Across the Universe

As a huge Beatles fan I jumped at the chance to see Across the Universe on the big screen again!  To say that I love this movie would be an understatement!  The narrative is informed by the lyrics of Beatles songs and tells the love story of Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).  With a little help from their friends Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Jo-Jo (Martin Luther McCoy), and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), they navigate the turbulent 1960s to discover that all you need is love.  I think the screenplay is extremely clever with lots of references to the Beatles (I find more every time I watch it).  I love every single Beatles song used but I especially love the staging of "I've Just Seen a Face," "If I Fell" "Let It Be" (which makes me cry), "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," "Something," "Revolution," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Hey Jude," and "All You Need Is Love."  However, I'll be honest and say that I wait for the whole first half of the movie for Bono, who plays Dr. Robert, to sing "I Am the Walrus."  That whole sequence with the psychedelic bus is just so awesome and when he says, "You're either on the bus or off the bus," it just about kills me.  Words to live by!  The first time I saw this on the big screen I developed quite the crush on Jim Sturgess because he reminded me so much of a young Paul McCartney.  Seeing it again yesterday may have revived that crush because I couldn't take my eyes off him whenever he was on the screen.  I had so much fun watching this again and I had to stop myself from singing along.  I recommend that all Beatles fans take the opportunity to see this movie musical on the big screen as it was meant to be seen (go here for more information about screenings).  A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

I am a huge fan of the Mission: Impossible franchise and it seems like I have been waiting all summer for the latest installment, Mission: Impossible - Fallout.  It was worth the wait because it is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end and, in my opinion, it is the best movie in the bunch.  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team have a mission to intercept some plutonium bound for a terrorist group made up of members of the former Syndicate.  However, the mission fails when Hunt chooses the life of a team member over the plutonium.  When Hunt gets a tip that an arms broker named the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) is brokering a deal for the plutonium, he and August Walker (Henry Cavill), a CIA agent assigned to shadow him by Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett) who doesn't trust him, infiltrate her organization and learn that the price of the plutonium is the release of Hunt's arch-nemesis Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).  As they attempt Lane's release, they encounter Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) who has her own reasons for wanting Lane.  There are moves, counter-moves, and betrayals which keep you on the edge of your seat and no one, even possibly Hunt, is who he or she appears to be.  The action sequences are intense and unrelenting, including the much hyped HALO jump (which is spectacular), multiple car and motorcycle chases through Paris, a foot race across the roof of the Tate Modern, and an aerial helicopter chase through the mountains of Kashmir.  It goes without saying that Cruise, who performs the majority of his stunts, is absolutely amazing in the action sequences but he also gives Hunt some vulnerability as he deals with the consequences of his actions in both the present and in his past.  I saw this movie in IMAX and I recommend that you do the same!  It is an absolute blast!

One Last Camping Trip

My sister and her husband are bringing their trailer home from Hanna at the end of the month so I had one last opportunity for a quick camping trip.  I love it in Hanna and I had such a relaxing time.  I spent most of the day sitting outside reading and then at night I would build a fire and make s'mores.  My idea of heaven!

I'm so glad I had one last camping trip before school starts in a few weeks!

Summer Reading: The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

The next selection on my summer reading list was The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan. It is delightful! The story takes place in a sleepy little English village during World War II. We learn about the goings-on through the letters and journal entries of our main protagonists: a timid widow who is worried about her son on the front, the self-absorbed town beauty who is embarking a real romance after flirting with the boys of the village all her life, her awkward younger sister who inadvertently discovers an intrigue, a young Jewish refugee hiding a secret, and a midwife in over her head in a sinister plot. With so many men away, the women must pick up the pieces to keep life in Chilbury as normal as possible. When a music teacher named Primrose Trent comes to the village she decides to revive the church choir with just the women, much to the consternation of the village busybody. The choir provides solace when the events of the war impact Chilbury and it emboldens the women to change their lives for the better. I loved this book because it has a definite Miss Marple feel to it with a charming little village with more intrigue going on than meets the eye. All of the characters are very well developed and each have a unique voice. They all have very satisfying character arcs, including Edwina Paltry whom I found very unsympathetic in the beginning. As someone who enjoys World War II novels I really appreciated the perspectives of ordinary women in ordinary circumstances trying to cope with the devastation of war and I really enjoyed the hopeful tone. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is humorous and heartbreaking and I highly recommend it!

Note:  Have you read The Chilbury Ladies' Choir?  What did you think?

