Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle 2022 Photo Recap

DC Mayoral candidate Red Grant performs on Sunday

After two years of virtual celebration, the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle returned to its familiar setting along Pennsylvania Avenue, NW to commemorate its 30th anniversary in person. Mother Nature supplied beautiful weather. and Giant Food took care of the rest, welcoming crowds of barbecue lovers with great giveaways, music and succulent food. What more could you ask for (besides a whole week of activities?) Cue our countdown to next year already!

Red Velvet Theatre Review

Amari Cheatom stars in Red Velvet (Teresa Castracane Photography)

"It's Very Othello"

Ira (Amari Cheatom, in a dazzling turn) declares, "That's the beauty of Shakespeare. He unnerves you." Jade King Carroll's Red Velvet captures that sensation (and so much more) in her STC directorial debut, now playing at the Michael R. Klein Theatre at the Lansburgh, through July 17th. Lolita Charkrabarti's play (which debuted only 10 years ago) tells the story of the first African-American actor to play Shakespeare's Othello. The aforementioned Cheatom plays that role (to a tee) with the finest performance I've seen all season. His character asks for vigilance and a "taste of home," but it's his confidence that resonates throughout, a sheer will to educate and perform that earns kudos such as, "Your life is filled with spectacular occasion." Spectacular indeed.

Elvis Movie Review

Aaron Butler stars in Elvis

Taking Care of Business

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks.) The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis's life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge.) Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Jurassic World Dominion Movie Review

Bryce Dallas Howard stars in Jurassic World Dominion

Dinosaurs in Our World

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: This summer, experience the epic conclusion to the Jurassic era as two generations unite for the first time. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are joined by Oscar®-winner Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill in Jurassic World Dominion, a bold, timely and breathtaking new adventure that spans the globe. From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live (and hunt) alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.

John Dough Pizza Co. Food Review

Pepperoni Pizza at John Dough Pizza Co.

Another day, another (mediocre) pizza. Covering Awesome Con can "work up" quite an appetite, so it's important to have quality options for a late afternoon lunch at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The line for Ben's Chili Bowl was discouragingly long, but not so much at nearby John Dough Pizza Co. In fact, no one was in line... which might explain the aforementioned mediocre moniker.

Our Town Theatre Review

Holly Twyford (center) and the cast of Our Town (Teresa Castracane Photography) 

The Way We Were

Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, circa 1901 (and beyond.) A nice town, where folks "like to know the facts," and where the dishes are done by 2:00 in the afternoon. Not exactly present day DC, but in the capable hands of director Alan Paul, a wonderful place to visit. Thornton Wilder's Old Town is three acts of life in the slow lane, minus the mundane. The second-to-last production of STC's 2021-22 season manages to exceed expectations at almost every turn, including our press night preview, which featured six (yes, six) understudies without so much as a hiccup. If you're keeping score, that's STC 1 COVID 0.

Top Gun: Maverick Movie Review

Tom Cruise stars in Top Gun: Maverick

Mighty Wings

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose”. Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it. Directed by Joseph Kosinski.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Movie Review

Benedict Cumberbatch & Rachel McAdams (r) star in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Strange, but in a Good Way

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: In Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary. Directed by Sam Raimi.

Firestarter Movie Review

Zac Efron & Ryan Kiera Armstrong (r) star in Firestarter

Burnout

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron; Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile; The Greatest Showman) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon; Fear the Walking Dead, Succession) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong; American Horror Story: Double Feature, The Tomorrow War) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family's location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes; Wild Indian, Rutherford Falls) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans. Directed by Keith Thomas.

The Northman Movie Review

Alexander Skarsgård stars in The Northman

The Gates of Hell

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father. Directed by Robert Eggers.

The Escape Game Opens This Month in Downtown DC’s Penn Quarter

Gallery Heist at The Escape Game

From our friends at The Escape Game...

The Escape Game Opens This Month in Downtown DC’s Penn Quarter

A 60-minute interactive game for anyone seeking an elevated unplugged adventure

The Escape Game is thrilled to announce its expansion to Downtown DC (950 F Street, NW, Suite 106 Washington, DC 20004) slated to open its 24th location on Friday, April 29, 2022.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Movie Review

Nicolas Cage stars in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nick Cage Smooches Good

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage. Directed by Tom Gormican.