Raleigh
Total Recall
Colony TheatreIf the recent Star Trek flick stirred your longings for sci-fi satisfaction, then you can opt for a dip into the past with this stargazing meditation on Mars and mutants. Lauded by Roger Ebert as "one of the most complex and visually interesting science fiction movies in a long time," Total Recall encapsulates the mind-bending nature of reality versus fantasy in a glorious ode to intergalactic weirdness. Based on legendary writer Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," the story concerns a construction worker in 2084 named Douglas Quaid (or "Arnold Schwarzenegger" for short), who finds himself staving off nightmares of a past life as a colonist of Mars. With a budget approaching the $70 million mark and an acid trip of a plot, this film definitely earns its ranks among the Colony's Cool Classics. Catch it tonight for a five spot at 8 p.m. Kathy Justice
Durham
Ciompi Quartet with Sandra Cotton
Kirby Horton Hall, Duke GardensThe Ciompi Quartet, Duke's renowned string quartet, has spoiled us: Year in, year out, they provide opportunities to hear astute live readings of major and not-so major works right in one of our university's backyards. At 7 p.m., the quartet appears with Sandra Cotton, a mezzo-soprano who earned her degree in Vocal Performance at University of North Carolina-Greensboro before finishing a master's in German Studies at Duke.
Together, they'll navigate Reinhold Moritzevich Glière's "Duets for 2 Violins," Ottorino Respighi's "Il Tramonto" for String Quartet and Voice, and Mozart's "Divertimento in E Flat Major, K. 563." The show opens Duke Performances' Music in the Gardens series. Tickets are $10. Children 12 and under get in free. Chris Toenes