In anticipation of tomorrow night’s new episode of Project Runway (looks like there will be drama, drama, drama!), here’s a quick recap of last week’s antics: In a challenge that Heidi Klum described as “thwee designers reinterpreting thwee outdated looks,” teams set out to make over the poodle skirt, overalls,…
It’s become something of legend, of course, even if YouTube has stolen some of its mystery these days. Only a few years ago, all you could find of the Star Wars Holiday Special were bootleg tapes traded at comic-book and sci-fi collections, sold like contraband spice. (This transaction was even…
Too bad we don’t have an IKEA in this town, because I can’t tell you how often this happens to friends of mine with kids. — Sean Cronin…
View all the fabulous fashions in this comprehensive slide show by Jim Narcy. The Cat’s Pajamas and friends were out in force at last night’s Frock Out: Independent Designers Challenge at the Central Library. All things considered, the event was a smashing success with nary a runway tumble or wardrobe…
Most newspapers have a weekly feature in their Entertainment section that highlights the upcoming television worth watching. It’s a vestigial remnant of the old days when TV grids used to run daily, with a small bit recommending something good that evening. But now, with the strike, the Rocky Mountain News…
Casting Nicole Kidman as The Golden Compass’s glacial, intractably smooth megalomaniac Mrs. Coulter is no less inspired for being obvious. Indeed, she was the first and only choice for director Chris Weitz, who adapted this first installment of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Despite the book’s description of the…
There are comedies of discomfort, and then there’s Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach’s scalding followup to The Squid and the Whale. An immersion in sibling malice and simmering resentment, with one of the most infuriating characters in recent movies holding us under, Margot tramples the commandment that only the…
Re-reading Ian McEwan’s Atonement last weekend, my first thought was: I hope to God that Joe Wright — whose broadly grinning Pride & Prejudice made a mess of Jane Austen two years ago — doesn’t screw up this wonderful novel about lust, love, loss and what art can do to…
For a game that’s considered Microsoft’s premier 360 title this holiday season, it’s amazing how sloppy Mass Effect is. Graphical glitches distract from otherwise fascinating character designs and alien vistas, constant stops and stutters lengthen load times, and the inventory system must be the worst in history. And just as…
The Girl Next Door (Anchor Bay)If the horror of Saw was a poblano pepper, this here is the habañero. Derived from Jack Ketchum’s infamous novel, sometimes word-for-word, The Girl Next Door — based on a true story — is a sort of Hostel meets Stand By Me: A group of…
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Universal) The Best of Crank Yankers (Paramount) Bob Hope: MGM Movie Legends Collection (MGM) Erik the Viking: The Director’s Cut (MGM) Exiled (Magnolia) The Flash Gordon Collection (Passport) Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume One (Lionsgate) Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks (Criterion) Lady Chatterley (Kino) Law & Order:…
To turn Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice into a play, writer Jon Jory chose an approach somewhat reminiscent of reader’s theater, and the current Denver Center Theatre Company production maintains the style. The story of the vulgar Mrs. Bennet’s attempt to marry off her five daughters — and how, despite…
For many years, the Denver Center Theatre Company presented A Christmas Carol every holiday season, but this year, artistic director Kent Thompson has replaced it with a big song-and-dance-laden musical: White Christmas. Both shows are sentimental, feel-good fare; both feature protagonists who learn to renounce their own cynicism and hard-heartedness…
La Cage Aux Folles. This is a big, splashy musical with lots of big, splashy song numbers. But unlike many such musicals, La Cage Aux Folles also has heart, humor and a good story to tell. In a time of intense mean-spiritedness and prejudice, it carries a message of tolerance…
It’s hardly a new observation to say that the invention of photography revolutionized the visual arts; it’s trite, but true. Before photography, the best way to capture the appearance of exterior reality was to paint it. Once people could take photos, however, the idea of painting as a window on…
In Sporting and Recreation: Furniture, the current exhibit at Ironton Studios and Gallery (3636 Chestnut Place, www.irontonstudios.com), Chase DeForest has a lot of fun adding narrative content to things like sideboards and chairs. The items all reference some kind of leisure activity like a game. But DeForest is also interested…
American Art Invitational. Art, like politics, can be divided into liberal and conservative camps, with contemporary art representing the left and traditional art the right. But unlike politics, where the baton can pass back and forth between the two opposites, the art world has been run decisively by the liberals…
Boots are big this year, but for the vegan on your list, all those sleek miles of leather are a real bummer. Ahimsa Footwear, new this fall at 1668 Marion Street, has an answer to that fashion dilemma: Every product in the store is 100 percent vegan. Owners Lisa and…
Still seeking thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts for those special someones, friends and family members on your shopping list? Don’t panic. Grab your list and your wallet and get yourself to Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, 1405 Florence Street, for Wonders/Maravillas, the annual holiday show and sale of original artworks by DAVA youth…
Years and years ago, when I was a boy, when my family shared one telephone, when my grandfather snuck me tastes of beer, when my dad dressed as Santa Claus and we sat on his lap even when we knew it was him, before the Internet, before texting, before the…
Winter is hard on Marshall, my poor pooch. He still gets his daily trip to the dog park, but his favorite dog-park activity — swimming after his toy in the pond — is no longer feasible. It’s not that he’s averse to the cold water; it’s just that there’s ice…
It seems so obvious as to be laughable: Physically, women and men are very different. Female frames carry smaller shoulders and larger hips; men are more top-heavy and possess more upper-body strength. But when it comes to sports like skiing and snowboarding, we sometimes forget that what’s sauce for the…
