Pumpkin Carving 2019

With Tashena away at college (we miss her) I wondered whether Sean would want to carve pumpkins this year.  I told him that we didn't have to do it if he didn't want to because I sometimes worry that these seasonal activities are more for my benefit than for his.  He responded that we had to do it because it was tradition!  I got some of the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen and we carved them Tuesday night!  It was a lot of fun and my sister roasted the seeds which is my favorite part!

Happy Halloween!

The Lighthouse

I thought The Witch was one of the best horror movies I've ever seen because I felt so uneasy while watching it.  Robert Eggers' latest film, The Lighthouse, is another masterpiece that drew me into the madness on screen with such intensity that I could hardly breathe.  It is a dark and atmospheric psychological thriller about two men who descend into madness that is so brilliant I know that I will be thinking about it for days.  I may even need to see it again.  Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), a man with a troubled past looking for a new start, arrives on a desolate island in New England in the late 1800s to serve as an assistant to the lighthouse keeper, Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe).  Wake is as gregarious (and flatulent) as Winslow is taciturn which immediately sets them at odds with each other.  Wake also allocates the most difficult tasks to Winslow, refusing to give him access to the top level of the lighthouse, and berates him for what he considers to be a subpar performance of his duties.  Their adversarial relationship is intensified when a storm delays the ferry coming to relieve them and their rations run low.  Winslow begins having hallucinations and becomes almost obsessed with seeing what is at the top of the lighthouse leading to several prolonged confrontations between the two men.  The narrative is from Winslow's perspective so there are many times when you are not sure if what you are seeing is real and I think this brilliantly draws the viewer into his madness.  Pattinson (who I think is very underrated as an actor) gives the best performance of his career and certainly the best one I've seen this year.  He convincingly portrays a man losing his grip on reality and displays every human emotion imaginable, from absolute despondency to ecstasy (in a brilliant scene).  Dafoe also gives an incredible performance as a man already unhinged.  The narrative is filled with enough mythology and allegory, my favorite being the seagull, to warrant another viewing just to unravel it all and the ambiguous ending will keep you thinking for days.  This movie is technically perfect.  The sound design, which features unrelenting wind, crashing ocean waves, creaking floorboards, blaring foghorns, and jarring machinery, is unbelievably unsettling and contributes much to the claustrophobia felt by the men and, vicariously, by the audience.  Finally, the black and white cinematography, the atmospheric lighting, the 1.19 to 1 aspect ratio, and the period verisimilitude in the production design (much like in The Witch) make you feel like you have traveled back into the 1800s for a viewing experience that will blow your mind.  I cannot recommend this haunting movie enough but it might be too intense for sensitive viewers.

The Current War

I saw a trailer for The Current War several years ago and I immediately wanted to see it because Bennedict Cumberbatch in a period drama is pretty much everything.  Then I never heard anything more about it until I saw it on the Salt Lake Film Society website under the Coming Soon tab a few weeks ago.  I've been counting down to this weekend ever since!  Inventor Thomas Edison (Cumberbatch) is interested in bringing electricity to power his light bulbs to the common man.  He decides that Direct Current (DC) is the best way to power the country but it has a limited range requiring generators to be built close together with expensive copper tubing buried underground connecting them.  Businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) decides to try Alternating Current (AC) because it can work over longer distances with transformers and overhead power lines, making it significantly cheaper.  However, Edison believes that AC is dangerous and tries to discredit Westinghouse, with a subplot involving the creation of the electric chair, in their competition to get cities around the country to their systems.  There is another subplot involving Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), a brilliant inventor who is unable capitalize on his inventions because he lacks funding, who works for Edison but ultimately joins forces with Westinghouse.  Eventually, both Edison and Westinghouse submit competing bids to power the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and thereby receive invaluable publicity.  This movie looks beautiful with interesting camera angles, incandescent lighting, and gorgeous period costumes.  Cumberbatch is perfect as the disheveled, distracted, and dismissive genius (he excels at this kind of role) who wants to win at any cost.  Shannon is charismatic as the businessman who wants to succeed on his own merit rather than resorting to mudslinging.  However, the story is quite jumbled with lots of short and choppy scenes and I sometimes found it difficult to follow what was going on.  The story is also not quite as compelling as it could have been.  I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more focus on Tesla because I have always been fascinated with him.  This isn't a bad movie but it didn't live up to my expectations so I recommend waiting until it is available to stream.

