Screen
‘Couples Retreat’ a waste of talent, unfunny
Director Peter Billingsley had a tough assignment: take four suburban couples and put them through a series of "relationship building" challenges that were thought-provoking, poignant, revealing and funny. In attempting to accomplish this, he makes everyone a crass ...
It’s a sad business, being funny
This year marks the centenary for one of cinema’s most important faces and minds, Charlie Chaplin. Kid Auto Races at Venice debuted on Feb. 7, 1914, ran 11 minutes and introduced the world to The Little Tramp...
The Medicine
The sages call it by many names: yagé, ambiwaska, aioasca, but most know it as ayahuasca: a hallucinogenic brew drunk during a spiritual ceremony....
Page turner
John Ford is cinema. Born in Portland, Maine, in 1894 — just as motion picture cameras were first being put to good use —...
Life goes on
There is nothing in this life more tragic, more soul-crushing than the untimely loss of a loved one. Thankfully, we have developed faiths, routines...
The rhythm of storytelling
As the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock said, “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” And who does the cutting? Editors. Sifting...
The cinematic sampler
As far as cinema is concerned, 2021 opened not with a bang but with cautious optimism. For starters, moviegoing has returned with AMC, Cinemark...
Compulsive viewing
Let’s get this out of the way: If you’ve ever been in a car crash, The Road Movie is not for you. Much in...
Politics on screen
We’re less than 60 days away from another Election Day — and just three short weeks until Boulder Weekly’s annual Vote Guide! — and...
‘Violence motherf*ckers!’
Not every director starts a scene by yelling, “Action!” Clint Eastwood gently whispers, “When you’re ready,” while others don’t even bother calling it. Sam...
I hate myself and I want to scream
Laney Brooks (Sarah Silverman) has problems. She tells her husband ( Josh Charles) that she doesn’t want her children to have a dog because they will fall in love with the dog, causing them to be devastated when it eventually dies. Since things die, why bother loving...
Evil Cheesey rides again
When Terry “Evil Cheesey” Chesebro, 58, is out in public or walking near a road, it’s not uncommon for the former daredevil to receive quick honks as people yell his name in admiration...