Star Wars

Comedian Bruce Vilanch on being more than a gay caricature

Comedy writing pioneer Bruce Vilanch is bursting with gayness. One of the first openly gay comedians, he's known for his continuing role on Hollywood Squares and as a head writer for the Academy Awards show, as well as writing jokes for Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, The Brady Bunch, Donnie and Mar ... More >>

Ask a Stoner: Do people really clone marijuana?

Show of Force

May brings Maibocks, spring tappings and the start of beer-fest season

Salt Lake City-based Epic Brewing, which announced in January that it will build a 20,000-square-foot brewery and taphouse in Denver, updated its followers on social media this week with a couple of pictures and some potential opening dates. The Facebook pictures (like the one above) show the brewer ... More >>

Denver Comic Con: Tickets to meet Stan Lee go on sale Wednesday, April 24

Our Spidey senses have been tingling with news about this year's Denver Comic Con for days now, and today that news is finally out: The godfather of comics himself, Stan Lee, will be stopping by Denver Comic Con on Sunday, June 2, for his first visit to the Mile High City in more than two decades -- ... More >>

Five prequel, sequel and remade movies I will watch -- no matter how bad they are

I'm among the petulant grumblers about super-popular movies getting prequels, gaining sequels and being retrofitted to appeal to current fans while grabbing up new fans with sexy, glammy, glitzy things like turbo-hottie actors and actresses and the expensive magic of CGI. But I grumble because I car ... More >>

Denver Zoo welcomes an effing adorable red panda named Chewbacca, ready for love

A red panda named Chewbacca has come to live at the Denver Zoo. His purpose? To mate with the zoo's female red panda, Daisy. His other, more important purpose? To be effing adorable. Continue reading for more facts and photos of the six-year-old Chewbacca -- who came to Denver from the Detroit Zo ... More >>

Loner of the Ring

Local filmmakers tackle zombie culture with Doc of the Dead

Denver has zombie walks, zombie proms, zombie races, zombie car washes and zombie fashion shows, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that a pair of Denver filmmakers have launched an ambitious zombie documentary. Alexandre O. Philippe and Robert Muratore, the pair behind the Star Wars doc The People ... More >>

Alamo Drafthouse partners with International Film Series

George Lucas made Star Wars. Steven Spielberg made E.T. It took both of them working together to make Raiders of the Lost Ark. Expect a similar level of awesome when two great powers in the local film scene -- the new-to-Colorado Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (which will open its first Colorado location i ... More >>

Ian Astbury on the Cult's new album, Choice of Weapon, his interest in Native American Culture and being a devotee of the Doors -- not just a fan

Since first emerging in the mid '80s, The Cult (due tomorrow night at the Ogden Theatre) has gone through some lineup changes and been on a few breaks. Through it all, the band's core members, frontman Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, have continued to churn out some heavy records, including 2 ... More >>

Photos: May the 4th be with you this Star Wars Day!

It's Star Wars Day, so May the 4th be with you -- and no, we're not lisping. We swear. To celebrate this annual excuse to shift into hyperdrive, we've assembled a slew of photos from our friends on Flickr that capture the pervasive cultural influence the Star Wars films (at least the first three) h ... More >>

Feel the Force

Top five sci-fi films according to Dan Landes

Science fiction isn't for everyone. But those who get it, really get it. "Comics and sci-fi are the new archetypes of our culture, we relate to Star Wars and Stan Lee's characters; we've created new mythologies through them," says Dan Landes, restaurateur and self confessed sci-fi geek. And this Fri ... More >>

Denver's eleven best roller derby nicknames

A roller derby nickname must be several things. Among them: short, clever and intimidating. This year's winner of "Best Roller Derby Nickname" in our 2012 Best of Denver issue is all three: Boo Boo Radley of the Denver Roller Dolls. But there's more cleverness and badassery to go around. Here, we ... More >>

Eleven movies to look forward to in 2012

One-Man Star Wars Trilogy review: The Force can only do so much.

Courtesy of Charlie Ross​The road to Alderon was paved with good intentions, as was One-Man Star Wars Trilogy, but unfortunately the Force can't fix everything. Charlie Ross's solo adaptation of the first (not the second, thank Emperor Palpatine!) Star Wars trilogy was presented to a packed ... More >>

Video: The One Man Star Wars Trilogy comes to a galaxy very, very close to you

There are few things in this world more terrifying or awe-inspiring than the experience of witnessing a nerd achieve his life's dream. There are probably more than a few cases in which this involves Star Wars or, if pressed, its nemesis that ends in Trek, but Charlie Ross's has got to be a pretty si ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Large police presence moves in on three tents with pepper spray and arrests

​Update, 8:44 p.m. November 12: According to Occupy Denver's website, sixteen arrests have been confirmed so far. The group remains mobilized downtown. While both Civic Center Park and Lincoln Park have been closed, protesters will be allowed to camp outside again in the future, but will not b ... More >>

Photo-chop fun with a picture of a large hole

Wut?​If there's anything we can learn from Return of the Jedi, it's that you never want to get tossed into a large hole, probably because it's actually a Sarlacc. Indeed, in the Star Wars universe and therefore also in our own a hole is never just a hole, and that's why today (also because it' ... More >>

Review: Robotic Pirate Monkey at the Bluebird, 7/8/11

Photo by Britt Chester​Denver got a little taste of Boulder last night with Robotic Pirate Monkey nearly selling out the Bluebird Theater. At least seventeen kids missed the memo that unless you have an orange bracelet proving you are 21 years old, you can't drink. Add this to the five or so f ... More >>