Balanchine's Ballets Russes

I usually prefer seeing full-length ballets rather than a grouping of one-acts but my friend convinced me to see Ballet West's production of Jewels last season and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to see Balanchine's Ballets Russes last night.  I am glad that I did because it was wonderful.  This production features three of George Balanchine's earliest works as a choreographer when he was under the tutelage of Sergei Diaghilev in Paris while a member of the famed company Les Ballets Russes.  The first piece is Le Chant du Rossignol (The Song of the Nightingale) which tells the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a Nightingale (Sayaka Ohtaki) who saves an ailing Chinese Emperor (Christopher Sellars) from Death (Katlyn Addison) and features music from Igor Stravinsky.   The sets and costumes for this ballet are recreations from the originals by Henri Matisse and I found them to be very striking.  I liked the athleticism of the choreography for the Warriors, Chamberlains, and Mandarins. Both Ohtaki and Addison (one of my favorites in the company) danced their roles beautifully.  The next piece is Apollo and it was definitely my favorite of the evening.  This ballet depicts the birth of the Greek god Apollo, his interactions with the Muses of poetry (Calliope), mime (Polyhymnia), and dance (Terpsichore), and his ultimate ascension to Mount Parnassus.  The choreography is very elegant and I especially enjoyed the innovative patterns and shapes created when Apollo (Chase O'Connell) dances with Calliope (Emily Neale), Polyhymnia (Chelsea Keefer), and Terpsichore (Beckanne Sisk).  I was particularly struck by how well the choreography interprets each particular Muse (my favorite was Polyhymnia).  I liked the simple costumes and the stark set with just a staircase representing Mount Parnassus.  Stravinsky's music for this ballet is incredibly beautiful and I was very moved by it.  The final piece is Prodigal Son, based on the parable from the Bible, and it is very dramatic.  The Prodigal (Christopher Sellars) is a rebellious young man who leaves his home only to be seduced by a Siren (Allison DeBona) and robbed by her followers.  Wretched and alone, he returns home and is forgiven by his father (Trevor Naumann) and sisters (Lillian Casscells and Victoria Vassos).  The costumes and set for this ballet are recreations of the originals by the expressionist artist Georges Rouault and, once again, I thought they were quite striking.  The choreography between the Prodigal and the Siren is frenzied and provocative but the final scene of forgiveness between him and his family is quite affecting.  I enjoyed hearing the music of Prokofiev, who wrote the score for this ballet, for the second night in a row!  After this production, as well as Jewels last season, it looks like I am becoming a fan of the one-act ballet!  Balanchine's Ballets Russes is an evening of three compelling ballets that is not to be missed!  Go here for tickets.

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

When I was a little girl in Canada my family lived next door to an older couple from Russia.  They were unable to have children of their own so they regarded me as a sort of surrogate granddaughter.  My parents warned me not to bother them but I loved going over to their house as often as I could because it was dark, exotic, and filled with the most magical objects, including an exquisite samovar that had pride of place in their living room.  They spoke Russian to me and served me pryanik, a type of Russian cookie, when they had tea in the afternoon.  I loved them dearly!  Because of this early influence, I have always been fascinated with all things Russian (I've been to Russia twice).  I love Russian history and Russian literature but I especially love Russian music because it is so passionate.  Last night's Utah Symphony concert featured three Russian composers, including my favorite Rachmaninoff, and I loved it so much!  In fact, my heart was almost bursting with emotion throughout the entire evening!  The orchestra began with Night on Bald Mountain, a moody and atmospheric tone poem composed by Modest Mussorgsky and arranged by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.  This piece is especially appropriate right before Halloween because it depicts a Witches' Sabbath and I always picture a group of witches dancing around a fire whenever I hear it.  I especially like the dramatic theme played by the brass throughout.  Next came the amazing Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  I have always loved this piece, including all of the Themes and Variations, because it is equally fiery and passionate, grand and stirring, wild and tempestuous, and unbearably romantic.  If I had to pick a favorite, like everyone else, I would pick Variation 18 because it is so beautiful and plaintive (perhaps you have heard it because it is featured in many movies, including Somewhere in Time).   Guest soloist Lukas Vondracek played it brilliantly!  I really enjoyed watching his fingers fly up and down the keyboard and his performance garnered a spontaneous standing ovation (and an encore) immediately after its conclusion.  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev.  This piece was written during the height of World War II as a tribute to the triumph of the human spirit and I particularly loved the final movement because it is so energetic.  This concert was absolutely sublime and I think you should get a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance of the same program.  

