Win free movie tickets

Editor's note: Comment on today's "Cinema Chat" for a chance to win free movie tickets to the Michigan Theater. Some time between now and 9 a.m. Monday, leave a comment on this column. Offer your opinion on a recent movie you've seen, or on anything the column mentions. A winner will be randomly selected, and we’ll notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice, courtesy of The Michigan Theater. Full rules here.

Playing downtown

In “Take This Waltz,” Michelle Williams plays 28-year-old Margot, happily married to Lou (Seth Rogen), a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a handsome artist who lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable. Warmly human, funny and bittersweet, the film deftly avoids romantic cliches and paints an unusually true and unsentimental portrait of adult relationships. Dana Stevens of Slate says, “This romantic drama, starring the always-extraordinary Michelle Williams as a restless married woman contemplating an affair with her neighbor, is chock-full of individual moments of great power and beauty, including visual beauty.” “Take This Waltz” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

Opening at the multiplex

“The Expendables 2” finds a who’s who of action stars (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and Jean-Claude Van Damme) back in action when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Justin Lowe of the Hollywood Reporter says, “Taut, humorous and attractively packaged, the sequel is both fleet footed and engaging enough to captivate audiences with more than just nonstop action.” “The Expendables 2” opens Friday.

In "ParaNorman," a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can the town call? A misunderstood local boy named Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and worst of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. Justin Chang of Variety says, “Few movies so taken with death have felt so rudely alive as ‘ParaNorman,’ the latest handcrafted marvel from the stop-motion artists at Laika.” "ParaNorman” opens Friday.

"Sparkle" tells the story of the title character, Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), the youngest of three sisters and a music prodigy who struggles to becomes a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. Sparkle is from an affluent Detroit area, naive to the unexpected experiences her new life will bring as she and her two sisters blossom into a dynamic singing group during the Motown era. “Sparkle” opens Friday.

Special screenings downtown

Summer Classics continues with “The Jerk!” Carl Reiner directs Steve Martin in this gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn’t realize he’s not black. Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) discovers the truth when he finds himself instinctively tapping his feet, not to soulful blues music, but to an easy listening tune on the radio. “The Jerk” plays Sunday, August 19 at 1:30 p.m. and Tuesday, August 21 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater.

In “Iron Sky,” a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the Dark Side of the Moon. During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive armada of flying saucers. When American astronaut James Washington (Christopher Kirby) puts down his Lunar Lander a bit too close to the secret Nazi base, the Moon Führer (Udo Kier) decides the glorious moment of retaking the Earth has arrived sooner than expected. “Iron Sky” plays Thursday, August 23 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater.

Still playing downtown

In “Ruby Sparks,” Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing - as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan, who also wrote the screenplay), in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person. “Ruby Sparks” continues at the State Theatre.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” is the Michigan Theater staff favorite film from the Sundance Film Festival. Don’t miss this outstanding film, which moves from the Michigan to the State Theatre on Friday.

“The Intouchables,” an irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, has broken box office records in its native France and across Europe. Based on a true story of friendship between a paraplegic millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), the film depicts an unlikely camaraderie. It won the Best Picture César Award (France’s equivalent to the Oscars), as well as the Best Actor award for breakout star Sy. “The Intouchables” continues at the Michigan Theater.

See you at the movies!