With snowy peaks and frosty pines, it's not too hard to make winter landscapes look beautiful on film. And Warren Miller Entertainment knows this better than many, seven decades into filmmaking. But what makes their newest film Timeless so special, is that even compared to the 69 films preceding it, this snow sports documentary is particularly gorgeous.

Filmed on location in snowboarding and skiing meccas like Switzerland, Colorado and British Columbia, Timeless captures both the excitement and pristine beauty found on wintry slopes. As the film’s opening narration states: "If you're doing it right, the best winter ever is always the one you're in right now."

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Courtesy: Warren Miller Entertainment / Cam McLeod

Timeless is a combination of everything WME has strived for since Warren Miller first brought a camera to the ski slopes in 1949. Over an hour-and-a-half, the film documents gorgeous mountain ranges, snowboarding tricks, archival footage, sweeping helicopter shots and slow-motion athletes cutting wakes through fresh powder.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Timeless isn’t the stellar skiing shots, but the behind-the-scenes interviews on how they were captured. Timeless features interviews with cast and crew about ascending the rocky summits, sometimes more than 12,000 feet and in negative 40 degree weather, to get the ultimate shots and adrenaline rush.

The film also features more new athletes than ever before, including Olympic skier Jaelin Kauf, Jackson Hole’s 2019 Queen of Corbet’s Caite Zeliff and Canadian World Cup ski racer Erin Mielzynski. Returning athletes include Lorraine Huber, Tyler Ceccanti, Marcus Caston and Rob DesLauries.

“It’s incredible, looking at the fact that this is number 70,” says Timeless narrator Jonny Moseley. “Every year I still get that same feeling I got when I was a kid watching ski movies. I enjoy watching them now more than ever, and that is what Timeless celebrates.”

All-in-all it’s a grand, gorgeous dedication to the wonder of “winter stoke.”

The Loft Cinema is screening Timeless for one day only: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11. $21. 3233 East Speedway Boulevard. To purchase tickets, visit loftcinema.org/film/warren-millers-timeless. For more information, visit warrenmiller.com.

All Bets Are On is back, with an action-packed show that covers the gamut of college sports information.

Wednesday's show begins with a discussion of Arizona basketball's showdown in Waco against 19th ranked Baylor University, with co-hosts Christopher Boan and Tyler Vondrak handing out their picks for the contest.

The duo then hand out their Pac-12 superlatives for the weekend's basketball action, with Boan and Vondrak picking Colorado to upset Kansas.

The third segment handles Friday night's Pac-12 Football Championship game, between Utah and Oregon, with both hosts handing out their picks for the contest in Santa Clara.

They also discuss the weekend's other conference championship games, including picks for the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and ACC title games.

Wednesday's podcast concludes with the pair's picks for the upcoming College Football Playoff, with each giving their guesstimations as to who the four teams in the dance will be.

Despite a humble start in Buffalo, NY, in 1986, this scrappy band of outsiders persevered. On the strength of chart-topping power ballad "Iris" their sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl (Warner Records, 1998), turned them into late-Clinton administration, post-grunge prom kings. Despite numerous distinctions—including "Iris" becoming the "#1 Top 40 song of the last 20 years"—frontman Johnny Rzeznik admits to being snubbed by musical peers at their moment of greatest radio saturation. Ironically, peers whose bands have long since faded into the salvage yard of time. Rzeznik adds, "There were certain musicians, out in L.A... 'Oh no, don't talk to them. They're not fucking cool.'" Rock 'n' roll survivors The Goo Goo Dolls traipse Miracle Pill (Warner Records, 2019), their 12th studio album, into the Desert Diamond Casino-Sahuarita. Soulful pop singer John.k. opens the show...

Singer-storyteller Kevin Pakulus makes a Telecaster weep. At Public Brewhouse...

Eric Schaffer performs as part of Lookout Tucson's Singer-Songwriter Series. In the Lookout Lounge. At the Westward Look Grand Resort & Spa...

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music present Grammy Award winners, Takács Quartet as they commemorate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Beethoven's: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat Major, Beethoven's: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 and piece by Beethoven's teacher, Haydn's: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 33 No. 3, "The Bird" comprise the program. At Leo Rich Theater...

Cookie Exchange at 1912 Brewing. The “Cookie Exchange” returns! This means 1912 Brewing is teaming up with Tucson Girls Pint Out, a local group dedicated to building a community of women who love craft beer. For the event, bake whatever cookies you want, bring them into 1912, and share and mingle with the ladies of Girls Pint Out. It’s all the beer and cookies you could want, all at one event! I suggest oatmeal raisin or cranberry white chocolate. And don’t forget to bring in your recipe as well. 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4. 2045 N. Forbes Blvd. Information.