Thriller 2019

It has been a long and stressful week so I was really happy to be able to relax and attend Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller last night.  This Halloween themed dance extravaganza is one of my favorite traditions and I look forward to it all year.  Sometimes I think that maybe I don't need to see it every year because I've seen it so many times but, as I sit in the audience anticipating each dance, I know that I would feel really sad if I missed it.  It seems like everyone in the audience feels the same way that I do because they cheered out loud at the beginning of all the old favorites, including the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song "Thriller," a breakdancing mummy and his maidens in "Curse of the Mummy," misbehaving pandas in "Miss Alli's Nighmare," a Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of chainsaw wielding Jasons in "Jason Jam" (an audience favorite), scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass" (my favorite number), demonic dolls in "Chucky-Rama," and acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys."  It is always really fun to see subtle differences in the choreography or in the staging year after year and I love seeing returning members of the company.  This year there were also some new dances including a dance-off between dinosaurs in "Dino Dance," demonic possession in "Annabelle of the Ball," a tap dancer at odds with himself in "Jekyll & Hyde," and a costume parade in "Trick or Treat."  For the past several years there have also been performances by the artists of Aeris Aerial Arts in between the dance numbers.  They were all spectacular but my favorites were "Full Moon," with seven aerialists performing on a spinning globe, and "Phantom of the Opera," with two aerialists performing as the Phantom and Christine Daae on silks.  I really don't know how they can make their bodies do what they do!  I had so much fun last night and I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the few remaining shows (go here).  Whether you have never seen the show before or whether you go every year like me, you are sure to be impressed by the talented dancers of ODT!

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

I didn't especially like the movie Maleficent but I really enjoyed Angelina Jolie's performance and for that reason I decided to see the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, yesterday.  I liked it so much more than I thought I would.  Even after reversing the curse on Aurora (Elle Fanning), Maleficent (Jolie) is still viewed as a villain so Aurora rules as Queen of the Moors in her place.  Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) proposes to Aurora and she accepts, hoping that their marriage will unite the fairies of the Moor and Phillip's kingdom of Ulstead.  Maleficent is not happy about this marriage but agrees to attend a dinner in their honor hosted by Phillip's parents King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer).  Tensions brew during the dinner and King John falls under a spell for which Maleficent is unjustly blamed, causing Aurora to turn against her.  As Maleficent flees, she is shot with iron and collapses in the sea.  She is rescued by Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor), another fey with horns and wings like her, and taken to an underground cavern where the remaining fey left in the world are forced to live.  Conall urges her to remember her daughter and pleads for peace but Borra (Ed Skrein) and the other fey want war.  During an epic confrontation between the fairies and the humans, Aurora and Maleficent must remember the bond that brought them together in some really touching scenes (I may or may not have had a tear in my eye).  What I didn't like about the first movie is what the sequel absolutely gets right.  The visuals are stunning in this movie and I was completely drawn into the world inhabited by these fantastical creatures.  The CGI is a vast improvement on the original, in my opinion, and even those silly pixies (Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, and Juno Temple) didn't bother me this time.  Once again, Jolie gives a riveting performance and I particularly enjoyed the development of her character's conflicted feelings about her place in the world.  Pfeiffer is also sensational as a villain and I loved the scenes where Maleficent and Ingrith go toe to toe (I can't decide which character had the best costumes).  I liked the message about fighting against fear and intolerance and I found it to be quite moving, especially during a scene where one of the creatures is used to test the effectiveness of a deadly potion and another scene where a creature sacrifices herself to save the others.  I went into this movie expecting not to like it but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would definitely recommend it!

Sara Bareilles at the Maverik Center

I was once a very casual Sara Bareilles fan.  I liked "Love Song" and I loved "Brave" but I didn't really know any of her other material.  Then I saw the musical Waitress (Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics) on Broadway and I was completely blown away by it.  I especially loved the song "She Used to Be Mine" because Jenna, the main character, sings this song when she acknowledges to herself that her life has not turned out the way she had hoped it would and she needs to find the courage to change it.  It is highly emotional and I have cried during it both times I've seen the show.  This song made me respect Bareilles more as a songwriter and now I would consider myself a big fan of hers.  When I found out that she was coming to the Maverik Center I bought a ticket hoping against hope that she would sing it and she actually did!  She sang it (along with "Safe Place to Land," "You Matter to Me," and "Bad Idea" from Waitress) last night in the middle of her set and it was incredibly powerful!  She told the crowd that she wrote it for both Jenna and for herself and, as always, I cried all the way through it!  She sang quite a few songs from her new album Amidst the Chaos including "Fire," "Armor," "If I Can't Have You" (which she sang with Emily King who opened for her), "Eyes on You," "Miss Simone," "Orpheus," "No Such Thing," "Poetry by Dead Men," and "Saint Honesty."  I wasn't very familiar with these songs but I really liked them, especially "Poetry by Dead Men."  She also sang "Love Song" and "Brave," which were highlights for me, as well as "Gravity," "Let the Rain," "Uncharted," and a rousing rendition of "King of Anything."  The stage felt very intimate with all of the musicians in a semicircle around Bareilles on piano.  She was obviously thrilled to be performing again after a six year hiatus and her banter with the crowd was genuine and filled with appreciation for her fans.  She told lots of amusing anecdotes before most songs, even noting that she needed to stop talking or she would run out of time!  I really appreciated her messages about taking action for things you believe in, especially when the world feels like it is on fire, and accepting people for who they are.  It was a great show!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at PTC

