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

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The Spooky Screen: Our favorite Halloween movies

#1: The Shining, Stanley Kubrick,1980 Watch The Shining by yourself. Just keep an extra pair of pants handy. Kubrick’s attempt at horror is as terrifying as it is gorgeous. The ominous twins, the bloody elevator, and the ghost of an old English gentleman set the scene for Jack Nicholson’s dip into insanity. There is no shortage of iconic imagery in this film, but the sheer terror of a psychotic father bent on killing his wife and metaphysically talented son is what makes this the best Halloween film of all time.

By the October 27, 2011

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The Rum Diary not very intoxicating

Johnny Depp is not a pirate. A simple fact, but he seems to forget that at times. To Depp fans’ delight (and four-year-old Captain Jack fans’ chagrin), his work in The Rum Diary returns the actor to the world of author Hunter S. Thompson, whom Depp craftily portrayed in the cult favorite Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The Rum Diary, an adaptation of Thompson’s novel of the same name, is a fitting tribute to Thompson’s work, but its sluggish plot progression and burdensome editing stretch what should be a concise adventure-comedy into a vapid two-hour feature.

By October 27, 2011

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Get away from the Hilltop this Halloween

If Leo’s orange-frosted pound cake hasn’t gotten you into the Halloween spirit yet, don’t worry. From embassies to theme parks, D.C. offers plenty of chances to don a costume and forget about those last few midterms for the weekend.

By October 27, 2011

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Whiskey Business: Girl, what you sippin’ on?

Let’s be honest: I write a drinking column. I like going to bars. I like the décor, the loud music, the varied atmospheres, the availability of alcohol. I like to see friends or people I haven’t seen for a while, and I like meeting new people.

By October 27, 2011

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Byte Me: A decade after the iPod

On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs took the stage in Cupertino, Calif., to announce what he called a “breakthrough digital device”—the first iPod. It had five gigabytes of storage and cost $399. Critics were not convinced. The name iPod itself was mocked as “Idiots Price our Devices” and “I Prefer Owning Discs.” But the iPod was not just another MP3 player, like many people claimed. It was the first device that made the music industry’s transition to the digital world possible.

By October 27, 2011

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Critical Voices: She & Him, A Very She & Him Christmas

December 25 is a full two months away, ornaments are still packed in boxes, and presents have yet to be bought, but none of this has stopped indie pop duo She & Him from releasing a Christmas album. In A Very She & Him Christmas, the quirky M. Ward and actress-turned-singer Zooey Deschanel take on the difficult task of making holiday cheer relevant in October.

By October 27, 2011

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Critical Voices: Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto

The cover of Mylo Xyloto is a graffiti-splattered maelstrom of color that bombards the eye like a set of fireworks. With even their cover art looking like an obnoxious attempt to draw attention, Coldplay once again appears to be foregoing subtlety in favor of grandeur.

By October 26, 2011

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A room with a view … of nothing

You’ll find no frames or display boxes in Flashpoint Gallery’s Site Aperture—instead, the gallery itself serves as the canvas. In the new exhibit, four artists have attempted to use their installations as a “response” to the ordinary gallery space. Dirt, styrofoam, insect drawings, and fabric fill the rooms.

By October 20, 2011

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Nascent film minor looks to begin second act

Last spring, a group of 16 students took part in the first semester of the Georgetown’s Film and Media Studies Program. While Georgetown has a history of alumni involvement in the entertainment industry, the film and media studies minor has set the foundation for students and teachers to focus on media history, criticism, and production with the proper resources and facilities to do so.

By October 20, 2011

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Dim sum at Ping Pong pleases

Though it’s not in the heart of Georgetown, Ping Pong Dim Sum in Dupont Circle offers the District the best of traditional Chinese cuisine, with its modern twist on dumplings. Reinventing the ancient Chinese staple, Ping Pong doesn’t disappoint in its aim to fuse Eastern and Western flavors in their contemporary take on these “tiny parcels of deliciousness.”

