Monday, October 30, 2017

Tashena is Seventeen!

Tashena turned seventeen on Saturday and we had our family birthday party for her yesterday.  Once again, she chose to have her birthday dinner at Cafe Rio (excellent choice!) then we came back home to open presents and have cake.
Grandma, Grandpa, and Marilyn gave her gift cards to Kohl's, H & M, and Old Navy.  She was very happy!  Marilyn also gave her some new ear buds (she loses them!).
I gave her some body spray from Bath & Body Works.  She sent me pictures of the specific fragrances she wanted but they are only available seasonally.  She told me that she trusted me to pick some out for her!  I hope she likes them (I really liked pink cashmere).
Her mom and dad gave her a foot spa and lots of goodies to pamper herself with!
After presents we had cake!  We have a tradition in our family of having an ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins.  Tashena's had chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and it was delicious!  Happy Birthday Tashena!

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Broadway Divas

Last night the Utah Symphony was joined by Christina Bianco, Christina DeCicco, N'Kenge, and Kristen Plumley for an amazing evening of Broadway standards.  I loved this concert so much and every song gave me goosebumps!  The orchestra, under the baton of guest conductor Jack Everly, began with the Overture to Gypsy.  Kristen Plumley was the first diva to perform with a beautiful rendition of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.  Then Christina DeCicco gave an affecting performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables and I may or may not have had tears in my eyes at the end of it!  N'Kenge delivered a sultry "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess and the orchestra played the Overture from Chicago.  One of my very favorite moments came next when DeCicco belted out "Defying Gravity" from Wicked.  I think they are still looking for the roof of Abravanel Hall because she definitely blew it off!  Before the intermission, all of the divas performed "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from Show Boat which was fantastic.  The orchestra returned with the Overture to Funny Girl then another one of my favorite moments came when N'Kenge sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.  All I can say is, "Wow!"  Plumley gave a powerful rendition of "Think of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera, as Carlotta, of course, and she was in full diva mode!  Christina Bianco gave some hilarious impersonations of famous divas singing their signature songs including: Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Celine Dion, Judy Garland, and Kristen Chenowith.  This brought the house down!  DeCicco and Plumley gave a lovely performance of "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" from West Side Story then N'Kenge and DeCicco sang "Mein Herr" and "Maybe This Time," respectively, from Cabaret.  To finish the set, Bianco sang "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame, which is a song I had never heard before.  For the finale, all four of the divas sang "Let It Go" from Frozen.  This was so fun for me to hear after seeing the musical in Denver last month!  I always love the Bravo Broadway concerts programmed by the Utah Symphony and this one was especially wonderful! 

Goodbye Christopher Robin

I went to see an early matinee of Goodbye Christopher Robin yesterday (there aren't enough hours in the day so I had to fit it in when I could).  It tells the story of how the beloved classic Winnie-the-Pooh came into existence.  After World War I the playwright A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) returns from battle suffering from shell shock.  He decides to move to the country for some peace despite his wife Daphne’s (Margot Robbie) strenuous objections.  When Daphne decides to return to her socialite lifestyle in London and the nanny (Kelly MacDonald) is called away to tend to her mother, Milne is left on his own with his young son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston).  The two share an enchanted few weeks together roaming through the woods surrounding their house with Christopher Robin's stuffed animals.  These adventures becomes the basis of a story which is eventually published to world-wide acclaim.  The fame and adulation eventually takes a toll on the young boy who cannot escape the pressure of being Christopher Robin.  Milne achieves his greatest success but at what cost?  This is a very conventional biopic but I absolutely loved it and, at one point, I was in tears.  It is a lovely story about the relationship between a father and a son with great performances by Gleeson, Robbie, and an adorable Tilston.  The film is simply gorgeous, especially in the sun-dappled woods, and the scenes where Christopher Robin's stuffed animals come to life are enchanting and whimsical.  I did feel that the events of the older Christopher Robin's (Alex Lawther) life were really rushed but this is exactly the type of movie that I really enjoy and I highly recommend it.

Note:  Gleeson reminded me so much of Julian Sands in this role.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Thriller 2017

