Passenger

The second movie in my double feature yesterday was Passenger and I am definitely happy that I saw it after my most recent solo road trip!  Maddie (Lou Llobell) and Tyler (Jacob Scipio) are a couple who leave everything behind to live the so-called "van life" but it soon becomes apparent that Tyler is more enamored with the lifestyle than Maddie is.  When they are unable to stay at a planned camping spot, they end up driving on an isolated road late at night and witness a car crash.  They stop to help the driver but are unable to save him.  When Maddie looks at their dashcam footage of the crash, she sees a mysterious figure in the passenger seat of the car and then imagines that this same figure is following them.  Tyler thinks that Maddie might be making excuses to quit living on the road but, when they participate in a van life gathering, they learn about a malevolent entity known as the "Passenger" who is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of many people over the years and a woman named Diana (Melissa Leo) warns them about stopping on the road at night.  It ultimately becomes a fight for survival when the Passenger (Joseph Lopez) starts attacking them wherever they go.  There are definitely some issues, most notably the lack of a backstory to explain the origin and defining characteristics of the enigmatic Passenger and a resolution that feels rushed, but I found this to be incredibly atmospheric and scary.  The cinematography uses light and shadow to great effect to evoke a sense of dread about what might be out there in the dark.  There are also several well-composed set pieces that are almost unbearably tense, including a scene in which Maddie hears someone following her while walking through an empty parking lot to get to the van which seems to get farther and farther away, a scene in which Maddie and Tyler use the light from their movie projector to locate the Passenger stalking them at their campsite (seeing Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn's faces, as their characters from the movie Roman Holiday, superimposed on the Passenger's face is incredibly creepy), and a scene in which Maddie and Tyler have to stop to change a flat tire knowing that the Passenger is out there in the dark.  Both Llobell and Scipio do a great job communicating their terror and I liked the dynamic between their characters, especially that he believes her before he actually sees the Passenger.  I enjoyed this, and recommend it to fans of the genre, because I was reminded of all the times I have driven on isolated roads by myself late at night!!

I Love Boosters

Yesterday I had another double feature in the middle of the day and I started with with I Love Boosters because I think Sorry to Bother You, Boots Riley's directorial debut, is absolutely brilliant.  As with his previous movie, I Love Boosters is full of scathing commentary that is as funny as it is thought-provoking.  Corvette (Keke Palmer), an aspiring fashion designer, and her friends Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) regularly steal, or "boost," designer clothes from high-end stores and sell them at a discount to low-income people in their community.  This is a way for Sade to earn a better living for her two children but it becomes personal for Corvette when she discovers that her favorite fashion mogul, Christie Smith (Demi Moore), has stolen one of her designs.  Now Corvette wants to target Metro Designers, a clothing chain owned by Smith, so they get jobs at one of the stores run by Grayson (Will Poulter) and plan to steal the entire inventory.  However, their plan is disrupted by an employee named Violetta (Eiza Gonzalez) who is trying to organize a strike for better working conditions at all of the Metro Designer stores and a factory worker named Jianhu (Poppy Liu) who is protesting against conditions in Smith's sweatshops in China.  They eventually join forces to disrupt Smith's fall fashion show but mayhem is caused by a teleportation device, a mysterious man (LaKeith Stanfield) pursuing Corvette, and a group of media personalities (Don Cheadle, Kara Young, Jason Ritter, and Jermaine Fowler) who are used by Smith to influence opinion.  Much like Sorry to Bother You, this is an indictment of late-stage capitalism, income inequality, workplace abuse, exploitation, and propaganda framed as a comedy of the absurd with a wild and chaotic third act that requires a major suspension of disbelief.  This bold swing for the fences didn't work for me as much as it did in the previous movie but I really liked the surrealistic visual style, especially Smith's tilted office building, and the hyper-stylized costumes, particularly those worn in a boosting montage.  I enjoyed all of the performances (Poulter is a hoot and Cheadle is almost unrecognizable) and, even though some of the characters are not very well developed (Stansfield's character feels superfluous), the relationship between Corvette and Sade is quite poignant.  I didn't love this as much as Sorry to Bother You but I had a lot of fun with it.

