Leisure

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

Movies

Kelly Reichardt Pioneers a New American Western with First Cow

First Cow opens with a huge, rusty barge floating down the Columbia River at a glacial pace. Between the vessel’s entrance from the left of the screen and eventual exit... Read more

By April 1, 2020

Leisure

Eight Perfect Murders Stops Just Short of Perfection

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson follows Malcolm Kershaw, co-owner of a mystery bookshop in Boston known as Old Devils Bookstore. The story opens with a fictional disclaimer framing the... Read more

By March 31, 2020

Movies

Wendy’s Escape to Neverland is Joyful and Sincere

“Peter means something different to every person. We all have an idea of what that story means and who he is. And it has so much to do with how... Read more

By March 25, 2020

Movies

Onward Takes Viewers on a Personal, if Uneven, Quest

Pixar’s new fantasy adventure flick Onward (2020) is surprisingly poignant. “It’s probably the most personal film we’ve ever made at Pixar,” Kelsey Mann, the studio’s Head of Story, said in... Read more

By March 18, 2020

Movies

The Burnt Orange Heresy Is A Beautiful Film That Spirals Out Of Control

“You ever wonder, when something is just starting, how it’s going to end?” remarks tourist Berenice Hollis (Elizabeth Debicki) to art critic James Figueras (Claes Bang) after having sex in... Read more

By March 17, 2020

Music

Chelsea Cutler Teaches The Fillmore Silver Spring How To Be Human

If you were to imagine a 23-year-old in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, you would assume she is relaxing at home. Never would it occur that she would be performing... Read more

By March 16, 2020

Music

Grimes Celebrates Darker Sound and Gothic Doom in Miss Anthropocene

In the aftermath of her transition from a DIY, counter-culture feminist to Elon Musk’s goth popstar girlfriend, Grimes has released Miss Anthropocene (2020). Though her ecological thesis gets lost in... Read more

By March 8, 2020

Performance

Simplistic but Stirring: Bandstand at the National Theatre Offers Lovely Homage to WWII

As the lights dim on the elaborately crafted nightclub for the show’s opening, a jarring flash of white light jolts the audience awake. An ensemble of soldiers stands onstage, their... Read more

By March 7, 2020

Movies

Cunning and Absurd: EMMA. Finds Meaning in Frivolity

“I would like to see Emma in love. And in some doubt of a return. It would do her good.” In one of his first on-screen appearances, Mr. Knightley (Johnny... Read more

By March 5, 2020

Music

Pinegrove Delivers on Rustic Indie Rock with Marigold

Driving around my hometown. Going to visit a group of old friends who I won’t see for a while. Leafless, late-autumn trees. Cold air. The porch out back. The best... Read more

By March 1, 2020

In the District

Chemi Rosado-Seijo’s Commitment to Community Shines in Comunidades en Movimiento

As a faint short film flickers on the wall across from the exhibit’s entrance, the sound of skateboard wheels on concrete rumbles throughout the room. A jumble of small sculptures... Read more

By February 28, 2020

Performance

The Amen Corner Brings Baldwin to Life at Sidney Harman Hall

“The greatest poet in the English language found his poetry where poetry is found: in the lives of the people.” This sentence appears in a 1964 James Baldwin essay titled... Read more

By February 28, 2020

Performance

Penn Masala and Student Groups Light Up the Stage at Gaston Hall

The South Asian student organizations of Georgetown, George Washington University, and American University hosted Penn Masala and various South Asian student dance groups at Gaston Hall in front of a... Read more

By February 27, 2020

Music

Beach Bunny Combines Intimate Narratives With Uplifting Indie Pop In Honeymoon

Beach Bunny’s debut album, Honeymoon (2020), isn’t revolutionary, but the bright blast of indie pop is a refreshingly sincere addition to a genre that can be riddled with clichés. Lili... Read more

By February 27, 2020

Performance

Life is a Cabaret: Georgetown Rock Extravaganza Bands Students Together

Cabaret is, quite literally, an intergenerational Georgetown tradition. When Teddy Zambetti (COL ’80) helped put on the original Cabaret in 1977, he had no way of knowing that his daughter... Read more

By February 27, 2020

Performance

Black Theatre Ensemble’s Blood at the Root Plants Deep Seeds of Thought

A red wash covers the floor and walls of the set of Blood at the Root, Georgetown University’s Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE) spring show. The hue, imbued by both painted... Read more

By February 26, 2020

Leisure

Concert Preview: Chelsea Cutler, March 5, The Fillmore Silver Spring

The accomplished 23-year-old EDM and pop artist Chelsea Cutler will be bringing her bouncy, alternative sound to The Fillmore Silver Spring on March 5.  Released in January of this year,... Read more

By February 25, 2020

Music

Father of All… Miscellany: Green Day’s New Album is Experimental, yet Lacking Direction

Just like its censored title, Father of All… (as opposed to Father of All Motherfuckers), Green Day’s new album feels oddly restrained and polished for punk rock. The band’s 13th... Read more

By February 25, 2020

Performance

Histories Collide in Mother Road at Arena Stage

Stretching backstage and out of sight, the road—Mother Road—appears to last forever. It is the context for every event to unfold for the next two and a half hours, and... Read more

By February 22, 2020

Performance

Improvfest 2020: Two Nights of Comedic Talent on Show

Each year, the Georgetown Improv Association (GIA) hosts Improvfest, a showcase of sorts that brings collegiate improv teams from all around the DMV and country to Bulldog Alley. The event... Read more

By February 22, 2020