I love rituals and traditions.  In a world that seems to be full of chaos it is really nice to have something that you can count on and look forward to!  I have recently purchased tickets to quite a few seasonal performances and I have already started looking forward to them.  One such performance occurred last night after putting in a long and difficult week at school finishing up the first quarter (students only care about their grade during the last week of the quarter).  It was exactly what I needed!  In my opinion, it simply wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't get to see Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller.  The fact that I have seen this show so many times adds to, rather than detracts from, my enjoyment because I anticipate each number as I watch!  I love when the undead begin cavorting in a graveyard during "Thriller," when the break-dancing mummy comes to life in "Curse of the Mummy," when the uncooperative pandas begin acting up in "Miss Alli's Nighmare," when Frankenstein breaks his Bride's neck in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," when the tap-dancing skeletons start tossing their heads around in "Dem Bones," when a trio of Jasons get crazy with their chainsaws in "Jason Jam," when the scarecrows come to life in "Children of the Corn," when condemned witches come back for revenge in "Salem's Mass," when a group of chucky dolls come to life in "Chucky-Rama," and when acrobatic vampires spin and leap in "Lost Boys."  Even though the numbers are the same from year to year, there always seems to be some new choreography or special effects to keep them interesting.  This year, in addition to the hilarious films of Scott Winn (the twerking stormtroopers are my favorite) in between numbers, there were some amazing aerial numbers choreographed by Aeris Aerial Arts.  I absolutely loved "Bats in a Box" which featured between four and six aerialists performing on a spinning steel box.  It was fabulous and I may or may not have said "Wow" out loud multiple times!  I also really liked "Phantom of the Opera" which featured two aerialists performing on a rope (it reminded me of Cirque de Soleil).  It is such a fun and exuberant show and I highly recommend getting at ticket (there are four more performances at Kingsbury Hall) which may be purchased here.

Note:  I have been attending this concert for twenty years!  I remember the first concert distinctly because I had just started teaching at Westminster College in 1997 and I ran into two of my students.  Last night I only saw one of my HHS students!

Friday, October 27, 2017

The Florida Project

Tangerine, a film about a transgender prostitute who roams the streets of Los Angeles on Christmas Eve looking for the boyfriend (pimp) who cheated on her while she was in prison, is Sean Baker's hilarious and heartbreaking debut.  It is a brilliant portrayal of a subculture rarely shown on the screen and I admired its authenticity (it was shot using an iPhone).  Baker's follow-up, The Florida Project, is no less brilliant.  This time his subject is a group of children who live in the cheap hotels that line the freeway leading to Disney World with the dysfunctional adults in their lives.  Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) knows that she is living in poverty but she chooses to turn every day into an imaginative adventure, whether it is getting customers at an ice cream stand to buy her a cone or wandering into a nearby field to look at cows (otherwise known as going on safari).  Her young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) can't get a job and struggles to pay the weekly rent at the motel by selling perfume to the wealthy tourists on the way to Disney World (as well as other unsavory things).  Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the manager of the motel who clearly has his own demons, takes a proprietary interest in both Halley and Moonee and there is a brilliant scene where he chases away a pedophile who has taken an interest in the children.  Everything in the film is from Moonee's perspective and her life seems magical without ever ignoring the desperation of her situation.  This tonal balancing act is what makes this film so brilliant.  We see Moonee do many things multiple times and yet my attention never wavered.  I found Halley to be an incredibly sympathetic character.  Even though she does some truly reprehensible things I think it is best to reserve judgment to really see how she, like many people living in the margins of society, copes the best she can.  Brooklynn Prince is wonderful and I would say that this is one of Dafoe's best performances yet.  My favorite moment in the film is when Moonee says,"Do you know why this is my favorite tree?  Because it is tipped over and still growing."  That, in a nutshell, is what this amazing film is all about.  It is not for everyone but it is one of my favorite films of the year!

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Volleyball Queen

My niece is on the Bountiful High School volleyball team for the second year in a row.  The varsity team is undefeated this season and they hope to win a state championship for the third year in a row!  Go Braves!
I am so proud of Tashena, who will be seventeen in a few days!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert

I am a huge fan of Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series because it is so much fun to watch a movie on the big screen at Abravanel Hall while the orchestra performs the score live!  Last night I had the opportunity to see The Nightmare Before Christmas and, frankly, I had been looking forward to it for months.  It was the perfect way to get excited for Halloween (my favorite holiday).  Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and leader of Halloween Town, is getting bored with scaring everyone with the same old tricks every year, so when he accidentally discovers Christmas Town while wandering in the woods, he decides that Christmas is a more appealing holiday and that he should take it over this year.  Santa Claus is kidnapped and all of the residents of Halloween Town are put to work making terrifying toys to disastrous effect.  Will Santa Claus be able to save Christmas in time?  I love this movie because of the spectacular world-building using stop-motion animation.  Only Tim Burton could dream up such a macabre, yet strangely enchanting, world filled with quirky characters and dazzling images on the screen that are so inventive and imaginative that you cannot look away.  Danny Elfman's iconic score is absolutely brilliant and having the Utah Symphony play it live was amazing.  I enjoyed this so much!  It will be shown again at Abravanel Hall tonight and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I wish that I could have seen The Nightmare Before Christmas at the El Capitan Theatre (it is screened there every October) while I was in Los Angeles but I ran out of time!  I will just have to go back!

