The Shrouds

David Cronenberg is definitely not for everyone but I really like him as a director so I was excited, and nervous, to introduce my nephew to him by seeing The Shrouds at the Broadway last night.  Businessman Karsh (Vincent Cassel) is so grief-stricken over the death of his wife Rebecca (Diane Kruger) from a virulent form of cancer that he creates a company called GraveTech which uses specially designed shrouds with 3D cameras to allow loved ones to watch the decomposition of the deceased's corpse through a live feed but this keeps him from moving on.  When several graves are vandalized, including Rebecca's, the live feed is hacked and Karsh is drawn into several conspiracy theories.  One involves Rebecca's oncologist, Dr. Jerry Eckler (Steve Switzman), who Karsh suspects was experimenting on his patients after discovering unusual protrusions on Rebecca's bones and on the bones of those in the other defaced graves.  Another involves a suspected plot by the Chinese government, who are investors in GraveTech, to use the live feed for surveillance.  Yet another involves his former brother-in-law Maury (Guy Pearce), who wrote the code for GraveTech's security, because of his growing paranoia over Karsh's relationship with Rebecca's sister, Terry (Diane Kruger).  I had prepared my nephew for Cronenberg's use of body horror in his movies but, while this does show the devastating effects of cancer when Karsh has a series of dreams about Rebecca's worsening condition before her death, I think it is pretty mild.  However, both of us found it incredibly thought-provoking with commentary on several topics.  My nephew was intrigued by the use of technology, particularly Karsh's reliance on the AI assistant modeled on Rebecca, but I was struck by the theme of obsession and its dangers.  Karsh is preoccupied by Rebecca's body which is why he eventually begins a relationship with Terry because her body is so similar to Rebecca's and why he is tormented by jealousy because Dr. Eckler was more intimately involved with her body at the end of her life than he was.  Both Karsh and Maury go to extreme lengths to maintain possession of Rebecca and Terry, respectively, because they cannot let them go.  I know that some will be frustrated by the ambiguity of the ending (there are no definitive answers about the conspiracy surrounding the vandalism of the graves) but, to me, the resolution comes from Karsh letting go of his obsession for Rebecca in order to move on (although I interpret the final scene to mean that he has become obsessed with someone new).  I loved Cassel's detached and almost stilted delivery because, in my opinion, it shows that Karsh's desire to be with his wife has kept him from truly living.  I think this is brilliant (I haven't been able to stop thinking about it) but it is not something I would recommend to everyone.

Until Dawn

Despite the fact that I have never played the game, I really wanted to see Until Dawn because the premise sounded intriguing.  I convinced my nephew, who loves the game, to see it with me last night and we both hated it.  Clover (Ella Rubin) is still traumatized by the disappearance of her sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell) a year ago so she and her friends Max (Michael Cimino), Nina (Odessa A'zion), Megan (Ji-young Yoo), and Abel (Belmont Cameli) travel to her last known location hoping for some closure.  A severe thunderstorm forces them to stop at an abandoned house in Glore Valley and they notice some unsettling details.  There is a giant hourglass that suddenly flips over, there is a guestbook signed by each visitor (including Melanie) thirteen times, and there is a bulletin board filled with posters of missing people (including Melanie).  Nina signs the guestbook and then they are all brutally killed, one by one, by a mysterious figure in a mask.  Everything resets and the five of them are back to where they started the previous night but the hourglass flips again, Nina's name appears in the guestbook a second time, and all of them appear on the bulletin board as missing people.  Every night they are killed in a new and gruesome way (my favorite is when they explode after drinking the tap water) and then everything resets again.  They eventually realize that they will be stuck in this time loop until they can survive the night.  I thought this was really clever and I enjoyed the first act but then it becomes an incoherent mess.  They eventually learn that those who are killed more than thirteen times become wendigos, supernatural beings who then torment the next visitors to the house, and that Melanie is now a wendigo.  They also learn that Glore Valley was the site of a mining tragedy that killed over 11,000 people and that a psychologist named Dr. Hill (Peter Stormare, who is reprising his role from the game) was brought in to help the survivors overcome their trauma.  Dr. Hill is now running an elaborate experiment to help Clover, who is apparently his patient, overcome the trauma of her sister's disappearance (they never learn how Dr. Hill is able to create and manipulate all of the supernatural elements in the house).  There is absolutely no logic to the narrative and, in my opinion, the filmmakers should have chosen the supernatural story with the wendigos or the psychological story about trauma with Dr. Hill but not both.  I had so many questions for my nephew afterwards but he said that the movie is nothing like the game (the game actually sounds really interesting).  To add insult to injury, it looks terrible because it is so dark that you can't see what is happening and the dialogue is incredibly cringe-worthy (I lost track of how many times the characters say, "Holy shit").  This is definitely one to miss and my nephew recommends playing the game, instead.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

There was a time when A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder was the show that I most wanted to see so, even though I have now been to productions at just about every Utah theatre (with another one scheduled this summer), I was still really excited to see it again at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse last night because it is so hilarious. Some shows are better than others at this theatre and this is one of the best I've seen there! I absolutely loved it. After his mother dies, Monty Navarro (Joe Robinson) learns from one of her friends, Miss Shingle (Melissa Trenery), that she was part of the illustrious D'Ysquith Family (Scot D. Struble) and was disinherited for marrying his father. He is really Montague D'Ysquith Navarro and he is in line to inherit the earldom (there are only eight family members ahead of him). When his vain and heartless girlfriend Sibella (Karlie Ady) decides to marry the rich and handsome Lionel Holland, Monty decides to kill every family member ahead of him in the line of succession in order to become the earl and win her back. While in prison awaiting trial for the murder of the only D'Ysquith for which he is not actually guilty, he begins writing his memoirs detailing how the Reverend Lord Ezekial D'Ysquith fell from the tower of his cathedral, how Asquith D'Ysquith, Jr. fell through the ice in a skating accident, how Henry D'Ysquith was stung by a swarm of his own bees, how Lady Hyacinth D'Ysquith was presumed dead on a philanthropic mission to a tribe of cannibals, how Major Lord Bartholomew D'Ysquith was decapitated while lifting weights, how Lady Salome D'Ysquith Pomphrey was killed by real bullets in a prop gun during her debut in Hedda Gabler, how Lord Asquith D'Ysquith, Sr. was driven to a heart attack by all of the family tragedies, and how Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith, the Earl of Highurst, was poisoned. He also details the relationship he began with Phoebe D'Ysquith (Jordyn Tracy) to make Sibella jealous. The charges are dismissed when Phoebe and Sibella each give proof that the other committed the murder but Monty might not live happily every after because Chauncey D'Ysquith, the next in line to the earldom, is lurking! This show features lots of madcap physical comedy and some really fun songs (my favorites are "Better With a Man" by the flamboyant Henry, "Lady Hyacinth Abroad" by the socially conscious Hyacinth, and "I've Decided to Marry You" by the lovestruck Phoebe). Robinson, Ady, and Tracy have beautiful voices but I especially loved Struble's performance because he is brilliant with distinct characterizations for each member of the D'Ysquith Family and I laughed out loud at all of his antics (this theatre is very intimate so I could see all of his facial expressions). Unlike other productions I have seen, this one has a very minimal set with just a few pieces moved on and off stage by the ensemble but this works because the projections and moving panels used as backdrops are fantastic.  The staging is extremely clever, especially when Monty tries to keep Sibella and Phoebe apart in different rooms at his flat and when the portraits at Highurst Castle sing. Finally, the beautiful period costumes are some of the best I've seen at this theatre and I particularly loved the gowns worn by Sibella and Phoebe at Highurst Castle. This is one show that you don't want to miss (go here for tickets). It runs on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 31.

