MOVIES
“The Matador” is a darkly comic twist on the buddy movie: Hit man Julian (Pierce Brosnan) crosses paths with Danny, an amiable family man played by Greg Kinnear. In imagining an unlikely friendship for the pair, director Richard Shepard – with the supercharged help of cinematographer David Tattersall and editor Carole Kravetz-Aykanian – serves up two portraits of desperation. He also delivers a frenetic riff on the transformational properties of camaraderie. Skillfully maneuvering several genres, Shepard is easily the matador of his movie’s title.
– LISA KENNEDY
VISUAL ARTS
Dozens, maybe even hundreds, of artists in Colorado pursue abstraction, yet only a few have built a truly distinctive body of work and achieved real national recognition. One is Dale Chisman. His 3 1/2-decade career is being celebrated through Saturday with an exhibition at the Rule Gallery, 111 Broadway, combining five of his early New York paintings from 1975-78 with eight recent works. Call 303-777-9473 or visit rulegallery.com.
– KYLE MACMILLAN
POPULAR MUSIC
Cross Canadian Ragweed is one of those success stories you love to see. Small band from a small town tours incessantly and finds an audience – and a label. With 2004’s “Soul Gravy” and last year’s “Garage,” the alt-country powerhouse has become a household name in country and indie rock scenes across the country. The group plays the Bluebird Theatre on Tuesday. Information: nipp.com.
– RICARDO BACA
TELEVISION
“Hey, dudes, see you when we have beer in the quad in college!” In “Campus Ladies,” two middle-aged women enroll as college freshmen, live in a dorm, rush a sorority and attempt to experience the wild college life they missed the first time around. This “loosely scripted” comedy series from Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and the producers of “Reno 911” premieres on Oxygen tonight at 8 with a second episode at 8:30 p.m. Co-stars Carrie Aizley and Christen Sussin want to be the American college equivalent of the “Absolutely Fabulous” women.
– JOANNE OSTROW
STAGE
In Boston University historian Howard Zinn’s “Marx in SoHo,” actor Christopher Kendall inhabits Karl Marx with fiery passion, moral confidence and fatherly tenderness. The play was first performed in 1995, but the examples cited by Marx, culled from contemporary newspapers and U.S. Department of Labor statistics, require no updating to make their point. This surprise-hit one-man show filled with personal and philosophical details plays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 27 at the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. Tickets are $10; call 303-294-9258.
– BOB BOWS
CLASSICAL MUSIC
In October, the adventurous, always interesting violinist Hilary Hahn made three stops in Colorado as part of a three-week, cross-country bus tour with her longtime recital partner, pianist Natalie Zhu. This week, she will be back in the state for three performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Colorado Symphony at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in Boettcher Concert Hall. Tickets are $17.50-$75. Call 303-623-7876 or visit coloradosymphony.org.
– KYLE MACMILLAN
NIGHT LIFE
Momentum is building slowly at the new Purple Martini Tabor Center. This month, owners of the sexy new downtown lounge will attempt to woo new customers into its distinctive space inside the Tabor Center’s glass footbridge with ongoing Effen Vodka specials, including $5 Effen mixed drinks, $6 Effen black-cherry and cherry-lime martinis, and special events all month long. Information at purplemartini.com.
– ELANA ASHANTI JEFFERSON