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Hamilton in Los Angeles

For my third road trip this fall I left early yesterday morning to begin a ten hour drive to Los Angeles in order to see Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre last night.  My good friend Karen is a season ticket holder at the Pantages and subscribers were allowed to purchase extra tickets to Hamilton before they went on sale to the general public.  She very generously asked me if I would like a ticket and I asked her to try and get me one during my fall break (and I also gave her a price limit).  I couldn't believe it when she sent me a text telling me that she had been successful!  I was so excited to be able to see my favorite musical again (so excited that I didn't mind another ten hour drive this time to a city I hate driving in).  It was so incredibly special to be able to see the original cast on Broadway, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I really enjoyed what each actor in this production did to make the role his or her own.  Michael Luwoye, as Alexander Hamilton, has a beautiful voice and he sang the role in a more traditional manner rather than spitting out the lyrics, particularly in "My Shot."  His version of "It's Quiet Uptown" made me cry because he was literally sobbing through the song and when Eliza took his hand to forgive him he kissed it.  This absolutely shattered me and I heard the woman behind me sniffling after this as well.  I also really enjoyed Joshua Henry's portrayal of Aaron Burr because he infused a lot of humor into the role, especially in "The Room Where It Happened" and "The Election of 1800."  Isaiah Johnson was incredibly powerful as George Washington in "Right Hand Man" but surprisingly vulnerable in "History Has Its Eyes on You" and then pretty much blew the roof off the Pantages Theatre at the end of "One Last Time."  Jordan Donica didn't strut around the stage as Thomas Jefferson like Daveed Diggs did but, instead, he struck a pose (which Hamilton imitated) during key moments and the mic drop in the first Cabinet Battle was hilarious.  Amber Iman, as Peggy Schuyler, had the funniest pout every time she sang, "...and Peggy" during "The Schuyler Sisters."  Finally, King George was played by Rory O'Malley, who I saw on Broadway, and it seemed like he had a lot more choreography in this production which made the audience laugh out loud!  My two favorite numbers were, once again, "Yorktown" and "Hurricane" because the staging is so dynamic.  I didn't think it was possible for me to love Hamilton any more than I already did but seeing it again was thrilling!  Now I can't wait to see it again in SLC in the spring!

Friday, October 20, 2017

Breathe

Fall break continues and I spent yesterday sleeping in scandalously late and then reading all afternoon.  In the evening I went to a Thursday preview of Breathe which I had been looking forward to for quite a while.  I am a sucker for British period pieces and the trailer for this inspirational true story looked gorgeous.  However, it left me feeling a bit flat.  Andrew Garfield plays Robin Cavendish and Claire Foy plays his wife Diana.  They meet, fall in love, get married, move to Kenya, and become pregnant with their first child in rapid succession.  Then Robin is stricken with polio and is paralyzed from the neck down.  He begs everyone to just let him die but Diana demands that he fight to live.  With her help Robin is able to leave the hospital, become mobile with the help of a wheelchair that breathes for him, and travel the world advocating for the rights of the severely disabled.  Garfield and Foy give wonderful performances and the cinematography is breathtaking but there is something lacking in the story itself.  We never really get to know the characters beyond a superficial level.  Diana's devotion to Robin doesn't feel authentic because their love story is never fully explored.  Robin sees her at a cricket match, in the next scene they are going on a date, in the next Diana tells her brothers (both played hilariously by Tom Hollander) that she is getting married, and then they are in Kenya.  It is literally that quick, almost as if the filmmakers are merely ticking boxes.  The whole film moves from one episode to the next without much explanation.  Also, the difficulties that the Cavendishes must have surely faced are glossed over so that their life looks like one big garden party after another on their sprawling estate.  They laugh when the dog unplugs Robin's respirator and throw a party when they are stranded on the road in Spain.  It ends up feeling very bland and I was hoping for so much more.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

The Foreigner

I am now on fall break and to celebrate I went to see The Foreigner last night. Now I am not normally a big fan of Jackie Chan action movies but, to me, the trailers for The Foreigner made it seem more like a political thriller so I decided to take a chance.  I really enjoyed it!  After a terrorist bombing claims the life of his daughter in London, a distraught Quan (Chan) goes looking for answers.  When a faction of the IRA claims responsibility, Quan looks to Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), the Deputy Minister for Northern Ireland and a former IRA member, for answers.  Hennessy is less than forthcoming, and is clearly more involved than he will admit, so Quan sets out to convince him to tell him the names of the bombers in some fabulous action scenes.  Details about both men are slowly revealed and I found the conclusion to be quite satisfying.  The story reminded me of the novels of Robert Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth, or John Le Carre, which I love, and I found the twists and turns to be very engaging (I've heard some critics say that the story is convoluted).  Chan gives an intense portrayal of a grieving father out for revenge but Brosnan is fantastic, one of his best performances in years.  The movie has a few flaws (lots of scenes with politicians talking in offices while drinking scotch) but I had a great time watching it and I recommend it to fans of action-thrillers.