Note:  My favorite scene is a documentary about Christie Smith's rise to success as a designer because it is narrated by Viggo Mortensen (I laughed out loud when I realized who it was).

My Fair Lady at HCT

HCT's production of My Fair Lady is loverly (one of the best I've seen) and it put a huge smile on my face last night! When Professor Henry Higgins (Kelton Davis) and Colonel Pickering (Mark Pulham) encounter a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Lisa Zimmerman) outside Covent Garden, Higgins boasts that he could pass her off as a duchess at the Embassy Ball within six months by teaching her to speak properly. Even though Eliza is a success at the ball, she only becomes a lady when she compels Higgins to treat her like one! I loved every member of this amazing cast! Higgins is kind of a problematic character but Davis portrays him with a glint in his eye and a spring in his step that makes him very appealing in the songs "Why Can't the English," "I'm an Ordinary Man," and "A Hymn to Him" and I loved his poignant rendition of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" as well as his vulnerable delivery of the final line because it really changes the vibe of the ending (in a good way). Zimmerman, who has a beautiful voice, gives an incredibly dynamic performance as Eliza because she is feisty in "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You," charming in "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night," and elegant in "The Embassy Waltz." I also really appreciated the gradual change in her accent during "The Rain in Spain" because this makes her transformation more believable (I usually find this to be very sudden in other productions). Duane Stephens is energetic and entertaining as Alfred P. Doolittle and Doug Wadley is absolutely hilarious as the lovestruck Freddy Eynsford-Hill (his version of "On the Street Where You Live," which is my favorite song in the show, is a lot of fun). I laughed out loud at all of their antics. Barta Heiner is an adorable Mrs. Higgins and I really enjoyed her exasperated interactions with Davis. I was impressed by the use of props in the lively choreography, particularly a large flower cart in "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," brooms in "With a Little Bit of Luck," a library ladder in "Just You Wait," and pewter mugs in "Get Me to the Church On Time." I was even more impressed by the spectacular set, especially Higgins' elaborate wood-clad study, which includes wrought iron spiral staircases leading to the second level and lots of amusing details (I tried counting all of the different clocks but eventually stopped at five), and the dazzling chandeliers (that seem to dance along with the waltzing couples) and dramatic staircase at the Embassy Ball. Finally, the costumes are gorgeous and, as expected, the gowns and hats worn at Ascot and Eliza's gown at the Embassy Ball were my favorites (I loved the use of gray rather than the usual black and white in the Ascot costumes). Every aspect of this production is outstanding (it really is one of the best versions of this classic musical that I have seen) and I cannot recommend it highly enough but act quickly (go here for tickets) because many shows are already sold out! It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through June 11.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Part Two!

