Leisure

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

Leisure

Day Tripper: I won’t be home for Christmas

Spending the holidays with family is a blessing, but there is something magical about experiencing celebrations immersed in another culture. Chances are that while traveling, you’ll find yourself celebrating one... Read more

By December 5, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: Boston, Life, Love & Hope

In the 11 years since Boston last released an album, the band has undergone many changes, with the death of their lead singer, Brad Delp, and the addition of new... Read more

By December 5, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, Foreverly

It’s not every day you have Green Day’s frontman and Ravi Shankar’s daughter getting together to a record an album, but that’s exactly what happened with Foreverly. The LP is... Read more

By December 5, 2013

Leisure

Gritty and dark, Hunger Games whets audience’s appetite

The odds are no longer in Katniss Everdeen’s favor. Darker and more raw than The Hunger Games (2012), Catching Fire captures the emotional aftermath of Katniss’ Hunger Games win and the dangerous ripples of rebellion coursing through Panem.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

Forget Lululemon, Smithsonian’s yoga exhibit makes you stretch

Sounds become muffled and a silence descends as you walk down the stairs at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery and enter Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Glowing chakras on the floor form a winding path that beckons you in to wander through the art.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

At National Gallery, all that glitters is gold

“Do you see those eyes in the angel’s wings? I’ve looked around the rest of the pattern, and it’s only here. Do you know what it means?” a stranger asked me.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

DCity BBQ smokes up

Cozily situated and reminiscent of Frank Underwood’s favorite refuge, DCity Smokehouse is D.C.’s newest barbecue joint helmed by Hill Country’s former pitmaster Rob Sonderman.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

Lez’hur Ledger: Tofurkey and mommy issues

I’m not going home for Thanksgiving. This really wasn’t a hard decision. Usually I have a near panic attack with the logistics, given it’s the only time of the year when I have to do math. My thinking goes something like this: If my flight is Wednesday afternoon, and I have to be at Reagan National Airport an hour in advance, and it takes 20-40 minutes to get to the airport by Metro and 15-20 minutes to get to the Rosslyn Metro by GUTS bus, then that means… yep, I have to skip all my Tuesday classes. Also, on a somewhat related note, how awesome is that airport? If I have a child I’m thinking of naming it Reagan National. I’m not a Republican, but I am a fan of efficient transportation hubs.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

Plate of the Union: Leo’s is where the heart is

If you knew how many times since coming to Georgetown I’ve made it home for Thanksgiving, you might say I’m a bad kid. As a senior, I’ve managed to make the trek back to Minnesota only once.

By and November 20, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: Wooden Shjips, Back To Land

Although they call their latest album Back to Land, Wooden Shjips seems to be lost at sea. On their fourth LP, the band uses a mix of Doors-inspired organ and fuzz-out guitar riffs to create a collection of trance-like, five-minute trips. “Ghouls” features a repeating organ riff that sounds so classic, you might wonder if you’ve heard it somewhere else before.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: The Ripples, The First Few

On Saturday Nov. 23, The Ripples, a Georgetown student band, will drop a pebble in the vast lake of the music world, hoping to create waves that disrupt our collective conscience.

By November 20, 2013

Leisure

Dancing the Dream fails to keep emotional images en pointe

Rather than randomly hanging beautiful pictures of beautiful dancers, the National Portrait Gallery examines the history of dance as a visual art form in its exhibit Dancing the Dream, on display until July 14, 2014. The exhibit finds its strength in discussing the historical significance of dance on American cultural identity. At the same time, this focus on history becomes overly intellectual at the price of beauty, which is where the exhibit finds its weakness.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Eclectic plates meet antique porcelain

As you enter Rose’s Luxury, a gilded velvet curtain is drawn aside to create a partition closing off the outside world. The hostess station showcases both a laptop and a bright red 1950s-era dial phone, but somehow the two work together harmoniously. An old mirror reflects the people eating in the dining area.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Death, be not proud: The Book Thief illustrates Holocaust

Though Nazis burn thousands of novels in The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak’s tale itself is alive and well. An international bestseller for over two hundred weeks, the book sets a high bar for its cinematic interpretation. Director Brian Percival works through the plot of the novel well, but taming a 576-page tome about the power of the written word into a two-hour movie proves a difficult task at best.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Under the Covers: A View to Kill: Reading Bond

In a conversation about celebrity crushes this week, I guiltily admitted my lifelong infatuation with James Bond (Sean Connery being the pinnacle of all 007s, of course). While I’m a big fan of spy and political thriller movies, I hadn’t attempted the written versions of Bond’s glamorous trysts and travels. So I sat down with From Russia With Love, Ian Fleming’s seminal Bond classic. I expected a fun, quick read, but wasn’t expecting to get as swept up as I did. Just like the Bond films, the novel was fun, shallow, shiny and alluring, full of expensive alcohol, watches and cars, 60s misogyny and blatant sexuality, and scant political correctness—and, guiltily, I lapped it up.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Idiot Box: Let’s talk about sex, baby

It’s all in the title. Masters of Sex, a new series from Showtime that premiered in late September, is practically an invitation in itself. The ‘s’ sounds blend perfectly, rolling off your tongue as you say such an attention-grabbing phrase aloud. If you’re in a public place, heads might turn. Conscious of its obvious allure, however, the show does not rely on superficial appeal alone.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: Lady Gaga, Artpop

From her e.coli-flavored meat dress to her embryonic palanquin, Lady Gaga has always prided herself on big production and electrifying shock value. Her newest album, Artpop, is no exception.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Critical Voices: Eminem, The Marshal Mathers LP 2

Guess who’s back. Back again. Shady’s back, and there has been a lot of hype surrounding the release of his latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The first Marshall Mathers LP was one of Eminem’s most important and definitive releases, inflating apprehension and excitement in its shadow. Fortunately, the legend is back and even better than before. MMLP2 is cold hard proof—hell, Kendrick is even on the album.

By November 14, 2013

Leisure

Hamlet dubsteps with Ophelia in this modern Shakespeare

I’ll be the first to admit it: I had no idea what to expect when I learned the Theater and Performance Studies Department’s production of Hamlet was taking a modern guise. I’ve seen Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet set in present day, so I know very well that Shakespearean lore is capable of transcending time and space. But to take perhaps the greatest story ever told and refashion it with iPads and grating dubstep? It’s a risk, but director Professor Derek Goldman and his cast pull it off spectacularly.

By November 6, 2013

Leisure

Hemsworth pounds out solid sequel in Thor: The Dark World

Following The Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has returned home to Asgard. Similar to their past films, Marvel’s newest movie, Thor: The Dark World, includes plenty of action, comedy, and just the right amount of romance to make it entertaining popcorn fodder.

By November 6, 2013