Note:  This movie features Rory Fleck Byrne as Hennessey's nephew.  I may have found my latest celebrity crush.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Bob Dylan at the Eccles Theater

I first saw Bob Dylan in concert many years ago at Deer Valley and I was really disappointed.  I literally couldn't recognize what song he was singing because he performed most of them with very different arrangements and different phrasing.  I suppose he has earned the right to do as he pleases but it is something you have to understand in order to enjoy his show.  When I found out that he was coming to SLC again, I decided that I could listen to "Mr. Tambourine Man" any time I wanted on my iPod and this concert would be an opportunity to see an unbelievably talented musician, a rock and roll icon really, jam with a group of equally talented musicians in a live show so I bought a ticket.  This time around the fact that nearly every song was virtually unrecognizable mattered not because it was Bob Dylan on the stage!   He can jam.  With a mane of unruly hair and a permanent scowl on his face, he spent as much time behind a baby grand piano as he did standing with a microphone in one rock-star pose after another.  He played for over two hours and his set featured an eclectic mixture of hits and covers of the old standards.  Of the former, my favorites were "Things Have Changed," which is how he opened the show, and "Blowin' in the Wind," which he played as part of the encore.  Of the latter, I particularly enjoyed "Melancholy Mood" and an incredibly atmospheric rendition of "Autumn Leaves" (which rivaled the version performed by Leslie Odom, Jr.).  Dylan performed with a five member band, each of whom played multiple instruments, and they sounded amazing.  He did not acknowledge the audience in any way but, again, it simply didn't matter because he is pretty much the coolest dude around.  If there is anyone cooler than Bob Dylan, I have yet to see him!  This same concert will be performed again at the Eccles Theater tonight (tickets may be purchased here) and I recommend it if you want to see an incredible live show.  Stay home and listen to your iPod if you want to hear the songs the way you remember them from your youth!

Monday, October 16, 2017

The Princess Bride

Thanks to the TCM Big Screen Classics series I got to see The Princess Bride, one of my all-time favorite movies, on the big screen again yesterday.  What a treat!  It is being screened in select theaters in conjunction with its 30th anniversary and I loved every minute of it!  I actually had to stop myself from quoting every single line out loud!  The Princess Bride is a spoof of traditional fairy-tales that is full of romance, revenge, and swashbuckling adventure.  Buttercup (Robin Wright) falls in love with a farm boy (Cary Elwes) who goes away to seek his fortune but is presumed dead when the Dread Pirate Roberts attacks his ship.  Buttercup, in despair, agrees to marry the nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon).  Chaos ensues when Buttercup is kidnapped by Vezzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik (Andre the Giant), and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who turn out to be agents of Prince Humperdinck, as a way to start a war with neighboring Guilder.  I love Christopher Guest as the six-fingered man, Billy Crystal as Miracle Max, and Peter Cook as the Impressive Clergyman.  In my opinion, this movie is practically perfect and I highly recommend that you see it on the big screen (go here for tickets).

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Last night I saw Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and I thought it was fabulous!  It tells the fascinating true story of how the Wonder Woman comic strip came into existence.  William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) is a Harvard professor of psychology whose area of expertise is dominance and submission in human relationships.  His wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) has also earned a PhD in psychology, although Harvard won't grant her the degree because she is a woman, and she works closely with her husband testing his theories.  Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) is a student who signs up to participate in their experiments and falls in love with both of the Marstons.  They begin a relationship and the two very different women inspire William to create the character of Wonder Woman.  What I loved most about this film is the clever way that every part of Wonder Woman's iconography comes into being.  Watching the film becomes a little bit like a scavenger hunt looking for clues, some of which are fairly obvious, such as the Marstons' creation of the lie detector test as the inspiration for the lasso of truth, but others are more subtle and are satisfying to notice (the timing of this film is particularly good coming so close after the release of the blockbuster Wonder Woman).  While the film does focus of the creation of the iconic character, to me it is more about the relationship between these three people and I think director Angela Robinson does a beautiful job in developing it tastefully and intelligently.  Yes, there are some really steamy scenes involving S&M role playing between the three characters but it is absolutely clear that they are all consenting adults and that they all love each other deeply.  All three of the lead actors give amazing and highly nuanced performances but I was especially impressed with Hall who is brilliant in this role.  It is a beautiful film on the screen with lovely cinematography, costumes, and production design.  This story is interesting but it is also very timely in its message about the right to love who you love.  I highly recommend it!

