Spectacular cities, visionary artists
Depending on what sort of connoisseur you are, the neoclassical-like Beaux-Arts style of architecture that Despradelle loved would have either satiated your cravings for elegance and decoration, or disgusted the modernized MIT techie inside of you.
Masterminds or brainless?
Masterminds’ zany plot makes it enjoyable to watch, and viewers will laugh along with the characters’ absurd antics and irreverent dialogue. However, the storyline dips its toes in clichés, and the characters are wacky to the point of disbelief.
Out of China, a monumental addition to the sci-fi genre: Death’s End
In terms of sci-fi fare, Liu delivers his usual well-crafted showcase of ideas. What makes Liu’s fiction unique is that the science fiction interest doesn’t simply emerge from the introduction of a new technology, but from key shifts in realizations about the universe.
A look at FredFest
An eclectic mix of band performances ranging from avant-garde to punk rock, East Campus’s annual concert FredFest is a reflection of the dorm community itself: idiosyncratic yet inclusive.
Carmen sets out to shock: opera for millennials
“Love” and “death” sound remarkably similar in French: l’amour and la mort. This near-homonymity is the thematic core of the opera Carmen. The titular main character is inexorably drawn to the two.
How a nuclear missile and falling socket almost obliterated Arkansas
On September 18, 1980, Arkansas was almost obliterated when a mechanic dropped a heavy socket down a shaft, puncturing the fuel tank of a Titan II missile carrying a nuclear warhead. If nothing else, Command and Control will inspire engineers striving to build redundant, foolproof safety measures on their dangerous devices.
Kidnapping, Korean film, and Kim Jong Il take center stage in gripping documentary
North Korea is a black box that always seems to be lurking in the news with headlines that range from the shocking to the downright bizarre. The Lovers and the Despot, directed by Rob Cannan and Ross Adams, straddles both the shocking and the bizarre as this documentary unpacks the compelling true-crime story of Kim Jong-Il’s kidnapping of famed South Korean actress Choi Eun-Hee and her ex-husband, the accomplished South Korean director/producer Shin Sang-Ok.
Dark comedy and stunning fashion shine in Jocelyn Moorhouse’s newest Australian film
Picture a small, dusty town evocative of the American Wild West. Now, in lieu of cowboys, gunslingers, and rugged beards, imagine a small pack of women milling around town aimlessly, leaning dramatically against pillars, and stretching theatrically atop ladders, all while dressed in the finest haute couture more appropriate on a Milan or Paris runway rather than in the Australian Outback. It is precisely this sort of visual and contextual dissonance successfully powering the darkly comedic engine of The Dressmaker, an Australian film directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, that keeps the viewer engrossed and laughing for the majority of its 118-minute runtime.
In the beginning, storks delivered babies
Storks presents a new twist on the classic notion of “storks delivering babies.” After a human girl named Tulip (voiced by Katie Crown) is orphaned in a stork-related disaster, storks give up their high-pressure gig and now deliver for an online store reminiscent of Amazon.com. Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg), is up for promotion, but in order to get the job, he has to fire Tulip, working at the warehouse due to a lack of a human home, who doesn’t fit in with the storks — after all, “birds of a feather flock together.”
A rare gem: Dvořák’s only grand opera Dimitrij performed in concert
Telling a sweeping tale of the struggle for the throne in tsarist Russia, Dimitrij clocks in at nearly four hours across four acts. This rare opera, chosen and conducted by artistic director Gil Rose of Odyssey Opera, is epic, luscious, and riveting to the last note. It truly lives up to its genre.
Connecting the dots in Sunday in the Park with George
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, served as a theatrical and musical inspiration for Stephen Sondheim, who has been described as “the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater.” For actor Chanler-Berat (Broadway's Peter and the Starcatcher and Next to Normal) and director Peter DuBois (A Little Night Music), who hopped on a plane to view the original painting, it was a source of creative energy.
Shedding light on campus
Light Matrix, as the work of art is officially titled, is part of the List Center’s Percent-For-Art program, which has been commissioning art for campus renovations since 1968.
Hit ’80s sitcom resurfaces in live stage adaptation
Set in a Boston bar, the sitcom Cheers dominated TV in the ’80s as the place to go where “everybody knows your name.” It’s back in a stage adaptation from Citi Performing Arts Center, debuting in Boston before embarking on a nationwide tour.
Hamilton, I don’t think we’re in 1776 anymore
Hamlet-on, a production by the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble, was completely written and rehearsed in 24 hours. A mashup of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wildly popular musical Hamilton, the show proves both clever and hilarious.
Indie game developers and enthusiasts join to celebrate a growing medium
This past Saturday, September 10, marked the fifth annual Boston Festival of Indie Games (abbreviated as Boston FIG), held in MIT’s Johnson Athletic Center. The games on display numbered over 100, and varied widely in genre, scope, and style.
A darkly comedic twist on the revenge genre
Branded as a “dark comedy,” the film leans heavily on the genre’s first word, but scatters subtle pockets of chuckles at incredibly random moments throughout.
Everybody’s got the right to be morbid
Framed as a macabre carnival game, Assassins delves into the stories of men and women who attempted to assassinate presidents of the United States.
The Light Between Oceans is a journey of romance with many crossroads
In Derek Cianfrance's romance drama, The Light Between Oceans, Janus is an isolated island lighthouse overlooking two oceans and the setting for an intriguing story of love and loss, a journey worthy of the lighthouse's namesake.
Harry Potter, Book Seven and Three-Quarters
The Cursed Child is well worth the trip to your local Muggle Flourish and Blott’s, but don’t be surprised if you don’t get what you expect. The new play is not quite a stand-alone sequel, but it's not truly the eighth book of the series either, despite being advertised as such.
Blonde or Blonde on Blonde?
I anticipated a grandiose effort with diverse sounds, layers of synergistic texture, and a more focused vision. Instead, Frank Ocean has produced an album that is withdrawn at the first listen, but novel and emotional when you ditch your preconceptions.