Crime made glamorous
When Carlos forms a thieving alliance with Ramón Peralta, Luis Ortega directs our view to their bodies, their hedonism, and their temerity — exploring a homoerotic relationship in a homophobic world.
Colors, commentary, and confetti
Half live music, half film screening, with bouts of audience interaction and Q&A throughout, this was the most oddly formatted music event we’ve ever attended.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ meets ‘The Nutcracker’
Its ending makes you feel a little warm inside, and it even snows to give the Christmas effect, but there are better holiday feel-goods out there.
‘The Chalk Cycle’ is a 3-in-1 drama about parenthood
MTA’s performance of The Chalk Cycle was a driving, emotional spectacle. The triple-threat cast — which could sing, dance and play violin — put on a brilliant show.
A dish beyond imagination: Clover Food Lab’s Meatball Sandwich
Unlike the other items at Clover that celebrate plants in their natural form, the Impossible Meatball Sandwich turns the inconceivable to reality. The meatball is made using something called Impossible Meat, a vegan meat substitute.
Coffee cup yo-yo fencing
Fence with coffee cups as a scholar, barista, CEO, pirate, dog, or even a sentient coffee cup against your coffee-wielding adversaries in this absurd fighting platformer game.
Descending into madness
Following 1924 PI Edward Pierce, Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game makes a brave effort to bring the mystery-horror aesthetic of the tabletop system of the same name to the space of video games, but falls short on implementation.
Corrupt with virtuous seasoning
This production of Measure for Measure, put on by Cheek by Jowl in collaboration with Moscow’s Pushkin Theater, has a hypnotic grace that will keep you transfixed throughout, whether you speak Russian or not (don’t worry, there are English surtitles).
Espionage, cults, explosions, oh my!
Set in the world of the 1970s automobile industry and taking influences from 1970s television, The Low Road has an undeniable charm to it, from the groovy, head-bobbing soundtrack (courtesy of Eric Cheng) to the character design. The witty dialogue between characters also works well in setting a good first impression, leading players to quickly understand the nuanced personalities of every character introduced throughout the game.
‘Hunter Killer:' a thriller? Maybe not
While exciting and engaging during the movie, Hunter Killer has some severe pitfall that make it difficult to defend afterwards. It’s worth a watch with friends, but maybe not a movie ticket.
Three powerful artists collectively RISE above expectations
If you’ve never seen the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Calderwood Hall before, picture the Colosseum, compact, with red plush seats, hardwood floors, and glass banisters. In the middle, instead of warring gladiators, sits a concert grand piano and the band (The AB’s) awaiting the performers of the night.
The flamboyant, complicated Freddie Mercury takes the stage
The trailer is more brilliant than the film itself, where dramatic snippets against foot-stomping Queen songs promise everything you could ever hope for. This is a film made by and for Queen fans, created with so much love for Freddie Mercury that it disguises the film’s less than stellar foundation.
MITSO’s first concert of the 2018–2019 school year!
Just getting cozy and enjoying the show was literally impossible — whenever the music slowed, rolling like gentle waves, a thundering uproar from the lower registers would jar you back to the moment. The dynamic range of the orchestra was frankly very impressive. Kresge seemed to vibrate, literally, with the energy on the stage.
The Halloween you’ll never forget
Halloween uses its decade-long gap between movies to create a movie that is a wonderful balance of homage and novelty, with a narrative that centers on trauma and time.
Great acting combats disappointing direction
Based off the autobiographical memoirs Tweak by Nic Sheff and Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, Felix van Groeningen’s drama Beautiful Boy stars Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell as a drug-addict son (Nic) and his concerned father (David). What the film lacks in apt production choices, it at least partly makes up with beautiful acting by Chalamet and Carell alike.
Setting boundaries and breaking laws
Maybe forgetting to call your mom is a bad thing after all.
Steve Carell on addiction in ‘Beautiful Boy’
Steve Carell, an actor many may know and love from comedies such as The Office and 40-Year-Old Virgin, embarks on a project very different from much of his recent work. In an interview regarding his recent performance in the drama Beautiful Boy, Carell sheds light on his experience portraying the father of a crystal meth addict.
Shakespeare’s Gunpowder Plot twist
Before you get the wrong idea, this is not a Spark Notes rendition of the Scottish play, nor is it a hip, new adaptation set in the Bronx or L.A. This modern verse translation is the result of a concerted effort to make Shakespeare more accessible by to translating his plays into contemporary English.
Come to the Fun Home! The Bechdel Funeral Home, that is
The musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s memoir ‘Fun Home’ explores the death of Bechdel’s father and her coming out as lesbian, and how we try to distill truth from painful memories but can’t because we only have the leftovers and the emotions that still pour from them.