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Imagine Dragons at USANA

Last night I had the opportunity to see Imagine Dragons perform at the USANA Amphitheatre and it was absolutely amazing, definitely a night I won't forget for some time.  I love Imagine Dragons (their album Night Visions is rare in that I can listen to it on repeat for hours without skipping any songs) and they always put on a spectacular show.  Last night was no exception!  They began with a song from their latest release, Evolve, called "I Don't Know Why" and continued with almost every song from this album throughout the night, including "Whatever It Takes," "I'll Make It Up to You," "Mouth of the River," a rousing rendition of "Yesterday," "Start Over," and "Rise Up."  I was really happy that they played "Gold," one of my favorite songs from Smoke + Mirrors but I have to admit that I especially enjoyed "This Is It," "On Top of the World," and an incredibly powerful version of "Demons."  Dan Reynolds was effusive in his love for Utah and the impact that the state had on their development as a band.  He dedicated "This Is It" to the crowd!  He also gave a heartfelt speech about depression before performing "Demons" and the audience held up their phones to light up the amphitheatre.  It was amazing!  After their main set, the band walked to a small stage in the middle of the crowd and performed an acoustic version of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" which they dedicated to him.  This was another high point of the concert for me.  Then they performed acoustic versions of "Bleeding Out" and "Dream."  I especially loved the cello on both of those songs.  Once they returned to the main stage, they finished their set with "Thunder," "I Bet My Life," and "Radioactive" complete with smoke and lasers.  It was thrilling to stand in a crowd with everyone singing every word to "Radioactive," the song that made me a fan of the band!  For the encore (which was really not an encore because they decided that it was too cold to make the crowd wait for them to return to the stage) they performed "Walking the Wire" and "Believer."  I can't describe how much I loved this show!  Dan Reynolds is such an enthusiastic performer and he seems so genuine in his interactions with the crowd!  At one point he mentioned that the rest of the tour would all be downhill from this point on because he loved the Utah crowd so much (sorry Denver!).  I will always try to see this band whenever they come through SLC!

Note:  It was really cold!  Last year I seem to remember making a vow that I would never see another outdoor show this time of year ever again...

Friday, October 13, 2017

An American in Paris at the Eccles

I have wanted to see the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris for a long time so I was thrilled when Broadway at the Eccles announced it as the first show of the 2017-2018 season.  I was able to see it last night and I thought it was wonderful.  The story follows the movie of the same name (a personal favorite) pretty closely.  A U.S. soldier named Jerry Mulligan (McGee Maddox) decides to remain in Paris after World War II and meets an aspiring ballerina named Lise (Sara Esty).  He pursues her and they begin to fall in love.  However, Lise has become engaged to Henri (Nick Spangler) out of a duty she feels to him and his family for protecting her during the war and Jerry is pursued by a wealthy heiress (Emily Ferranti) who wants to promote his art.  Will they choose love or duty?  Both Maddox and Esty are incredible dancers and the choreography is absolutely stunning, especially in "I've Got Beginner's Luck" and "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise."  The final 18-minute ballet to the tune of "An American in Paris" is simply spectacular and it was amazing to me that the leads have the skill and stamina to perform such demanding choreography at the end of a Broadway show!  It was a lot of fun to hear the well-known songs, written by George and Ira Gershwin, such as "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," "But Not For Me," and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."  I loved all of the costumes but the sets are so creative!  The minimalist sketches that Jerry draws throughout the show are often projected on screens to transport audience members to the middle of Paris.  This is an old-fashioned and incredibly romantic musical that reminded me of the big Hollywood extravaganzas of the 1950s.  Who could ask for anything more!  I highly recommend seeing it if you get a chance and this particular production runs at the Eccles Theatre until Sunday (tickets may be purchased here).

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The Princess and the Frog

When The Princess and the Frog was first released in 2009, I took my nine-year-old niece to see it and it was absolutely magical for her to be able to look up at the screen and see a Disney princess who looked like her.  After seeing it on the big screen she watched the DVD over and over and sang every song.  She even had a Princess Tiana dress!  This movie may have a few flaws (I still think the voodoo scenes are a little weird, especially for a film marketed to children) but Tiana was definitely important to my niece and I can't think of a better role model for her to emulate.  The Princess and the Frog is being screened again at AMC Theatres as part of the Dream Big, Princesses film festival so I invited Tashena, who is now almost seventeen, to see it with me again last night.  We had so much fun!  She says she doesn't really remember when I took her to see it the first time but she certainly remembers the words to all of the songs because she sang them all at the top of her lungs (we were the only ones in the theater).   Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) is a young girl determined to succeed and open the restaurant she has always dreamed of owning.  Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos) is a ne'er-do-well who has been cut off financially by his parents.  Naveen turns to voodoo to make his dreams come true but he is inadvertently turned into a frog.  Thinking that Tiana is a princess because of a costume she is wearing, Naveen asks her to kiss him to break the spell, promising her the money she needs to start her restaurant, but when she does she is also turned into a frog.  Naveen and Tiana must discover what they need, rather than what they want, in order to break the curse with the help of a jazz playing crocodile, a Cajun lightening bug, and blind voodoo priestess (some really fun characters).  I really loved all of the scenes in the bayou, especially when all of the lightening bugs guide Tiana and Naveen to Mama Odie because it looks so magical (it reminded me of the lantern scene in Tangled).  I had forgotten how great the hand-drawn animation is in this film.  It was such a fun night and I'm glad that, for a little while, I got to spend some time with the little girl who wanted to be just like Princess Tiana!  The Princess and the Frog will be screened at AMC Theatres until Oct. 12.

