Forgotten but not forgiven
Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney began filming a documentary about Lance Armstrong’s comeback at the 2009 Tour de France, four years after his last win in 2005. But after the infamous 2013 interview with Oprah, Gibney realized that Armstrong had just been using his documentary to bolster his already crumbling story. Gibney was ultimately able to weave the damning footage of his previous interviews into a story of betrayal to deliver a play-by-play of one of the farthest falls from grace in the history of sports.
Through the eyes of Death and a child
You know you are in for an interesting movie when it is narrated by Death himself. Death first sees our main character Liesel on a train, when he comes to take the soul of her sick and dying younger brother. He is intrigued by her for some reason he cannot place, and follows her life story as it progresses.
This movie’s on fire
Catching Fire — the sequel to the 2012 film The Hunger Games, based on the second book in Suzanne Collins’s Mockingjay trilogy — is simply amazing.
Arts Events NOV. 22 – NOV. 28
Arts Events NOV. 22 – NOV. 28 Friday (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Landing Studio presents 99 Marginal: 9 Strategies for Landing Industry in the City. Open through Sunday — 7-408 (9:15 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Architecture/Computation/Media Lab Symposium Day 2: Futures Past - Design and the Machine. Open to the public — E14, 6th Floor (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) “Conservative Internationalism: Armed Diplomacy under Jefferson, Polk, Truman, and Reagan” Book talk and discussion with Henry R. Nau and Steve Van Evera — E40-496, Lucian Pye Conference Room (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.) MIT Water Club presents Sea Level Rise on Coastal Urban Design — 66-168 (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Fossil Free MIT presents Chasing Ice: Free Film Screening + Ice Cream — 35-225 (5:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.) LSC presents Despicable Me 2 — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Guest Artist Series presents: the Jupiter Quartet in the first concert of complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle performances at MIT — Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) The Musical Theatre Guild Presents Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein — W20-202 (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) Mocha Moves Dance Squad hosts dance competition Ring the Alarm 2013 — W20 Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Architecture/Computation/Media Lab Symposium Day 3: Futures Past - Design and the Machine. Open to the public — E14-6th Floor (5:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.) LSC presents Despicable Me 2 — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble directed by Frederick Harris, Jr. — Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) The Musical Theatre Guild Presents Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein — W20-202 Sunday (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Gospel Choir Fall Concert — 6-120 (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) MIT Folk Dance Club presents International Folk Dancing — W20-491 Monday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) ACT Lecture: Tarek Elhaik: The Incurable-Image — E15-001 (7:30 p.m.) It’s Alive: A series of staged play readings featuring students, professional actors, and faculty directed by Anna Kohler — Killian Hall Tuesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture/HTC Lecture: Ruben Gallo, “Radioscapes: Acoustic Modernities” — 7-429 Send your arts events to arts@tech.mit.edu.
Pasta outpost of the Barbara Lynch food empire
If you’re interested in fine dining in Boston, Barbara Lynch is a name that is probably worth learning. Ever since founding No. 9 Park fifteen years ago, her influence in the Boston restaurant scene has grown, along with the number of restaurants in her culinary empire. The “Barbara Lynch Gruppo” now boasts six restaurants (No. 9 Park, Menton, B&G Oysters, The Butcher Shop, Sportello, and Stir), a bar (Drink), and a catering company (9 at Home). Each offers its own focus, and a couple even have prices that make them semi-accessible to college students. Despite their differences, they all share critical acclaim.
Turning 30 days to live into seven years
An unrecognizable Mathew McConaughey stars as Texas cowboy and rodeo hustler Ron Woodroof, whose carefree life is forever changed when he is told he is HIV-positive and has 30 days to live.
Finding Taiwan in Allston
I was really happy when I first heard that the Boston West Saferide had changed its route. It meant that it would be much easier to get to Allston, the liveliest hub of Asian restaurants in the area. Unlike Chinatown, where the majority of places serve Cantonese or Taiwanese cuisine, Allston is a true melting pot of various Asian cuisines. If you are craving Asian food but do not know exactly what you want, I suggest that you just hop on the Boston West and explore what Allston has to offer.
ARTS Events NOV. 15 – NOV. 21
CORRECTION TO THIS ARTICLE: This arts events calendar provides incorrect or incomplete information for four events. The Chamber Chorus concert occurred twice on Saturday, Nov. 16, at both 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Ellipsis Trio’s Boston performance was on Sunday, Nov. 17, not Saturday. Musical Theatre Guild’s Young Frankenstein performance on Sunday, Nov. 17 was at 2 p.m., not 12 p.m. Mariel Roberts’ performance on Thursday, Nov. 21 was at 8 p.m., not 7 p.m.
