Arts and Leisure: Metro Weekly magazine - Weekly schedule of gay Washington DC entertainment - films, movies, theater, dining, and music.

Film | Fly Guys

In ''Chronicle,'' rookie director Josh Trank chains himself to a distracting gimmick

Published on February 3, 2012, 3:31pm

There's not much depth to Chronicle. In spite of a unique take on the traditional superhero origin story, rookie director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis fizzle out by chaining themselves to a documentary-style gimmick that's both unnecessary and distracting. Fueled by anger about his drunken dad and terminally ill mom, Andrew (Dane DeHaan) buys a video camera and starts to record every minute of his life. When he gets yanked to a high-school rave with his cousin Matt (Alex ...[more]

Stage | Review: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

P.J. Paparelli's reimagines Shakespeare's comedy as a tragic destination with too much bloodshed

Published on February 3, 2012, 9:15am

Two Gentleman from Verona at Shakespeare Theatre Matters of the heart take a rather bloody turn in director P.J. Paparelli's vision of Shakespeare's comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona, now onstage at the Lansburgh Theatre. Contemporary references abound, as Paparelli correlates social status and royal power in 16th century Italy to the corporate-dominated culture of today (logos incorporated into Walt Spangler's industrial-chic set reference everything from Apple to ING to Campari). And when things get complicated after Valentine (Andrew Veenstra) ...[more]

Film | Review: The Innkeepers

With ''The Inkeepers,'' Ti West provides minimalist horror with slow-burning scares and unbearable tension

Published on February 3, 2012, 9:12am

The Innkeepers, like all of Ti West's horror, is an exercise in slow-burning scares. He short-circuits nerves with anxiety, using sober creeps to ratchet up tension to an unbearable degree, then tacks on a few more for good measure. His is a throwback style, a minimalist horror that's inspired by Stanley Kubrick, but not ashamed to pluck anything else that came before it either. If nothing else, that method is good for great horror. West's The House of the ...[more]

Stage | Review: The Elephant Room

In ''The Elephant Room,'' the humor is outlandish, cool irreverent and nerdy – plus there's fun and funky magic

Published on February 2, 2012, 7:34am

Part magic show, part witty performance piece, part hilarious guy-silliness, The Elephant Room is the theatrical equivalent of 3 a.m. in the basement ''rec room'' with your older brother and his friends at their funniest. Of course, this would be the brother and friends who are accomplished magicians, actors and comics – but you get the idea -- the humor is outlandish, cool irreverent and just the right amount of nerdy. Yet with every joke, gag and inventive piece of slapstick, there ...[more]

Stage | Review: Red

Arena's ''Red'' is bracingly effective as a reflection of the creative and destructive forces faced by artist Mark Rothko

Published on February 2, 2012, 4:52am

Paint splatters and spills like blood in Red, soaking skin and canvas alike as an aging artist and his young assistant toil in a Manhattan studio. Subtle symbolism it's not in playwright John Logan's exploration of a pivotal period in the life of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, but it's bracingly effective nonetheless as a reflection of the creative and destructive forces he faced. It's 1958 when Ken (Patrick Andrews) goes to work for Rothko (Edward Gero), who is immersed in ...[more]

Stage | Riffing on Republicans

The Kinsey Sicks try to be funnier than Michele Bachmann

Published on February 2, 2012, 4:49am

How could anyone be funnier than Michele Bachmann or Herman Cain? ''I kid you not,'' says Ben Schatz of the Kinsey Sicks, ''there were jokes that we wrote for this show when we first drafted it over the summer that candidates [later] actually said. {Kinsey Sicks (Photo by Erez Ben Or)} ''It has been a comedic challenge to be even more extreme than those we are parodying,'' he continues. ''But I think we have managed.'' In fact, Schatz thinks the ...[more]

Music | Review: Aiden James

Aiden James adds many clever touches to punctuate his music, making ''Trouble With This'' a joy of repeat plays

Published on February 2, 2012, 4:42am

Aiden James is not just a pretty face, writing and singing pretty tunes. In fact, James could get by as your standard singer-songwriter, nothing more. He could choose to sing his songs while strumming an acoustic guitar or playing piano, without giving any thought to embellishment – little music flourishes that respond to his lyrics, and vice versa. {Aiden James (Photo by Russ Hickman)} If his new album Trouble With This were nothing but unadorned folk-pop, in other words, James ...[more]

Stage | Review: Wit

In ''Wit,'' now playing on Broadway, Cynthia Nixon reveals herself to be an incredibly expressive actor of great range

Published on February 1, 2012, 6:44pm

Cynthia Nixon laughs and laughs and laughs in one late scene in Wit. The actress even seems genuinely tickled, too. (Maybe she's reveling in the controversy she stirred up in the past week, about her contention that she chose to be a lesbian.) Laughing may not be as hard to pull off for an actor as crying – though, it should be noted, Nixon also succeeds at that here, during a few brief moments. But it still can be difficult ...[more]

Music | Soul Salvation

Graffiti6's Jamie Scott had to overcome soul intimidation

Published on January 26, 2012, 6:26am

''I listened to amazing singers when I grew up,'' Jamie Scott says, citing Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. In fact, listening to such soul greats intimidated Scott. The 27-year-old from England didn't initially pursue a singing career in the music industry. ''All I wanted to do was write music,'' he says, ''because that's what I was comfortable doing.'' {Graffiti6 (Photo by MarinaChavez)} One listen to his sweet tenor and gorgeous falsetto and you'll understand why Sony Music, upon ...[more]

Film | Man Power

Glenn Close and Janet McTeer give Oscar-worthy performances in the gender-bending Albert Nobbs, so why isn't the film any good?

Published on January 26, 2012, 4:22am

Albert Nobbs should work. Hell, it already did work on stage thirty years ago when Glenn Close raked in off-Broadway acclaim and first aspired to put the story on film, so why not again? Close is a brilliant actress, working with a familiar role in a familiar medium. Shouldn't that enough to get Nobbs good? Guess not. ALBERT NOBBS Starring Glenn Close, Janet McTeer Rated R 113 Minutes Opens Friday E Street Cinema Close ...[more]

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