Monday, October 9, 2017

Victoria & Abdul

Sunday afternoon I decided to see Victoria & Abdul.  I was initially very lukewarm about this film because, frankly, I felt that this story had already been told much better in Mrs. Brown (which also stars Judi Dench).  While it does have a similar plot to the previous film, I found Victoria & Abdul to be absolutely charming.  Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) is old and barely able to get out of bed for an endless round of ceremonial duties which hold little interest for her.  Abdul (Ali Fazal) is randomly selected to present Victoria with a ceremonial coin from India as part of the Golden Jubilee.  Victoria takes a liking to Abdul and spends most of her time with him, much to the dismay of the Prince of Wales (Eddie Izzard), the Prime Minister (Michael Gambon) and her household staff.  I'm sure that there were a lot of liberties taken with the historical accuracy of this film and there has been a lot of criticism about the portrayal of Britain's colonization of India, but I enjoyed it as a story about an unlikely friendship.  Dame Judi Dench is brilliant in this role, as ever, and there is an incredibly affecting scene where she laments the fact that everyone she loves has died while she goes on and on.  Ali Fazal is very endearing as Abdul and it is easy to see why Victoria would be so enamored of him.  The other characters are pretty one-dimensional but the two strong central performances make up for that.  The film is gorgeously shot, especially the scenes in Scotland, and the costumes and interiors are  everything that you could want from a British period-piece.  In short, it is a lovely little film that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would!

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Utah Opera's La Boheme

In honor of its 40th Anniversary, Utah Opera began the 2017-2018 season with the same opera chosen for the inaugural season, Puccini's La Boheme.  It is one of my favorite operas so it was a treat to be able to see it for the second time this year!  It was a marvelous production of a magnificent opera and I loved every minute of it.  The libretto is about a group of artists living in a garret apartment in Paris in the nineteenth century.  Marcellus (Michael Adams), a painter, is in love with Musetta (Utah native Celena Shafer) but their relationship ends because Musetta is a flirt and Marcellus is jealous.  Rudolpho (Scott Quinn), a poet, is in love with Mimi (Jennifer Black) but their relationship ends because Mimi is dying of consumption and Rudolpho feels guilty that he can't take care of her.  Marcellus and Musetta have a volatile relationship that is really fun to watch, especially in the amusing aria "Quando m'en vo" or "Musetta's Waltz" which is staged very well in this production.  But Rudolpho and Mimi are ill-fated lovers who are heartbreaking to watch and their beautiful duet at the end of Act I, "O soave fanciulla," brought spontaneous tears to my eyes!  Quinn and Black have beautiful voices and great chemistry with each other.  I always enjoy Shafer, a perennial favorite with Utah audiences, and she gives a great performance.  Adams, who has been diagnosed with bronchitis, began Act I but couldn't continue so John Nelson sang from the side of the stage as Adams continued to act the role.  At first it seemed strange but, after a while, I didn't notice any more and Nelson has a great voice.  I also enjoyed Ao Li and Samuel Schultz as the other bohemians.  The costumes and the set are fantastic (San Francisco Opera had larger and more elaborate sets in their production but Utah Opera's set worked well for the size of the stage at Capitol Theatre).  I loved this production and I highly recommend getting a ticket!  It runs at Capitol Theatre through Oct. 15 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I was sitting on an aisle and a very distinguished older gentleman stopped near me saying that he was dizzy.  I smiled at him and suggested that the cause of his dizziness was the loud pattern in the carpet whereupon he answered, "No.  I'm just old."  I laughed so he stayed and flirted with me outrageously until the curtain rose!  During the intermission he came back to talk to me which was fun because he was charm personified!  Opera lovers are great!

Sean the Brave

I missed Sean's game last week so I was really looking forward to watching him play yesterday.  The Braves played the Woods Cross Wildcats which is a team with really big boys.  In fact, I questioned whether one of the boys was twelve and of course he was on Sean most of the game.  Sean did not back down at all and played like a beast the whole game.  I was so proud of him.  The Braves are struggling this season and many of the boys want to quit but they played their hearts out today.
This is my favorite picture of the game!
Sean with his Dad!

