I sometimes wonder how frightening The Shining would be if the soundtrack were muted. How scary would Jack Nicholson be if he were lugging an ax around without the creepy screech of violins and cellos like constant nails on a chalkboard? How troubling would a little kid be if his…
There’s a reason that La Traviata, an opera about the doomed love between a consumptive courtesan and an aristocrat, is one of the most frequently performed in the world: It’s gorgeous, packed with luscious songs and expressive arias, full of pulsating emotion. But Central City Opera’s La Traviata is a…
Threepenny Review editor Wendy Lesser once noted that our relationships with the dead are always changing — a comment that pulled me up short at the time. The dead are long past contributing to conversations with the living, I thought. But, of course, these conversations take place constantly, as our…
Around the World in 80 Days. The Victorians became increasingly fascinated with stories of adventure as technological advances in travel made their world smaller and more accessible. It didn’t hurt that so much of that world map was colored an imperial red. In his famous novel Around the World in…
When I came to Denver in the 1980s, the Mile High City was a great place to be if you were a fan of architecture, as I am. At the time, the oil boom was transforming downtown into what it is today, with new high-rises popping up like mushrooms. The…
I’m sure that anyone who travels down the South Monaco Parkway as it skirts the fashionable Crestmoor neighborhood has noticed the dramatic — if a bit tumbledown — expressionist-style church (pictured) that occupies a two-acre site just north of the Ellsworth Avenue intersection. As long as I can remember, the…
Fang Lijun: Heads. China is definitely on the ascendancy internationally. Not only does the teeming economic powerhouse produce all the junk that can be found in a suburban Wal-Mart, but it’s also turning out important artists who have taken the contemporary scene in the U.S. and Europe by storm. Adam…
Red Dawn: Collector’s Edition (MGM) John Milius’s 1984 war pic was a mighty bonkers release even back then; not since the 1950s had something come down the pike so rife with Commie paranoia. Russian and Cuban forces invade the U.S. with tanks and choppers and the whole shebang, only to…
The last hour of The Darkness is exactly what the game should have been from its opening moments: a magnificent, bloodthirsty mix of firepower and hellish wrath. Playing the role of Jackie Estacado — a hit man who inherited demonic powers via a family curse — you will spend the…
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (Shout!) Avenue Montaigne (THINKfilm) Baxter (Lionsgate) The Best of the Colgate Comedy Hour (Passport) Beer Drinkers in Space (Tempe) Birdman & the Galaxy Trio: The Complete Series (Turner) Esther Williams: Volume 1 (Warner Bros.) Gunsmoke: The First Season (Paramount) The Happy Hooker Trilogy (MGM) The…
The 2007 Sierra Mist Major League Soccer All-Star Game, taking place tonight at 7 p.m. at the splendid Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, was supposed to trumpet the arrival of Sir David of Beckham to America. Though this rumor was never confirmed, it was widely reported, and many assumed it to…
It’s hard to believe that pink ceramic penguins and fuzzy hyper-colored landscape paintings could contribute to a topic as weighty as global warming. But that’s exactly what’s happening at Glacial: Works by Timothy Berg and Bob Koons, which opens tonight at 6 p.m. at Ironton Studios, 3636 Chestnut Place. According…
Don’t dismiss Fergie as just another dopey pop star. In addition to her intimate knowledge of London Bridge, she’s an eager businesswoman who’s pioneering new methods of parlaying celebrity into green. Last month she signed a $4 million deal with Candie’s clothing that reportedly calls for her to drop the…
Shawn Lukitsch, co-owner of the North Carolina independent production company Agency Films, will never forget the first time he hopped a train. He was in Milwaukee, and his roommate had just skipped town with the rent money. So Lukitsch went down to the snowy railyard and jumped on a train…
Gravel-voiced street musician turned stage artist Jason Webley oozes a Tom Waits vibe, but don’t tell him that. The busking accordionist is clearly his own creation, known for leading Andy Kaufman-style audience-participation parades (one Webley-led public takeover of a Seattle water fountain got him banned from Bumbershoot), using a coin-filled…
Who doesn’t love Frida Kahlo? The woman was an icon, born to produce beauty, so it’s only fitting that Denver steps up to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday, had she not died in 1954. Studio Bead’s celebration — Beads, Braids, Brows — took place on Thursday and…
“It’s not your typical fashion show,” says Indie Six’s Angela Dixon — which may be the understatement of the year. She’s talking about Viva Las Denver!, taking place tonight at the Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax Avenue. “It’s kind of like Cirque du Soleil meets Indie Six,” Dixon continues. “We’ve…
“The truth of the matter is that history really does repeat itself,” says Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, a Crow Creek Sioux writer and scholar. “America has become a place where there is no middle ground. There are many dangerous countries in this world. America is now one of them.” She’ll explain why…
Although I moved to Denver for the mountains, my daily life tangles me up often enough that I rarely make it past the city limits. Sadly, I don’t even think about what I’m missing until something like TrailFest 2007 comes along. Starting today at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast…
“Do you believe in fairies? Say quick that you believe. If you believe, clap your hands!” One can only imagine what response Peter Pan’s famous lines will evoke when they’re uttered on screen under the stars of Cheesman Park during tonight’s city-sponsored Movies in the Parks screening of the fanciful…
Cummins Rocky Mountain Truck Fest: Drag racing, truck show, special truck exhibitions, rock crawlers, vendor midway, burnout contest and more…
The magical hour is almost here, and everyone is itching to know what happens. Is Severus Snape an evil double agent who murdered Albus Dumbledore in cold blood, or is there some greater reason for his betrayal? What will happen to Hogwarts? For that matter, what will happen to Harry,…
