Leisure

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

Leisure

D.C. Filmfest isn’t “short” on talent

The annual D.C. Shorts Film Festival, running this Thursday through Sunday, showcases 94 films, chosen from 495 entries, in 10 different screenings of about 10 films each.

By September 14, 2006

Leisure

Pan-Asian Raku is good food for you

Steak Out: a bi-weekly column about food

By September 14, 2006

Leisure

Try chewing on this play

Despite its many eccentricities, Cannibal possesses one element that not only makes up for its weak moments but almost renders them indispensable parts of the whole crazy mix: unavoidable, contagious charm.

By September 7, 2006

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Zaytinya serves up a (small) piece of the Mediterranean

Soft background music, classy décor, and a chic yet relaxed atmosphere serve to make Zaytinya the ideal environment for dabblers in Mediterranean cuisine.

By the September 7, 2006

Leisure

Critical Voices

The more I listen to this album, the more confused I get: Beat Your Ass is actually listenable, wildly eclectic and surprisingly good.

By and September 7, 2006

Leisure

Dead Beats: Breaking down the commercial misuse of music

Dreamy, overdubbed vocals hovering over drumstick scratches and distorted guitar loops ask, “what’s that riding on your everything?” as a silver Nissan minivan cruises by the screen.

By September 7, 2006

Leisure

Nelson displays acting strength

The good news is that Half Nelson is a fine film; while clichéd at points, the level of acting talent from Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie puts it a step above its peers.

By August 31, 2006

Leisure

Lez’hur Ledger: The DEA’s guide to drug dealing

A desire to view mountains of drugs and paraphernalia and read about the most fearsome kingpins this world has known led me straight to the DEA Museum, conveniently located right across from the Pentagon City Mall.

By August 31, 2006

Leisure

A leisurely guide to District theater

Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s film immortalizing infamous cannibal Alfred Parker receives a theatrical adaptation.

By August 31, 2006

Leisure

Concert Calendar

This group of musical mariners is sailing up the Potomac and into Georgetown’s Bulldog Alley for a free show, one of the last stops on their sailboat tour of the North Atlantic Seaboard.

By the August 31, 2006

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Leo O’Donovan’s: still the DIY dining hall

During freshman year one of my friends described Leo’s as a do-it-yourself cafeteria, a place where everything looks nice and pretty but still needs someone with know-how to make it all work.

By August 31, 2006

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Nat’l Lampoon meets Nietzsche

Suicide, heroin, child beauty pageants: these are not typically the subjects of a “feel good” film, but, this is the perfect way to sum up Little Miss Sunshine.

By August 24, 2006

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A “blovel” concept for a book

There’s nothing funny about being locked in a room full of documents for six weeks, trying to find a single e-mail…especially not when it’s your future. But the dark shadow of the future proves no match for Jeremy Blachman, whose twisted peek into the futures of all of us law school-aspiring undergrads never loses the bitingly humorous edge that drives it.

By August 24, 2006

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Critical Voices: Lambchop’s Damaged and The Roots’ Game Theory

Lambchop, Damaged, Merge Records & The Roots, Game Theory, Def Jam Records

By August 24, 2006

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Tropicália: Brazilian politics without the oppressive aftertaste

Dead Beats: a tri-weekly column bringing indie music to the masses

By August 24, 2006

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Bettie, Bondage and the Bible

Wearing nothing but her underwear, eight-inch heels and a ball gag around her neck, Bettie Page stands by a wall, her arms and legs tightly restrained with ropes.

By April 27, 2006

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Filmfest DC is 4 reel

Lovers of international cinema can expect a bold statement from the District’s twentieth annual Filmfest.

By April 27, 2006

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Seeing is a vision of an election gone awry

What if political apathy reached such great heights that no one cared enough to actually vote for a candidate? Seeing, Nobel Prize Laureate Jose Saramago’s ambitious follow-up to his 1995 novel Blindness, attempts to answer this question.

By April 27, 2006

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Soulive scorches the 9:30 Club

Woodstock, NY-based Soulive tore up the 9:30 Club Sunday evening at a show so hot it could’ve set fire to a wet brick wall.

By April 27, 2006

Leisure

Fashion in the buff

With the summer rolling in, nudity in fashion seems to be making a comeback and is stirring up controversy in the process.

By April 27, 2006