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Battle of the Sexes

While Battle of the Sexes is a crowd-pleasing biopic about about the iconic tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973, it is also a powerful statement about equality between the sexes and the right to be who you are and love who you want.  That is what had me cheering!  I was a child in the 1970s so I never had to experience the chauvinism and condescension that so many women faced back then (there are a few scenes in this movie that were incredulous to me, especially when Bill Pullman's character spoke, because I can't imagine men actually speaking to women that way).  For that I am profoundly grateful to pioneers like Billie Jean King who advocated for women's rights.  King (Emma Stone), wanting to bring attention to the disparity between male and female tennis players, agrees to an exhibition match against a former champion player, Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell).  In addition, each of them are fighting other battles off the court.  King is conducting a passionate affair with her hairdresser (Andrea Riseborough) which she feels the need to hide and Riggs is a man past his prime fighting for relevance with a controlling wife (Elisabeth Shue).  Really, this film is not about a tennis match but rather the journey that each athlete takes to get there.  The script is much more emotional than I was expecting and I think King's sexuality is handled with intelligence and sensitivity (although a few people walked out of my screening after a sex scene).  Stone gives another wonderful performance, almost disappearing into the role.  Carell is perfect as the goofy and frenetic Riggs and I found him to be a sympathetic character rather than the villain portrayed in the trailers.  I also, rather surprisingly, really enjoyed Sarah Silverman's brassy portrayal of a tennis promoter but I thought Alan Cummings was a bit wasted as a designer of tennis dresses (did he really have to accompany the women on tour to dress them?) and only exists to give a moving speech at the end of the movie about LGBTQ rights.  Finally, I enjoyed the 1970s verisimilitude in this movie and I laughed out loud when I heard "Crimson and Clover" playing in a bar scene!  I recommend this movie, not just as a feel-good sports story, but for its powerful message. 

Friday, October 6, 2017

Blade Runner Double Feature

I have been looking forward to the release of Blade Runner 2049 for months so when I found out that a local theater was going to screen the original along with the sequel I bought a ticket immediately!  Double features are so much fun because I feel like you bond with your fellow audience members!  I love the original Blade Runner so much!  I remember watching it over and over again late at night on HBO when I was 15 or 16 so it was a thrill to be able to watch it again on the big screen!  In Los Angeles in the year 2019 a police officer, or blade runner, named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is tasked with hunting down four replicants, or synthetic beings engineered to be used as slaves in the off-world colonies, who have returned to Earth to extend their lives.  He also falls in love with Rachael (Sean Young), a replicant who has been implanted with false memories to make it harder to detect her.  In my opinion it is a brilliant commentary on the nature of humanity that definitely stands the test of time and its influence can be seen today in so many movies.  By the time it was over I was so excited for Blade Runner 2049 that I could hardly contain myself!  Let me just say right now that it is brilliant and it might even be better than the original because it explores the themes of what it means to be human on a deeper level.  Thirty years later the newest replicants have been integrated into society.  Ryan Gosling plays one who works as a blade runner hunting down older replicants who have gone rogue.  He discovers a secret which leads him to hunt down Deckard (Harrison Ford, reprising his role) to learn the truth.  There are many twists and turns as the truth is slowly revealed (although I still have a major question!) and there were a couple of times when I figured something out an instant before it was revealed!  Like the original, it is visually stunning and you literally cannot take your eyes off the screen.  Denis Villaneuve continues Ridley Scott's world-building to its logical progression with dark and gritty scenes of claustrophobia on the streets of L.A. and orange-infused shots of a decimated Las Vegas.  Gosling is outstanding in the role because he is somehow able to show absolutely no emotion until a key scene which left me absolutely gutted.  It was also so much fun to see Ford play yet another iconic character once again.  I think my favorite aspect of the of the film is the score because it mimics the original in that it creates almost unbearable tension which doesn't let up until the final scenes.  I really loved Blade Runner 2049 and, unbelievably, it lived up to all of my expectations!  I highly recommend that you see it on the biggest screen possible.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

