Leisure

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

Leisure

Concert Preview: Jazz Cartier, April 29, U Street Music Hall

Jazz Cartier, Toronto’s latest rap export, has an upward trajectory as steep and sudden as any rap success story: after dropping his 2016 mixtape Hotel Paranoia, Cartier received nods from... Read more

By April 25, 2017

Leisure

Concert Preview: COIN, May 1, U Street Music Hall

Nashville-based indie rockers COIN are back with the April 21 release of their album How Will You Know If You Never Try. HWYKIYNT is the band’s sophomore album and features... Read more

By April 25, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.

DAMN., Kendrick Lamar’s latest project, continues his trend of creating exceptional, politically-charged rap that forges a distinct sound. While DAMN. is difficult to characterize stylistically, it is a clear departure... Read more

By April 24, 2017

Leisure

Concert Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Verizon Center, April 12

Performing in an arena and engaging a 20,000 person audience is no easy task, but at the Verizon Center on Wednesday, April 12, the Red Hot Chili Peppers made it... Read more

By April 21, 2017

Leisure

Graduation Cleverly Contemplates Mortality in Adversity

Graduation, a Romanian film directed, produced, and written by Cristian Mungiu, grapples with ethical dilemmas, heartbreaks, and the pitfalls of cyclical corruption. Set in a small city in Romania, Graduation... Read more

By April 19, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Arca, Arca

Arca, Venezuelan electronic producer, DJ, and songwriter, opened his recent self-titled project with haunting humming, rich bass, and ethereal ringing. This sound so severely defies expectations that one finds it... Read more

By April 18, 2017

Leisure

The Promise: A Love Affair Overshadowed by Atrocity

Over a million and a half Armenian men, women, and children were killed between 1915 and 1923. Distracted by the atrocities of World War I, the world turned a blind... Read more

By April 17, 2017

Leisure

Despite Clichés, Their Finest Inspires in the Face of Darkness

With the recently-released film The Zookeeper’s Wife and the anticipated summer release of  Dunkirk, World War II films are proving to be all the rage this year. Although the war... Read more

By April 17, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: The Chainsmokers, Memories…Do Not Open

Will The Chainsmokers (Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart) ever come out with a song that matches the success of “Closer?” That question is left unanswered even with the release of... Read more

By April 14, 2017

Leisure

A World that Needs Changing in Stupid F**king Bird

The lights dim. An actor steps forward and scowls at the still-settling audience. “The play will begin when someone says, ‘Start the f**king play,’” he says. There’s silence, hesitation, and... Read more

By April 12, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Depeche Mode, Spirit

At first, it seemed like there was a mistake. This was supposed to be the new Depeche Mode album, but it sounded like my mother’s Depeche Mode. It turns out this... Read more

By April 10, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Raekwon, The Wild

Raekwon the Chef delivers another strong installment in his solo career with his seventh studio album, The Wild. Coming 24 years after his debut as a member of the Wu-Tang... Read more

By April 10, 2017

Leisure

Smurfs: The Lost Village Lacks Plot Development and Ingenuity

The Wikipedia description of the premise for Smurfs: The Lost Village is only two sentences long, and for good reason. The newest movie of the Smurfs franchise is the least... Read more

By April 10, 2017

Leisure

A Small Step for Man: Life Frightens Without Inspiring

In recent years, the moviegoing masses have been blessed with a varied and compelling assortment of space movies—the expansiveness of Interstellar, the claustrophobic survivalism of Gravity, the mere presence of... Read more

By April 7, 2017

Leisure

Developing An Argument is an Ambitious, Disjointed Realization

Christian Benefiel makes art that’s not meant to last. Not only does he use the natural supportive structure of his sculptures to keep them together, foregoing glue, nails, or any... Read more

By April 7, 2017

Leisure

WILD About Spring is an Idyllic Rendering of Nature

The brownstone houses populating our quaint neighborhood are home to diplomats, lawyers, and politicos alike, with boutiques, cafes, and salons peppered throughout. An occasional gallery is wedged among this eclectic... Read more

By April 7, 2017

Leisure

Gifted: A Disjointed and Emotional Journey

The opening shots of Gifted resemble a sunny home video documenting the first day of school. Seven-year-old Mary Adler (McKenna Grace) scowls over her breakfast at her bearded and rumpled... Read more

By April 7, 2017

Leisure

Hook, Line, and Slasher: Hookman is Terrific and Terrifying

By spilling forth everything meant to be contained in the fragile receptacles of human bodies—blood, guts, brains, you name it—the slasher genre appeals to the perverse in people. Hookman, the... Read more

By April 7, 2017

Leisure

Critical Voices: Spoon, Hot Thoughts

Spoon, a rock band hailing from Austin, Texas, released their ninth studio album Hot Thoughts on March 17 through Matador Records. Twenty four years and nine albums later, Spoon has... Read more

By April 3, 2017

Leisure

The Zookeeper’s Wife proves Engaging despite Lack of Depth

Holocaust movies are often tough to watch, be it for the imminent death scenes lurking around the corner or the constant violent, even exploitative, displays of injustice, torture, and overall... Read more

By April 3, 2017