10 things to do for $10 this weekend, June 17-19, 2011

Father's Day is Sunday. That's free.​While most of us will be enjoying our Saturday by getting rowdy at the Westword Music Showcase, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of fun activities to get thrifty with around the rest of the city. Well, provided you're into things like Pride Fest, Star ... More >>

In honor of The People Vs. George Lucas, here are our five favorite Star Wars fan films

​LucasFilm has had a long and storied past dealing with fans, which is a large chunk of what the film The People vs. George Lucas, which is screening this weekend at Denver FilmCenter, deals with. When fans first started making films inspired by Star Wars, LucasFilm quickly started sending out ... More >>

The Dark Lord

Candyland, and other childhood pastimes Hollywood has ruined

Yeah, this shit is totally like Lord of the Rings.​Here's how the screenwriters of the upcoming Hollywood adaptation of Candyland -- the candy-themed board game for children who do not know how to read -- describe it: "We envision it as Lord of the Rings, but set in a world of candy." That i ... More >>

May the Fourth be With You: Ten weird pieces of Star Wars memorabilia

​When George Lucas created Star Wars he had no idea it was going to become the phenomenon that it did. In fact, if it wasn't for the dedicated merchandising work of Howard Roffman that caused the resurgence of popularity, we may not have ever seen revival of the brand. However, where there is ... More >>

Star Wars Day: May the Fourth Be With You... and everyone at Denver StarFest (VIDEO)

Not-Leia & Not-Han.​Today is Star Wars Day -- a date celebrated with the phrase "May the Fourth be with you." Get it? Over at our Show and Tell blog, Thorin Klosowski marks the occasion with a collection of weird Star Wars memorabilia. But we didn't want to be left out. So unleash your inner g ... More >>

What does it mean to cosplay? Reflctions on a weekend at StarFest

​The first costume I ever wore in my life was a handcrafted Thorin Oakenshield from the Hobbit when I was one or two years old. Then, when I was in fifth grade, I tricked my mom into sewing me a Mortal Kombat costume -- Scorpion -- for Halloween. Since then, I've never really thought about wan ... More >>

Ten ridiculous wikis to cure your boredom with just one click

Is there a wiki for this? Why yes, yes there is.​Wikipedia may be the world's largest online encyclopedia, but lately its increasing credibility and citation of sources have sucked out all of its fun. What if you just want something to laugh at, like a page of bullshit you're never ever going ... More >>

The Phantom Tron Menace Legacy: It's the same movie

Tron: Legacy, hittin' the streets on DVD and bluray yesterday, was supposed to be a coup of geekery. A sequel no one really wanted but diehard fans of a box office flop from 1982; it got made anyway -- and against all odds, it looked like awesome 3D geeknip. Jeff Bridges was back and young due to ad ... More >>

Paul has a fondness for sex, drugs and swear words

Oscar winners' most embarrassing performances

​Last night, Hollywood engaged in its yearly back-pat, bestowing little gold statues on those who brought the greatest dignity to the big screen last year. Amidst all that pomp and circumstance, it can be easy to forget that, as amazing as Natalie Portman was in Black Swan, she was also the le ... More >>

Irvin Kershner's ten best films: RoboCop2 and Star Wars among them

Image via towerofyouth.orgIrv Kershner​Rest in peace, Irvin Kershner, you director of RoboCop 2 and some film called The Empire Strikes Back. Born in 1923, he died over the weekend at the age of 87 and left behind an oeuvre of great filmmaking -- including no small number of sequels. So it ma ... More >>

Paul the Octobus film next for The People vs. George Lucas makers about to go international

Paul the Octopus.​One of the annual oddities of the Starz Denver Film Festival is the scheduling of the closing night film (this year, the unintentionally hilarious Black Swan) on the event's second-to-the-last day. As usual, Sunday, the day after, featured a full slate of cinema, with The Peo ... More >>

Yoda's House brings its eclectic sound to Rhinoceropolis

Weirdest Breakfast Cereal Pop Culture Tie-Ins

​Marketing stuff to kids is pretty easy -- which is why the government prevented tobacco companies from doing it -- even subtly, supposedly accidentally -- a few years back. McDonald's Happy Meals are the latest to feel their knuckles rapped by this particular ruler -- the obesity epidemic am ... More >>

Tim Tebow: He's better than Superman -- and a new hope like Luke Skywalker

No. 52: He loves his mom.​Thanks to media hype about everything from his classical beauty to his autographing skills, Tim Tebow has attracted haters and worshippers alike. Count TebowZone.com among the latter group. The site seduces folks to sign up (for free) with a list of the 51 reasons Te ... More >>

Ten semi-obscure Star Wars quotes to use on May the Fourth Be With You Day

The Fourth is with him.​I don't know who came up with the idea for this day. But seriously: genius. And why not celebrate it in a way that not only allows you to indulge your love of all things Star Wars, but also helps you identify who exactly is on your same Jedi-wavelength? Seriously, eve ... More >>

Do You Feel Lucas? Well, Do You, Punk?

Freaky Friday: "Skywalking" - LB Rayne

​Supposedly, this tender love ballad from Luke Sywalker to Leia, is a rejected song from the Empire Strikes Back soundtrack. Sure, it is. And if you believe that, I have some prime real estate on Dagoba to sell you. In any case, authentic or not, the dude managed to nail the early-'80s, cheese ... More >>

In a Universe Fowl, Fowl Away

Robot Chicken Star Wars is a plucky take-off on the original.

Raising the Bard

Michael Pennington knows how sweet it is to be a Shakespeare fan.

Drunk of the Week

Benny's Restaurant

Drunk of the Week

Dr. Etiquette's Wedding Reception Survival Guide

Drunk of the Week

Whiskey Bar

Bite Me

Dinner and a Movie

72-Hour Party People

Meth: It's not just for the white-trash crowd.