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.
We come home again to Los Angeles
The movie is an attempt to tell a relatable, personal story by sugaring up details with a series of unrealistic events.
Jacob Collier: The art of musical intention
This is a once-in-a-lifetime musician with a profound sense of the strong connection between emotions and music as a communicative vehicle. Every magical moment, spontaneous or planned, is grounded in a deep understanding of music through the lens of emotions.
Documenting the unchartable imagination of Jacob Collier
The film, directed by Jean Dunoyer, captured Collier’s time educating students and working with new technologies at MIT. At the end, 200 MIT musicians had the opportunity to perform on stage with him. After the film concluded, Dr. Harris, the director of the MIT Wind and Jazz Ensembles, who worked with Collier last year, offered these words: “I am so happy.”
“Community Legacy” at The List
Hamilton hopes that by the end of the exhibit, the shelves will be full of boxes detailing how individuals will impact their community. So if you find yourself near the List Visual Arts Center this Sunday, add your personal legacy to the wall and become a part in shaping our community.
“Stranger Things” plus clowns gets you “It”
Muschietti’s vision for King’s novel is remarkable: long enough for us to love these heroes, and well-written enough so that even its more maudlin moments don’t detract from the plot.
What do you do with a B.A. in English?
Avenue Q embraces the living, because no one is special, nothing is permanent, and regardless of the good and bad, you should stop worrying for now.
Netflix’s Death Note, a rant; or, please don’t make a sequel
The film loves using the Dutch angle so often that it’s a fantastic opportunity for a drinking game. You might need it when you watch this.
Seeking your fortune out west never grows old
Aubrey Plaza plays a sympathetic character who can get us to laugh both at her and with her.