On Swift Horses

I didn't really know much about On Swift Horses but I was really excited about the stellar cast so I decided to see a matinee at the Broadway yesterday.  It looks beautiful and has a powerful message but I found it strangely underwhelming.  After a troubled childhood, Lee Walker (Will Poulter) has a plan for his life which includes going out West to California, buying a house, and starting a family but his wife Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and his brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) feel constrained by the conventions of the 1950s.  Muriel begins betting on horse races but she hides her winnings from her husband.  Julius takes a job as security in a Las Vegas casino even though he still acts as a card sharp.  However, the biggest gamble that Muriel and Julius take is to begin clandestine relationships with Sandra (Sasha Calle) and Henry (Diego Calva), respectively.  Will they risk it all for love?  I am really torn on this because the visuals are absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed the performances because they are filled with so much wistful longing shown with lots of closeups on the beautiful faces of Edgar-Jones and Elordi.  I also think the gambling metaphor works very well for the risk taking and secrecy involved in pursuing a forbidden love and the journey to break free from conformity is one I always appreciate.  There is just something that kept me from loving this.  The pacing is incredibly slow but I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters because they are not very well developed.  I also found the ending to be really ambiguous for all of the characters and I wanted something more after the endless build-up.  I suspect that the novel by Shannon Pufahl, upon which this is based, is much better and I recommend waiting for streaming to watch it.

Revenge of the Sith

Of the three Star Wars prequels, my favorite is Revenge of the Sith because, even though I already knew what would happen the first time I saw it (anyone familiar with A New Hope knew what would happen), I still found it incredibly compelling,  I was really curious about why Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) turned to the dark side of the Force and I wanted to see how he was physically transformed into Darth Vader.  I was eager for the confrontation that had been building between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and to learn why the latter was compelled to live as a hermit on Tatooine afterwards.  I wanted to know how Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) was able to take over the Senate and become the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.  Finally, I was most interested in how and why the twins Luke and Leia were taken from Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and raised separately.  I eagerly awaited all of these revelations and I remember being blown away by the emotional conclusion to the trilogy.  Episode III is now back in theaters to commemorate its 20th anniversary (what?) and I was so excited to see it on the big screen again with my nephew last night.  I loved all of the exciting action sequences, especially the light saber battles between Anikan, Obi-Wan, and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) during the rescue of Palpatine, between Obi-Wan and General Grievous on Utapau (even though he resorts to an uncivilized blaster to destroy him), between Palpatine and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) in Palpatine's office on Coruscant, between Darth Vader and all of the Separatists on Mustafar, between Yoda (Frank Oz) and the newly created Emperor in the Senate chamber on Coruscant, and, of course, the epic battle between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader on Mustafar.  Christensen's performance has been much maligned but, in my opinion, his portrayal of the conflict within Anakin is very powerful and I loved the cross-cutting between Anakin in the council room and Padme in their apartment before he makes the fateful decision to go to Palpatine.  The music by John Williams is always a highlight and, while I found "The Battle of the Heroes" to be incredibly stirring, I absolutely loved the callbacks to "The Imperial March" when Anakin pledges himself to the Sith and to the Main Theme when Obi-Wan delivers Luke to Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Beru (Bonnie Piesse) on Tatooine.  I cheered every time I saw a reference to the original trilogy (Padme's buns!) and I was particularly struck by the armor worn by the clone troopers who execute Order 66 because they appear to be an early iteration of the armor eventually worn by the stormtroopers (I don't know why I have never noticed that before).  Seeing this again was so much fun and I highly recommend it (especially if you have never seen it on the big screen).

Note:  Apologies to my nephew for my unhinged behavior which started during the opening crawl (although he said I wasn't as crazy as some of the other people watching it with us).

