Leisure

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

Leisure

A Blue and Gray X-mas

While Daniel Day Lewis’s eerily precise embodiment of the 16th president in Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated Lincoln will go down as one of the Great Emancipator’s finest portrayals, another layer of Lincoln his yet to be discovered in Georgetown’s A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration.

By November 15, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Crystal Castles, (III)

Crystal Castles producer Ethan Kath said that for its new album, (III), the band recorded each song in just one take, because “the first take is the rawest expression of an idea.” And he was right; in this aptly-titled third release, Crystal Castles creates a dark, synth dystopia that is both riveting and disquieting, volatile and visceral. Though the new release builds on Crystal Castles’ distinctly haunting electronic sound, with (III) the band takes a decidedly more somber turn.

By November 15, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: One Direction, Take Me Home

“We’ll keep doing what we do / Just pretending that we’re cool,” begins the chorus of lead single “Live While We’re Young,” the apparent motto of English-Irish boy band One Direction. The group’s sophomore effort fits this mold rather perfectly; Take Me Home continues in just one direction, and that is a path towards more one-syllable words and less substance than an episode of Maury.

By November 15, 2012

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Idiot Box: The return of the that 90’s show

Back in my Catholic school days, I learned the story of Lazarus, the man whom Jesus raises from the dead in one of his most renowned miracles.

By November 15, 2012

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Haute Mess: Gotta get down on Black Friday

In just a few days, the most anticipated day of the shopper’s calendar year is about to arrive: Black Friday! With this most sacred shopping day approaching, we, as your columnists, want to make sure you are well equipped to make the best of those few hours of unparalleled opportunity.

By November 15, 2012

Leisure

Daniel Craig proves he’s a tux-worthy Bond in Skyfall

Bond is back. After a rather torturous hiatus of four years, the famous franchise is up on its feet and has hit the ground running with Skyfall. American Beauty director Sam Mendes has managed to breathe life into a series that many considered to be on a downward spiral, and though the original material of the Ian Fleming spy novels has dried up, the writers have managed to come up with an entertaining storyline that doesn’t stray too far from the films’ roots.

By November 8, 2012

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BMDT’s Fire in Her Eyes ignites Walsh’s Black Box Theatre

If “Gangnam Style” is the extent of your knowledge about the current dance world, the time has arrived to experience Georgetown’s Black Movements Dance Theatre. Appropriately titled for its emphasis on girl power and ethnic culture, Fire in Her Eyes opens this weekend at the Walsh Black Box Theatre. And what the show lacks in technical consistency, Fire makes up for with the dancers’ passion, highlighted in energetic performances which mix a myriad of styles.

By November 8, 2012

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Student One Acts brought to life

The Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival is a celebration of Georgetown’s own aspiring playwrights. The festival features two readings of original student works-in-progress: “Finch/Robinson” by Jack Schmitt (COL ‘15), which examines race relations through the lens of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and “Family Pictures” by Lydia Brown (COL ‘15), which tells a tale of high-profile family drama surrounding the indictment of the director of the CIA for war crimes.

By November 8, 2012

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Critical Voices: Aerosmith, Music From Another Dimension!

“You are about to enter a great adventure, and experience the awe and mystery from your ultimate fantasies to your deepest fears.” A Twilight Zone-esque voice issues this ominous warning to kick off Music From Another Dimension!, Aerosmith’s first release of original content in 11 years. The “deepest fears” to which this voice refers could be of the likelihood that, in the time that has elapsed, the band has lost its touch, and can no longer produce quality music. Fortunately, these concerns last only until the first drum beats bring in the powerful riffs, proving that Aerosmith is still alive and kicking—vigorously.

By November 8, 2012

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Plate of the Union: Let’s not put labels on it

In the broadest sense of the word, foodies are harmless. They’re just a group of people intensely curious about food. They flock to every new restaurant, they memorize José Andrés’ cookbook as though it were the Bible, and they scour farmers’ markets for heirloom varieties of little-known vegetables. Though doing such things may seem ridiculous, foodies are, in fact, nothing more than hobbyists.

