Avengers: Age of Ultron Is a Movie Monolith for the Devout

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a complicated, ticking machine — a cuckoo clock under attack. Returning helmer Joss Whedon is earnestly trying to make a movie out of a bag of bolts: six stars, nine cameos, three enemies, and at least ten films to go before the climactic Avengers: Infinity…

Stanley Film Fest Paranormal Programmer Scares Up His Top Picks

The third chapter of the Stanley Film Festival rolls into Estes Park this week, like a spirit-soaked fog hovering over the spooky Stanley Hotel, filling the place with the best horror films and festivities for a celebration of cinematic goosebumps. On the fright frontline is Matthew Campbell, a programmer who spends…

Three Things to Do for Free in Denver April 27-30

Today is National Tell a Story Day, and free activities around town say a lot about Denver’s robust arts scene. This week you can question a comedian, explore collage and learn more about the upcoming municipal elections. Check out the Westword calendar for more events, and if we missed a bargain,…

Doors Open Denver Celebrates Classic Buildings Old and New This Weekend

There’s more to Denver’s cityscape than its brick-and-mortar exterior. The annual Doors Open Denver tour peels back that layer, offering insider looks at what’s behind some of the Mile High City’s most famous facades. Sponsored by the Denver Architectural Foundation, this year’s theme is “Denver Classics Then & Now,” and…

From Idiocracy to Soylent Green, Five Favorite Film Dystopias

You think things are bad just because we have police murdering people daily, the government spying on us 24/7 and the slowest broadband speeds in the world? Pfft, whatever. Sure, the dystopia-lite that is modern-day America is a giant shitshow, but anyone with a passing familiarity with science fiction film…

Lonnie Hanzon Stirs Up an “Equality Cake” for PrideFest

In her hit cover of “MacArthur Park,” gay icon and disco-music diva Donna Summer famously sang, “Someone left the cake out in the rain/I don’t think that I can take it, because it took so long to bake it/And I’ll never have that recipe again.” Now a local artist is…

“Denver Comedy Exodus” Leaves Plenty of Funny Business Behind

As Denver’s scruff-speckled comedy scene prepares itself for something like a changing of the guard, some of the more hysterical corners of the blogosphere have bewailed and bloviated about a “Denver comedy exodus.” Biblical hyperbole aside — a half-dozen comics departing for Los Angeles is about 600,000 Hebrews short of…

Adult Beginners Crams Kroll Into a Played-Out Arc

I dread explaining man-child dramedies to the ghosts of the dead. “You see, Grandpa, after your time, a generation paralyzed by the economy and indecision stopped growing up, and started churning out indie movies justifying why.” In the ’40s, men fought wars at eighteen. In 1967, Benjamin Braddock faced accusations…