Reviews, interviews, and festival coverage courtesy Boulder’s only independent newspaper.
In 2012, Missy Franklin—a swimmer from Centennial, Colorado—caught the attention of the Olympic world. The fresh-faced phenom became the first female to qualify for seven Olympic events and ended up collecting one bronze and four gold medals while setting two … Continue reading TOUCH THE WALL
Working from Hans Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, the Polish musical The Lure (Córki dancingu—literally, “daughters of the dance club”) tells the tale of two seductive mermaid sisters: Silver (Marta Mazurek) and Golden (Michalina Olszanska), who beckon men to their watery graves with both … Continue reading THE LURE (CÓRKI DANCINGU)
English actor Dirk Bogarde may have lived in the closet, but Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti did not. Visconti also had the luxury of being born into an aristocratic family. So did German novelist Thomas Mann, but he struggled with his … Continue reading DEATH IN VENICE
Before the 1990s, animated family films were in the gutter. Deemed too expensive, too labor-intensive, their demise was certain. But then came The Little Mermaid, and a decade-long renaissance of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation followed. It culminated with 1999’s, The Iron Giant, … Continue reading THE IRON GIANT
Megan Bloomfield (Natasha Lyonne) is the all-American girl next door. She’s bubbly and perky, lives in the suburbs with her parents, and is dating Jared (Brandt Wille), the high school football star. He’s a John Travolta look-a-like with the hair … Continue reading BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER
The Irish have a saying: Is this a private fight, or can anybody join? For noted journalist and city activist Jane Jacobs, there was no such thing as a private fight. Everybody was welcome, and everybody was needed. That’s how … Continue reading CITIZEN JANE
When Star Wars debuted in 1977, it was an immediate revolution of cinema and culture. Audiences voted with their wallets: This is how we want our stories delivered, and these are the stories we desire. Four decades later, Star Wars is less a cinematic … Continue reading STAR WARS IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Directed by Akira Kurosawa and released in 1958, The Hidden Fortress was produced during Kurosawa’s string of financial successes and artistic triumphs that began with Rashômon in 1950 and concluded with Red Beard in 1965. Throughout that 15-year, 13-movie run, Kurosawa released a series of monumental … Continue reading THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (隠し砦の三悪人)
Aug. 1, 1966: U.S. Marine and University of Texas at Austin engineering student Charles Whitman entered the UT tower, climbed to the 28th floor, took his position, and opened fire on the campus. For the next 96 minutes, Whitman shot … Continue reading Keith Maitland on TOWER
Michael J. Cinema 
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