I am a huge fan of PTC's concert series!  I have seen their productions of The Rocky Horror Show, Chess, In the Heights, and La Cage aux Folles (and enjoyed them immensely) but my favorite is definitely this year's production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.  I saw this show last night and I can't remember when I've laughed so hard!  Concert versions are stripped down performances where the actors use scripts (because they have a very short time to rehearse) and there are minimal costumes, sets, and props to let the music take center stage.  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the perfect musical for this format because the songs are absolutely hilarious as they are without much staging.  The story follows Lawrence Jameson (Brent Barrett), a charming and sophisticated international playboy, as he cons a wealthy woman named Muriel Eubanks (Elizabeth Ward Land), who is visiting the French Riviera from Omaha, by pretending to be a prince fighting a revolution to reclaim his country.  Soon an amateur con artist named Freddy Benson (Matthew Hydzik) comes to the Riviera and Jameson decides to take him under his wing to keep him from stealing his marks. When he tries to con Jolene Oakes (Talya Groves), an heiress from Oklahoma, he enlists Benson's help to get him out of an accidental engagement.  When they both take credit for the success of the plan, they bet each other that they can each con $50,000 from Christine Colgate (Kate Fahrner), an heiress from Cincinnati, and chaos ensues!  Benson pretends to be a paralyzed soldier and Jameson pretends to be a Viennese psychiatrist but who is conning who?  Even though there isn't a lot of blocking and choreography, there is still quite a bit of physical comedy and both Barrett and Hydzik are brilliant, especially during the songs "All About Ruprecht" and "Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen."  I also really liked "Great Big Stuff," "The More We Dance," and "Love Is My Legs" because they are completely over the top and made me laugh out loud!   Barrett and Hydzik have wonderful comedic timing and great chemistry together and the ensemble is highly entertaining!  The band, which is on stage during the performance, is fantastic and music director Phil Reno is incorporated into the action with amusing results. I don't think I stopped laughing through the whole show so I highly recommend it for a fun night out!  There are only two more performances today so act quickly (go here for tickets).

Miss Saigon at the Eccles

After I was able to see Les Miserables in London on a study abroad trip, Miss Saigon went to the top of the list of musicals I most wanted to see.  I finally had the opportunity to see it when the Broadway touring production came to SLC several years later and, while I absolutely loved the show, I was a little bit disappointed.  The Capitol Theatre stage couldn't accommodate the helicopter used in the fall of Saigon so a hologram was used instead.  I have always wanted to see the actual helicopter and I got my wish last night when a new production came to the Eccles Theatre.  This musical is based on Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly but it is set in Vietnam near the end of the war.  Kim (Emily Bautista) is a recently orphaned young girl who comes to Saigon from a rural village to be a bargirl at Dreamland, a brothel owned by the Engineer (Red Concepcion).  A U.S. Marine named Chris (Anthony Festa) is disillusioned by the war and is captivated by Kim's innocence.  The Engineer arranges for him to spend the night with Kim and they fall in love and begin a relationship.  Kim's cousin Thuy (Jinwoo Jung), to whom she was betrothed, has become an officer in the North Vietnamese Army and comes to Saigon to take her back home.  She refuses, believing Chris's promise that he will take her with him when he returns home, but he inadvertently leaves her behind in the chaos at the end of the war.  Three years later, the Engineer is in a reeducation camp but is asked by Thuy, now a commissar in the new Communist government, to find Kim.  When the Engineer finds her, Thuy is horrified to find out that Kim has had a son with Chris and tries to kill the boy.  Kim kills Thuy instead to save her son and turns to the Engineer for help.   He ultimately decides to help her because he believes that her son is his ticket to America and the three of them flee to Bangkok.  When Chris, who is now married to Ellen (Ellie Fishman), learns of his son's existence he travels to Bangkok to see him.  Kim believes that Chris is finally coming back to get her but, when she learns that he is married, she makes the ultimate sacrifice and begs him to take the boy with him.  The music in this show is incredibly beautiful and emotional and the principals all have amazing voices!  I especially loved "The Last Night of the World," "Too Much for One Heart," and "The American Dream."  Bautista's powerful rendition of "I'd Give My Life for You" made me cry (and I was not alone).  I loved the dramatic staging for "The Morning of the Dragon" and "Fall of Saigon." The helicopter is only on stage for a few minutes but it is absolutely spectacular and gave me goosebumps.  I loved this revival and I highly recommend it with the proviso that "The Heat is On in Saigon" and "What a Waste" are a bit raunchy (a couple sitting near me left after "The Heat is On in Saigon" which is the first number in the show).  It runs at the Eccles until October 20 (go here for tickets).

