Leisure

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

Leisure

Box Office, Baby! Samuel L. vs. the shark

There are few things in this world scarier than sharks. If not for sharks, tropical beach resorts could be fully realized pieces of heaven on earth, instead of bastions of terror with bathers constantly on the lookout for dorsal fins. Since most of us haven’t had the personal experience of a shark attack, we are left to wonder how splashing one’s feet in the water came to immediately trigger the image of a shark bite. For most, it was Jaws. For this writer, it’s the 1999 shark thriller Deep Blue Sea.

By March 30, 2012

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Trash Talk: Fish are friends, not food

With their raw strength and unbridled ferocity, sharks evoke so much power and energy that we use the name to describe business moguls and successful entrepreneurs. Add on the unfortunate reality of shark attacks on humans, and sharks take on an almost mythic nature—they excite our wildest imaginations and simultaneously haunt our worst nightmares. It is no surprise, then, that when BBC set out to film the most awe-inspiring and captivating scenes of the natural world for Planet Earth—the most ambitious and most expensive nature documentary series of all time—sharks had to be a focal point.

By March 30, 2012

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Katniss Everdeen hits the mark in The Hunger Games

Watching Katniss Everdeen raise her bow in defiance to the Capitol emboldened me to make a heretical statement of my own—The Hunger Games movie is better than the book. While author Suzanne Collins wove intricate themes of class struggle, civil war, and even counterinsurgency strategy into her trilogy, The Hunger Games movie conveys with complex cinematography and precise casting what prose marketed to eleven-year-olds could not.

By March 22, 2012

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At the Smithsonian, the cake is a lie

In 2010, critic Roger Ebert proclaimed that “video games can never be art.” Up against gamers who appreciate the increasingly cinematic qualities of the medium, the debate over whether video games are a legitimate avenue for art is a contentious one that has been invigorated by new graphic and technological capabilities. Unfortunately, the new Smithsonian exhibit The Art of Video Games ignores the artistic process in the development of video games, focusing instead on the 40-year history of video game consoles.

By March 22, 2012

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José Andrés shows DC his flautas with Pepe the food truck

From Minibar to Jaleo, Spanish-born chef José Andrés has slowly been indoctrinating lovers of fine dining and small portions in the D.C. area. While the quality of his bite-sized cuisine has become one of the major attractions of the District, there’s always been one drawback, until now—the food did not literally come to those desiring to taste the legendary tapas. With the launch of Pepe, Andrés’s first food truck, this contrived problem is resolved.

By March 22, 2012

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Real trees wear pink

When they first came to the District back in 1912 as a gift from a Tokyo mayor, cultural ambassadors doubted that Japanese cherry blossoms were strong enough to take root in D.C.’s soil. But now, 100 years later, the longevity of the brilliant blooms has proven these amateur botanists incorrect. This year, the centennial 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival reveals this same strength in the Japanese people, reflecting on the March 2011 tsunamis while celebrating the enduring spirit of Japan.

By March 22, 2012

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God Mode: Gamers of the world, unite!

Over the past few months, my housemates and assorted visitors have spent an inordinate amount of time playing video games. Sadly and unsurprisingly, I don’t have much to show for it, save one semi-profound realization. I’ve discovered the secret to great multiplayer game design—socialism.

By March 22, 2012

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Blast That Box: Too cool for old school

The words “hipster” and “rapper” have pretty disparate connotations—keffiyehs and boxy glasses versus platinum grills and blunts. But hipster rappers exist, and their influence is altering the crowd that follows and enjoys rap music. Acts like Das Racist, The Cool Kids, and Chiddy Bang have changed the formula for successful hip-hop, infusing their music with wide streaks of irony or influences from disparate genres.

By March 22, 2012

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Critical Voices: Anti-Flag, The General Strike

As its name suggests, Anti-Flag is notorious for its leftist brand of political punk. And, perhaps because of a recent trend of distaste with the government and capitalist institutions, the band has found friendly ears for its latest album, The General Strike. While by no means for everyone, the LP is a must-hear for those who find themselves identifying with people who spent some part of the past six months camping out in parks.

By March 22, 2012

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Critical Voices: The Shins, Port of Morrow

“You gotta hear this one song. It’ll change your life, I swear.” Back in 2004, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the Shins still consisted of its original members, the band was forever immortalized in the words of Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State, as “New Slang” catapulted the group to indie stardom and exposed them to a wider audience. But since then, James Mercer, the frontman and beating heart of the band, has dismantled the original line-up to introduce an entirely different cast of characters. Their new LP, Port of Morrow, consequently sounds more like Mercer’s side project, Broken Bells, than traditional Shins, which might alienate some fans who preferred the more charming sound of Oh, Inverted World.

