'Smurfs 2,' sing-along 'Sound of Music,' 'Taxi Driver' and more at the movies

Opening at the multiplex

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star in "2 Guns" as two operatives from competing bureaus who are forced to go on the run together. But there is a big problem with their unique alliance: Neither knows that the other is an undercover federal agent. DEA agent Bobby Trench (Washington) and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Wahlberg) have been reluctantly attached at the hip. Working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate, each man distrusts his partner as much as the criminals they have both been tasked to take down. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, Trench and Stigman are suddenly disavowed by their superiors. Now that everyone wants them in jail or in the ground, the only person each man can count on is the other. “2 Guns” opens Friday.

In the "The Smurfs 2," evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. Starring Hank Azaria and Neil Patrick Harris and featuring the voices of Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, George Lopez and the late Jonathan Winters, “The Smurfs 2” opened Wednesday.

Opening downtown

“Fill the Void” tells the story of an Orthodox Hasidic family from Tel Aviv. Eighteen-year-old Shira is the youngest daughter of the family. She is about to be married off to a promising young man of the same age and background. It is a dream come true, and Shira feels prepared and excited. On Purim, her 28-year-old sister, Esther, dies while giving birth to her first child. The pain and grief that overwhelm the family postpone Shira’s promised match. Everything changes when an offer is proposed to match Yochay, the late Esther’s husband, to a widow from Belgium. When the girls’ mother finds out that Yochay may leave the country with her only grandchild, she proposes a match between Shira and the widower. Shira will have to choose between her heart’s wish and her family duty. Chris Chang of Film Comment Magazine says, “Director Rama Burshtein's debut is nothing less than astonishing. She's a card-carrying member of Israel's Hared community and, with that experience, has crafted a work of moral complexity and visual artistry.” "Fill the Void" opens tonight at the Michigan Theater.

Returning downtown

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) first met in their twenties in “Before Sunrise” (1995), reunited in their thirties in “Before Sunset” (2004), and now, in “Before Midnight,” they face the past, present and future; family, romance, and love. Before the clock strikes midnight, their story again unfolds; realities intrude during any idyllic night in Greece, testing the couple in unexpected ways. Farren Smith Nehme of the New York Post says, “Finding romance is easy. Staying together is hard. Making a movie this warm, funny, and rigorously truthful about lovers trying to remain partners is even harder.” Directed by Richard Linklater and co-written by Hawke, Delpy and Linklater, “Before Midnight” returns Friday to the State Theatre.

Special screenings downtown

The Summer Classic Film Series continues at the Michigan with one of the most beloved musicals of all time, “The Sound Of Music”! A landmark of cinema, the Michigan Theater is proud to present this very special sing-along presentation complete with on-stage costume parade, onscreen lyrics, goodie bags and more, providing fun for the whole family. Starring Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Georg von Trapp, the movie features songs including "Climb Ev’ry Mountain," "Edelweiss," "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" and "My Favorite Things". ”Sing-Along Sound Of Music” plays Sunday, Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. and Tuesday, August 6 at 7 p.m.

The Summer Classics After Dark series continues with “Taxi Driver.” Robert De Niro stars as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran who is slipping slowly into isolation and violence on the streets of New York City. Trying to solve his insomnia by driving a yellow cab on the night shift, Travis grows increasingly disgusted by the people who hang out at night: "Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets." “Taxi Driver” plays Thursday, Aug. 1 at 10 p.m.

See you at the movies!

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.