Leisure

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

Leisure

Reel Talk: Some ideas shine, some don’t

Reflecting on the recent “conspiracy theory” documentary chronicling interpretations of The Shining’s true meaning, The Atlantic’s Jason Bailey posed a salient question: can movies be solved? A cryptic and haunting movie, The Shining asks more questions than it answers; on top of this, its famously elusive director Stanley Kubrick was known for his meticulous attention to detail and big picture thematic undertones. With these facts on the table, it becomes clear that The Shining may have an agenda beneath its horror movie veneer.

By April 4, 2013

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Mari Vanna opens a portal to the Motherland in Dupont

Borsch—a beet and assorted vegetable soup with beef—is perhaps the most iconic dish associated with Russian cuisine. Indeed, the image of a wooden spoon resting casually in a steaming bowl of the red staple, along with a surrounding crowd of bustling relatives, is common in the motherland.

By March 21, 2013

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Ginger & Rosa: Love in a Cold War

There’s something about 1960s London that smells like teen spirit. Caught in between the heyday of the Beatles and the stifling atmosphere of ‘50s conservatism, the title protagonists of the sharply intelligent Ginger & Rosa relish the tide of change that is just beginning to roll in at the start of the decade. Best friends since birth, they are restless 17-year-olds that sniff at their mothers’ bourgeois domesticity and yearn for freedom. Theirs is a familiar narrative, filled with the same rebelliousness and shattered illusions of adolescence, yet it’s a coming-of-age tale that explores an emotional landscape far broader than that of mere tension between generations.

By March 21, 2013

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Corcoran photography examines the state of the world

So exactly, how is the world? This is the question one of the Corcoran’s newest exhibits tries to answer through a small assortment of contemporary photography. Bringing together a diverse group of photographers with styles that range from self-portraiture to exclusively using the life on the streets as a subject, How is the World? is an eclectic yet cohesive collection that offers a powerful insight into an age when both the world and the artistic medium used to capture it are constantly evolving.

By March 21, 2013

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Critical Voices: Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience

There will always be something a little seductive about the prince of pop, and Justin Timberlake fully capitalizes on this magnetism to bring a heavy dose of hype to his new album. The former ‘N Sync singer brings sexy back in full force with The 20/20 Experience, which features an eclectic variety of songs that vary from R&B, pop, Latin, Eastern, and even a little slow rock. One may think the selection might make the record messy, but Timberlake makes every transition flawless.

By March 21, 2013

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Critical Voices: Alpha Rev, Bloom

Formed in the wake of the breakup of frontman Casey McPherson’s previous band Endochine, the stalwart crew of Austin rockers known as Alpha Rev has climbed the Texas indie chart with three full-length LPs built around McPherson’s vocal range. Alpha Rev’s most recent album, Bloom, utilizes his practiced voice against a soothing musical backdrop to bring compelling soft alternative rock into the world.

By March 21, 2013

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Paper View: Bitch, don’t kill my vibe

Take a shot every time someone says bitch, a punch is thrown, a nipple or vagina is blurred, the girls take a shot, or a weave falls on the floor. So go the rules of the Bad Girls Club drinking game, Oxygen’s genius idea to put a bunch of misbehaving girls (coke whores, sex addicts, alcoholics, etc.) together and hope they can rehabilitate themselves into better citizens.

By March 21, 2013

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Loose Cannon: Green is the new black-out

“I’ve been a wild rover for many’s the year! I’ve spent all me money on whiskey and beer! And it’s No! Nay! Never …”

By March 21, 2013

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Subversive Polk Street is filled with seasons of love

A hustler wrestling with addiction, a transvestite dancer struggling to conquer her “mind and body” problem, a successful businessman trying to salvage what is left of a crumbling neighborhood, and an “indestructible” Reverend tired of identifying bodies of the ones he loves. These are just some of the stories celebrated in Polk Street, written and directed by T. Chase Meacham (COL ’15). A co-production between Mask & Bauble and Nomadic, Polk Street is inspired by Joey Plaster’s “Polk Street Stories,” a special radio broadcast sponsored by NPR.

