MIT — SO musical
Right from conductor Adam K. Boyles’ downbeat, MIT Symphony Orchestra (MITSO) delivered a brilliant performance, featuring Beethoven’s “Coriolan” Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, as well as Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in E minor, by MITSO’s own Bertrand Stone ’18.
The tide of expression flows for you
But as with real life, it doesn’t always end how you expect it to, sometimes in the form of a soloist giving a touching soliloquy, sometimes a triumphant explosion of sound, and sometimes, sad chords brought on another theme, but always flowing.
On walls, society, and humanity: the story of a people of no women born
This is a central question to the movie; what does it mean to be a ‘real’ human being? Is it to be of woman-born? Is it to be mortal? The film proposes interesting, if somewhat unsatisfying, resolutions to these, and a host of other problems.
Brooklynn Prince: A new kind of ‘Disney’ Royalty
The thought-provoking film, culminating in a chaotic and disjointed final scene at the real Disney World, lifts the veneer of the “happiest place on Earth” and sheds a darker light on the devastating childhood poverty that exists in America.
The orchestra starts a dialogue with a piano
This was a performance to be reckoned with. The performers delivered all of the emotion and story-telling of an opera wordlessly, telling the history of a people with their instrumentation. While the piano concerto was dramatic and, for lack of a better term, very Beethoven-esque, it was blown out of the water by the majesty and conflict of “The Year 1905.”
BB.Q Chicken introduces Boston to its tender glory
With a variety of seating arrangements, innovative offerings of fried chicken and a hospitable attitude, BB.Q chicken might be the next stop in your nights out if you’re open to new experiences.
Face-to-face with ‘The Enemy’
Walking by the MIT Museum is intriguing this fall — a quick peek through its Mass Ave windows shows patrons decked out in heavy goggles and backpacks meandering through a mostly empty space. They’re participating in The Enemy, a virtual reality (VR) experience intended to inform people about perspectives of war. We are about to join them.
Alison Krauss brings bluegrass to Boston
I am not religious, but when I heard this music, I could understand a little better how it feels for those who are. When Krauss’s voice rises on the line “In your love, I find release/ A haven from my unbelief,” it’s like you can feel a presence wrapping around you.
JuggleMIT Circus Show captures MIT’s heart
As the violin and piano soundtrack reached a crescendo and all the seven rings came to rest on his palms, the audience broke into thunderous applause, finally letting go of the breath they didn’t know they were holding in.
A long, slow year by the sea
A good movie is like a good sandwich — solid context on the outside with juicy conflict filling the center. A Year by the Sea, if a sandwich, is a bit dry. While it contained numerous micro-conflicts, it lacked a strong plotline: a sandwich filled only with bread.
Feel the Bern-stein
This was an astounding concert, really putting BSO’s best foot forward with contrasting styles, magnificent solos, and tremendous sound.
Going through the indie game space
Right in our home this weekend was the Boston Festival of Indie Games. Conveniently close and super interesting, this convention showcased a variety of board games, card games, video games, and original artist booths.
Don’t do drugs or you might die a dancing death, kiddos
While Stranger Things does not return to Netflix until October, you can still experience the 1980s with It, the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel.
‘At Sea’ exhibits intriguing photography
The self-evident materiality of these works, and their implicit manmade-ness, serve as a constant reminder of mortality. But these memento mori are not distressing. They arise not from fatalism, but an acceptance of the natural order.
‘Mother!’ is a discomforting fever dream
When the credits roll, we are left in a hazy fugue in the wake of a movie that is emotionally devastating and structurally resonant. Aranofsky does a fine job in a powerful and explosive conclusion, and it is left to us to marvel at the leftover carnage.
The Phantom lurking inside the Opera House
Loved by band geeks and theatre junkies alike, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera effortlessly combines mystery, suspense, romance, and emotional musical numbers all in one dark, harrowing tale.
Everything you’ve ever, and never, done
We define the moment and, reciprocally, the moment defines us. Constellations explores the infinite possibility that inhabits such a moment.
Mitch Rapp is no James Bond, but he’s entertaining enough
Mitch lacks Bond’s class — “Rapp, Mitch Rapp” doesn’t roll off the tongue — but he certainly makes up for it in kill count and his entertainment factor.