Leisure

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

Leisure

The Joke’s On Us: Suicide Squad Delivers a Frenetic Experience

  The first twenty minutes of Suicide Squad make it abundantly clear that the film is doing everything it can not to be Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. After... Read more

By August 11, 2016

Leisure

Mike Birbiglia reflects on success with Don’t Think Twice

We’re not all successful. We’re not all going to be: not conventionally, at least. “That’s okay,” says Mike Birbiglia (COL ‘00) – comedian, Georgetown alum, and conventionally-successful-person – with his... Read more

By July 15, 2016

Leisure

Bring Your Dancing Shoes: Fitz and the Tantrums at 9:30 Club

By the time doors opened at the 9:30 Club on June 18, Fitz and the Tantrums fans were already lining the block waiting to flood the classic venue and dance... Read more

By July 6, 2016

Leisure

Finding Dory is Familiar Success

Sequels are notoriously tricky. Audiences often leave the theatre underwhelmed or disappointed after hoping for something that can live up to the original that drew them there in the first... Read more

By July 1, 2016

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Critical Voices: Panic! at the Disco, Death of a Bachelor

Since the band’s inception, Panic! At the Disco has been in flux. The departures of three of the originating members have left singer Brendon Urie as the sole original member... Read more

By June 22, 2016

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The End of the World as We Know It… Again: X-Men: Apocalypse Fails to Distinguish Itself

A surprisingly prescient scene occurs midway through Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse that proves equal parts self-deprecating and predicting. A group of young mutants, led by Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey, leaves... Read more

By May 31, 2016

Leisure

This is New York: The Postal Museum displays the Big Apple in Tiny Squares

On the lower level of Massachusetts Avenue’s Postal Museum lies a one-room exhibit with the punchy title New York City: A Portrait Through Stamp Art written on glorified street signs.... Read more

By May 26, 2016

Leisure

Critical Voices: Chance the Rapper, Coloring Book

When Kendrick Lamar’s album To Pimp a Butterfly was released in March of last year, it was immediately apparent that the music world was witnessing something extraordinary and revolutionary. Already, Chance... Read more

By May 24, 2016

Leisure

To the Victor, the Spoils: Captain America: Civil War is Marvel’s Best Film Yet

It is hard to believe that Iron Man came out eight years ago and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye. In 2008, no one... Read more

By May 19, 2016

Leisure

Day Wave Presents Melancholy Beauty at DC9

DC9 nightclub is unique in the world of music venues. Centrally located in the busy nightlife scene of Shaw, it looks more like a converted storefront than a concert hall.... Read more

By May 15, 2016

Leisure

Lost in Space: Ratchet & Clank Lacks Substance

Movie adaptations of video games are usually awful. From subpar plots to uninspired acting, these films rarely garner anything other than harsh criticism (see Super Mario Bros. and Hitman for... Read more

By May 5, 2016

Leisure

Critical Voices: Beyonce, Lemonade

Last Saturday night Beyoncé reaffirmed her dominance over the R&B/pop music scene and dropped her sixth solo album, Lemonade, alongside her hour long HBO special of the same name. True... Read more

By April 29, 2016

Leisure

Not To Be: The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s Latest Performance Dissapoints

Much like that of Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms, the works of Shakespeare are often thought of as high art: deeply important, and therefore inaccessible, incomprehensible to mainstream audiences. Since the... Read more

By April 28, 2016

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Critical Voices: M83, Junk

The French electronic-pop group M83, fronted by Anthony Gonzalez and Jordan Lawler, recently released Junk on April 8th. The band has been around since 2001, but their 2011 album Hurry... Read more

By April 27, 2016

Leisure

A Tropical, Playful Twelfth Night Delights at The Gonda Theatre

Lightning and rain thunders through Gonda Theatre. Nona Johnson (COL ‘17) and Alex Yurcaba (COL ‘18), playing twins Viola and Sebastian respectively, spin wildly in the midst of the chaos.... Read more

By April 22, 2016

Leisure

Shallow Sentiments, Sincere Music: Sing Street is an Entertaining, Mixed Blessing

As Duran Duran streams from an old television set, The Cure crackles from record players, and cigarettes dangle from the lips of every Irish schoolboy, the setting for Sing Street... Read more

By April 21, 2016

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Mask and Bauble’s Into the Woods Celebrates True Essence of Fairy Tales

Not all fairy tales result in the “happily ever after” that’s expected. Today’s generations are generally exposed to doctored folklore of the past — where Little Red Riding Hood is freed... Read more

By April 20, 2016

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Critical Voices: The Movement, Golden

For well over a decade now The Movement has been flying under the radar as one of the most creative modern reggae groups in recent memory. Currently made up of... Read more

By April 18, 2016

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Missiles and Morality: Eye in the Sky is an Intriguing Nail-Biter

Eye in the Sky stars Academy Award winner Helen Mirren as a pragmatic, no-nonsense Colonel of the British armed forces as she coordinates a surveillance and strike operation with U.S... Read more

By April 11, 2016

Leisure

Weezer’s White Album Fails to Innovate, but Lyrics Stand Out

Eight years and four albums later, Weezer has returned to their tradition of color-themed self-titled records with Weezer (White Album). Producer Jake Sinclair told Rolling Stone he wanted to return... Read more

By April 8, 2016