Leisure

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

Leisure

Jason Katz on Being Authentic and World Building in Coco

For over 20 years, Pixar has been creating widely beloved masterpieces of animation, inviting audiences into dazzling worlds to tell heartwarming stories of friendship and love. Coco, the newest film... Read more

By November 27, 2017

Leisure

Concert Preview: St. Vincent, Nov. 27, The Anthem

Annie Clark is a certified badass. Better known by the stage name St. Vincent, the eclectic alt-rock femme fatale’s music goes from moody to futuristic to head-banging classic all within... Read more

By November 21, 2017

Leisure

Concert Review: Grizzly Bear, Nov. 8, The Anthem

The industrially chic and technologically savvy venue The Anthem was an appropriate location for the bearded, beanie-wearing crowd that came to see the indie-rock group Grizzly Bear on Nov. 8.... Read more

By November 20, 2017

Leisure

Justice League Reinforces DC’s Course Correction, for Better or Worse

Few films have hit theaters with the same production problems as Justice League. Indeed, any comic fan would have been concerned with the litany of bad news coming out of... Read more

By November 20, 2017

Leisure

Murder on the Orient Express: A Good Twist Covers For A Weak Adaptation

My first introduction to Agatha Christie was on Christmas Day 2007. My uncle gave ten-year-old me one of her novels with the inscription, “This is widely considered Christie’s best book,... Read more

By November 20, 2017

Leisure

Concert Preview: ODESZA, November 25, The Anthem

ODESZA don’t have any time for a Thanksgiving food coma. After releasing their first project, Summer’s Gone (2012), Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight have been on a breakneck streak through... Read more

By November 19, 2017

Leisure

Wonder Delivers Captivating Characters in Heartwarming Story

Wonder will make you cry. Maybe it’s going to be when a boy mentions how he’d rather look at people’s shoes than at their facial reactions. Maybe it’s going to... Read more

By November 18, 2017

Leisure

Wonder Women! Draws Parallels Between Inspirational Artists and the Superhero Icon

Tucked away on the fourth floor of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, a passerby will find the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center (LRC), a quiet... Read more

By November 18, 2017

Leisure

La Dolce Estate: Call Me by Your Name Captures Fleeting Love

There is a scene in Call Me by Your Name when Elio’s father, an archeologist dredging up Hellenistic-era statues from the sea, flips through slides of recent findings. One character... Read more

By November 17, 2017

Leisure

Pickett’s Charge Brings History to Light at the Hirshhorn Museum

Few moments in history carry as much weight in the modern day, and are as widely misunderstood, as the American Civil War. After more than 150 years, the Civil War... Read more

By November 17, 2017

Features

The Beat That Goes and Goes: The Sound of D.C.

At most go-go shows, when the music starts, it doesn’t stop for hours. The ten musicians onstage have instruments ranging from keyboards to cowbells, conga drums, and roto toms. A... Read more

By November 17, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Sam Smith, The Thrill of it All

It’s been three years since Sam Smith entered our collective psyche with his first album In the Lonely Hour. Even if you haven’t heard the entire album, you’re most likely... Read more

By November 15, 2017

Leisure

Last Flag Flying: A Study of Grief and Patriotism

Fans of director Richard Linklater will no doubt find his latest project to be very satisfying — and very much in line with his previous work. Last Flag Flying is... Read more

By November 15, 2017

Leisure

Karen Cohen: Turning Fantasy into Photograph

Arranged on a single wall in a corner of Gallery Underground, six 15 by 20 inch photographs make up Cohen’s collection. At first glance, it is hard to see what... Read more

By November 15, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Taylor Swift, reputation

Long gone is the sweet country girl who played acoustics about finding a place in this world while crying teardrops on her guitar. In her place is a confident woman... Read more

By November 15, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Metro Boomin, Without Warning

The first time Metro Boomin’s tag mumbles across his new album, Without Warning, it’s slower than normal. The syrupy “Metro Boomin want some more” indicates a mood, something eerie. In... Read more

By November 13, 2017

Leisure

Miles Teller on Honoring Veterans and Portraying PTSD in Thank You For Your Service

In Miles Teller’s new biopic, Thank You For Your Service, Teller portrays real-life serviceman Adam Schumann as he comes home from the Iraq War only to face more hardships at... Read more

By November 13, 2017

Leisure

Caesar Blends the Classic Story with Modern Technology

Many students only know Shakespeare’s political drama Julius Caesar from their high school English class, and only remember Marc Antony’s infamous opening line to one of the greatest speeches in... Read more

By November 7, 2017

Leisure

In Conversation: “Awareness, Action, and Dissent”

In light of its current exhibition, “Ai Wei Wei: Trace at Hirshhorn,” which showcases Lego portraits of individuals whom the artists consider to be political activists, the Hirshhorn has collaborated with... Read more

By November 6, 2017

Leisure

Biting Into Black Theater Ensemble’s “The Hand That Feeds You”

As the old precautionary adage goes: “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” In other words, demonstrate loyalty to those who have sustained and contributed to the attainment of your... Read more

By November 4, 2017