American Made

I saw American Made last night and I have to say that I really liked it.  I am not a big fan of Tom Cruise but Barry Seal is the kind of role that he excels at playing and he gives an outstanding performance, one of his best in years.  After a while I stopped wondering how much of the story was actually true and I stopped thinking about the consequences of Seal's actions and just enjoyed the wild ride!  The film tells the true story of TWA pilot Barry Seal (Cruise) after he is recruited by a CIA operative (Domhnall Gleeson) to take aerial photographs of Sandinista bases in Central America.  Seal is so good at getting into and out of Central America he eventually becomes the bag man for General Noriega and begins running guns to the Contras for the CIA while smuggling cocaine for the Medellin cartel on the side.  Seal makes so much money he can't launder it fast enough in some highly amusing scenes.  However, the CIA eventually disavows him and he is cornered by local and state law enforcement, the DEA, and the FBI in another highly amusing scene.  He eludes prosecution by becoming an informant against the Medellin cartel for the White House in its war on drugs (with some great footage of Nancy Reagan) which leads to the inevitable conclusion.  Through it all Cruise gives his high-wattage smile and struts across one airport tarmac after another.  Director Doug Limon uses actual footage from the 80s, close-up shots, and hand-held camera work to create a gritty documentary-style film that feels very nostalgic and the 80s music keeps the adrenaline pumping (I loved "Wah-Wah" by George Harrison in the credits).  To be sure, there are flaws in this movie (don't get me started on how Seal's wife Lucy, played by Sarah Wright, is portrayed) but it is just so entertaining that I would definitely recommend it!

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Tangled

AMC Theatres are sponsoring a film festival entitled Dream Big, Princesses which include screenings of the following Disney (and Pixar) classics:  Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, TangledThe Princess and the Frog, and Brave.  (Go here for more information).  I am rather late to the party because I've been so busy and missed Beauty and the Beast and Mulan but I made sure to make time to see Tangled last night because I absolutely love it.  It is one of my very favorite Disney animated movies (along with The Lion King and Moana).  It was so much fun for me to see it again on the big screen and I think I liked it even more than I did the first time I saw it!  Tangled tells the story of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and how she leaves her tower to discover her true identity with the help of Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi).  Both Rapunzel and Flynn are fantastic characters, Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) is one of the best Disney villains ever, and Pascal just makes me smile!  I love all of the songs, especially "I See the Light."  It is visually stunning and I get goosebumps during the lantern scene every time.  I love practically everything about this movie and I loved having a chance to see it again on the big screen (I watch it all of the time at home because it makes me so happy but it isn't the same).  I highly recommend revisiting Tangled which will be screened at AMC Theatres until Oct. 5.

Note:  I have so many fun memories of seeing Tangled for the first time in the theater.  We were staying in St. George in the motor home over Thanksgiving break.  My sister, a family friend, and I decided to see it Thanksgiving night and the tiny theater in St. George couldn't handle the massive crowd.  It was kill or be killed to get a seat and someone spilled their drink on my sister trying to climb over us but we had so much fun!

Monday, October 2, 2017

Frozen The Musical in Denver

My friend Rachel and I decided to drive to Denver over the weekend to meet our friend Larry to see the new musical Frozen, which is having its premiere in Denver before it transfers to Broadway next spring.  I had Friday off as compensation for parent teacher conferences so we left mid-morning and got in to Denver right at rush-hour (my favorite).  We saw the matinee on Saturday afternoon, went to my very favorite place to eat in Denver in the evening, and then drove home yesterday.  It was a quick trip but it was so much fun (it was really great to meet up with Larry who is awesome) and I am so glad that we did it!
I am a big fan of the movie so I was excited to see the show and it definitely didn't disappoint!  I loved it (we all did)!  The story does not veer too far from the movie but there are a few new songs which I really loved, especially "Dangerous to Dream" and "Monster" because I think they both really help to add a deeper layer to Elsa's character.  Even though I loved the new songs, my absolute favorite moment in the show was "Let It Go" which is just spectacular.  Caissie Levy has an amazing voice and she really belted it out to the rafters of the Buell Theatre.  It gave me goosebumps!  The special effects are incredible, especially when Elsa waves her arms and ice crystals flash across the stage in perfect synchronization.  She also has a really quick costume change into a beautiful blue dress covered in sparkles (all of the costumes are wonderful, very much informed by the movie).  I also really loved the special effects after Elsa's coronation, particularly when she touches objects and they freeze.  It is mesmerizing!  As previously mentioned, Levy, as well Patti Murin who plays Anna, do a really great job with their characters and I also loved the actresses who play the young Elsa and Anna (Brooklyn Nelson and Audrey Bennett, respectively).  My other favorites were Jelani Alladin as Kristoff and Greg Hildreth as Olaf (who sounds exactly like Josh Gad).  However, I would have to say that my very favorite character in the whole show is Sven (much like in the movie), played by Andrew Pirozzi.  Sven reminded me a lot of the animals in The Lion King.  I loved everything about this show and I'm so glad that I got to be one of the first to get to see it (we are already planning to go to New York and see it on Broadway).  It was another amazing adventure (one more road trip to go this year!).

Note:  Rachel dressed up as Elsa and it was fun to watch the reactions of all the little girls around us!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...