Leisure

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

Leisure

Mark Wahlberg introduces mediocrity into Broken City

The game of good cop/bad cop is a familiar one, having been played countless times by directors in the detective genre. Our protagonist shifts from one side of the law to the other, bringing a question of ethics to the forefront of a film’s consciousness. The Book of Eli director Allen Hughes’ Broken City is hardly a departure from this ho-hum yet satisfying formula, but it muddles the narrative structure by thrusting a complex and intricate corruption drama into the mix for the viewer to digest. Themes of sex and power, good and evil in a corrupt city unfortunately become lost in the shuffle that is an unsustainably convoluted web of stories.

By January 24, 2013

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Critical Voices: Ra Ra Riot, Beta Love

As is the case with all instruments, synthesizers demand moderation and proper place within a finished musical product. Such devices are hardly appropriate in a full-blown experimental framework, particularly one that lasts hardly 30 minutes. Syracuse-based Ra Ra Riot, however, ignores these practices on the indie rock band’s third studio album, Beta Love, bringing an unpolished, unnatural, and chaotic creation into the world.

By January 24, 2013

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Reel Talk: Taking care of showbiz

We live in a sad world when Twilight sequels sell out weeks before they are released. Fortunately for the film industry, however, a new generation of production and distribution companies has turned heads with the innovation of profitable art house films.

By January 24, 2013

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Critical Voices: Bad Religion, True North

After almost two years of rumors and speculation, Bad Religion has finally released their 16th album, True North. Since their start in 1979, the punk rock band has become known for their three-part harmonies, intellectual lyrics and religious commentary and their latest opus is no different. As in the past, they continue to use their music to tell a story. For this album, the narrative is all about finding one’s way in the world, using an internal compass to find the way to “true north.”

By January 24, 2013

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Under the Covers: Bunanameh more than ‘meh’

Buna Alkhas experienced 25 years of estrangement from his motherland, Iran, and from his father, the renowned Iranian-Assyrian artist, poet, and translator Hannibal Alkhas. This exile transformed Alkhas while he made his way around the world, while back home Iran was pulled through a totally polarizing metamorphosis.

By January 24, 2013

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Theater J brings Israeli politics to the Davis Center

Boged (Traitor): An Enemy of the People, showing in Davis Performing Arts Center from Jan. 15 to Feb. 3, is an inspiring play, covering delicate themes of corruption, greed, and power. Largely based on Henrik Ibsen’s late nineteenth century opus, Boged effectively moves Ibsen’s story into contemporary Israel, but the relatable narrative could very well have taken place here in America.

By January 17, 2013

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Zero Dark Thirty includes total of zero dull moments

Arguably the most incendiary scenes in Zero Dark Thirty, the remarkable new film from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, are in the very opening shots. The image of a political prisoner suspended from the ceiling by chains and subjected to waterboarding has incited a flurry of controversy across a range of both media and political platforms, establishing itself as a lightning rod for the discussion of torture’s role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the ethics of using such methods at all.

By January 17, 2013

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Americanization: What the pho?

When I left my small Midwestern town and moved to D.C., I promised myself I would embrace the cultural diversity of my new metropolitan home. So when I heard of the recent opening of Sprig & Sprout, it was with an exotic culinary experience in mind that I decided to make the trek up Wisconsin to indulge in some student budget-friendly Vietnamese-American food.

By January 17, 2013

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Critical Voices: A$AP, Long.Live.A$AP

A$AP Rocky’s momentum since he first released his mixtape Live.Love.A$AP a year and a half ago is somewhat of an enigma. A little time and a $3 million record deal with Sony later, the 24-year-old Harlem native released his debut studio album, Long.Live.A$AP, chronicling his rags to riches stories, addressing beef in the industry, his love affair with fashion, and, of course, his love of women.

By January 17, 2013

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Critical Voices: Yo La Tengo, Fade

From its roots in Hoboken to its namesake as the Spanish translation of a baseball outfielder calling, “I got it,” Yo La Tengo emerges as a distinctly American band. In spite of this tradition and a nearly 30-year track record of releasing quality material, YLT has earned the undeserved reputation as a cult band with a narrow niche. The indie outfit’s 13th studio album shatters this perception, transcending the predictable formula that often comes with such lengthy existence. Fade instead becomes a universally appealing, whole, and startlingly vibrant LP that fails to exhibit a single weakness.

By January 17, 2013

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Paper View: “Who run the world?” Girls.

Many have lauded the comedic bravery of Lena Dunham’s breakout HBO creation Girls. From the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which awarded Dunham’s debut TV series with a Golden Globe for Best Television Series—Comedy or Musical, to that hipster texting gun-to-panda emojis in reference to Sunday’s second season premiere, the consensus seems to be that Girls hits the urban 20-something female experience square on the head.