Zombieland Double Feature

I am now officially on fall break and I couldn't be happier!  I am not going out of town this year but I do have quite a few things planned and I'm really looking forward to them.  I started my break with a double feature of Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap and it was so much fun.  My sister Kristine kept telling me that I would really like Zombieland, but I never went to see it when it was in theaters.  She finally made me watch it when we were all camping one weekend and, of course, I loved watching Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) battle the undead after the zombie apocalypse.  I'm glad I had the chance to see it again (this time on the big screen).  Zombieland: Double Tap picks up ten years later and finds Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock living as a family in the abandoned White House.  However, Wichita feels that she is becoming too attached to Columbus and Little Rock thinks that Tallahassee is overbearing and wants a boyfriend so they leave.  Wichita eventually returns after Little Rock takes off with a hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia).  She convinces Tallahassee and Columbus to go after Little Rock with her and chaos ensues.  They meet other survivors named Madison (Zoey Deutch), Reno (Rosario Dawson), Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) and discover that the zombies have mutated to become stronger and faster.  There is an epic confrontation with these zombies and the four of them realize that they really are a family who belong together.  In my opinion, this movie is not quite as good as the original (some of the humor is a bit belabored) but there are some really funny scenes, especially those involving characters that mimic the personalities of our main characters, and some fun (and gory) action sequences, particularly the Zombie Kill of the Week (and Month and Century).  I had so much fun watching this movie because the fun and rowdy crowd cheered every time one of Columbus' rules appeared on the screen!  I think fans of the original will like this movie as much as I did.

Alien

The first time I saw Alien, I was in high school babysitting for a family down the street.  It was after midnight and the kids were all asleep so I went downstairs to the basement and started watching HBO.  This movie came on and I distinctly remember everything about it because it was the single most terrifying movie experience I have ever had.  No one can hear you scream in space and, apparently, no one can hear you scream in the basement of a neighbor's house!  I have since watched this movie countless times but never on the big screen (I was 11 when it was first released in theaters) so I was beyond excited when it was announced as a TCM Big Screen Classics selection!  My Dad loves this movie as much as I do so he came along with me to see it last night!  We had such a great time!  The crew of the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo is awakened from stasis to investigate a distress call in space.  They land on a moon and find an alien ship which they investigate.  Kane (John Hurt), one of the crew members, discovers a chamber containing hundreds of eggs and, when he touches one, a creature emerges and attaches itself to his face.  Back on board the Nostromo, the creature detaches itself and is later found dead.  Kane seems to be fine but eventually an alien bursts from his chest, killing him, and escapes into the ship.  One by one, the crew members, including Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), are killed as they hunt for the alien until Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is left alone to confront it in some of the most suspenseful scenes ever filmed.  In fact, this movie is the standard I use to judge all other science fiction and horror movies and most of them pale in comparison.  The use of lighting and sound design in this movie is absolutely brilliant and seeing it on the big screen made it even more ominous.  I jumped a mile (although, thankfully, I did not scream) when they find Jones the cat while looking for the alien.  This movie is a masterpiece and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.  Go here for details and tickets.

Utah Opera's La Traviata

Last night I was able to attend opening night for Utah Opera's production of Verdi's tragic masterpiece, La Traviata, and it was a magnificent performance!  Violetta Valery (Anya Mantanovic) is a beautiful and glamorous courtesan who lives only for pleasure.  Even though she is suffering from consumption, she hosts a lavish party at her home and encourages her guests to sing a wild drinking song.  When she grows too tired to dance, a young man named Alfredo Germont (Rafael Moras) stays behind and declares his love for her.  She resists him because she likes her simple life of pleasure.  However, when he leaves she realizes that she is in love with him.  They leave Paris and live happily together until Alfredo's father Germont (Michael Chioldi) comes to ask Violetta to leave Alfredo because their relationship is scandalizing the family and ruining his daughter's prospects for marriage.  Violetta tearfully agrees to sacrifice her love for the sake of Alfredo and returns to Paris.  She attends a masquerade ball hosted by her friend Flora (Quinn Middleman) with one of her former patrons, Baron Douphol (Christopher Holmes).  When Alfredo sees her with the Baron, he treats her with such contempt that his father tells him of her sacrifice.  Later, Alfredo begs Violetta to forgive him and she dies in his arms.  I loved everything about this production!  The music in this opera is very well known and the three leads sing their roles brilliantly.  Mantanovic is incredibly passionate as Violetta in Act 1, especially in the aria, "Sempre Libera," and tragic in Act 3 when she sings "Addio, del passato bei sogni rrdenti."  Moras has such a beautiful voice and I enjoyed his interpretation of the impetuous Alfredo.  His version of "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" is incredibly stirring.  I was also very impressed with Chioldi because his rendition of "Di Provenza il mar" gave me goosebumps!  The chorus is also outstanding, especially at the end of Act 2 when they denounce Alfredo for his treatment of Violetta ("Di donne ignobile insultatore").  As always, the sets and costumes are wonderful and I especially liked the juxtaposition between the opulence of Violetta's Paris home with the more modest villa she shares with Alfredo in the country.  Another aspect of this particular production that I enjoyed was the collaboration with the Ririe Woodbury Dance Company.  Members of this company (Dominica Greene, Nicholas Jurica, Megan McCarthy, Brian Nelson, Bashaun Williams, and Melissa Rochelle Younker) perform a waltz during Violetta's party and the gypsy and matador dances at Flora's masquerade and these dances are exquisite.  Even if you are not a big fan of opera you are sure to recognize many of the arias in La Traviata and I highly recommend seeing Utah Opera's production!  It runs at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre through October 20 (go here for tickets).