The Wizard of Oz at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts

My sisters were really impressed when we saw a preview of The Wizard of Oz at the SCERA gala in February so the three of us went to see it last night. The show is delightful and we had a lot of fun watching it. The stage musical, based on the 1939 movie, tells the story of how Dorothy Gale (Mia Hansen) lands, literally, in the fantastical world of Oz and how she travels with the Scarecrow (Jared Wilkinson), the Tin Man (Bryan Johnson), and the Cowardly Lion (Ambrocio Mireles, Jr.) to see the Wizard (Chad Taylor), hoping that he can get her back to Kansas, while avoiding the Wicked Witch of the West (Kimberly Nearon), who wants the ruby slippers given to her by Glinda the Good Witch (Camilla Curtis). Hansen gives an incredible performance and her rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (which is what impressed my sisters so much at the gala) will definitely give you goosebumps.  Wilkinson, Johnson, and Mireles are also outstanding and they each have a moment to shine in "If I Only Had a Brain," "If I Only Had a Heart," and "If I Only Had a Nerve," respectively. I especially enjoyed Wilkinson's acrobatics because it really seems like his body is made of straw (I was also impressed with his consistency in all of the of the choreography in the show). I loved seeing all of the children in the cast, especially Allison Farnsworth, Elsa Parry, and Scout Olenik as the Lullaby League and Ian Evans, Jeb Buffington, and Maxwell Harper as the Lollipop Guild, because they are adorable and very talented and Mia steals every scene she is in as Toto. The costumes are colorful and whimsical and one of the touches I really enjoyed is the change in Dorothy's gingham dress from a muted gray in Kansas to a vivid blue in Oz. I also liked that the costumes for the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion incorporate elements from their counterparts in Kansas. The costumes for Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West are as gorgeous as you would expect after seeing the movie Wicked. The flying effects are impressive, particularly when Mrs. Gulch flies across the stage on her bicycle and when the Wizard leaves Oz in his balloon, and the projections, especially for the tornado, are pretty spectacular. Finally, the scenic design, including the apparatus used by the Wizard (complete with moving eyes and mouth), the yellow brick road, and the farmhouse with its picket fence, is very effective in transporting the audience to both Kansas and Oz. My only complaint is that the pacing in the second act is a bit sluggish but I highly recommend this show (there were lots of families in the audience last night and the children were mesmerized). It runs at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 3 (go here for tickets).

Note:  My sisters are now eager to see more shows at SCERA.

Puffs at the Empress Theatre

Last night I went to the Empress Theatre for their production of Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. I think this show is so fun and clever and I had a blast watching it with a large and boisterous crowd who laughed out loud all night! It is a parody of the beloved Harry Potter franchise and all of the well-known characters are alluded to with enough recognizable traits to know exactly who they are without naming them (my favorites are A Certain Potions Teacher, Professor Turban, Professor Locky, A Very Tall Man, and Real Mr. Moody) and all of the memorable events still happen but they are shown from the perspective of secondary characters who are not involved in the action. A Narrator (Jana White) introduces the audience to a brave orphan wizard with a lightning bolt scar named Harry Potter (Lexy Osborne) but then tells us that this story is about another orphan named Wayne Hopkins (Raiden Dwight) who is also sent to the school of female magic and male magic after learning that he is a wizard. When he arrives, there is a ceremony to sort everyone into one of the four houses: Braves, Smarts, Snakes, and Puffs. Wayne is sorted into Puffs and he is soon introduced to the prefect, Cedric Diggory (Brendan Sampsel), and the other outcasts and misfits in this house, including Oliver Rivers (Brady Neilson), Megan Jones (Hannah Stark), Susie Bones (Lexy Osborne), J. Finch Fletchley (Adrian Young), Sally Perks (Lucy Bawden), Ernie Mac (Konor Hafen), and others. On the same fateful night when Harry, Ron, and Hermione become friends while defeating a troll, Wayne becomes friends with Oliver, a math prodigy, and Megan, the daughter of one of the Dark Lord's followers, while hiding from the troll in a forbidden chamber. Over the next seven years, Wayne struggles to learn magic and protect everyone from Mr. Voldy (Brendan Sampsel) but he is constantly overshadowed by Harry who steals all of the attention, including the moment when the Puffs are finally allowed to shine during the Three Wizard Tournament. In the final battle, Mr. Voldy mistakes Wayne for Harry and kills him and, when he meets the Headmaster, he complains that his life was useless. The Headmaster tells him that everyone is a hero to someone and then we see in the Epilogue nineteen years later that Megan and Oliver have named their son Wayne. Fans of the books and movies will find so many hilarious references (but you have to pay attention). I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe when Wayne says that he and Cedric will be like Batman and Robin (a subtle nod to Robert Pattinson's role as the caped crusader) and when Blondo Malfoy tells his son Scorpius to avoid time turning in the Epilogue (an allusion to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). The action is non-stop with most of the actors playing multiple roles (two different actors play the Headmaster and three different actors play Hermione at the same time in a time turning mishap) and I was very impressed with everyone in the cast because the physical comedy is extremely well done. I especially loved Dwight, because Wayne's exasperation every time Harry steals his thunder is so convincing, Osborne, because she is so energetic and over-the-top as Harry (she literally jumps into every scene), and Sampsel, because his facial expressions as Mr. Voldy are hilarious (especially whenever he uses a megaphone). The set is very simple (I loved all of the portraits located around the theater) but the costumes are fun and the props are incredible (particularly the snake and the dragon). You will definitely have a great time at this show (go here for tickets) but there are only two more performances so act quickly!

The Legend of Ochi

The trailer for The Legend of Ochi was absolutely beautiful so I decided to see a matinee at the Broadway yesterday afternoon.  I mostly loved this throwback to the adventure movies of my youth.  Yuri (Helena Zengel) is a young farm girl living on Carpathia, an isolated island in the Black Sea.  The inhabitants share the island with mysterious creatures, known as ochi, that are feared and hunted.  Yuri's father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) is especially zealous in his desire to hunt them down and trains a group of boys, including an orphan he has adopted named Petro (Finn Wolfhard), who he takes out on patrol every night.  Yuri rejects much of what her father says so, when she finds a baby ochi in one of his traps, she releases it and smuggles it home.  Yuri interacts with the baby and, when she realizes that it is a gentle creature, she decides to try and find its family.  On the journey, she encounters her mother Dasha (Emily Watson), who left the family because of Maxim's brutality, and discovers that she has studied the ochi extensively.  Her father hates them and her mother respects them but it is Yuri who truly understands the ochi and it is her bond that will ultimately bring about acceptance.  The theme of fearing what is different is not new but it is so gorgeously rendered that I was absolutely enchanted by Yuri’s quest.  I loved all of the stunning visuals of the island and the puppets are amazing (the baby ochi is adorable).  The relationship that develops between Yuri and the creature is so moving because there are many parallels between them and I think the lack of dialogue is really effective (she communicates with the ochi in their language) although some might find the pace sluggish as a result.  I really enjoyed the Eastern European influences because they make the story feel like a fairy tale (Maxim hunts the ochi wearing medieval armor) but the music is sometimes overpowering.  Zengel is luminous and Dafoe is as unhinged as ever but I especially liked Watson's performance (Wolfhard has very little to do and his character's motivations are very ambiguous).  However, I found the scene in a grocery store to be incredibly jarring.  I think it is included as commentary about the encroachment of the modern world into traditional life on the island but this theme is underdeveloped and the scene feels like it belongs in a completely different movie.  I found this dark fantasy to be very magical most of the time and would recommend it but I seem to like it more than most.