By March 14, 2013

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Fragmentation deconstructs reality

If you happen to be one of the many people who decry abstract art to be nothing more than blobs of paint haphazardly splattered on canvas, then the Morton Fine Art Gallery’s newest exhibit, Fragmentation and Integration, probably isn’t for you. If you have an appreciation for the form or a mind open to exploring new mediums, however, the exhibit offers a thought provoking experience for both art-enthusiasts and newcomers alike, largely due to its laid-back environment and the relative accessibility of some of the works.

By March 14, 2013

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It’s hard to deny a mandate to Chilean political film No

After taking Cannes 2012 by storm and snagging an Oscar nomination, director Pablo Larraín’s No is finally stateside. Following the media campaign launched against the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during his 1988 plebiscite election, Larraín’s film also presents a fascinating critique of mainstream media and a harrowing tale of survival and victory under the repressive regime.

By March 14, 2013

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Critical Voices: Mindless Behavior, All Over the World

It’s not difficult to imagine the kind of drunken scenario in which teen band Mindless Behavior was named, and their latest album fails to indicate any deeper thought. Though promising addictive tracks that perfectly fit the definition of “ear candy,” All Around the World offers the kind of forgettable music that we see flit across pop charts on a daily basis.

By March 14, 2013

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Critical Voices: Eric Clapton, Old Sock

As the only three-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Eric Clapton has little left to accomplish. Already described as one of the most influential guitarists of all time, the British rock and blues artist can look on his 51-year career with a certain pride, but he does so with tremendous gratitude directed toward the early influences that brought him to the top of the music world. Clapton’s 20th studio album, Old Sock, pays tribute to these giants by respectfully drawing on their repertoire while injecting his unique Clapton-esque style into every note.

By March 14, 2013

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Under the Covers: Laura makes the sun shine

I was having one of those days. It was nauseatingly bright all morning and dreary when the afternoon covered the sky with clouds. No one was saying the right thing, and to the friend that asked if I was “sick or tired or something”: yeah, don’t even say that when I’m in a good mood. On the way back from class, prepared to hide from the world in a shuttered room with only Netflix for company, I got the unfailingly splendid email from the RHO announcing a package.

By March 14, 2013

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Reel Talk: That’s some funny shit

Tommy Wiseau: a name that sends a shiver down the spine of scrupulous movie critics. This heavily-accented film auteur came into the spotlight when audiences took note of his pet project The Room. What should have been an easily dismissed shitty two-hour soap opera gained an instant cult following precisely because its inane script, sloppy acting, and lurid sex scenes appealed to audiences’ craving for that rare “incomprehensibly bad” movie.

By March 14, 2013

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Writing on the wall: Roger Gastman pumps up the Corcoran

Sterile, white-washed walls of art galleries often eclipse the very artwork they present, sending the comparatively insignificant pieces into a void beyond the reach of memory and effortless appeal. Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of the 1980s, the Corcoran’s latest exhibit running through Apr. 7, evades this danger and becomes a vibrant work of art in and of itself while cataloguing the tumult of the D.C. underground scene.

By February 28, 2013

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Curb your enthusiasm about Stoker

A mother tells her daughter, “Personally speaking, I can’t wait to watch life tear you apart.” The mother proceeds to flirt with her recently deceased husband’s brother. You think the daughter’s going to just sit there and let this happen? Probably not.

By February 28, 2013

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aCHORDance and University fail to achieve harmony

With a cappella groups an established fixture on college campuses everywhere, Georgetown students are hardly unique in their desire to belt. Though the Hilltop isn’t typically known for the arts, it nevertheless boasts nine University-recognized a cappella groups.

By February 28, 2013

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Pre-Raphael art returns

In his creative manifesto Concerning the Spiritual in Art, the great Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky writes admiringly about the non-materialism of the Pre-Raphaelites—men who “sought for the ‘inner’ by way of the ‘outer.’”

By February 28, 2013

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Critical Voices: Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety

There’s something unsettling about Autre Ne Veut, a.k.a. Arthur Ashin, and it’s not his inscrutable French. The formerly anonymous indie rock artist known for distorting 1980s R&B on his 2010 self-titled debut has a way of getting under your skin, his superb sophomore effort undeniably stronger proof of this ability to draw from a variety of influences to create an ethereal and dissonant sound. True to its name, Anxiety is marked by a perpetual state of instability, yet it disturbs in the best possible way.

By February 28, 2013