Lucy in the Sky

It seems like I have been anticipating the movie Lucy in the Sky for such a long time.  Even though it was panned at TIFF, I decided to see it anyway last night.  Astronaut Lucy Cola (Natalie Portman) has a transformative experience during a mission to space.  When she returns to Earth, she finds it difficult to adapt to ordinary life again.  Everything feels small and insignificant and she feels disconnected from her husband (Dan Stevens) and the rest of her family.  She decides that the only solution is to go back to space and begins obsessively training to be a part of the next mission.  She also begins an affair with fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin (Jon Hamm).  When a training incident grounds her and Goodwin abandons her in favor of another astronaut (Zazie Beetz), she suffers a breakdown culminating in a cross-country road trip to confront Goodwin.  This movie is a total mess and I was actually really disappointed because it has such an interesting premise.  At first it is a haunting, if jumbled, portrait of a woman going through an existential crisis and I didn't mind the overly stylized shots, the skewed perspectives, and the bewildering changes in aspect ratio (director Noah Hawley is trying so hard to be a serious artist).  However, in the third act there is a huge tonal shift with an incredibly trippy scene where Lucy floats through a hospital corridor after her grandmother has a stroke with a psychedelic version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" playing underneath it.  After this scene the movie becomes absolutely bonkers as Lucy becomes more and more hysterical while driving to San Diego to pursue her lover.  This suggests that it is not really her experience in space but a failed relationship that causes her undoing. There are moments that are so bizarre I actually laughed out loud, especially a manic shopping trip for kidnapping supplies and an extended sequence showing Lucy running in slow motion.  It is so inconsistent that it seems like two separate movies with a meditative beginning exploring the meaning of existence and then a campy ending about a love triangle.  I was also really confused by a belabored metaphor comparing Lucy to a butterfly that gets destroyed by wasps.  This leads to a strange ending which shows Lucy working as a bee keeper three years after the incident with a final shot of her gazing at a butterfly.  What is this supposed to mean?  Ugh!  The audiences at TIFF were right about this movie and I recommend giving it a miss.

Gemini Man

When I first saw the trailers for Gemini Man a few months ago, I thought the idea of a man forced to confront a younger version of himself sounded really intriguing so I saw a Thursday preview last night.  While there are quite a few problems, I actually enjoyed this movie.  Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is a highly trained government assassin who is getting older and starting to feel conflicted about what he does so he wants to retire.  However, he learns that his last assignment was a set-up to cover the tracks of a covert black ops agency run by Clay Varris (Clive Owen) known as GEMINI.  Fearing Brogan’s response, his own agency sends a team of assassins to kill him but he eludes them easily with the help of two other colleagues who remain loyal to him (Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong).  The three of them travel to Colombia, where Brogan believes he will be safe, but Varris sends another assassin who seems to know his every move before he makes it.  He eventually learns that this assassin is a clone created by Varris to have all of his strengths without his any of his weaknesses (like having a conscience).  This leads to an epic confrontation between Brogan, his clone, and Varris.  The action sequences in this movie are incredibly intense and inventive (I saw this in 3D+ HFR and I actually thought it was amazing but others might not like it and I've heard that the action is not as good in other formats), particularly a motorcycle chase in the streets of Cartegena, hand-to-hand combat in the catacombs of Budapest, and a wild fire fight in a warehouse in Atlanta.  I liked Smith's sincerity in this dual role (although the younger version sometimes looks a little creepy) but I especially enjoyed Winstead because she really kicks ass and Wong because he adds a bit of levity.  The dialogue in this movie is very clunky (much of it is even cringe-worthy) and the story isn't as fully realized as it could be with such an interesting premise.  However, the biggest problem for me is that the movie spends quite a bit of time trying to solve the mystery of who this secret assassin is and the big reveal is played as if it is a major plot twist.  Because of the marketing for this movie, everyone knows going in that the assassin is a younger version of the main character so the build up falls a bit flat.  It is almost laughable how long it takes Brogan to realize that this assassin looks just like him.  Still, I had a lot of fun watching it and I recommend it to fans of action movies.

