Leisure

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

Movies

All In: The Fight for Democracy makes its message clear—Young people, vote

In the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race, former Georgia House of Representatives member Stacey Abrams could have become the first Black female governor in American history. While the election ended in... Read more

By October 24, 2020

Music

The Neighbourhood dazzles with genre-bending new album Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones

Creating a concept album is an ambitious feat, but when done right, the end result has the potential to be stunning. Who better to attempt it than The Neighbourhood? The... Read more

By October 21, 2020

Music

BTS connects with fans through online concert Map of the Soul ON:E

Eight months ago, when BTS kicked off promotions for their new album Map of the Soul: 7 (2020) with a monumental performance of “ON” in an empty Grand Central Terminal,... Read more

By October 15, 2020

Music

Troye Sivan Creates Glorious, Otherworldly Pop with In A Dream

Troye Sivan’s latest EP, In A Dream (2020), contends with harsher realities and darker feelings than ever before. Since the release of his lush tribute to love, Bloom (2018), Sivan... Read more

By September 25, 2020

Music

Phoebe Bridgers’s Punisher radiates authenticity and wistfulness

Quarantine peaked for me when I was watching Phoebe Bridgers perform in shooting-star pajamas and a skeleton costume while promoting her latest album, Punisher (2020). In her performance of “Kyoto”... Read more

By September 21, 2020

Movies

Tenet is hard to see, and even harder to review

Movies are back! Well, they are according to this instantly iconic clip of Tom Cruise going to the theater to see Christopher Nolan’s newest film, Tenet (2020). The bizarre video... Read more

By September 18, 2020

Music

Dominic Fike rises above the pressure to deliver a masterful debut with What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Dominic Fike’s long-awaited first full-length album, What Could Possibly Go Wrong (2020), came out two and a half years after his hit EP, Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. The new... Read more

By September 16, 2020

Movies

Chemical Hearts trivializes mental illness with its doomed love story

Chemical Hearts (2020) may be a romance, but it was never supposed to be a love story. Based on Kyrstal Sutherland’s novel Our Chemical Hearts, the film follows the doomed... Read more

By September 16, 2020

Movies

Irresistible offers political commentary for 2019, in 2020

As the 2020 election draws closer, ads humanizing wealthy politicians start to fill television screens once more. Inboxes are cluttered with donation requests, and campaign speeches hitting just the right... Read more

By August 28, 2020

Music

Bombay Bicycle Club creates an acoustic escape in Two Lives EP

The first Bombay Bicycle Club song I ever listened to was a soft acoustic track called “You Already Know.” I would play it while on the train, imagining the road... Read more

By August 19, 2020

Music

Raleigh Ritchie’s Andy matches wit with honest introspection

Jacob Anderson isn’t the artist you might expect. Most well known for playing the taciturn warrior Grey Worm on HBO’s Game of Thrones, the familiar actor might give most folks... Read more

By July 28, 2020

Music

Jeremy Zucker’s love is not dying is desolate yet compelling

I’m not sure if the universe could have cooked up a more fitting album for our current situation than Jeremy Zucker’s solo debut, love is not dying (2020). Throughout the... Read more

By May 27, 2020

In the District

Fashioning a Nation shows what America is made of

The National Gallery of Art’s online exhibit Fashioning a Nation is a memorial to the close relationship between two essential facets of culture: history and fashion. Each sketch connects the... Read more

By May 2, 2020

Movies

The Hunt Doesn’t Live Up to the Controversy

Back in July of 2019 the first trailer for The Hunt (2020) dropped online, showing a group of rich, snobby (liberal) elites hunting a bunch of regular (conservative) people, and... Read more

By April 12, 2020

Music

The Weeknd Embraces Darkness on After Hours

In the music video for “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, dances maniacally through the empty nighttime streets of Las Vegas. Bandaged and bloodied, he sports a red suit... Read more

By April 11, 2020

In the District

Hearts of Our People Represents the Artistic Power of Native Women From Past to Present

Content warning: This article references sexual assault and suicide. On the wall of the Renwick Gallery there is “Sunshine on a Cannibal.” Rectangular canvases placed closely together create a jarring... Read more

By April 10, 2020

Music

Dua Lipa Makes Pristine, yet Superficial, Bops on Future Nostalgia

When I first listened to Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut album, its opening lyrics made me swoon. Lipa starts the song “Genesis” with, “In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth... Read more

By April 9, 2020

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