The Accountant 2

I went to see The Accountant on a whim and was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it so I was really looking forward to the sequel.  I had the chance to see a Thursday preview of The Accountant 2 last night with my nephew and, unfortunately, I found it a bit underwhelming.  Raymond King (J.K. Simmons), a retired Treasury Agent now working as a private investigator, meets with a mysterious woman named Anaïs (Danielle Pineda) in the course of his search for a family of three from El Salvador who went missing while crossing the border into the U.S.  During their meeting, King is ambushed by assassins but manages to write a message to find the accountant on his arm before he is killed.  King's former colleague at the Treasury Department, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), sees the message and reaches out to Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) through his handler Justine (Allison Robertson) at Harbor Neuroscience.  Medina and Wolff begin working together to solve King's murder but eventually unravel a vast human trafficking organization run by Burke (Robert Morgan) and they recruit Wolff's estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) to help find Anaïs and the missing family.  The central mystery is very convoluted and there were many times when I had no idea who a character was or how they were involved in the story (and after a while I didn't really care who was who).  I was also disappointed by how much Wolff relies on his cadre of students at Harbor Neuroscience and their hacking skills rather than his own extraordinary abilities to solve the puzzle (which is what I liked about the first movie).  There are some fun action sequences but, in my opinion, the culminating gunfight in a detention camp in Mexico is tedious because it is incredibly far-fetched, to the point of incredulity, and it goes on way too long.  I did really like the dynamic between Affleck and Bernthal as brothers who each have their own way of finding information in some hilarious scenes and as brothers who are trying to forge a relationship with each other despite these differences in some touching ones.  This was a mixed bag for me and I suspect people who are fans of buddy comedies or action movies will like it but fans of the first movie might not.

Pride & Prejudice

Believe it or not I didn't see Joe Wright's adaptation of Pride & Prejudice when it was first released because I didn't think it could possibly compare to the BBC version and I couldn't see Keira Knightley as my very favorite character from literature.  Of course I now love it and I have probably seen it close to a hundred times, just never on the big screen.  It is back in theaters for a limited run to commemorate its twentieth anniversary (what?) and I was beyond excited to finally see it as it was meant to be seen with my sister (I think she loves it more than I do) last night.  Even though I initially thought that Knightley was much too beautiful to play Elizabeth Bennet as she is written in the novel by Jane Austen, I really love her plucky performance and her chemistry with Matthew Macfadyen, who gives Mr. Darcy a vulnerability that makes me swoon, is off the charts as they spar with each other.  The scene where it looks like they are leaning in for a kiss but then touch their foreheads together instead had everyone in the crowded theater audibly sighing.  I also love everyone else in the ensemble, especially Tom Hollander as the priggish Mr. Collins (the audience laughed out loud at the comment about the excellent boiled potatoes), Donald Sutherland as the curmudgeonly Mr. Bennet (I love the tears in his eyes as he gives his permission for Elizabeth to marry Mr. Darcy), Judi Dench as the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourg (she is just so mean), and Kelly Reilly as the haughty Caroline Bingley (her side-eye is second to none).  The shot composition is absolutely brilliant and my favorites are the tracking shot as Elizabeth walks through a field while reading a book, the shot of Elizabeth walking away from Mr. Darcy with a smirk on her face at the assembly hall, the shot of Elizabeth and Jane (Rosamund Pike) talking under the covers, the continuous shot of Betsy (Sinead Matthews) walking through the house amidst preparations for the Netherfield ball, the shot where Mr. Darcy suddenly appears behind Elizabeth and then quickly disappears at the Netherfield ball, the shot of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy dancing in a crowd which then cuts to them dancing alone at the Netherfield ball, the shot showing the passage of time as Elizabeth spins on a swing, the shot when Mr. Darcy sees Elizabeth in the mirror at Pemberley, and, of course, the wide shot of Mr. Darcy walking towards Elizabeth through the mist as the sun rises (sigh).  The visuals are gorgeous (one of the reasons why I was so excited to see it on the big screen) and I loved the locations used for Meryton, Longbourn, Netherfield, Rosings, and Pemberley as well as those in the Peak District (the shot of Elizabeth overlooking the moor with the wind blowing is iconic).  Even though I do love an empire waist, I think the use of an eighteenth century silhouette for the costumes really works and the subtle change from stiffly formal to completely undone in Darcy's costumes is incredibly effective (sigh).  Finally, the score is amazing (the reason I think my sister loves this movie just a bit more than I do is because she owns the soundtrack) and I especially love that the same piece, based on a Beethoven piano sonata, used in the opening scene is also played by Elizabeth and Georgiana (Tamzin Merchant).  I love this movie and it was so much fun to see it with my sister (we recited all our favorite bits of dialogue the whole drive home).  I definitely recommend seeing this while it is in theaters!

The Ugly Stepsister

I had planned on seeing The Ugly Stepsister at Sundance this year and I was even in line for the screening but I decided that I was too tired to enjoy it and went home instead (festival fatigue is real).  When I saw that it was playing at the Broadway, I went to a matinee yesterday and I really liked this twisted take on Cinderella.  Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) marries Otto (Ralph Carlsson) because she thinks he is wealthy but is dismayed to learn that he was penniless after he dies.  She now must take care of her daughters Elvira (Lea Myren) and Alma (Flo Fagerli), as well as her new stepdaughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), on her own.  She believes that the only solution is for one of her daughters to marry well and, since Alma is too young, she pins her hopes on Elvira even though she thinks that she is unattractive.  Elvira fantasizes about marrying Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) so, when it is announced that he is throwing a ball, she submits to her mother's primitive and painful attempts to make her beautiful even though her personality deteriorates as her physical appearance improves.  The prince seems to fall in love with her at the ball but he ignores her when an enchanted version of Agnes suddenly appears.  When Elvira realizes that it is Agnes who has stolen her prince, she moves to attack her but Agnes escapes leaving behind her shoe.  The prince declares that he will only marry the girl whose foot fits inside the shoe so a desperate Elvira maims herself (this occurs in the original fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm).  What I found interesting is that every character is extremely unsympathetic (even Agnes because she is really in love with the stable boy but is willing to marry the prince to escape her stepmother) except for Alma, who cares nothing for beauty and does most of the work around the estate, and it is she who ultimately rescues Elvira.  The commentary on the lengths to which women will go to be beautiful reminded me of The Substance but this takes the body horror to a whole new level!  It is sometimes really gross and there was a scene involving a tape worm that actually made me gag (there were lots of audible reactions from the crowd to several other scenes).  The production design, costumes, and score are all what you would expect from a traditional fairy tale so this subversive take is a lot of fun!  I dug it but I would only recommend it to those with strong stomachs!