By November 8, 2012

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A melodramatic Late Quartet hits all the wrong notes

The pursuit of perfection in art has its pitfalls; the pursuit of an audience’s emotional reaction through strained and overwrought soap-opera drama, however, should be avoided at all costs. In A Late Quartet, filmmaker Yaron Zilberman falls into this trap in spite of his unique subject matter and star-studded cast.

By October 31, 2012

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Lez’hur ledger: Throwing Caution to the 65mph wind

Every apartment has the token roommate who flips out about natural disasters. Most people who like to be super- prepared and ready for any apocalyptic outcome, however, start calling for a retreat into Helm’s Deep at the first weather warning.

By October 31, 2012

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Conference of the Birds soars to great heights at Folger

In the director’s notes for The Conference of the Birds, Aaron Posner describes his latest production at the Folger Elizabethean Theatre and his expectation for audience members: “It is an astonishing work, and, hopefully, unlike anything you have likely ever seen before.”

By October 31, 2012

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Critical Voices: Meek Mill, Dreams & Nightmares

Mediocre production value meets overly ambitious lyrics in Meek Mill’s first major-label release, Dreams & Nightmares. Fittingly titled, this “meh” album forages into the oft-explored “I’m rich, now let’s reflect on how I used to be a drug pusher” theme.

By October 31, 2012

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Critical Voices: Flyleaf, New Horizons

At hardly over 36 minutes, New Horizons, the third studio album from Christian alt-rockers Flyleaf, is by far the band’s shortest to date. And if its diminutive length wasn’t enough to make listeners uneasy, the announcement of lead singer Lacey Sturm’s departure from the band just days before the LP’s release definitely did the trick. Fortunately, Sturm does not go out with a whimper; from explosive metal riffs to expertly crafted pop hooks, Horizons boasts an astounding level of power and emotion jammed into such a seemingly innocuous package.

By October 31, 2012

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Idiot Box: Snape kills Dumbledore

It’s a trauma we’ve all experienced—you’re sitting on your couch, having just hit the “play” button on Netflix/Megavideo (R.I.P.)/whatever other illegal site you use, geared up for the season finale you’ve been dying to watch. Your roommate comes in, and glances at the screen. “Oh, is that Dexter? I couldn’t believe it when Trinity killed Rita!”

By October 31, 2012

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Haute Mess: Get Frankenfabulous

Whether you forgot to order your Halloween costume on Amazon or your group costume fell through, have no fear —Julian and Neha are here.

By October 31, 2012

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Lichtenstein: A Retrospective redefines pop art at the NGA

In 1964, Life Magazine inquired of pop art icon Roy Lichtenstein, “Is he the worst artist in the U.S.?” While this question might seem both ironic and a moot point in the face of Lichtenstein: A Retrospective, the 15,000-square-foot exhibition now on display at the National Gallery, this query illuminates an important characteristic of Lichtenstein’s work: his uncanny ability to simultaneously “delight and outrage” in his mastery and innovation in the pop art genre.

By October 25, 2012

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Cloud Atlas passes by audiences without a silver lining

It seems Hollywood has taken the concept of past and future lives beyond the context of New Age spiritual beliefs and transferred it onto the big screen. In the overly ambitious Cloud Atlas, an epic conglomerate of stories spans 500 years and involves more characters than any reasonable person would care to count. Based on the acclaimed novel by David Mitchell, the genre-bending film involves six different plot lines that intertwine over centuries, which include a post-apocalyptic era and an Orwellian future-scape.

By October 25, 2012

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The Coupe is the perfect place to coop up with coffee

D.C.’s restaurant scene appears to have just about everything, ranging from free-range beef and specialty veggie burgers to cruelly prepared foie gras and cannibalistically raised chicken. Apart from the occasional IHOP or Denny’s, the city’s one overlooked attribute has been the dearth of 24-hour service in the area. Luckily, the creators of the Diner in Adams Morgan—one of the few non-chain restaurants of its kind—have provided a Columbia Heights-based sister restaurant that fills this terrible void.

By October 25, 2012