Even though I recently crossed seeing an NHL playoff game off my bucket list, a small part of me was sad that I didn't see the Colorado Avalanche compete for Lord Stanley's Cup.  I have been a fan since the Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver in 1995 and I have so many memories of watching them in the postseason with my dad.  When both the Avalanche and the Golden Knights advanced to the second round, I realized that they might possibly play each other in the Western Conference Final and I got the crazy idea that I could see a game in Las Vegas (it is faster and easier to drive there than to Denver).  I actually started looking at tickets immediately after Vegas eliminated Anaheim and, when I found one for Game 3 that was only slightly more than the dollar limit I set for myself, I bought it in a fit of madness!  The Avalanche were down 0-2 in the series so this game was huge for them and I was both excited and anxious.  I was also a little bit intimidated to walk into T-Mobile Arena wearing the opposing team's jersey but the Vegas fans I interacted with were very friendly (the fans at the Air Canada Centre, as it was called then, were more hostile when I saw the Avs play the Leafs in Toronto) and there were a lot of other Avalanche fans at the game, especially in my section.  The first period was so much fun because the Avs came out really fired up (like the team I watched all season rather than the team I watched in the first two games of this series) and, when Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury scored really pretty goals, all of the Colorado fans around me went crazy and we high-fived each other!  I started feeling really optimistic about their chances to win this game because Vegas couldn't seem to get anything going and their one goal was waved off.  However, all of the momentum shifted from Colorado to Vegas in the second period.  Mark Stone scored a power play goal for the Knights 19 seconds in and the Avalanche completely imploded from that moment on.  William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar scored to even it up 3-3 to end the disastrous second period.  During the second intermission I tried to resign myself to the fact that the Avalanche were going to lose the game because Nathan MacKinnon injured his knee attempting to block a shot in the last few minutes of the period but I still had a sliver of hope because I have seen them rally many times.  That hope was dashed when Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal at 8:21 and Brett Howden scored an empty-netter in the last minute of the game.  I was so disheartened by the fact that the Avs blew a 3 goal lead to lose 5-3 when they have been the team to beat since the start of the playoffs.  I have never seen a team melt down so spectacularly!  It is highly unlikely that the Avs can come back from an 0-3 deficit to win the series so my only hope is that one of the teams in the east can take down the Golden Knights (they have now become my most hated team).  Even though this game was disappointing (the drive home was a long one), I am still really glad that I took this road trip because it is my goal to be more spontaneous this year.

Note:  I have now seen two Stanley Cup playoff games and, in both of them, my team was defeated by Vegas.  Grrr!

No Time for Sergeants at Parker Theatre

Last night I went to Parker Theatre's production of No Time for Sergeants and I was very excited because it had been a really long time since I had seen it (I think it was at HCT many years ago). Will Stockdale (Truman Schipper) is a simple and guileless country bumpkin from rural Georgia who is drafted into the Air Force. He immediately runs afoul of all the other recruits in his barracks except for Ben Whitledge (Zach Harvey) who is desperate for a transfer to the infantry. Will soon starts asking for a transfer, too, and his exasperated commanding officer Sergeant King (Stu Mitchell) punishes him by giving him permanent latrine duty. Will thinks it is a promotion and cleans the latrine so well that King's commanding officer notices him and learns of his excessive punishment. King must now help Will get through the classification exams or face disciplinary measures himself but Will's naivete leads to a series of misadventures. This results in King's demotion to private and his assignment to gunnery school with Will and Ben. Chaos ensues when Will and Ben are mistakenly declared dead by King after their plane gets lost during their first flight. General Bush (Tyler Oliphant) awards them a posthumous medal but, when they suddenly appear at the ceremony, Will and Ben get the transfer to the infantry that they wanted all along so Bush can avoid public humiliation and, in an ironic twist of fate, King is given a promotion to be their commanding officer. This play is so funny (the audience was laughing out loud the entire show which was a lot of fun) and the action is non-stop. The entire cast does a brilliant job with the physical comedy and I especially loved a scene involving a drunken barroom brawl and another chaotic scene aboard a plane being flown by an incompetent crew (I laughed out loud every time the characters screamed in fear). Schipper is incredibly charming as Will (he is basically the straight man in the midst of all of the mayhem) and Harvey is hilariously overwrought as Ben but Oliphant steals the show as the superficial Bush (I loved hearing him practice the same line from his speech over and over). I was very impressed with all of the elaborate stagecraft, including the lighting design, sound design, and projections, used for the plane crash and I especially loved seeing Will and Ben hanging from a parachute. The set is very clever because it consists of riveted metal panels (meant to mimic 1950s military airplanes) that move to reveal the barracks, a latrine, and various offices and the costumes include authentic-looking military uniforms. This was a great show to see Memorial Day weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed the slapstick humor from a simpler time. I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) for one of the performances on Fridays and Saturdays through June 27.