The Testaments

The TV series on Hulu has made The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood extremely popular again but I remember reading it as a teenager when it was first published in 1985.  I also had the opportunity to hear Margaret Atwood speak about it at the University of Utah when I was in college. The dystopian story about the subjugation of women in the totalitarian society of Gilead affected me as no other book has before or since so I was beyond excited to learn that this month's book club selection was The Testaments, Atwood's long awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. More than anything I wanted to know the fate of Offred and this book answers that question...sort of. Offred is a powerful and integral part of the story but she is not an actual character. Instead, the narrative alternates between the perspectives of Aunt Lydia, a young girl living in Gilead named Agnes, and a young girl living in Canada named Daisy. Aunt Lydia is a villain in The Handmaid's Tale but, fifteen years after the events in that story, we learn that Lydia has been creating an illegal document recounting her life before Gilead and how she had to overcome many obstacles to become a respected judge, how she chose to accept her role as an Aunt as a means of survival, and her attempts to undermine the patriarchy. Agnes is a privileged young girl who is being prepared for marriage to a Commander. She is content with her role in society until she is allowed to read the Bible for herself and realizes that she has been lied to her entire life. Daisy has never been told that she was smuggled out of Gilead as a baby, that the people who have raised her are really members of the Resistance, and that she is now an important symbol to the people of Gilead. When she learns her identity, she decides to work for the Resistance and infiltrate Gilead society. What I loved about this book is that you never really know what any of the three main characters will ultimately do until the final resolution because the stakes are so high for them. It actually felt like a suspenseful thriller more than a manifesto. My book club last night had some great discussions about the corrupting influence of absolute power and how the oppressed will always find a way to rise. We also talked about the dangers of fundamentalism and how the narrative seems to echo many events in the world today which is truly frightening.  Finally, we discussed the important role that reading (we are a book club with members who love reading, after all) played in toppling the totalitarian regime. As a huge fan of The Handmaid's Tale I really enjoyed this sequel (I finished it in two days because it is so compelling) and I would highly recommend it.

Note:  Next month's selection is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.  The early reviews of this book are great so I am eager to start reading it.  Go here for more information about the Barnes & Noble Book Club and join us for a lively discussion of this selection on Nov 5.

Rambo: Last Blood

My Dad is as much of a night owl as I am and we have decided that we like going to late movies on Saturday nights (we saw Ad Astra a few weeks ago) and now we want to go as often as we can.  Last night we decided to see Rambo: Last Blood and we had such a good time.  Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is suffering from PTSD but has found a measure of peace on his father's horse ranch in Arizona and has created a surrogate family with his housekeeper Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal).  Gabriela has tracked down the father who abandoned her and her mother and, against Rambo's advice, she travels to Mexico to confront him.  After her father rejects her, she goes to a club where she is drugged and kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring run by Hugo and Victor Martinez (Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Oscar Jaenada, respectively).  Rambo travels to Mexico to save her but is unsuccessful.  He ultimately kills Victor forcing an epic confrontation with Hugo and a large group of his hitmen back at his ranch where he has booby trapped a series of elaborate underground tunnels.  This confrontation, which is the entire third act of the movie, is violent, graphic, and intense but it is strangely satisfying.  Even though they are violent, the action sequences are amazing because Rambo uses a variety of different weapons in very innovative ways and I actually wanted to cheer when a particularly despicable character meets a grisly end.  I really liked Rambo's character arc in this movie because this time around he is exacting revenge for the brutal death of a loved one and there are scenes that are filled with genuine emotion.  I also liked the fact that Rambo isn't entirely invincible in this movie.  He willingly puts himself in harm's way, and gets beaten very badly, for the sake of someone he loves and that is what makes this a fitting conclusion his story.  All of the critics hated this movie but I think fans of the franchise will enjoy it.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at CPT

