sensed between his parents to his dad's new gay life to his own flirtation with and growing affection for a French actress (the arrestingly beautiful Melanie Laurent). A fantastic effort, there's even a Jack Russell with clever lines.

Mr. Popper's Penguins **

A rather routine lesson in what's really important in life kind of movie, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" delivers some routine sight gags and mugging opportunities for Jim Carrey and a few scene stealing occasions for Angela Lansbury. The special effects with the penguins are seamless and unobtrusive - you're more apt to wonder, "How did they get those penguins to do that?" than to marvel at the pyrotechnics. The cast is fine, and the kids will enjoy it, but for adults it's skating on thin ice.

Midnight in Paris *****

"Midnight in Paris" takes the illusion that another time was better than our own head on. An American screen writer visiting Paris with his fiancee gets a chance to see for himself what things were really like in his ideal epoch. This is Woody Allen's best movie since "Match Point," in my opinion, with thoughtful and believable performances from Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and the usual Allen deep bench, including Michael Sheen and Kathy Bates. More information about the story would be a disservice, so I'll leave it at that. A great grownup movie, with wise lessons and plenty of wit, "Midnight in Paris" delights and surprises.

X-Men: First Class ***

This prequel to the other X-Men stories deals with the time before Charles Xavier became Professor X, and Erik Lehnsherr became his archenemy Magneto. In their student days they were the best of friends, and fought together to save the world from a great threat. James McEvoy as Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Lehnsherr bring talent and conviction to their roles, and the bond between them is palpable. But the story of the recruits is slack, and the threat is saved only by the personage of the dependable Kevin Bacon in a multi-generational role. The special effects are passable by today's standards, but nothing exceptional. It's an OK summer escape, but not one for your can't miss list.