Baroquely sinister and grotesquely funny, the latest overstimulated bout of dark comic mayhem from writer-director Álex de la Iglesia (Common Wealth, The Day of the Beast), The Last Circus is a stunning funhouse-mirror allegory of Franco-era Spain that makes Pan’s Labyrinth look like Sesame Street. In the middle of the…
As stripped down and propulsive as its robotic title, Drive is the most “American” movie yet by Danish genre director Nicolas Winding Refn. The film, for which Refn was named Best Director last May in Cannes, is a sleek, tense piece of work that, as a vehicle for Ryan Gosling,…
Denver’s fall theater season is already off to a hot and heavy start with offerings of every stripe, from classically funny (The Liar and Unnecessary Farce) to explosive (Justin Bieber Meets Al Qaeda) to thought-provoking (Clybourne Park) to just plain silly (Completely Hollywood (abridged)). And due to the wealth of…
By now, you’ve no doubt seen the cover of Jenn Wohletz’s Kink of the Jungle: A field guide to Denver’s wild life feature story — and have admired the lovely (and startled!) Satine LaChance. This is actually the third time photographer Jim Narcy, who took the photo, has submitted an…
In the early 1970s, behavioral psychologist Herbert Terrace designed an experiment to discover whether chimps could use language. At the center of the experiment was Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee raised in different homes, taught sign language and eventually brought back to the laboratory. James Marsh’s new documentary, Project Nim (at…
What does it take to become the next big tech thing? Eleven start-ups will enter TechStars’ first New York City start-up incubator to find out if they have the smarts, the will and the ability to get cash in order to become the next high-tech sensation. TechStars, the Boulder-based technology…
Last month, upon reporting the news that seven of the 28 skaters on the Team USA roster for the first-ever Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto are from Colorado, we wondered aloud if the World Cup was shaping up to be an international incident concluding with a red, white, and…
Mistress Saskia, Denver’s premier dominatrix, is headmistress of Pavlovia Denver, a house of professional domination where she trains apprentice dominants, teaches private lessons for singles and couples, and offers such delightful and demented services as cross-dressing, role-play, spanking, whippings, fetish play and bondage (subjects you can learn much more about…
New-release week is starting to hit its stride again now that summer is basically over. We haven’t yet hit the action-packed holiday onslaught, though, and this week, we’ve got a lot of fantastic and slightly off-the-beaten-path stuff to choose from, including autobiographies from Roger Ebert and Michael Moore, as well…
Only an asshole gets killed for a car (the Repo Code). The International Film Series at the University of Colorado in Boulder will show a series of films by director Alex Cox over the next few weeks; Cox teaches screenwriting and film production at the school. And while all of…
We’re not sure what it is about Applebee’s Twitter account, but something screams “ass-kisser.” The restaurant chain’s tweets read like that student council kid in high school who tries to be buddy-buddy with everyone, asking mindless questions like “How was your summer vacation?” and “How do you feel about making…
What I don’t know: why these movies keep getting made. I Don’t Know How She Does It is based on Allison Pearson’s 2002 diaristic, comic bestseller and directed by Douglas McGrath. But its real auteur is screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, scripter of wan workplace romantic comedies such as the limp…
Racism persists, but the ways in which we feel and express it change with the times — as exemplified in Bruce Norris’s brilliant Clybourne Park. The play was inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, at the end of which the Youngers, a struggling black family, are about…
We love Denver’s crafty DIY spirit and think there’s always room for more. So strong is that enthusiasm here that it’s experienced an enormous trickle-down. More and more people are thinking about ways to recycle old materials into new gifts, create new urban looks or channel timeless pastimes to fit…
With another new television season almost upon us, it’s also another season missing AMC’s Mad Men. The ’60s-era period drama, which has been on hiatus since October of last year due to negotiations between the network and creator Matthew Weiner, is now finally promising a return in March 2012. But…
Need to burn off some steam, get the blood flowing and relax your mind after the 9/11 weekend? We totally understand, and so does Yoga at the Rocks; the organization is hosting a full-moon yoga class tonight at — where else? — Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Bring your yoga mat, some…
Westword contributor Jenn Wohletz wrote a cover-story guide to kink last week and followed it up with BDSM edgeplay advice from the well-respected Jay Wiseman. At least one member of Denver’s kink community thought Wiseman’s advice was excellent — and as BDSM is not only an interest of hers, but…
BDSM-themed movies, and films with hot kink scenes in them provide us with two very important things: mainstream popular-culture acceptance, and something to jerk the gerk/smack the peach to when we’re bored. See also: The best BDSM movies: Five more options for your viewing pleasure…
Author Benjamin Runkle will be at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch tonight to talk about his new book, Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts from Geronimo to Bin Laden. In preparation for his appearance, we caught up with Runkle to talk about his book, the importance of manhunts and the…
Launch: Community Through Skateboarding and the proposed Launch Creative Center in Fort Collins are ready to drop in, thanks to money raised at the All Hands On Deck art show and a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign that concluded last week, surpassing its fundraising goal by more than $1,000 for a total…
My theory about life is, whatever you do, go hard. If you’re into fantasy football or Phish or being Irish, by all means, tell the world. This weekend’s installment of the fifteenth annual Nan Desu Kan anime convention experience was just that, an exemplary parade of anime fanatics, three-fourths of…
For people not involved in the BDSM, or kink scene (the subject of this week’s cover story), most forms of sadomasochistic or SM play would be considered edgy, but within the scene there are certain activities that are generally recognized as being high-risk, even for experienced players, and these are…