The Wedding Banquet

There was a lot of buzz for The Wedding Banquet at Sundance this year and I had the opportunity to see it but, because it already had a release date (I saw a trailer for it at the Broadway before Sundance even started), I decided to see something else (the film I saw instead was Rebuilding with Josh O'Connor and I ended up loving it so it was a good decision).  It is now playing at the Broadway so I saw it last night with my nephew and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed because it is very different from what I was expecting.  Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) are a lesbian couple hoping to have a child through IVF but two attempts have failed and they are not sure if they can afford a third.  Chris (Bowen Yang), Angela's aimless best friend from college, lives in their garage with his boyfriend Min (Han Gi-chan), the scion of a wealthy family in Korea who is about to lose his student visa.  Min proposes to Chris but he refuses because he knows that Min's family will disown him and cut him off financially if they find out he is gay.  Min is disappointed but then decides to ask Angela to marry him instead and, in return for helping him get a green card, he will pay for the next round of IVF.  Angela agrees but complications ensue when she tells her mother May (Joan Chen), who has made supporting LGBTQ+ causes her whole personality after initially rejecting Angela, and when Min's grandmother Ja-Young (Youn Yuh-jung) decides to come for the wedding.  This is a remake of the 1993 movie of the same name by Ang Lee and, since I have not seen the original, my expectations were based on the trailer alone and it led me to expect a comedy which I did not get.  While there are a few funny moments (which all appear in the trailer), this is more dramatic with themes of acceptance and reconciliation as flawed people learn the importance of found family.  All of the characters have interesting arcs but the resolutions for some of them feel very rushed, especially Angela's fear about being a mother and Lee's anger about an infidelity.  However, I loved how Ja-Young gradually comes to understand her grandson and Youn Yuh-jung gives a lovely performance (that brought a tear to my eye).  Chen steals every scene she is in and Tran impressed me with the depth of her emotional performance but Gladstone is underused and Yang doesn't really sell the dramatic moments (he is a much better comedic actor).  I didn't hate this but I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Note:  I really hate when the marketing for a movie is misleading.

Sinners

I finally had the opportunity to see Sinners last night with my nephew and to say that I was hyped for this movie would be an understatement.  Let me tell you now that the hype is real and I honestly cannot see anything beating this as my favorite movie of 2025.  World War I veterans Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore (Michael B. Jordan) flee Chicago after stealing from the mob and return to their hometown in the Mississippi Delta to buy a sawmill from the local Klan leader and turn it into a juke joint for the Black community.  The twins recruit their young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) to play guitar despite the fact that his father, who is a pastor, believes that his ability is supernatural.  They also employ Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) as a piano player and Pearline (Jayme Lawson) as a singer as well as Smoke's estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), who has a strong belief in the occult, as a cook, a field hand named Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) as a bouncer, and Chinese shopkeepers Bo and Grace Chow (Yao and Li Jun Li, respectively) as suppliers.  At the grand opening, Stack's former girlfriend Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) appears and he tries to make her leave because she passes for white and he fears for her safety, and his, but she refuses.  Remmick (Jack O'Connell), an Irish immigrant who is a vampire, is drawn to the juke joint along with other vampires and asks to be admitted but Annie has a bad feeling and they are refused.  However, several people eventually leave, including Mary, and are turned into vampires which results in an epic confrontation after Remmick suggests that becoming vampires will help those inside fight against the racism all of them have faced.  I loved the slow build-up to the events at the juke joint because you really get to know the characters and what they have experienced as marginalized people in America, particularly the oppression of Black people in the South during the Jim Crow era (I was particularly moved by Mary because she doesn't seem to belong anywhere).  I found the use of vampires to be incredibly thought-provoking, especially in regards to assimilation, and the juxtaposition between the threat from them and the threat from the KKK is compelling.  But, most of all, I loved the way that music is portrayed as a way to connect the stories from generations in the past to those in the future and, once again, I absolutely loved the juxtaposition between a blues performance inside the juke joint (this scene, shot in one take, is absolutely brilliant and must be seen on the big screen) and an Irish jig performed outside.  The music is absolutely incredible and, as previously mentioned, Caton's performance of "I Lied to You" and O'Connell's performance of "Rocky Road to Dublin" gave me goosebumps.  Jordan is fantastic in the dual role because each brother is very distinctive (I was struck by the different ways in which the brothers interact with the women in their lives) and the rest of the cast is outstanding but Caton, in his first role, is absolutely captivating.  The cinematography, costume design, production design, sound design (there is a scene involving the memory of a lynching that is haunting), and score (Ludwig Göransson has never been better) are all incredibly immersive and I felt like watching this movie was an experience.  I really loved it and, because it is so thematically rich, I suspect that I will be seeing it again soon.

Note:  There is a mid-credits scene and an end-credits scene and both are important to the narrative so be sure to stick around!

