Leisure

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

Leisure

Blast That Box: Plato flunks Ghetto University

In my theology class about death, we watched esoteric films like The Fountain and read the hallowed works of Plato. Although I can see what the professor was trying to accomplish, this characteristically Georgetown class was merely another attempt to dilute the real education that I should have been receiving from the true role models of modern society. Hip-hop idols are among us, and they are the ones who now teach the facts of life and impart logical wisdom upon the masses. It’s baffling that we aren’t studying rap and its sociological implications in a large amount of our classes instead of the inane commentary of the long-gone philosophical minds like Plato. As I look through the preregistration course schedule for next year, I find only frivolity.

By April 12, 2012

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Critical Voices: Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls

In the 1960s and 70s, the musicological spontaneity of artists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix popularized a fusion of soul, blues, and rock that has been virtually unrepeatable in the decades since. But this year, that streak of trial-and-error has finally ended—on its debut album Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes replicates this unique sound while still managing to create an identity all its own.

By April 12, 2012

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Critical Voices: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Since her breakout in 2007, Nicki Minaj has integrated contradictory elements in both her personality and musical style—the 5-foot-2 girly-girl of “Super Bass” also raps frequently about having a dick. Minaj takes this creative clash to the extreme in Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, relying on her alter-egos to sing out her brash lyrics. Although Minaj has released songs in which she sings through her alter-egos in the past, Roman Reloaded features much more of Roman Zolanski, her gay “brother” borne out of Minaj’s rage; Martha, his austere mother; and Barbie, the all-around girly-girl.

By April 12, 2012

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Gordon Ramsay bites off a bit more than he can chew

“You disappoint me, Ramsay,” remarked journalist and Top Gear host James May as the chef vomited into an orange bucket. As very few will recall, Gordon Ramsay challenged May in the third season of The F Word to a contest that would determine which of the two had the largest man-parts. Following a rather uneventful partaking of snake whiskey and bull penis, the waiter brought forth the main course—shark meat. Ramsay could not stomach the Icelandic delicacy, and was reduced to cowering under May’s judgment.

By March 30, 2012

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D.C. sharks reflect on aquarium conditions, life aquatic

Last week, the National Aquarium gave the Voice the unique opportunity to interview three of the sharks housed in the basement of its building on 14th and Constitution Ave. Despite having to go through extensive security to visit the sharks—they do, of course, live in a federal government building—they gracefully downplayed their celebrity status and responded to my questions with the utmost candor. Even though I had to read their expressions through the glass, it was clear that they do not let the customized enclosure and legions of ogling visitors go to their cartilage-protected heads.

By March 30, 2012

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Critically acclaimed Street Sharks resonates through time

This week, everyone needs to take a break from Mad Men and remember back to the real Golden Age of television—the 1990s. Full House, Boy Meets World, and Street Sharks were at our slimy seven-year-old fingertips, and we didn’t even know how good we had it. You may not recognize those first two shows, as they are often cited as irrelevant, but you are certain to recognize the third. Ah yes, Street Sharks, the one and only show about the crime-fighting mutant shark-men.

By March 30, 2012

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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