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Jesus Christ Superstar. So, you know the story of Jesus Christ. But if you don’t know this show, then you probably don’t know the story of Jesus Christ through Judas Iscariot’s eyes, who I think we can all agree does not have a great reputation as far as that whole story goes. This cult classic, with a worldwide fanbase and a number of absolute bangers (Gethsemane, anyone?), is coming to town through Broadway in Tucson, so you know they’re going to put on a good show. Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8 with shows at various times. Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. $25 to $125+, with discounts for seniors, military and students. Information.

Gingerbread House Reveal. Every year, El Conquistador Resort builds a marvelously large, life-size gingerbread house that makes you almost understand how Hansel and Gretel could have gotten so easily carried away in that old story, and also makes you start to wonder if it might be feasible to build yourself a gingerbread house to live in. This year, they’re getting ready to top themselves once again. At the grand reveal, make ornaments and decorate crafts, snack on holiday treats, watch a movie and take pictures with Santa. It’ll be a housewarming party like no other. 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4. El Conquistador Tucson, 10000 N. Oracle Road. In lieu of an entrance fee, please bring a new, unwrapped toy donation for Toys for Tots. Information.

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Tucson Roadrunners vs. Colorado Eagles. Another week, another chance to cheer on our hometown hockey team! While eagles might be known for being more majestic in the air, roadrunners are speedy on the ground, and that’s exactly where this game will be played. Get tickets for just $12 with the promo code “Tuesday” for the Tuesday night game. And Wednesday, enjoy the $2 hot dog special. If you caught the game on Wednesday, Nov. 23, redeem your tickets at the box office and get buy-one, get-one free tickets. Go Roadrunners! 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, and Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church Ave. $12 to $61+. Information.

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The Atomic Cafe (Free Screening). Part of their Essential Cinema series, the Loft Cinema is screening a new digital restoration of this Cold War comedy. The Atomic Cafe is a documentary compiled from government educational films, propaganda, news footage and advertisements. While focusing on a war that ended more than two decades ago, its themes echo into our current world (perhaps a bit too well). Presented by Barrio Brewing. 7:30 to 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Free. Information.

Very Good #4

Director Rian Johnson, maker of the divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but also maker of the brilliant Looper, takes a crack at the whodunnit genre and comes up mostly aces.

Daniel Craig stars as private investigator Benoit Blanc, mysteriously hired by somebody in a rich family after the strange, supposed suicide death of their patriarch, mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer still going strong). There’s something fishy about his death, and his personal nurse Marta (the awesome Ana de Armas) knows something the rest of the family doesn’t know.

What transpires is a solid mystery with a fun set of characters featuring a stellar cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield and Chris Evans. Everybody has a blast, as does the audience, as Johnson takes the genre and twists it into an entertaining pretzel. Craig is especially good in a role that allows him to show his comic side, with Shannon and Johnson also impressive as a couple of paranoiacs. Above all, it gives the talented Armas a chance to really shine.

Find more Claytoonz here.

"Holler Out Loud!" Raised in a Pentecostal church choir, the soul-shocked, garage-rock rumble—best enjoyed with the volume cranked loud—of this fast-rising, 20-something blues belter Nikki Hill can be heard and felt at 191 Toole...

Gryffin brings his latest, Gravity, to the Rialto Theatre. Here's what Dan Griffith (aka Gryffin) has to say about the new album. "Since I began the Gryffin project, I've wanted to create uplifting emotional dance music and this album is my representation of that over the last two years." The Knocks and Bunt kick things off...

"Fashion Forward." Hailing from Seattle, Washington, this energetic 5-piece is poised and ready for their Blink 182-influenced punk pop to take the country by storm. The Home Team along with Crooked Teeth (SoCal pop punks), Annie Jump Cannon (alt/indie by "dirty skater emo kids") and "So Sick" teen garage punks Stripes. At Club Congress...

Whisky and donuts never tasted better. Mmm. DJ Naekid bangs techno hard. At Batch Cafe & Bar...

Good #3

A movie about the worst Tinder date…ever. Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith star as the title characters, two young people who meet in a diner for an online date that only goes so-so. On their way home, where the date will not be continuing, they are pulled over by a cop who racially profiles them and bad things happen.