Indiana Jones Marathon

My sister Kristine and I have really enjoyed going to movie marathons at the Megaplex (we've been to the Harry Potter and Twilight marathons) so yesterday we went to another one for the Indiana Jones franchise and this time Trent joined us.  It featured the original trilogy and it was so much fun to see these movies again on the big screen.  The intrepid archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) joins forces with his former girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) to locate the Ark of the Covenant before his nemesis Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman) can give it to the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he and his sidekick Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) inadvertently team up with a nightclub singer named Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) to rescue children kidnapped by an evil cult searching for sacred stones in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and he must work with his estranged father Dr. Henry Jones (Sean Connery) to find the Holy Grail when he learns that Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), the wealthy businessman who hired him to find it, and Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), the art historian with whom he has been working, are in league with the Nazis in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  These movies have lots of really exciting action sequences and some of my favorites are a boat chase through the canals of Venice, a fight near the propeller of a plane, a high speed cart chase through a mine, an aerial dog fight between a biplane and two fighter planes, a fight on the top of a moving tank that eventually goes over a cliff, a jump from a plane in an inflatable raft, a fight for control of a speeding truck, and a giant boulder rolling through a corridor in a temple (I think the special effects hold up really well).  I love the maps that show the routes taken around the world and I may or may not have cheered out loud the first time I heard the instantly recognizable fanfare from "The Raiders Theme" by John Williams (this crowd was very subdued compared to the other marathons). The character of Indiana Jones is iconic with his signature fedora and bullwhip and I really enjoyed seeing his ingenuity in action as he follows the clues (and avoids booby traps) in search of treasure.  Ford is a great action hero (he did most of his own stunts) and his taciturn demeanor reminds me of Humphrey Bogart.  Connery is a hoot, especially in his humorous interactions with Ford (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is my favorite in the series), and I love Allen's feisty portrayal of Marion but I think Capshaw is really annoying as Willie (Kristine tried to count how many times she screams but she lost track).  I always love revisiting movies from my youth because I like to see if they still affect me in the same way and these movies definitely do!  Seeing them again was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Note:  We can't wait for the next marathon at the Megaplex!  Trent would like to see one for the Mission: Impossible franchise and I am still hoping for The Hunger Games.

Mozart's Requiem

One of my all-time favorite movies is Amadeus.  I have a very vivid memory of watching it for the first time on HBO when I was in high school because, for some reason, I was in my parents' room instead of the family room downstairs.  They wanted to go to bed but I was so engrossed that they let me continue watching it to the end.  It was the first movie that I owned (on VHS) and I watched it obsessively.  I also bought the soundtrack (on vinyl) and I loved it so much that my parents took me to my first Utah Symphony concert because the program featured Mozart's Requiem.  I will never forget that concert because it was my introduction to hearing classical music performed live (I have been a Utah Symphony subscriber ever since) and I was completely overcome hearing a piece that I loved so much (my parents both fell asleep).  The program for last night's Utah Symphony concert included three pieces by Mozart that are featured in Amadeus and I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself (I have been looking forward to it since the season was announced a year ago).  The orchestra began with the Overture to The Magic Flute and, even though it is not my favorite opera by Mozart (that would be Don Giovanni), I really enjoyed it because it is very playful, especially the unexpected use of the brass in the opening notes.  Next came Symphony No. 25 and, while I love all of it, the first movement is my favorite because it is incredibly stirring (I love the syncopation) and I know every single note because it is played over the opening credits in Amadeus as Salieri is rushed through the streets of Vienna after attempting suicide (I saw this scene in my mind as I listened to it).  After the intermission, the orchestra was joined by Soprano Deanna Breiwick, Mezzo-Soprano Cecelia Hall, Tenor Matthew Newhouse, Baritone Levi Hernandez, and the Utah Symphony Chorus for the Requiem.  I am fascinated by this piece because it is hauntingly beautiful and, while the movie definitely takes many liberties with how it was composed, the true story is still very intriguing because it is believed that a mysterious figure commissioned a Requiem Mass with the intention of passing it off as his own and, of course, it is incredibly tragic that Mozart died before completing it.  The performance was spectacular and I had goosebumps many times throughout but my favorite sections were the Kyrie because the double fugue is so intense, the Confutatis because I love the arpeggios by the strings as the women sing (this is what Mozart is writing with Salieri on his deathbed in the movie), and the Lacrimosa because it is atmospheric and mournful (this is what plays during Mozart's funeral in the movie).  I loved this concert so much and I am sure that I will be on a high from it for days!  I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's concert featuring the same program (go here) but act quickly because there were very few empty seats last night.

Note:  Now I want to watch Amadeus again!

Sacramento

Yesterday I went to a matinee of Sacramento at the Broadway (there are so many movies that I want to see playing at the Broadway right now so I have to fit them in when I can) and I found it very charming.  The free-spirited Rickey (Michael Angarano) meets a woman named Tallie (Maya Erskine) before learning of his father's death.  One year later, after he is kicked out of his grief support group, he arrives unannounced at the home of his estranged friend Glenn (Michael Cera).  The uptight Glenn is about to become a father and is filled with anxiety to the chagrin of his exasperated wife Rosie (Kristen Stewart).  Rickey notices how stressed Glenn is acting and spontaneously suggests a road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento and, when Glenn refuses to go, he tells him that the purpose of the trip is to scatter his father's ashes even though he has another motive for wanting to go there.  Glenn suspects that Rickey is lying but agrees to go because he is worried about him.  As they argue over who is having a bigger breakdown, Glenn helps Rickey face up to his responsibilities and Rickey helps Glenn calm down.  This is both funny and heartwarming and plays to the strengths of Angarano and Cera as actors.  I laughed out loud when Rickey and Glenn end up at a boxing gym, for reasons, and end up going at each other in the ring and when they wrestle each other to the ground in the middle of a parking lot because they are just like twelve year old boys.  I also laughed at the lengths to which Rickey goes to keep Glenn on the trip with him, especially arranging for his car to be towed.  There is also an incredibly poignant scene where Rickey helps Glenn through a panic attack and reassures him they will both be okay.  Stewart and Erskine don't have a lot of screen time but they really ground the story.  I enjoyed this buddy comedy (I think it is a more lighthearted version of A Real Pain) and I recommend it to fans of the actors.