By March 22, 2012

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Ewan McGregor fishes for compliments with Yemen

As long as you don’t have plans to seriously pursue becoming a fisherman in the desert, Ewan McGregor will charm you in his attempt at this impossible task. Though his latest film, the aptly titled Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, is blithely unconcerned with the gritty details of this aquatic pursuit, the movie portrays an entertaining and inspiring tale of unlikely individuals working together toward an even unlikelier end.

By March 15, 2012

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Too little, too late: Artisphere paints Kahlo’s life

If you are offered a magnifying glass while walking into an art exhibit, it is natural for a bit of confusion to set in. These sentiments set the tone for Frida Kahlo: Her Photos, the highly anticipated U.S. premiere exhibition at Rosslyn’s Artisphere, as Kahlo’s photos hold their own element of surprise.

By March 15, 2012

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Leave your house to go see Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Writer/director/actor brothers Mark and Jay Duplass have, in recent years, been known for a brand of off-beat humor associated with a film movement called “mumblecore.” This genre is usually defined by a socially downtrodden middle-aged man going through some event and handling it in the way that a socially downtrodden middle-aged man would, often with self-deprecating humor, as in the FX show The League. Jason Segel and Ed Helms, who play brothers in Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the brothers Duplass’ most recent effort, are perfectly cast for the film’s niche humor and surprisingly well-suited for the movie’s sentimental notes.

By March 15, 2012

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Trash Talk: America(n Muslims), fuck yeah!

In the post-9/11 era, American Muslims have struggled to assert their patriotism while simultaneously observing a religion that many perceive as fundamentally at odds with American society. Naturally, reality television programs have latched onto this conflict, featuring a batch of American Muslims who buck the gruesome American stereotype of bomb-wielding, misogynistic extremists.

By March 15, 2012

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Box Office, Baby! Bad Casting: What Dafoe?

You probably know who Willem Dafoe is—you’ve seen him as the Green Goblin in Spiderman, or recognized him in Platoon, The Boondock Saints, or American Psycho. But to this writer, he’s more than just an actor. He’s an artist. No, he’s an icon. Maybe it’s his deep, grainy voice. Maybe it’s the intensity of his facial features. Whatever it is, Dafoe has a lure that keeps me shelling out money to see him on the big screen, as I, in a state of fanboy hypnosis, continually ignore the title or synopsis of the film I’m about to witness. Forget the movie; it’s Willem I’m paying to see.

By March 15, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Lucero, Women and Work

With the way it pushes the boundaries of country and punk, infusing the two seemingly disparate styles into alternative rock, Lucero is something of a musical anomaly. But the band makes its unusual group of influences work, due largely to lead singer Ben Nichols’ bourbon-soaked voice, which brings this unlikely pairing of genres together brilliantly. With their tenth release, Women and Work, Lucero dives right into its Memphis roots to demonstrate a side of the band not seen in their previous work.

By March 15, 2012

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Critical Voices: Say Anything, Anarchy, My Dear

Of Anarchy, My Dear, Say Anything’s first release in three years, front man Max Bemis said that the band has moved past its days of writing “petty songs about hating people” and found new stability and maturity. Like many of us, Say Anything has graduated from its early-aughts anxiety, but Anarchy retains the band’s awkward, hyper-personal character to create a balanced, introspective album.

By March 15, 2012

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Ghibli makes a big splash with Arrietty‘s little world

For Arrietty Clock, carrying a sugar cube through the kitchen is a Herculean task. At only three inches tall, the young girl, a member of a group of miniscule people known as “Borrowers,” is in an unusual situation, and as protagonist lends a unique vantage point to Studio Ghibli’s newest film The Secret World of Arrietty. Based on Mary Norton’s novel The Borrowers, this latest marvel from the famed Japanese animation company uses new techniques to revitalize an old classic.

By March 1, 2012

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This District ain’t big enough for more than one Kitchen

Amid the variety of D.C. restaurants springing up under the banner of organic and cruelty-free produce, District Kitchen manages to maintain a competitive advantage that differentiates it from the grass-fed herd. While this newest member of the Woodley Park restaurant community serves up what appears to be classic mid-Atlantic cuisine, the twist on traditional recipes and the ever-changing house specials add variety to the otherwise predictably bland buffet of green D.C. eateries.

By March 1, 2012

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Campaigns from radio to Reddit

“There is no democracy without elections. And there can be no elections without the press.” Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin made this declaration in a world of print and radio, long before today’s era when Twitter consistently breaks news faster than the New York Times. Nonetheless, Goodwin’s observation still holds true, and the quote invites visitors into the entrance of the Newseum’s newest exhibit, “Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press.”

By March 1, 2012