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 Instead, Frank Ocean has produced an album that is withdrawn at the first listen, but novel and emotional when you ditch your preconceptions.
Restaurant roundup
Parts of this article were first published on the author’s blog, Spilling the Beans.
Kubo and the Two Strings strikes a wonderfully balanced note
Kubo’s ‘misses’ are slight and the ‘hits’ are smashing. Excepting the occasional awkwardly timed line, the characters are well written with personalities that play well together. Beetle and Monkey share a few cute, if unoriginal, ‘old married couple’ moments.
The pains of reality
Natalie Portman, in her debut as a director, has adapted Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness, a coming-of-age memoir by one of Israel’s most celebrated authors.
The restoration of a tarnished icon
Even though it features a couple of big names in the cast, the film has the feeling of an indie production, albeit a very good one.
As genuine as it is funny, Florence Foster Jenkins hits the right notes
Meryl Streep wins hearts in director Stephen Frear's latest film about a singing socialite.
Neon doesn't disguise the shabby spectacle of Suicide Squad
There's no joy in Suicide Squad. There's only the loss of hope and a feeling of emptiness, regret, and filth like the one that follows a greasy Chinese buffet. You were drawn inside by the bright neon signs to feed, but the meal leaves you wondering whether you have any sense of self-respect.
1776 delivers patriotic, playful production
In the midst of oppressive August heat, the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players took audiences back to another sweltering summer in a different northern city.
Star Trek Beyond falls short of warp speed
In attempting to portray the Federation and Starfleet as anything less than a galactic utopia, Star Trek Beyond falls short. Director Justin Lin is clearly comfortable with breaking out of Trekkies' comfort zones (he destroys the Enterprise in the first act!), but he doesn't do enough to convince us that the Federation is actually vulnerable.
Artbeat brings Cambridge together
Artbeat offered even more by providing a stage (or two) to rising musicians, celebrating local food entrepreneurs, and opening doors for unique artistic talents. This year’s theme ‘Roots’ attracted many sustainability and green-awareness organizations and community projects.
Shakespeare meets Star Trek
The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble’s rendition of The Tempest was an infusion of the Bard and Star Trek. I’m usually not the biggest Shakespeare fan but I am a sci-fi nerd, and I enjoyed the many tributes to popular science fiction franchises throughout.
Ghostbusters remake is smart and hilarious
Ghostbusters is a hilarious action-filled remake of the critically acclaimed 1984 version. This one casts four women to compose the team of sharp Ghostbusting badasses. With Ghostbusters, MIT gains another notable fictional alum, Erin (Kristen Wiig), who sports a gold brass rat throughout the film.
Phantom Boy
The dialogue leaves much to be desired, and the plot is about as predictable as it gets. The film is for children, but unlike some other kids’ movies, this one might be best left for the PG audience.
The Porch Yellers lament the "Dormpocalypse"
It’s official: we’ve entered the songwriting stage of the pervasive discontent among students about the state of dorm life on campus.
Climate change, foreign policy, and mass surveillance
Shifting her work, which was previously rather pastoral and orchestral, to pop-inspired electronic music, Anohni focuses on politics this time in an attempt to make a protest album.
A potpourri of performances in Boston Ballet’s Mirrors
The pas de deux has an impressively broad range of moves. The spins and lifts are mostly unique, and the variety easily keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Darkness lurks in Hemingway’s island paradise
The film’s ambition in trying to tell several stories at once can’t be faulted, but we are left wanting a little more of each.
Misa Kuranaga takes flight in spring premiere of Swan Lake
Kuranaga is wonderful at capturing the frail, tormented, hauntingly beautiful White Swan in the second act, yet is able to quickly switch to the energetic, coquettish Black Swan for Act III.
An unnecessary addition to the Snow White and the Huntsman franchise
At this point, the plot turns into an avalanche of random fantastical events. We find out that the mirror has the equivalent effect of Medusa’s head (except people are turned into murderers instead of stone), goblins somehow become involved, and we even see Freya riding around on a polar bear.