The first time I saw The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I fell in love with both the story about a group of outcasts who take refuge in Notre Dame Cathedral and the beautiful music!  I was very impressed with HCT's production so I was really looking forward to CPT's version. I got to see it last night and, once again, I loved everything about it! Quasimodo (Christian Lackman) has been hidden by his master Frollo (Daniel Frederickson) in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral all of his life because of his deformity. He wonders what it would be like to leave the cathedral and decides that he will be safe on the streets of Paris during the Feast of Fools. He is eventually crowned the King of the Fools but when the crowd turns on him the gypsy Esmeralda (Becca Burdick) rescues him. She also catches the eye of the captain of the cathedral guard Phoebus de Martin (Spencer McCoy) who falls in love with her and she bewitches Frollo who becomes obsessed with possessing her. When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her.  When Phoebus refuses they both become fugitives who are aided by Quasimodo until the final confrontation in the bell tower. The four main leads are outstanding! My favorite song in the show is "God Help the Outcasts" and Burdick sings it so beautifully; Frederickson's version of "Hellfire" is incredibly dramatic and powerful (it is also staged brilliantly);  Lackman's rendition of "Heaven's Light" brought tears to my eyes; and McCoy is so romantic when he sings "Someday" with Burdick.  The talented ensemble also does an excellent job narrating the story in "The Bells of Notre Dame" and its multiple reprises.  One of my favorite aspects of this show is the use of gargoyles (Jacob Grossenbach, Loren Atwater, Kylee Turner, and Azia Moeai) as characters who help and inspire Quasimodo, especially in "Made of Stone."  The choreography is very energetic and engaging, particularly when the gypsies dance in "Rhythm of the Tambourine" and "Topsy Turvy."  The set is spectacular with large moving pieces that instantly transform the stage into the bell tower of the cathedral, the town square in front of the cathedral, and the Court of Miracles.  I especially loved the rose window of the cathedral and the the giant bells above the stage that would "ring" when needed.  Everything about this production is fabulous;  in fact, it is one of the best productions I've seen at CPT.  I highly recommend seeing this beautiful story come to life for yourself (go here for tickets).

Joker

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Joker and I thought it was as brilliant as it was disturbing.  Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a mentally ill young man who suffers from a condition where he laughs uncontrollably in inappropriate situations.  He is a clown for hire during the day and an aspiring comedian at night who feels alienated from everyone around him.  He feels that he has been rejected by his mother, his colleagues, a would-be girlfriend, his social worker, and a society that values the wealthy over the less fortunate.  After he is attacked on the subway by a group of wealthy young men who are provoked by his clown costume and his laughter, he brutally kills them.  This starts a series of riots where people dressed as clowns attack the wealthy and it also awakens something inside Arthur who begins taking revenge against everyone who has hurt him.  His killing spree culminates on a TV talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro, in a nod to The King of Comedy), a comedian who ridicules him by playing footage of his disastrous routine at a comedy club.  Arthur eventually becomes a cult hero for the less fortunate of Gotham City with unforeseen consequences involving the wealthy Wayne family.  This is a thought-provoking condemnation of a society that fails to protect the vulnerable and it is upsetting to watch, particularly because of the tension that builds and builds as Arthur descends into a madness that feels inevitable.  Phoenix is absolutely brilliant in this physically and emotionally demanding role.  As much as I was repulsed by the violence of Arthur's actions, Phoenix actually made me empathize with the character and that left me feeling incredibly unnerved.  It is a performance that I will definitely not soon forget.  The cinematography is striking with an incredibly dark and gritty tone that calls to mind Martin Scorsese's best films of the 1970s and the score by Hildur Gudnadottir is haunting.  I don't know if I can recommend something that left me feeling so traumatized but it is one of the best movies of the year.

Hustlers

I didn’t initially have a lot of interest in seeing Hustlers but several people whose opinions I value recommended it very highly to me so I decided to see it last night.  I'm glad that I took a chance on this movie because it is much better than I was expecting.  Dorothy (Constance Wu), who takes the stage name Destiny, is working at a strip club to support her infirm grandmother but she is barely getting by.  She turns to veteran stripper Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) who coaches her on how to get better tips.  She begins making a lot more money but, more importantly, she and Ramona become close friends.  Everything changes when the financial crisis of 2008 happens and both Destiny and Ramona become desperate to make money.  Ramona comes up with the idea of luring wealthy Wall Street traders into the club, drugging them with a mixture of ketamine and ecstasy, and running up their credit cards to the limit.  Destiny and strippers Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart) join her and they all become fabulously wealthy until it all falls apart.  This movie is a true story based on a 2015 New York Times article called "The Hustlers at Scores" so there is a framing device of having a reporter (Julia Stiles) interview the strippers in 2014 with flashbacks to the past.   What I really loved about this movie is that it has a powerful message about friendship and female empowerment.  While there are a few fun shopping montages, both Ramona and Destiny are ultimately trying to improve the lives of their daughters so that they will have more choices than they did.  I also found the biting social commentary to be very interesting (it reminded me a lot of The Big Short).  The women justify what they are doing by saying that these corrupt Wall Street bigwigs have fleeced Americans for years with their unscrupulous policies so they are just trying to get some of the money back.  It's hard not to root for them to succeed!  Finally, the performances are great!  Wu is incredibly affecting, especially when her conscience begins to bother her, but Lopez gives a tour-de-force performance that is definitely one of her best (it has already generated some Oscar buzz).  Cardi B and Lizzo have some fun cameos as strippers as does Usher who plays himself.  I would recommend this movie with the proviso that it does earn its R rating with quite a bit of nudity, sexuality, (the characters are strippers who dance provocatively) drug use, and language.