By October 20, 2011

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Throwback Jack: Ms. Georgetown mishaps

Traditions abound on Homecoming Weekend—alumni return to their old stomping grounds, everyone goes out to see the football game (or at least tailgate for it), and students crown a champion in the annual Mr. Georgetown Pageant. Some of those traditions stretch back over 70 years to Georgetown’s first homecoming. Others have evolved. For example, it wasn’t always about Mr. Georgetown. Up until 1971, it was all about Ms. Georgetown, the Homecoming Queen.

By October 19, 2011

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Idiot Box: The renaissance of reality TV

Earlier this week, I kept running into news about the all-important story of the week: Gene Simmons is getting married. Well, not actually—apparently the ceremony already happened on October 1. But on Monday and Tuesday, Simmons’s wedding was televised in a two-night special edition of his reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

By October 19, 2011

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Critical Voices: Justice, Audio, Video, Disco

Do you ever wish you could return to the straightforward goals and limited social interaction of an old-school arcade? If so, the French electro-house duo Justice may have created the album for you. With an overwhelming ‘80s vibe, the band’s second album, Audio, Video, Disco, is crafted mostly from the sounds of the synthesized background music of our video game-playing youth. But while its resemblance to the Pacman anthem may excite quarter machine wizards, the album’s eternally retro quality is frustratingly inconclusive. Though its synthy nostalgia might strike a sentimental chord, its artistic value is significantly less certain.

By October 19, 2011

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Critical Voices: M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

When Anthony Gonzalez, also known as M83, promised to release an album that he described as “very, very, very epic” earlier this year, he was setting the bar especially high. After all, critics had used the term to describe all five of M83’s previous albums’ glorious electro dream pop. But Gonzalez manages to deliver on his promise, making Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming the best M83 album to date, and a huge one at that, clocking in at 22 tracks on two separate discs.

By October 19, 2011

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Festival shows one act can rule them all

A musical number set on a flaming oil rig and a sober reflection on the Egyptian revolution, united on the same stage on the same evening? That’s this year’s Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival. The festival’s two productions, Peaches and Freon and #Courage, are an unusual combination, but together they show off the strength of original student work at Georgetown.

By October 13, 2011

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Gainsbourg is the trip of a lifetime

Toward the beginning of Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, the biopic’s subject, little Lucien Ginsberg, later to become the prolific and infamous singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, is bopping down the streets of Nazi-occupied Paris. The Jewish son of Russian parents, Lucien is surrounded by frightening posters of anti-Semitic propaganda, featuring a large-headed, caricatured Jewish man with insulting French slurs written across the bottom. As Lucien walks by, the figure in the poster springs to life and climbs out of the portrait—a jarring moment for the audience, but not for Lucien. The figure, a Tim Burton-esque, short-legged cartoon strolling the real-life Parisian streets, interacts with the boy, who does nothing to hint that this is outside of an everyday occurrence.

By October 13, 2011

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What’s up with this Thing?

Walking into the screening for The Thing, a prequel to the beloved 1983 John Carpenter film, you’d expect to witness a crowd-pleasing scary movie with terrifying special effects. But The Thing ends up just as generic as its title.

By October 13, 2011

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M Street Treats

Save room for your stomach this weekend: it’s that time of the year again. The 18th annual Taste of Georgetown kicks off this Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

By October 13, 2011

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Whiskey Business: Typing under the influence

We all know how it feels. You’re sitting down in front of your computer, about to start on the 15-page paper you have due in three days, when all of sudden you remember that there’s still half a bottle of whiskey in your freezer. Suddenly, you find yourself wrestling with the ultimate collegiate dilemma: to drink or not to drink?

By October 13, 2011

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Byte Me: A not-so-tempting Apple

Let’s talk iPhone. Apple fanatics waited to hear these words for 16 months since the debut of the iPhone 4. As if there were not already enough rumors surrounding the launch of what most people hoped to be the iPhone 5, the announcement that Apple would be hosting an event at its Cupertino campus to “talk iPhone” sparked a firestorm of speculation. Unheralded bloggers and world-renowned news sources alike all released their lists of what we should count on for the next-generation iPhone. And with 66 percent (according to an August survey by RBC capital) of current iPhone owners planning to upgrade to the new model, sight-unseen, people were listening.

By October 12, 2011