There’s not much depth to The Smell of the Kill, but it’s wonderfully malicious and a lot funnier than any of the sketch comedy I’ve seen lately. Nicky, Molly and Debra are thrown together once a month by their husbands’ friendship; on this particular occasion, they cluster in the shining…
Frozen. It’s hard to deal with murder — particularly the rape, murder and dismemberment of a child — without being exploitative. It’s hard to explore the issue of forgiveness without sentimentality. But Bryony Lavery’s Frozen succeeds on both counts. The title of the three-character play — involving the child murderer,…
All the President’s Men (Warner Bros.) It’s no mystery why Warner Bros. chose to rerelease All the President’s Men now; at last we know how much — which is to say how little — Mark “Deep Throat” Felt really looked like Hal Holbrook. A new doc on former FBI second-in-command…
Sony’s approach with its handheld, the PlayStation Portable, is to carbon-copy its most popular titles for on-the-go gaming. “Enjoy Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation 2?” Sony seems to ask. “Well, here’s a version for the PSP. Oh, you’re a SOCOM fan? Super, we’ve got that on PSP too.” With the…
Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber (MCA) The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends (Shout Factory) Domino (New Line) Dorian Blues (TLA) First Descent (Universal) Left of the Dial (HBO) The Memory of a Killer (Sony) Midnight Cowboy: Two-Disc Collector’s Edition (MGM) Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Collector’s Edition (Sony)…
Nobody actually enjoys working out. Sure, sweating yourself stupid might make you feel better about that Pete’s burrito with extra sour cream you killed after a disciplined night of Bacardi-and-diets. But the unflattering clothes, blotchy skin and heart-shattering cardio work? No chance. Reverend White Eagle, a Denver motivational speaker and…
Kick off the Mardi Gras season with a Masquerade Ball tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the elegant and historic Parkside Mansion, 1859 York Street. A more refined alternative to other booze-and-bead fests scheduled around town, the ball requires revelers to wear cocktail attire and masks. In keeping with the New…
Freedomland manages a seemingly impossible feat: It’s both turgid and overwrought, eliciting the shriek that fades into a yawn without anyone ever noticing. It’s a wholly dreary piece of work, yet another dismal entry on the resumé of director Joe Roth, an only-in-Hollywood hack who’s allowed to make movies –…
The best thing about Michael Haneke’s Caché (Hidden) is the way it draws on very contemporary fears without ever mentioning them. The War on Terror era has given us all new things to be afraid of; some fear being prey for terrorists while others fear the government’s response, but both…
Penguins, shmenguins. If you want some new insight into the codes of animal behavior, have a look at Eight Below, an inspirational adventure in which a team of sled dogs marooned in Antarctica fights to survive winter without benefit of man or Milk-Bone. In the process, the intrepid furry heroes…
Mainstream American audiences are most familiar with the U.S.-made films of the late Louis Malle — including the sensual New Orleans period piece Pretty Baby and the moody Burt Lancaster vehicle Atlantic City. But before Hollywood came calling, Malle was one of the most prominent directors in his native France,…
Every year, the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture presents a thematically linked interdisciplinary program. This year the topic is twentieth-century scientific genius Albert Einstein, and the program, titled “Einstein: The Creative Cosmos,” includes lectures, concerts, educational workshops, plays and the exhibit Infinite in All Directions, which is on display…
Frank T. Martinez is an emerging self-taught artist who first appeared on the scene in a + Gallery solo back in 2004. At the time, his paintings were abstract and sort of roughly done; his principal compositional device was circular motifs created by transfers off the painted rims of jars…
Abstract Symbols. No sooner had Tracy Felix taken down his show at the William Havu Gallery than Sushe Felix, his wife, put up her own, a major exhibit with some three dozen paintings. The show has an epic-length title — Abstract Symbols From Nature and the Unconscious, new paintings by…
The rift between those who believe in a punitive God — a God who insists on absolute obedience and condemns sensual delight — and those who see God as the apotheosis of love, joy and freedom runs through hundreds of years of history. It also shapes the politics of contemporary…
In some of the skits, the material is funnier than the execution; in others, the execution is better than the material. Overall, Red Scare is a hit-and-miss proposition — with mildly amusing moments alternating with laugh-yourself-silly scenes and a few out-and-out clunkers. Red Scare is a production of Chicago’s famed…
Frozen. It’s hard to deal with murder — particularly the rape, murder and dismemberment of a child — without being exploitative. It’s hard to explore the issue of forgiveness without sentimentality. But Bryony Lavery’s Frozen succeeds on both counts. The title of the three-character play — involving the child murderer,…
Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson: Uncensored! (Paramount) This sucker’s vulgar — duh — but not shocking in the least bit; Sarah Silverman swears, and Courtney Love drinks and smokes . . . who knew? That said, this roast ranks among the meanest ever televised; why Bea Arthur shows up…
Ah, the Winter Olympics. The nip of drama in the Alpine air. The purity of amateur competition. Swedish women in full-body spandex. These are all things we enjoy about the winter games. Now for some things we don’t: losing to Canada in hockey, male figure skaters in blouses, and of…
Disney Princess Sing Along Songs, Vol. Three: Perfectly Princess (Buena Vista) Emmanuel’s Gift (First Look) The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Complete First Three Seasons (Warner Bros.) The Frisco Kid (Warner Bros.) Gimme a Break!: Season One (MCA) Grey’s Anatomy: Season One (Buena Vista) He-Man and the Masters of the…
Opera and punk rock — two great tastes that taste great together. In doubt? Then you haven’t experienced Sybil Vane’s Weird Opera. Vane is the alter ego of Molly Zackary, who hosted a riot-grrrl radio show while majoring in opera singing at the University of Northern Colorado. Zackary brings her…
Colorado Quickies is “kind of a smorgasbord for the audience,” says Write Angle Productions playwright and producer Tyler Smith. “They don’t know what’s coming from one play to the next, so it’s always a surprise.” And smorgasbords, as everyone knows, are perfect for people who can’t make up their minds…