Queen and Slim go on the run, become social media celebrities, and yes, start liking each other a whole lot more.

Director Melina Matsoukas isn’t giving us a very original movie here, but the atmospherics are solid, and the performances truly drive the film. Turner-Smith is terrific as a lawyer who finds herself on the wrong side of the law, while Kaluuya brings a sweet sadness to the teetotaling Slim.

The film deals bluntly with its subject of police brutality, with both good and bad cops present in the movie. There’s no question why it’s being called the “black Bonnie & Clyde” in that the movie follows many of the same beats as the sixties classic. It stands as a decent statement on many current civil rights issues, and its a nice step forward for Matsoukas as a director to be reckoned with.

Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller, the region's looniest local official, announced on Facebook this afternoon that she won't be running for reelection:

I was going to announce this in January but think I should do this now. After giving it much consideration, I have decided that it is time to retire and move on to another phase of my life. I have decided not to run for Board of Supervisors District 1 election. I will serve out my term which ends Dec. 31, 2020. Thanks to everyone for all of the support you have given me over these last several years. Now we need to find someone to step up to run for this seat. 

Details to come.

Very Good #4

After a lot of publicity surrounding the digital de-aging or Robert De Niro and Al Pacino for the project, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman arrives on Netflix, and it’s a typically very good offering from the auteur. It has a few problems, but the opportunity to see the likes of De Niro, Pacino and Joe Pesci in a movie together under the Great One’s tutelage more than overrides the shortfalls.

The film is based on the book about Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (De Niro) called I Heard You Paint Houses (which is actually the name of the film in the opening credits). Sheeran was a labor union and occasional hitman who had ties to Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). The film, like the book, claims that he was the actual triggerman in the assassination of Hoffa.

The film covers a long timespan. We see Sheeran from his thirties up until shortly before his death in his eighties. All ages are played by De Niro, and the much ballyhooed digital de-aging of De Niro (along with Pacino and Pesci) is mostly a bust. There are moments where De Niro looks perhaps a tad younger than his 76 years (he might pass for 58), but it always looks like bad makeup, dye jobs and funky lighting rather than high tech effects masterfully at work. Plus, these are old voices coming out of digitally enhanced, oddly smooth faces. Not to mention obviously stiffer postures.

Distracting effects aside, De Niro, Pacino and Pesci are priceless in their parts, no matter what age they are depicting. Scorsese has made a nice companion piece to his gangster epic Goodfellas (as a Scorsese fan, I consider Casino one of his few missteps), an ugly depiction of the loneliness and alienation that results from things like shooting your friends in the head.

While Goodfellas had a rather likeable, and unintentionally funny, antihero in Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill, none of the main guys in this movie are likeable, especially Sheeran. De Niro depicts the guy as a meathead, a lackey who takes orders from the likes of Pesci’s Russell Bufalino and Pacino’s Hoffa. Sheeran provides few excuses for even uncomfortable laughter; he is quietly despicable and evil at his core.

Pacino is the film’s most fun as a blustering, ice cream obsessed Hoffa. He’s also the angriest guy in the movie, with Pacino sinking his teeth into many an opportunity to go from zero to one hundred in mere screen seconds. Pacino shares a couple of scenes with Stephen Graham as Anthony Provenzano, one of the men suspected of participating in Hoffa’s eventual disappearance in ’75. Pacino and Graham square off in a way that goes right into the “Best Pacino Moments” time capsule.

The film has an epic scope at over 3 ½ hours. I suspect there will be a lot of pausing for bathroom and snack breaks in one’s household due to its presence on Netflix, and that’s too bad. I think Scorsese should’ve put an intermission in the middle, perhaps choosing his preferred moment for the viewer to gather themselves up for the finale, a fine finale at that.

For Scorsese fans, seeing De Niro and Pesci sharing scenes again, talking Italian and dipping bread in wine, is a holiday season cinematic gift like no other. This is De Niro’s best work in years, and Pesci gets a chance to play subdued in a Scorsese flick, which pays major dividends. He depicts Bufalino as a quiet, polite, extremely dangerous man, and it’s mesmerizing.

With the decade coming to a close, The Wolf of Wall Street remains champ as Scorsese’s best effort in the last ten years. That’s more high praise for Wolf than a putdown of The Irishman, which is a fine film in its own right, if something short of a masterpiece. It’s a movie that fits comfortably in the gangster genre, while perhaps firmly shutting the lid on it as far as Scorsese and De Niro are concerned. If it’s their last film together, they are going out on a high note.