Wicked at the Eccles

I really love the musical Wicked because not only is it a powerful ode to anyone who has ever felt different but it is also extremely clever in the way it sets up the events in The Wizard of Oz and the music is so stirring.  I love it so much that I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing it (the usher, who talks to me before every show, asked me how many times I've seen it and I think the number is now ten).  It was so much fun to see it again last night at the Eccles Theatre, especially now that I have seen the movie (I cannot wait for the second part now).  I am really glad that it is still the original production and that it hasn't been changed to conform to the choreography, costumes, and production design of the movie because I've always really enjoyed all of these elements in the stage version (although I thought the projections for the tornado were really underwhelming this time around).  I noticed that the pace is so much faster in comparison to the movie with scenes moving very quickly but I actually appreciated this because I always sit with great anticipation for all of my favorite numbers.  The two leads in this production, Austen Danielle Bohmer as Glinda and Lauren Samuels as Elphaba, are wonderful and I especially enjoyed Bohmer's hilarious rendition of "Popular" (I loved it when she hunched down to get her wand working) and Samuels is incredibly powerful in "The Wizard and I," "Defying Gravity," and "No Good Deed" as well as very affecting in "I'm Not That Girl" (my favorite song in the show).  They also sound great together in "What Is This Feeling?" and "For Good" although their physicality is a bit off because Samuels is very slight in stature (I always think that Elphaba should be larger and more awkward than Glinda).  I also really liked Xavier McKinnon as Fiyero because he is charismatic (and is a great dancer) in "Dancing Through Life" and he has a lot of chemistry with Samuels in "As Long As You're Mine."  He is especially awkward with Samuels when she leaves Shiz for the Emerald City as well as with Bohmer during "Thank Goodness."  Aymee Garcia is one of the sassiest Madame Morribles I've seen and Blake Hammond is suitably smarmy as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz but I found Erica Ito and Alex Vinh to be a bit bland as Nessarose and Boq, respectively.  This show will always be a favorite and I absolutely loved seeing so many people around me experience the stage version for the first time after being introduced to the story by the movie.  I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) through the run at the Eccles Theatre which continues through May 25.

Note:  After seeing the movie, I decided to read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.  It is extremely dark and very weird (Elphaba and Glinda do not even interact very much) and I definitely prefer the stage adaptation.

A Chorus Line at West Valley Arts

Last night I went to a production of A Chorus Line at the West Valley Performing Arts Center and it is outstanding in every way! A large group of dancers are vying for a chance to be part of the ensemble of a new Broadway show. The director Zach (Joseph Spear) observes as his assistant Larry (Madison Valgardson) takes the group through the choreography and all of the dancers express the hope that they will be cast. Eventually, the group is narrowed down to Cassie (Bailee Johnson), Kristine (Annie Jones), Richie (Phil Lewis), Bebe (Sophi Keller), Diana (Celeste Palermo), Connie (Ally Choe), Mark (Alec Foote), Greg (Dylan Panter), Al (Remy Talanoa), Paul (Angel Martinez), Bobby (Michael Avila), Maggie (Summer Sloan Alvey), Mike (Cameron Robbins), Val (Rosalie Wasser), and Sheila (Heather White). Zach wants to learn more than what is listed on their resumes so he asks them to talk about their experiences and what made each of them want to be a dancer and they do so in a series of stirring musical numbers. My favorite songs are "I Can Do That" as Mike talks about accompanying his sister to dance class, "At the Ballet" as Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie recount how they used ballet as an escape from their unhappy childhoods, "Gimme the Ball" as Richie describes how he almost became a kindergarten teacher before becoming a dancer, and "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" as Val brags about getting more work after having plastic surgery. As the group learns the choreography for a number from the show, Zach confronts Cassie and it is revealed that she was once the star of one of his shows, as well as his former lover, and he doesn't think she will fit in with the chorus and he also has a poignant moment with Paul as he describes the difficulty he has had with his sexuality. The group rehearses "One" and Zach selects the final eight dancers who then perform this number in the show. The entire cast is stellar, one of the strongest I've seen at West Valley Arts, but the standouts for me are Johnson because I loved her mesmerizing performance in "The Music and the Mirror" and Martinez because his delivery of Paul's monologue is incredibly emotional. I wondered about the staging of this show because the theater is in the round but it is very clever. Zach initially observes the group from a platform above one of the wings but then we only hear his disembodied voice coming from various areas of the theater and this allows the dancers to face different parts of the audience as they speak to him. The choreography is also very clever (I have become a huge fan of co-director and co-choreographer Izzy Arrieta) because, while it is recognizable from other versions of this show that I have seen, lots of different patterns are created on stage so there is always something to look at. I also loved the use of the company as the individual characters perform their solo numbers, particularly during "And..."  The set is minimal because the audition takes place on a bare stage but I really liked the use of clear plexiglass panels around the perimeter because they are somewhat reflective and replicate the mirrors one would find in a ballet studio and the way that actual mirrors are incorporated into "The Music and the Mirror" is very effective. The costumes during the audition are also minimal but the sparkly gold ones used in the finale are quite spectacular (as is the dramatic lighting during this number). This stunning show is definitely one that you do not want to miss! It runs at the West Valley Performing Arts Center through May 3 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (go here for tickets).

Warfare

The second movie in the double feature at the Broadway with my nephew last night was Warfare.  It was quite a shift in tone from our first movie because it is incredibly intense!  In 2006 the Navy SEAL platoon Alpha One is sent on a surveillance mission looking for insurgents in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Ramadi.  They commandeer the house of a local family and begin to monitor the market located across the street after it shows an elevated level of activity.  In the ensuing firefight with the insurgents, several members of the platoon are injured and require evacuation but this proves to be incredibly dangerous until Alpha Two eventually reaches their position.  It focuses on Erik (Will Poulter), the Officer in Charge, Ray (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), the communications officer, Elliott (Cosmo Jarvis), the lead sniper injured in the firefight, Sam (Joseph Quinn), the LPO injured by an IED, Tommy (Kit Connor), a relatively inexperienced gunner, and Jake (Charles Melton), the Assistant Officer in Charge.  Ray Mendoza, the communications officer in the actual Alpha One platoon, is the co-writer and co-director and he wanted the movie to serve as a memory of the events for the injured Elliott Miller and, as such, it is one of the most accurate portrayals of war that I have ever seen.  It is incredibly immersive, especially a scene where the soldiers use smoke to mask their movements and the scenes depicting the explosion of an IED, because the visual effects and sound design put the audience in the middle of the action which is shown in real-time.  The scenes showing a plane strafing the street as a "show of force" are especially visceral.  This is definitely an experience rather than a narrative (although there is more of a story arc than I was expecting) and I was particularly struck by the moments of tedium as the soldiers wait for something to happen juxtaposed with the total chaos and terror of battle.  It is very powerful but, in my opinion, it is quite neutral in its message about war in that it is merely an objective look at what actually happens and the audience is meant to take away their own interpretation.  I highly recommend it but it may be difficult for some to watch.

