David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis is a horror film wrapped in fast-talking political comedy. Watching Sandra Bullock, as ruthless campaign manager Jane, flog her uncharismatic candidate for Bolivia’s next president, I snickered at her knowing quips. Asked by an off-screen TV interviewer (the film’s awkward framing device) to…
Lenny Abrahamson’s shattering drama Room borrows its fictional plot from the tabloids and strips it of sensationalism. Seven years ago, Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) snatched seventeen-year-old Joy (Brie Larson) and stashed her in his backyard shed. Two years later, she bore their son. The door stayed locked. Now five, Jack…
Die-hard Rocky Horror fans got the full treatment when Colorado’s Elusive Ingredient stage re-enactors did the Time Warp again at Saturday night’s screening of the campy cult classic. Photographer Brandon Marshall caught these pics of all the fun. ]Now see the full Rocky Horror Picture Show slide show. …
Indie design blogger Jeanne Connolly loves to see how creative people put their houses together. In this series, she shares some of her favorite homes, taking us inside unique private spaces in Denver and beyond. Dorothy Tanner harnesses light and sound to transport her audience into another realm of reality. Her…
Heroes both local and international, operating in a variety of arenas, are in the spotlight at book events in the Denver area this week, from Naropa stalwart Barbara Dilley and superstar Michael Jackson to a Canadian environmental crusader who took on Encana by suing over the contamination of her well…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. Anna Peckham lived in Alaska until she was four years old, and…
Halloween is still days away, but this week is a grab-bag of free, fun events, including comedy shows and satirical lectures. Check out the Westword calendar for more activities, and drop us a comment if you have information on another great free event. Humor Lecture Series: Kalup Linzy at Rocky…
It’s no secret that some of the best ideas and inventions are cooked up right in (usually) sunny Colorado. In this series, we’ll be exploring the latest products coming from the state’s makers, builders and innovators. Bill Feldman came to Denver last February to hawk Liberty Wristband — his invention…
Six weeks ago we flew to New York for New York Fashion Week, and we’re still thinking about some of the stylish individuals we met there. Broadcast standards manager Ashley Golden Brown, for example, spotted at the Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO during the Essence Street Style block party. “Essence…
If you grow it, you should show it. The Boulder Facial Hair Club is gearing up for its third annual Beard and Moustache Competition on Saturday, October 24, and hundreds of men (and dozens of women) are already packing their beard oil and costumes in preparation for the hair-raising event…
Change is in the air at Ironton Gallery this weekend, while nearby at Rule, Jacob Feige plays perceptual tricks. And at Belmar in Lakewood, Valkarie Gallery brings whimsy into the mix, just in time for Halloween. Here are the details. Andy Sweet: Essence Ironton Studios and Gallery October 23 through…
In the fall of 1991, Jennifer “JP” McPherson was putting on her makeup and rounding up the Transylvanians for their midnight production at <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show</em> at the Esquire Theatre. She was the cast manager for the troupe and was about to take the stage as a very pregnant…
Start lining up your favorite babysitter, packing to-go meals and stocking up on eyedrops, because tickets for the 38th annual Denver Film Festival, which runs from November 4 through November 15, are officially on sale today. This year’s schedule, which boasts over 250 films from 39 different countries, is a…
After a drizzly couple of days, there are hints that the sun may come out for a little while on Saturday and Sunday — and so should you. This weekend is filled with art markets, pumpkin carving and wild parties to put Netflix-and-chill on pause. Check out the Westword calendar…
#7: Bree Davies Give longtime Westword contributor Bree Davies a soapbox to stand on, and she’ll have something to say. We love her here because she is fearless about speaking up for Denver DIYers, neighborhoods enbattled by unwelcome change, modern feminist values, bad human behavior and other hot-button issues, no matter what…
The ongoing efforts to push History Colorado into the future would make a great subject for a Ph.D. thesis someday. There’s certainly plenty of research material, including minutes of the meetings of the new board that was reduced to nine members by a law passed by the Colorado Legislature this…
This weekend, Dismember the Alamo will host its second Halloween mystery-movie marathon: four movies, not to be revealed until they start, plus a special guest tied to one or more of the films. When I spoke to Steve Bessette, creative manager of the Alamo Drafhouse in Littleton, he promised me the program…
In his 2014 book Difficult Men, journalist Brett Martin identifies bad-boy antiheroes as the defining feature of our current “Golden Age” of television. Tony Soprano, Don Draper and The Wire’s Omar Little dazzle with their multifaceted complexity: How deep the furrow in Tony’s troubled brow! How pensive the trail of…
Critics lampoon him as a fast/furious lug nut, a hunk of well-oiled meat who doesn’t so much act as ka-thunk his face and body through its limited gears. To hell with them. Vin Diesel may not run smoothly, but he runs with purpose and conviction, and any line of dialogue…
Everything I’ve seen by Amber Cobb over the past several years has focused on domestic life, with a special interest in references to the bedroom. The artist’s oeuvre incorporates a wide range of material, from stomach-turning objects like stained and torn mattresses at one end to elegant and minimal expressions…
Sherlock Holmes is the most popular character in English literature, and the one most frequently portrayed in film history. More than seventy actors have played him in over 200 films and radio and TV series. Sometimes it seems that any actor in need of a hit just throws on an…
New productions this week include hard drama with the Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, a paranormal trip back in time with the Theater Company of Lafayette, and a cabaret-style musical at the Garner Galleria. Here’s where to grab tickets and go for a theatrical ride. BETC, The Few Dairy Center for…
