A refreshing look at death in the great outdoors – no, really. This book is a series of fictionalized accounts of death or near-death experiences from common outdoor causes, compiled from many actual cases. Each tale is accompanied by a detailed physiological description of what’s happening in the body at each stage. While it provides…

I nearly missed this concert due to my upcoming trip to Orlando, but we were able to change our tickets from Saturday night to Friday. It meant I showed up to the concert a little tired after a week of work and travel preparation, but I’m glad I didn’t miss this evening of Italy-inspired music.…

A failed satire is always sad. At least I hope for this movie’s sake that it was trying to be a satire. The humor peeks through here and there, but it’s not worth sitting through yet another story of some guys who steal some money, get chased down, betray each other, blah blah blah.

Mozart isn’t my favorite composer, and I wasn’t expecting an especially big turnout to see the Colorado Symphony Orchestra play three of his concertos in a row. Absolutely wrong. It seems that Mozart is still the big celebrity of classical music, and Boettcher Concert Hall was as full as I’ve ever seen it. Piano Concerto…

Is it a horror movie, soft porn, or a film noir? It seems to go for all three, and it really succeeds artfully in each genre. I’m not sure how good a combination it is, but the film is certainly intense and packed with symbols, beautiful cinematography, and even poetry. It’s also so thoroughly bloodsoaked…

I can’t remember the last time I got so involved in a story where not much happens. Russo has some method of exploring a setting and the characters in it that kept me turning pages without really knowing or caring why. In the process he offers plenty of observations about the characters that we might…

A gratifying first feature-length film for Wallace and Gromit, as well as the first vegetarian horror film (not the same sort of vegetarian as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, at least). While the animation is as jaw-dropping as I’ve come to expect from Nick Park, what I really appreciate is the quirky, creative, good-hearted humor.…

An insightful, original character piece. It has a unique style, and is very observant without being at all preachy. The central theme of marrying into a family you know nothing about reminds me that Ann will meet much of my Mom’s family for the first time this summer… Certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes

A satire that is still great 30 years after it’s made is rare enough, but a low budget sci-fi satire that survives that long is truly remarkable. John Carpenter hit one of his few home runs with this hilarious parody of Star Trek and 2001. What happened to him after that? I never heard about…

This was a little too much downer following The Neon Bible, but shared the quality of being beautifully made. The story takes a few too many liberties, but it’s supported by brilliant cinematography that balances things out. It’s a contemplation of growing up in a rural prarie town that struck some chords with my adolescence…