Skyscraper

Last night I finally had the chance to see the action thriller Skyscraper.  Dwayne Johnson plays Will Sawyer, a former FBI hostage negotiator turned security consultant.  He is hired to analyse the security of the world's tallest building, The Pearl, owned by billionaire Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han).  Kores Botha (Roland Moller), an international terrorist who has been extorting Zhao, leads a team who sets fire to the 96th floor of the building and frames Sawyer to take the blame.  Sawyer's wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and his kids Georgia and Henry (McKenna Grace and Noah Cottrell) are are inadvertently trapped in a residential unit above the 96th floor so he must elude both the police and the villains to rescue them from the building.  The story is incredibly derivative and the reason why the villains have attacked the building is pretty ridiculous but there are some innovative action sequences that are seriously cool and, to be honest, that is why I went to see this movie.  These include when Sawyer climbs a 100-story crane and then uses it to jump into a broken window of The Pearl as the fire rages on, when he rappels down the building using duct tape on his hands in order to get to an access panel behind a wind turbine, and when he confronts Botha in an elaborate virtual-reality room filled with hundreds of screens.  He completes all of the feats of daring with a prosthetic leg, which he uses very inventively in one scene, which makes them even more thrilling.  Johnson is his charismatic self and I really liked Campbell's portrayal of Sarah because she is just as resourceful and daring as Sawyer.  This movie is not perfect but I enjoyed it for what is, a bit of summer escapism.

The Equalizer 2

Sunday afternoon I went to see The Equalizer 2 which, as a fan of the first movie, I have been anticipating for a while.  Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a former black-ops agent who is now a Lyft driver in Boston but he is also a guardian angel of sorts who dispenses vigilante justice for the random strangers he meets. However, when Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), a former colleague, is murdered in Brussels while investigating the murder of a CIA contact it gets personal.  It becomes even more personal when he discovers her killers.  It is a very slow burn while McCall tracks the killers down but, once he does, there is an epic confrontation in a seaside town that has been evacuated for a hurricane where he dispatches them one by one.  The action sequences, including the opening on a train to Istanbul, are incredibly intense and exciting to watch but I also enjoyed the quieter moments that provide a satisfying emotional arc for McCall.  There is an affecting subplot where McCall helps a Holocaust survivor (Orson Bean) track down a painting stolen by the Nazis and another where he mentors an at-risk teen (Ashton Sanders).  Washington gives a riveting performance, both as a man of action and as a man in torment.  I don't think this installment is as good as the first one but I really enjoyed it and I recommend it to fans of action thrillers.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is my biggest movie surprise of 2018!  I went into the theater fully expecting to hate it and I ended up loving it!  I loved it so much that I canceled my plans for Friday night and saw it again with my Mom and sister and then the three of us saw it yet again Saturday morning.  I am a huge fan of Abba's music and I absolutely love the stage musical (I've seen it countless times including on Broadway and in London's West End).  Because I've seen incredibly talented Broadway stars perform this music live I was so disappointed in the movie adaptation because I thought most of the singing was awful.  Listening to Pierce Brosnan sing was actually painful and Colin Firth (whom I love) was not much better.  I know I had unrealistic expectations but I didn't like it so I dismissed the sequel out of hand.  The only reason I decided to see it was because the trailers intrigued me.  Before the first number was over I was completely enthralled.  Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) has been dead for a year and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has rebuilt the hotel to continue her dream.  Everyone has been invited to the grand opening including Tanya (Christine Baranski), Rosie (Julie Walters), Harry (Colin Firth), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) and Sam (Pierce Brosnan).  Since Sky (Dominic Cooper) is away, she is helped by her hotel manager Fernando Cienfuegos (Andy Garcia).  As she thinks about her mother's dream there are flashbacks to when Donna (now played by Lily James) comes to the island, meets Harry, Bill, and Sam (Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, and Jeremy Irvine, respectively), and discovers that she is pregnant.  When Sophie discovers that she is pregnant, she finally understands that her mother's dream was all about her not the hotel.  What drew me in was the charismatic performance of James who can really sing and dance.  In fact, I loved all of the younger versions of the characters, especially Jessica Keenan Wynn as Tanya (she looks and acts so much like Christine Baranski that I thought they had digitally altered her to look younger).  I really loved all of the Abba songs, especially some of the more obscure ones like "Why Did It Have to Be Me," "Andante, Andante," "I've Been Waiting For You," and "My Love, My Life," and I loved how all of them were staged, particularly "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen" which is so fun (watching Colin Firth's antics on the boat had me laughing out loud!).  The singing in this movie is so much better than the original because Lily James and Amanda Seyfried, the best singers of the group, do most of it with other characters singing with them or as an ensemble.  Finally, I need to gush for a moment about Cher who plays Sophie's grandmother.  When she sees Fernando across the crowded room I started laughing out loud again because I knew what was coming and it was everything I could have hoped for!  I had so much fun watching this movie, much to my surprise, and I highly recommend it!