By January 17, 2013

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Loose Cannon: Add/drop on the rocks

If you haven’t figured it out already, those precious days before school starts are the best days of the year—well, actually—of all of your short and wretched life. I’m not just talking about the days before Wednesday, Jan. 8 when classes “begin” because if we get right down to it real classes don’t start until add/drop stops. Yeah, that’s Jan. 18, which still is not upon us for all you fools who have already read a book or written an essay. Now, for you freshmen, I’m about to drop some real pearls of wisdom. Attendance or assignments simply are not mandatory until add/drop is over, and if your teacher insists that they “really are” just drop the class and add it back on the morning of the 18th (though I would recommend checking to see if there is a waiting list first before pulling such a bold maneuver). I actually don’t bother with pre-registration ‘til that last day of add/drop.

By January 17, 2013

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Keep away from Playing for Keeps: A romcom gone wrong

At first glance, Playing for Keeps seems to have all the substance required of a winning romcom; the story of a hot former soccer star with a Scottish accent (Gerard Butler) who is trying to do right by his son and ex-wife (Jessica Biel), while clichéd, at the very least offers a few hours of mindless entertainment.

By December 6, 2012

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Taryn Simon dazzles and disturbs at the Corcoran Gallery

The Corcoran Gallery of Art is filled to the brim with colorful, eye-catching works of visual mastery, but you have to wade through that sea of technical skill to get to photographer Taryn Simon’s A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters, a massive, six-room exhibit that initially overwhelms its viewer with monotony. The walls are hung with gigantic, uniform, brown frames grouped into sets, all following the same formula—one or more with headshot photographs of somber-faced individuals, a slender one with small black writing, and another with photographs, legal documents, or other archives, all mounted with the most boring shade of tan you’ve ever seen.

By December 6, 2012

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Fuego Cocina douses authenticity

Fuego Cocina y Tequileria recently opened its doors in Clarendon promising diners an experience that doesn’t quite live up to its fiery name. The Mexican restaurant and tequila bar is the newest business from the owners of Passion Food Hospitality, a group of chefs with American, Latino, and seafood restaurants in the DMV area. With its stiflingly opulent atmosphere, the restaurant is a far cry from the local, small family owned taquerias that it ought to resemble.

By December 6, 2012

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Critical Voices: El Perro Del Mar, Pale Fire

Much like the name it bears, Swedish solo act El Perro Del Mar’s Pale Fire contains all the subtle strength of a gently burning white flame. While melodically subdued, the record has a palpable power only slightly dimmed by Sarah Assbring’s reverberant, airy vocals that result in a satisfyingly ambient synth-pop concoction.

By December 6, 2012

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Critical Voices: Ke$ha, Warrior

With her signature riot of glitter and war paint, Ke$ha has established a character for herself that doesn’t stray far from a party girl stereotype. In spite of this image, the pop singer-songwriter has masterfully expanded her repertoire by capturing a vast array of styles and influences on her superb sophomore effort. True to its name, Warrior has Ke$ha fighting to continue doing what she does best: not giving a fuck.

By December 6, 2012

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Under the Covers: Not all adaptations are alike

Konstantin Levin is expected to live the life of a 19th century Russian aristocrat—days devoted to a bureaucratic job, afternoons spent in St. Petersburg salons, discussing politics or more likely gossiping, and evenings devoted to a vodka fueled dinner, ball, or a night at the opera. But this isn’t satisfactory to the thoughtful Levin, an essential character in Tolstoy’s epic novel, Anna Karenina, and a significant figure in a recent film interpretation.

By December 6, 2012

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Reel Talk: Quentin-ssential Tarantino

The path of a filmmaker’s career can often take twists and turns, at times making critics out of former fans. For Quentin Tarantino, such defectors are largely confounded by his most recent film’s compulsive dips into farcical comedy. How, they inquire, could the genius behind two ‘90s masterpieces create a movie as incoherent and painfully self-indulgent as Inglourious Basterds? Either the auteur is criminally misunderstood or his trademark obsession with violence and pop culture references has enervated audiences’ tolerance for the absurd. Tarantino apologists point to the former; the absurd is what they crave most. And they are right.

By December 6, 2012

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Tolstoy’s Karenina remastered as modern day romcom

Tragedies have a habit of giving themselves away; in many cases, the victim’s name flashes in the title like a morbid neon sign. Whatever fate befalls these characters lingers in the shadowy background, progressively coming into focus as the story unfolds. Anna Karenina is no exception, a tale of a woman whose own tragic flaw is a violent passion for a man, which consumes her entirely.

By November 29, 2012