Salesmen are typically depicted in screen drama as the quintessential American phonies. That one set of phonies is being dramatically indicted by actors is an irony that we will leave hanging. Promised Land’s phony, played by Matt Damon, travels to small towns to sell the folks on fracking, the controversial…
Watching Django Unchained, it’s easy to imagine that Quentin Tarantino had such a blast making his last picture, the ebullient Holocaust fantasia Inglourious Basterds, that he decided to take his whole blood-spattered historical tent show on the road, this time putting down stakes in antebellum Dixieland. Although not technically a…
You can hear the people sing — really hear them — in the long-gestating screen version of that Broadway juggernaut Les Misérables. Countering the standard practice of having the actors in a film musical lip-synch their songs to pre-recorded tracks, director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) insisted that all of…
Most of the blathering this year about the death of film and film culture has already evaporated from the mind. But one gnomic pronouncement endures: Leos Carax describing cinema as “a beautiful island with a cemetery” following the world premiere of Holy Motors at Cannes. What are the contents of…
Quentin Tarantino has been Googling himself, and it’s starting to become a problem. The filmmaker, whose eighth feature, Django Unchained, opens on Christmas Day, is famously an analog evangelist: He writes his scripts in longhand; he bans cell phones from his sets and hasn’t owned one in years; he’s claimed…
When it comes to New Year’s Eve parties, adults, rather than teenagers, are usually the target audience. But tonight’s Black With a Splash of Color 2012: New Year’s Teen Gala was created just for teens, providing a fun, safe environment where they can dance, hang out and enjoy an apple…
Just ask George Lucas or Peter Jackson, and they’ll confirm that telling an epic three-part story is a lot of work — surely too much for one man. But that’s exactly what Charlie Ross is all about. Last year he brought us the Star Wars trilogy in its entirety in…
When it comes to apocalyptic fiction, zombies and vampires have both had ample opportunity to wreak world-ending havoc. Now’s the time for werewolves to have their chance. “Werewolves have terrified me since I was little,” says Travis Heermann, author of The Wild Boys. “Something about werewolves, people who can shape-change…
To enjoy tonight’s Trapped in the Closet Sing-Along, viewers aren’t required to know, like or even understand the fine art of R. Kelly. But unabashed Kelly lovers and cynics alike are invited to join in on 22 parts of the R&B artist’s 33-chapter (and counting) magnum opus, a story-song in…
Comic Deacon Gray thinks Denver could use a few more monthly alternative comedy shows, along with such ongoing fare as the Grawlix at the Bug Theatre and the Fine Gentleman’s Club at Deer Pile. The folks at the Bug agreed, so they’re teaming up tonight to introduce Text-a-Saurus, a new…
When Nancy Stohlman slinks on stage to sing with her band, Kinky Mink, she does the whole Jessica Rabbit lounge act, complete with sparkly dresses and smokey tunes. But the songs Kinky Mink performs aren’t lounge standards. Instead, you’ll hear reworked ’80s hair-metal classics like Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and…
Ready to clean out your brain and start fresh in 2013? Life coach Tama Kieves has some ideas on how to glide into the new year with a serene smile on your face, and she’ll be sharing them at today’s event, Living Your Sweetest Year Yet: Ushering in the Year…
Denver Art Museum director Christoph Heinrich calls Ghanaian artist El Anatsui “one of today’s most extraordinary artists,” and the pronouncement rings true in his works, which seem to weave together a whole historical survey of African art through the use of modern techniques and found objects. The renowned sculptor will…
Like an Appalachian tent revival performing a Day of the Dead ceremony in the year 2500, Itchy-O’s live performances have become infamous for a kind of digital spirituality, a bone-shaking sensory experience of complex instrumentation and feverish exigency. “We always plan a few surprises for all of our shows,” says…
Socialite Holly Kylberg’s Clock Tower Events will do something a little different for New Year’s Eve this year: open up the historic Daniels & Fisher clock tower for a glitzy party that’s, well, sort of above it all. A Magical New Year’s Eve Russian Winter Ball — space extremely limited…
“The torchlight parade is one of my favorite mountain-town holiday traditions,” says Tucker Burton, spokeswoman for Keystone Resort. “There’s something ethereal about this gliding, glowing stream of light snaking its way down the mountain that gets me every time.” On December 31, Keystone’s annual New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade will…
The Thin Man Tavern invites you to step through the looking glass and into the upside-down world of the Down the Rabbit Hole Ball on December 31. The bar and its surrounding space are being transformed into a magical landscape of oversized papier-mâché mushrooms and flowers, where guests can enjoy…
While the rest of the world will be looking ahead to 2013 on New Year’s Eve, Slam Nuba will travel back three decades for its Kwanzaa ’80s Hip-Hop Theme Party at Crossroads Theatre. “Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture, and this is what I feel that old-school…
Ring in the New Year with neon clothes and glow sticks at the Black Light Skating Party — Winter Park’s annual New Year’s Eve bash that’s gotten a makeover with party lighting, ice skating and a new location. This year, the Winter Park-Fraser Chamber of Commerce is moving the party…
Hotel Boulderado opened on New Year’s Day in 1909, and has thrown a blowout every year on its anniversary. This year’s New Year’s Eve Great Gatsby Gala will be like stepping back a hundred years into New York City, with upgraded decor (you’ll see glimpses of Central Park here and…
The Winter X Games, which return to Aspen January 24-27, are an invite-only affair, with a guest list filled with the likes of Shaun White and Kelly Clark. But the United States of America Snowboard Association has developed a workaround, staging an annual amateur rail jam at the Winter X…
If any band typifies the Colorado approach to contemporary bluegrass, it’s Yonder Mountain String Band. The quartet built up its chops playing in venues in Boulder, Nederland and beyond in the late 1990s, and its fusion of traditional instrumentation and progressive musical structures resonated with local crowds. The quartet has…