Sutton Foster at Deer Valley

One of my very favorite summer activities is to see a Utah Symphony concert up at the Deer Valley Mountain Resort.  I love packing a picnic, heading up to the mountains where it is a lot cooler than the valley, and listening to some fabulous music.  I try to see at least one concert during the summer and this year I picked one featuring Kristen Chenoweth.  Unfortunately, she had to cancel because of an injury but then I learned that Sutton Foster would be replacing her!  I saw her when she performed a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and she was amazing.  I knew this would be a wonderful concert and it was.  Sutton Foster is known for her many roles on Broadway and the program featured songs from the Great White Way.  She began with "Cockeyed Optimist" from South Pacific and then a lovely medley from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie, and Little Women which showcased her most famous roles.  She continued with "I Get a Kick Out of You" from Anything Goes.  Next she performed three songs from her most recent album Take Me to the World: "C'est Magnifique," "Give Him the Ooh-La-La," and "Stars and the Moon."  My favorite moment of the concert was when she sang "It All Fades Away" from The Bridges of Madison County.  This was absolutely beautiful and it gave me goosebumps!  She closed the set with the title song from Anything Goes.  After the intermission she sang a really fun medley of "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls and "Singing in the Rain."  She continued with "The Nearness of You" and "Down With Love."  Next she was joined by Megan McGinnis, her co-star from Little Women, and they performed "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from that show which was another favorite moment because it was so beautiful!  She dedicated "Sunshine on My Shoulders" to her mother like she did at the Christmas concert.  She continued with "Being Alive" from Company and the ended the set with "Take Me to the World" from her new album.  For the encore she sang "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie which left me saying gimme gimme some more!  I loved this concert so much!  It was really windy at Deer Valley Saturday night but it was Foster's voice that blew us all away!  Not only was her performance amazing but she was just so charming and personable.  I'm so glad I got to see her again!  Go here for more information about the remaining Utah Symphony concerts at Deer Valley.

Bryce Canyon National Park

After visiting Zion National Park I decided to make another detour to Bryce Canyon National Park to see all of the stunning rock formations.  As soon as I got to the viewpoints, it started raining and it eventually turned to hail.  I did manage to get to most of the viewpoints and despite the fact that I was completely drenched by the time I was done I did manage to get some pictures.

Zion National Park

Since I was already in Southern Utah for the Shakespeare Festival, I decided to take the scenic way home through Zion National Park.  This is one of my very favorite places because my family took a lot of road trips here when I was young and I have so many happy memories.  It has been a while since I have been here so I spent several hours wandering around.  It was really wonderful!

Summer Reading: Beneath a Scarlet Sky

When I began reading Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan, the next selection on my summer reading list, I was waiting for an outdoor concert to begin and a random woman sat down next to me to tell me how much she and her book club loved the book. She absolutely gushed about it so I was very eager to continue reading. It tells the true story of seventeen year old Pino Lello, a typical young man living in Milan during World War II who loves jazz, fast cars, and girls. As the bombing of Milan escalates, Pino is sent to a monastery high in the Alps for safety and he begins leading Jews through the mountains on treacherous journeys to elude the Nazis. When he reaches the age of conscription, his parents, hoping to keep him relatively safe, convince him to join the German army. He eventually becomes the driver and interpreter for General Hans Leyers which puts him in a position to observe the goings-on of the Nazis. He is recruited as a spy for the resistance and risks his life on many occasions to ultimately become a hero. I really wanted to like Pino's story but the manner in which it is told is rather bland. Sullivan tells us, in very simple declarative sentences, what happens rather than shows us and one event happens after another without a lot of dramatic tension or suspense. Even though this is purported to be a true story, much of what happens seems to be the result of a series of improbable coincidences. Pino just happens to be in the right place at the right time to meet many of the most important members of the Gestapo, as well as Mussolini himself, and he just happens to witness the major events that happen in Italy during the war. It strains credibility at times (it actually reminded me a little bit of the movie Forrest Gump which I dislike for the same reason). Pino also has a lot of abilities which manifest themselves just when they are needed, such as when he is able to maneuver the general's car away from a plane dive bombing it after recently learning to drive. What I did really enjoy was learning about the Italian experience during the war. Even after reading countless fiction and nonfiction books about World War II, I had little knowledge about the major events during the German occupation of Italy. After hearing such a glowing recommendation I was a little bit disappointed in this selection but that might mean others will enjoy it more than I did.