Dramashop presents One Acts
Last weekend MIT Dramashop continued a 56-year tradition, presenting one-act plays performed and directed by students. The night included four short plays, ranging from a slightly morbid tale of death and beauty to a comedy/drama between a hobo and an affluent screenplay writer. We walked away entertained, amused, and thoroughly impressed by our theatrically inclined peers.
‘There is nothing sexier than a smart person.’
In 2001, Missy Suicide (Selena Mooney) co-founded SuicideGirls, a website that features pin-up photography and profiles of alternative female models, as a way to show the world that there is more than one way to be beautiful. Seven of the “SuicideGirls” featured on the site will come to Boston’s House of Blues on Nov. 17 to star in Blackheart Burlesque. The Tech caught up with the show’s organizer, Missy Suicide, about her thoughts on the show, stereotypes, and the sexiness of engineering.
Light comic relief from four old stars
The movie opens with a glimpse of New York in the 1950s and “The Flatbush Four,” a gang of agile, smart-aleck 10-year-olds who assert themselves after punching, stealing, and getting a cute girl. The movie then fast forwards to their current reality, and we meet four decrepit old men: Archie (Morgan Freeman), who is recovering from a stroke and under the care of an overprotective son; Sam (Kevin Kline), who is the lucky husband of a beautiful, considerate, and permissive wife, but has suffered his share of the quotidian married life; Paddy (Robert De Niro), who is depressed because his adored wife passed away and he has not been able to recover; and Billy (Michael Douglas), a successful businessman who is about to marry a Barbie doll half his age. They are pathetic, and they know it.
CAFÉ REVIEW: All-day Newbury bookstore and café
To the casual tourist strolling down the street, Trident Booksellers and Cafe may not appear to be a place to grab a coffee or a sandwich. However, for those of us who enjoy Sunday brunches or who are tired of studying at Starbucks, Trident may be the best Newbury has to offer.
The food truck compendium
There are only so many Café 4 soups and permutations of Anna’s burritos I can eat before I need to broaden my lunch horizons. If you want a new lunch option that’s quick, close, and cheap, the food trucks around campus are your best bet. Here’s a summary of MIT’s luncheonettes-on-wheels:
A Hamlet reimagining
Introducing the redefinition of a penny for your thoughts. The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble’s performance of Hamlet reconceives the original play by Shakespeare and brings imagination to life. For those of you who have read the play about the Prince of Denmark before you may have found it to be highly emotional. The infamous line “to be or not to be” has been quoted many times over. Another nuance you may have noticed is that while there are many high-pressure and tension-filled scenes, there are also welcome traces of comic relief.
The head and the heart
World-famous pianist and American music specialist Alan Feinberg was an artist-in-residence at MIT the week of the Boston lockdown last April. His recital, originally scheduled for that fateful Friday evening, will now take place tonight, Friday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. in Killian Hall.
Thor returns, again
The key to enjoying Thor: The Dark World is low expectations. If you’re looking for a dim-witted but exciting movie (or hero), this one is another fun addition to the Marvel universe.
Sushi for everyone
There are two kinds of sushi places: restaurants for sushi fanatics, and places that can win over the reluctant souls who are still skeptical about raw fish. Thelonious Monkfish is the latter.
The sounds of indie rock from Scotland
Rumor has it they sold out within the hour. As soon as they started their first song, it’s easy to see why. The Fratellis, an indie rock band hailing from Scotland, played this past Sunday at the iconic Paradise Rock Club as part of their We Need Medicine Tour, promoting their new album which came out in October of this year.
Last Seen by Sophie Calle
Red, the color of passion and emotional charge. That is what you see upon entrance into Sophie Calle’s Last Seen exhibit. Perhaps you may walk in expecting to see sumptuous pieces of art, rich in detail, with figures draped in the finest garments indulging in foods or acts that stimulate to the highest senses. Instead you see … nothing.
The Power of Duff
An ordinary anchorman leads a relatively ordinary life until one day when his father suddenly dies. Instead of closing one of his broadcast reports by traditionally thanking the audience for watching the news, he decides to break the norms and pray. The erratic decision receives glowing praise from the local community, and the story gets a special twist when the anchorman’s subsequent broadcast prayers come to life. With these new acquired powers, he decides that it is his duty to pray for other people’s sufferings and save the world.