I Origins is a Serious Intellectual Film

Suppose you’re in high school, and your interest in movies has begun to run deeper than multiplex fare. You may find yourself gravitating to a particular kind of intellectual film: the dour, the twisty and the ostentatious must be regarded as the pinnacle of the form, because, you feel, you…

Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s Henry IV, Part I, is honor bound

King Henry IV gained the throne by deposing his predecessor, Richard II, and having him murdered, and in Henry IV, Part 1, the crown lies uneasily on his head. He’s beset with political problems: Men who aided his insurgency have turned against him; there’s rebellion brewing throughout the kingdom; and,…

Outside in 303 brings street art inside at the Museo

The Museo de las Americas is making its mark this summer with Outside in 303, an incredible show that gives a glimpse into the scene of Latino taggers that have been more or less hidden from the rest of the art world — although their efforts have been visible on…

Now Playing

I Hate Hamlet. I Hate Hamlet is a bit like the curate’s egg: hilariously funny in parts, and in others so idiotic that you’re embarrassed for the actors. Why is the radiant Jamie Ann Romero wasting her talents wafting about as Deirdre, a stagestruck 29-year-old virgin who’ll have sex with…

Now Showing

Articulated Perspectives.Summer is group-show time, and Bill Havu and Nick Ryan have put together a great exhibit that looks at artists who combine representational imagery with abstract sensibilities. The exhibit, installed on both the main level and the mezzanine, includes the work of three painters and one sculptor. As you…

Hercules Surprisingly Has Both Brains and Brawn

One could be forgiven for being skeptical that a Hercules movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and directed by Brett “Rush Hour Trilogy” Ratner might have a brain in its head, but it actually does. We’re not talking Snowpiercer levels of intelligence, but it’s far less aggressively stupid than, say,…

Scarlett Johansson Effortlessly Carries the Fun, Unscientific Lucy

With his stately drawl, Morgan Freeman has narrated nonfiction documentaries about penguins, slavery, the lemurs of Madagascar, ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the expansion of the universe. His is a voice of authority tempered by warmth and wisdom, capable of evoking felt human experience and the majesty of creation. In writer-director…

Give ’Em Heck!

After almost two months of bringing people together through enormous, body-controlled arcade games on Champa Street in downtown Denver, OhHeckYeah is about to pull the plug. But there’s still one more weekend left, and tonight, PechaKucha Denver and OhHeckYeah will unite to say farewell to the innovative street arcade. “It’s…

Beer Nation

California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing, the nation’s second-largest craft-beer maker, is nearing completion of a second production facility, this one near Asheville, North Carolina. To celebrate, company founder Ken Grossman wanted to turn the spotlight on the craft-brewing industry as a whole rather than on Sierra Nevada itself. With that in…

Meet Me at the Station

All aboard! The transformed Union Station officially opens today, showing off a $54 million remodeling project that added a fancy hotel and fifteen exciting restaurants and retail stores, including everything from a compact Tattered Cover outpost to Stoic & Genuine, the tony new eatery from Jennifer Jasinski and Beth Gruitch…

Joy Sticks

Before gamers had the option to kill each other anonymously via the Internet, they had to gather face-to-face in real-world arcades to do it. In that arena, friendships were made, rivalries were born, and a good time was had by all. Those days are long gone, but this summer, OhHeckYeah…

Shell Game

A decade ago, when Oyster the Race began, the Denver urban-adventure course was extremely challenging athletically, inspiring participants to nickname it the “Rocky Mountain Ball Buster.” And while the race has since toned down the skill level, it’s still all about physical fun and camaraderie as teams of triathletes and…

Fresh Air, Fresh Art

Models, artists and photographers have been flocking to Denver Face Paint and Body Art Jam events, where the artists paint the models’ bodies and faces, and then the photographers capture images of the works and share them with everyone. The collaboration showcases the myriad possibilities that exist when you use…

New Normal

As the fight for marriage equality continues to amass victories, the formerly niche market of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cinema has moved into the mainstream. LGBT identity is “becoming the new normal and reaching a broader audience,” says Matthew Campbell, programmer at the Sie FilmCenter, “but it still needs…

Let the Games Begin

The third annual Conclave of Gamers starts today, and that means three days of nothing but nonstop gaming. Card games, board games, role-playing games, dexterity games and even a few video games will make an appearance — everything from old favorites to brand-new games that haven’t yet been released. “If…

Boxes and Bottles

On the opening night of Residency): Process to Consumption back in May, the city’s arts arm, Create Denver, handed out empty four-by-four-foot wooden boxes to a group of selected artists. They were asked to use the back as a canvas and the inside to build something. “That’s why the word…

All That Jazz

If you’re feeling like a tune on a Monday night, Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge will take care of you nicely: The club’s World Music Series will take a jazz-tinged jog tonight, courtesy of the Bill Hill Sextet’s Jazz Around the World. Percussionist Hill — longtime chief tympanist for the Colorado…

Street Dreams

Colfax Avenue is a street of many personalities. The longest continuous road in the U.S. has a checkered and colorful history, one that is often misunderstood. Today’s Tasty Colfax aims to clear up those misconceptions and brighten perceptions, with an event that shows off just how diverse and delicious the…

Brando at His Best

In the annals of American film, On the Waterfront is a juggernaut. The Marlon Brando-led classic about corruption and crime in a dock-workers’ union was not just a commercial success; it won eight Academy Awards and was named one of the American Film Institute’s top ten movies of all time…

Joint Exhibition

Where there is legal pot, there’s bound to be pot art. Denver artist Michael Canada is banking on the assumption that if people in Colorado can smoke pot in their homes, perhaps they’ll want some pot-inspired imagery over their mantels to go along with it. Although there’s no way to…