Best of March
Our picks around LA and beyond for the best of March
- Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”
- Nintendo Switch
- Kendrick Lamar’s HUMBLE video
- The William Vale Hotel
Get Out
Get Out picks at the scab of racial discord and let’s it bleed for our enjoyment. A lot has been said about bringing themes of social injustice into the horror genre, but what we want to talk about is how good of a filmmaker Jordan Peele is. Meticulously shot, edited and art directed, this is the kind of confidence you’d expect from an old pro. Not a debut filmmaker. And, well, it paid off. Biggest debut for a new filmmaker with an original screenplay ever. If you haven’t seen it yet, get out and go.
Nintendo Switch
You hear so much about Nike and Apple, but Nintendo is really one of the great unsung brand heroes. For 30+ years, they’ve been actively changing the face of entertainment in the world. Never satisfied to just up their tech specs, they’re innovators who aren’t afraid to fail. And the Nintendo Switch is definitely not a failure. Seamlessly melding into our already busy lives, my favorite memories of March involve playing Zelda on a long, delayed flight. When was the last time that was ever enjoyable? 1000 thanks, Nintendo.
The HUMBLE video by Kendrick Lamar
In an era of music video mediocrity (save for Beyoncé), Kendrick Lamar lit the screen on fire last week with his HUMBLE video. Less heavy in tone than “Alright” — his most famous video to date — “HUMBLE” mixes humor and lyrical ferocity in a way that feels more like Kdot’s good kid, m.A.A.d city days. The eye-popping cinematography captures King Kendrick playing Pope and remixing everything from the Last Supper to the original Grey Poupon commercial with exquisite technical talent. The hip-hop world has waited two long years for Kendrick to follow up his 2015 masterpiece “To Pimp a Butterfly” with a new studio album, and this scorching-hot video all but assures the wait is nearly over.
The William Vale Hotel
This month we checked into Williamsburg’s latest mark of gentrification, the William Vale Hotel. The sprawling 21 story hotel feels more like an urban resort than a typical boutique New York Hotel. While it was too cold for us to jump in the third story pool, we were able to enjoy the properties two restaurants, Leuca and the sweeping skyline views of Westlight. The architecture firm Albo Liberis designed the property and is no stranger to neighborhood, the team also designed the Williamsburg Hotel just around the corner. The best view of New York is now in Brooklyn. Check out the photos:
