Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.

Leisure

Bildungsroman in Iran

A film like Persepolis, which is set amidst extreme political turmoil, runs the risk of being identified as simply about conditions during the Iranian Revolution. While the spirited protagonist Marjane lives in a country that becomes increasingly veiled, repressive and dangerous, the film appeals to emotions more than politics, and tells an engaging story about a curious young girl who grows up on her own terms.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Grab your glasses: 3D U2

U2 3D, the first live-action film shot, produced and screened in 3D, is certainly a visual thrill. The hyper-realistic film manages to rival a live concert by U2, which is either a delight or drudgery, depending on your opinion of the material. The band is tight and certainly looks like one that has been touring aggressively since its inception in 1976, but watching Bono and for over an hour is difficult if you don’t buy into the band’s self-perpetuated “biggest band in the world” myth.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Lez’her Ledger: COLBERT!

As we live less than an hour from the National Portrait Gallery (right by the Verizon Center), a few friends and I decided it was incumbent upon us to make a pilgrimage to Stephen Colbert’s portrait, hanging next to a bathroom in that esteemed institution through February as part of an elaborate prank by the show. (The need to fill time without writers might have something to do with it). We weren’t the only ones—the place was packed, and we kept turning corners and running into vaguely familiar people, possibly from campus.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Hot Chip

Hot Chip’s third album really should have been called The Warning Pt. II instead of Made in the Dark. The latest installment from the British quintet has all the trappings of a great album, but there’s no avoiding the similarities to their 2006 sophomore effort, The Warning.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Nada Surf

After listening to “The Film Did Not Go ‘Round,” the quiet love song that concludes Nada Surf’s fifth studio album, Lucky, I searched for one word to best capture the latest effort from the New York-based rock band. Unfortunately, the word I settled on was “unimpressive.”

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Culottes for you lots: Books = Looks

It’s not my job to tell you what’s new and hot. Figuring out what everyone is wearing is as easy as looking around in class or watching people in Red Square. It doesn’t take a dedicated Vogue reader to know that neutrals are in and that classic shapes are making a slightly-better-fitting comeback. The more interesting question is finding out where these trends have their genesis. Why am I drawn to toggle coats and tiny pleats? Luckily for you, I’ve done some sleuth work, and have come up with a provocative new theory about why we dress the way we do: children’s books.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Forte: Wedding Songs

I’ve been slowly whittling down the playlist for my wedding reception for the past five years or so. Just to clarify, I didn’t want to get married at fifteen; it’s just the age when I realized how much the atmosphere can make or break the reception.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Warm up on Wisconsin Ave. with cafes

Smaller than a restaurant but with more room to relax than a carry-out joint, cafés are meant for light bites with little wait and warm coffee for defrosting. Despite their name, cafés are not limited to French cuisine, and a bounty of options is available just north of campus on Wisconsin Avenue.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

Death in Wisconsin

The “folk opera” Wisconsin Death Trip, now playing at the Gonda Theater, is based on a book/art piece consisting of archival photographs from Wisconsin in 1890, framed by newspaper reports, asylum records and other “primary sources.” Apparently, 1890s Wisconsin was a terrible place to be, and people suffered a rash of suicides, murders, insanity and general mayhem. The play sort of frames this story with the perspective of a Reagan-era drifter, a possible heir to the misery of the American Midwest.

You now know as much about the plot of this show as I do, and I saw it. More about sustaining a tone than creating a story, the play doesn’t really “go” anywhere.

By January 31, 2008

Leisure

It’s alive! The yuppies … not so much

Pack the Dramamine, kids, because Cloverfield—the newest creation from Lost/Alias wunderkind J.J. Abrams—is a visceral thrill ride with a few new twists on the classic monster-destroys-New York trope.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

Diary of a Bad Year: Not so bad for marginalia

Imagine reading an essay on political theory that has a note scrawled along the bottom of the page in the author’s handwriting. It describes a young woman he has just seen walk into a laundromat wearing a “tomato-red shift … startling in its brevity.” Notes continue on pages throughout the essay, bit-by-bit, developing into a suspenseful tale of the relationship between the writer and the woman, while interacting with the philosophical work with which it shares the page. This is the basic format of J.M. Coetzee’s inventive new novel, Diary of a Bad Year.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

One too many dresses?

As you would expect from the writer of The Devil Wears Prada and the director of Step Up, 27 Dresses is a romantic comedy we’ve all seen before: within the first few minutes, you’ll recognize the formula and be able to predict most of the plot. The clichés are numerous—the unrequited love, the beautiful and bratty sister, the sharp-tongued best friend and the irksome acquaintance turned love interest. Original, this movie is not. But enjoyable? Surprisingly, yes.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

The Mars Volta, The Bedlam in Goliath

The Mars Volta, led by former At the Drive-In members Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, have long been divisive in the critical world. Their spastic progressive rock has won them as many detractors as fans, and that’s not likely to change with their fourth album, The Bedlam in Goliath. Still, the album is an exciting development for the band’s sound, which is faster and more focused than on their previous albums.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

He’s Not There

By the time you read this Heath Ledger will have been dead for at least about 48 hours. Yet his death and his life have already been discussed, examined and analyzed, the analysis analyzed, a thousand theories raised and discarded and made into cover stories.

By January 24, 2008

Leisure

2007’s best?

For me, the best album of 2007 was Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam. Despite the critical gravitation toward frontrunners such as Radiohead’s In Rainbows and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver, Jam provided the most exciting batch of songs last year, effortlessly progressive in execution and more cohesive than the band’s earlier releases. I read the year-end, “best-of” lists like anyone else and compared my thoughts to other critics, but I’m a big boy—I can make my own opinions.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Patrician food at plebeian prices

If you find yourself forgetting how to use utensils because your diet consists entirely of finger-food favorites like bagels and pizza, you’re in luck. There are only three days left of D.C.’s Restaurant Week (extended at some places like Farrah Olivia), when the best restaurants in the city offer top-quality cuisine for a fixed price of $20.08 for lunch and $30.08 for dinner in honor of the new year.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Leave the “House,” ASAP

“House of Blue Leaves” wants to say something, and touches on a lot of grand themes—fame and media in society, the individual in our saturated world, the tension between dreams and reality. Unfortunately, it just ends up a mess, so nothing much comes through. One leaves feeling battered, rather than contemplative.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Not cool

It’s January. In January, wearing a sundress when the thermometer hits sixty degrees is the fashion equivalent of wetting your pants with excitement: overzealous, and (eventually) uncomfortably cold.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Fast food that’s just plain un-American

In Georgetown, pricey bistros are a dime a dozen, but there are few opportunities for a college student looking for a quick bite that’s both economical and delicious. For the adventurous eater on a budget looking for something other than Chipotle and Five Guys, here are a few recommendations.

By January 17, 2008

Leisure

Sifting through the thrift in D.C.

You hate everything in your closet, that duct tape won’t hold your favorite pair of pants together any longer or you need a new set of dishes. Whatever the reason, you need to shop. There is a healthy alternative to the extravagant prices and looming sales floor assistants behind those gleaming storefront windows on M street. If you are a fan of recycling and a good bargain, then “thrifting” may be your calling.

By January 17, 2008