MOVIES
There are times when a good Western road movie hits the spot like nothing else. Chances of such a movie sticking with you afterward get much better when director Wim Wenders (“Paris, Texas”) whips it up. “Don’t Come Knocking” is a Wenders collaboration with star Sam Shepard, who plays a cowboy actor fleeing Hollywood. Shepard looks up an old flame – Jessica Lange, his real-life partner – and gets more than he bargained for when he learns their fling produced a now-teenage son. Wenders has a wonderful feel for the old and the new West, and always gives his gritty characters a chance to redeem themselves. | Michael Booth
POPULAR MUSIC
It’s an extraordinary week for indie rock. Austin’s Spoon plays etown tonight at the Boulder Theater and an invite-only show at the Gothic on Monday. Spoon’s recent “Gimme Fiction” doesn’t quite touch its previous effort, “Kill the Moonlight,” but it’s still a modern pop classic and showcases singer-songwriter Britt Daniel’s gift for melody. Also in town this week are The Books, bringing their sampled, found-noise rock to the Larimer Lounge on Monday, and the Crystal Skulls, who bring their sweet pop stylings to the Hi-Dive on Tuesday. | Ricardo Baca
VISUAL ARTS
A seminal figure in contemporary American art history, Judith Baca will present a free lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 1130 in the north classroom building on the northeast edge of the Auraria campus. In 1974, she formed Los Angeles’ first mural program, which produced more than 400 works. Baca is best known for conceiving and overseeing the Great Wall of Los Angeles, a landmark set of murals depicting the history of ethnic people in California. It runs a half-mile along the Tujunga Flood Control Channel in the San Fernando Valley. 303-352-3500.| Kyle MacMillan
TELEVISION
You can stop complaining about the extended coma/dream sequence on “The Sopranos.” We’re back to action in tonight’s episode, “Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request …” in which Johnny Sack files a petition to get out of prison to attend his daughter’s wedding and Tony gets a new bodyguard. At 7 p.m. on HBO.| Joanne Ostrow
STAGE
Sarah Ruhl’s “The Clean House,” now being lovingly and imaginatively staged by the Denver Center Theatre Company, is a surprisingly accessible domestic fantasy set in a “metaphysical” Connecticut living room. An uptight WASP doctor has hired a Brazilian maid who … rimshot … hates to clean. Instead she is an aspiring comedian who has embarked on a quixotic quest to write the perfect joke. What unfolds is a magical, messy and wholly original two hours. Cleanliness is not next to godliness here: It is a state of dull, sterile, white nothingness. Rather, life – and love – should be colorful, cluttered and, yes, a bit dirty. 6:30 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursday-Fridays, 1:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays through April 22 at the Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets. Tickets $35-$45; 303-893-4100; 800-641-1222 or denvercenter.org. | John Moore
CLASSICAL MUSIC
The Opera 101 Series is a fun way to learn more about opera and not have to pay hefty ticket prices in the process. This year’s edition will close with a free presentation on baroque opera and Claudio Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea,” which Central City Opera will present this summer. The program, which will include excerpts performed by Marcia Ragonetti and Maureen Sorensson, will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Denver Central Library, 10 W. 14th Avenue Parkway. 303-292-6500 or centralcityopera.org. | Kyle MacMillan