Note:  Have you read Beneath a Scarlet Sky?  What did you think?  I hear there is a movie in the works starring Tom Holland.

Utah Shakespeare Festival 2018

This week I drove to Cedar City for my annual trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  I was able to see three plays this year and I enjoyed all of them.  Tuesday night I saw The Merchant of Venice, one of my very favorite Shakespeare plays, and I thought this production was very powerful.  There were some very interesting casting choices, including having two women play traditionally male roles.  Bassanio (Wayne T. Carr) asks his friend Antonio (Leslie Brott) for 3,000 ducats to woo Portia (Tarah Flanagan).  Antonio doesn't have the money but, knowing that he has three ships on their way to port, he borrows the money from Shylock (Lisa Wolpe), a Jewish moneylender.  Bassanio is successful in his quest for Portia's hand in marriage, in some highly amusing scenes involving other suitors, but Antonio's ships are lost and he must pay the bond to Shylock which is a pound of flesh.  Portia, feeling responsible for the situation, pleads for mercy but when Shylock refuses she finds a loophole which saves Antonio and condemns Shylock.  My sympathy is always with Shylock and this production really emphasizes the cruelty towards him, at one point one character even knocks him down.  His daughter Jessica (Aidaa Peerzada) is portrayed as feeling guilty about converting to Christianity and I loved the scenes where she recites Jewish prayers.  Wolpe is absolutely brilliant in the role, especially in the "Do we not bleed?" speech!  I also really enjoyed Josh Innerst as Gratiano, Jamil Zraikat as the Prince of Morocco, and Geoffrey Kent as the Prince of Arragon because they infused a bit of levity into an otherwise somber piece.

Wednesday afternoon I saw the hilarious comedy The Foreigner.  I have seen this play several times and I very much enjoyed this production.   Sgt. Froggy LaSeuer (Chris Mixon) brings his painfully shy friend Charlie Baker (Michael Doherty) to stay at a boarding house in Georgia run by Betty Meeks (Colleen Baum) while he is on maneuvers there.  Froggy tells the inhabitants that Charlie is a foreigner who cannot speak English to save him from having to make conversation.  Because everyone believes that he can't understand them, he overhears all of their secrets to great comedic effect.  Doherty is absolutely hysterical in this very physical role!  I laughed and laughed when Ellard (Rob Riordan) tries to teach him English and again when he is asked to tell a story in his native language.  Seriously, I couldn't breathe!

Wednesday evening I saw The Merry Wives of Windsor.  Sir John Falstaff (John Ahlin reprising the role after playing it in Hanry IV Part Two) is down and out and has come to Windsor to woo two wealthy women, Mistress Page (Stephanie Lambourn) and Mistress Ford (Tarah Flanagan).  He sends them both the same letter so they conspire to get revenge on him, and fool their husbands, in some absolutely hilarious scenes.  Meanwhile, Mistress Ford's daughter, Mistress Anne (Cailen Fu), has three suitors pursing her (Lance Rasmussen, Michael Elich, and Ty Fanning).  Both Mistress Ford and Mistress Page as well as the three suitors use Mistress Quickley (Leslie Brott) to deliver notes and chaos ensues.  I usually do not like it when the source material is changed but this production takes place in the early 1900s and uses popular songs from that era to emphasize plot details and I thought that was very effective.  I also really liked how they introduce the dramatis personae at the beginning of the play.  It is extremely clever!  Mistress Quickly is portrayed as more of the town busybody and she is hilarious.  Elich is completely over the top as one of the suitors, especially when he is preparing for the duel.  Ahlin is an absolute master of physical comedy and I laughed out loud when he is placed in a laundry basket, when he has to dress as a woman, and when he dresses as stag to meet Mistress Ford.  It is a really fun production.  I had so much fun at the festival this year!  I enjoyed all three plays and I was able to have lots of my favorite tarts!

Note:  I am beyond excited for next year because two of my favorites will be performed, Hamlet and Macbeth.  I can't wait!