Mariah Carey's Christmas Special Is Spectacularly Mariah

Almost all of the movies in the Planet of the Apes franchise focus on answering an understandable question: How did this planet become, well, a planet of the apes? The original 1968 movie and infamous 2001 Tim Burton remake are about astronauts who are stunned to realize the planet they crash-landed on was Earth all along, and the first sequel ends with the planet getting blown up.

One of the joys of watching reality competition shows is seeing how they evolve over time, adding new dimensions to the game and offering avenues for new ways of playing. Sometimes, that means new twists: Survivor introduced Hidden Immunity Idols in Season 11 and the “Shot in the Dark” mechanic in Season 41, and both have totally shifted the way players vote during tribal council.

Kimora Lee Simmons has her daughter's back. One month after her and ex Russell Simmons' 21-year-old daughter Aoki's brief dalliance with restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65, became public, the fashion

It’s OK to be a first-timer at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, or a symphony newbie at Boettcher Concert Hall. It’s OK to get lost while looking for the bathroom, or feel intimidated by the snaking bar lines. Everyone has to start somewhere. But it’s not OK to talk over quiet performances, steal someone’s seat, go beast mode over a minor slight, or act like a drunken boor.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer?

Considering that 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” was a highly satisfying conclusion to the reboot trilogy of “Planet of the Apes” films, the makers of the new movie “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” were wise to set it in the same universe but far in the future. In theaters this week, this fourth modern entry — and the 10th overall, the larger franchise dating to the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes” — makes several laudable choices.