Leisure

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

Leisure

Two Rooms: Bold Political Statements in Bulldog Alley

An American man is taken hostage in the Middle East.

By the January 27, 2005

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Iron & Wine: the bearded one speaks

The Voice recently called up Sam Beam, leader of the well-respected alt-folk outfit Iron & Wine, at his home in Miami.

By the January 27, 2005

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Clint Eastwood back in the saddle with Million Dollar Baby

Usually when books develop a buzz I refuse to read them. Seeing every other person on the subway reading The Da Vinci Code made it that much less desirable a read for me.

By the January 27, 2005

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Andy Goldsworthy and the National Gallery’s new “Roof”

Looking out the windows of the National Gallery of Art, a group of well-dressed men in long coats stand in a loose clump, with curious and excited looks on their faces.

By the January 20, 2005

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Low, The Great Destroyer, Sub Pop

Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, the husband-and-wife duo at the core of Low, have always expressed themselves beautifully and usually extremely quietly on their records.

By the January 20, 2005

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The Fiery Furnaces, EP, Rough Trade

Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, a.k.a. the Fiery Furnaces, are far and away the most entertaining brother-sister band out there.

By the January 20, 2005

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Only When Drunk

You Taste Like A Burger – a rotating column about eating leisurely

By the January 20, 2005

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Cloud 9: Homosexuality in Africa, Britain

Homosexuality, feminism and questions of race are hardly new themes in modern theater, but plays that honestly examine these subjects and the issues surrounding them are much rarer.

By the January 13, 2005

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Bad Education: Homosexuality in Spain

Spanish film director Pedro Almod?var, known for his boundary-pushing works, has twisted pedophilia and the Catholic Church together in his newest release, Bad Education.

By the January 13, 2005

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The Life Aquatic: Best Life Ever

Somewhere in between The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’s red knit caps, blue Speedos, brightly computer-animated sea creatures and samba renditions of early David Bowie songs in Portuguese, the real world ceases to exist, or even matter.

By the January 13, 2005

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Checking in to Hotel Rwanda

In one of the opening scenes of Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina and his family watch from behind a fence as their neighbor is beaten to death.

By the January 13, 2005

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Airline Decline

As I approached my assigned seat on my flight from Portland to D.C., I looked at the two guys sitting in my row.

By the January 13, 2005

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The Futureheads, Futureheads

Once upon a time, circa 1966, there were pop rock bands with a fascinating gimmick: one person would sing and then an entirely different person would sing.

By the December 2, 2004

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Street’s Disciple, Nas

Nas has been trying since 1994 to regain the mix of urban grit and brilliant wordplay that made his debut, Illmatic, an instant classic.

By the December 2, 2004

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You Taste Like a Burger- Fat-Elvis’ Love

I had no choice. By the end of our five fabulous days of Hurricane Isabelle last year, New South’s vending machine was nearly empty.

By the December 2, 2004

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Leisure Ledger- Till Boredom do us Part

So this is college. We’re young, we’re hot and we’re poised to take over the world.

By the December 2, 2004

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Kinsey puts the fun back in sex; Lithgow foiled again

In one of the most outrageously funny scenes in the new movie Kinsey, the professor Alfred Kinsey has a casual conversation with his wife and daughters about the physical nature of sex.

By the December 2, 2004

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Earnestness not too important after all

It seems ironic that the titular lesson of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest has been ignored in the play’s new Arena Stage adaptation.

By the December 2, 2004

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What in Tarnation could be more depressing?

Jonathan Caouette’s debut film Tarnation, acclaimed for being the first film made entirely with Apple computer program iMovie, details Caouette’s troubling upbringing and the continuous decline of his small-town Texas family.

By the November 18, 2004

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Sideways: divorce, depression and pinot noir

What do I have in common with a middle-aged balding man from California?

By the November 18, 2004