The Ballad of Wallis Island

I really enjoyed The Ballad of Wallis Island at Sundance this year (it was one of the few comedies at the festival that actually worked for me) so I was secretly happy when my nephew expressed an interest in it because that meant I had an excuse to see it again!  It was the first in a double feature at the Broadway last night and he liked it as much as I did (I liked it even more upon a second viewing).  The awkward and eccentric Charles (Tim Key) retired to a remote island after winning the lottery not once but twice.  On the five year anniversary of the death of his wife Marie, he uses some of his winnings to bring Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), one half of their favorite folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, to the island to perform a concert.  Charles is a very enthusiastic fan and Herb soon finds the whole arrangement to be strange, especially when he learns that Charles will be the only one in the audience, but he stays because he needs the money to finance a solo album.  Complications ensue when Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), the other half of the folk duo, arrives on the island with her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen).  There are unresolved tensions between Herb and Nell stemming from their messy break-up both personally and professionally but, as they rehearse, Herb begins to romanticize their time as a duo because he is unhappy with the direction of his solo career.  Charles also romanticizes their music because it reminds him of his late wife and this is keeping him from pursuing a relationship with Amanda (Sian Clifford), the owner of a shop on the island.  Both Herb and Charles must learn to let go of the past in order to move forward into the future.  The story is incredibly charming and I love how music (my nephew and I both loved all of the songs) is used as a way to evoke memories because I am instantly transported back to a certain time and place whenever I hear some songs.  The humor is really dry (you have to listen very carefully to all of Charles's one-liners because they are absolutely hilarious) and it was a lot of fun to hear the large crowd laughing out loud with me because I was sometimes the only one laughing during the Sundance screening.  This is a movie with a lot of heart and I definitely recommend it!

A Case for the Existence of God at PTC

I had heard great things about PTC's production of A Case for the Existence of God but I didn't have a chance to see it until last night. I'm glad I was finally able to get to it because this existential exploration of an unlikely friendship that provides hope in a precarious world is very powerful and I was incredibly moved by it. Keith (Jon Hudson Odom) is Black, gay, well educated, sophisticated, and comes from an affluent background. Ryan (Lee Osorio) is white, straight, uninformed, aimless, and comes from a working class background. He works at a yogurt factory in Twin Falls, Idaho and is currently going through a divorce but he hopes to purchase land that once belonged to his family in order to make a better life for his daughter. He reaches out to Keith, a mortgage broker who has a daughter at the same daycare as his daughter, to help him complete the purchase but there are many obstacles because he has a poor credit history. While working together, they begin disclosing personal details and it turns out that both men have preconceived ideas about the other. Keith sees Ryan as the popular and confident boy who bullied him in high school while Ryan believes that Keith lives a privileged life free from worry. However, Ryan reveals that had a dysfunctional childhood with parents who were addicts and Keith eventually confides that he could lose his foster daughter to a biological relative. They forge an uneasy bond over their shared sadness but it is this bond that ultimately provides them with hope for the future when they both suffer devastating setbacks. Both Osorio and Odom give highly nuanced performances, particularly in the way they communicate so much about their characters with just their body language and mannerisms (the play opens with both men sitting in silence for several minutes and this gives the audience more information than pages of dialogue). I especially loved Odom's portrayal of a panic attack because it is very realistic and I also enjoyed Osorio's drunken reaction to a piece of music. I had tears in my eyes when the two characters are finally able to comfort each other because the actors have such a believable rapport in this scene. All of the action takes place in a cramped cubicle at Keith's brokerage firm with just enough room for a desk and two chairs and I really appreciated the subtle changes in the position of the chairs (and the even subtler changes in wardrobe and lighting cues) to denote the changes in their relationship. The set evolves, as do the characters, during the conclusion and I think the final message is really beautiful. I will definitely be thinking about this for a long time and I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, there are only two more performances left (go here for tickets).

Drop

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Drop because I thought the premise looked intriguing.  I went in with very few expectations and I found it entertaining enough.  Violet (Meghann Fahy) is a single mother who is finally ready to go on a date after surviving an abusive marriage.  She meets Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a handsome and charming man with whom she has been communicating on a dating app for three months, at an upscale restaurant while her sister Jen (Violett Beane) watches her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) at her house.  Violet is nervous but soon becomes annoyed when she receives several AirDrops from someone nearby.  She and Henry attempt to discover which of the restaurant's patrons is sending them but the messages become increasingly threatening until she is forced to follow a series of instructions in order to prevent her son, who has been taken hostage, from being killed.  When she is told to kill Henry by poisoning his drink, she becomes desperate to save both him and her son from the anonymous caller.  There are some great twists and turns with a few exciting action sequences in the third act but it drags in the second act because, in my opinion, the mystery is belabored for longer than it should be and I found the big reveal to be a bit anticlimactic.  You must also suspend your disbelief a lot (why would someone stay on a date with a woman who is continually staring at her phone and frequently leaving to use the restroom and why wouldn't you just turn AirDrop off after the first innocuous message?).  However, I really liked the stylized production design (the restaurant is seriously cool), the disorienting camera angles that emphasize Violet's claustrophobia, and all of the visual effects that integrate what is happening on Violet's phone (especially the way her home camera feed is portrayed in a tension-filled scene).  I also really enjoyed Fahy's performance because she very effectively communicates Violet's terror (there are many close-up shots on her face) and Jeffery Self is hilarious as an aspiring comedian working as a waiter.  This is definitely not a great movie but I enjoyed it enough to recommend it for a fun night out but nothing more.

A Nice Indian Boy

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was A Nice Indian Boy.  I am not a huge fan of romantic comedies but I decided to see this because the trailer made me laugh out loud!  Megha and Archit Gavaskar (Zarna Garg and Harish Pateal, respectively) are overjoyed when their daughter Arundhathi (Sunita Mani) marries the nice Indian boy (Sachin Sahel) that they and his parents arrange for her.  They only wish that their son Naveen (Karan Soni), who they begrudgingly acknowledge is gay, will be next.  Eventually the mild-mannered and awkward Naveen meets the outgoing and dramatic Jay Kurundkar (Jonathan Goff), a former foster kid who is white but was adopted by an Indian couple.  They bond over the Bollywood musical Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (the source of much amusement throughout the movie), fall in love, and get engaged (twice).  Complications ensue when Naveen introduces Jay to his parents and when Arundhathi announces that she wants to divorce her husband.  What I loved most about this heartwarming story is that Megha and Archit, who had a traditional arranged marriage, realize that they actually love each other after all of these years (in some hilarious scenes) and that, once Arundhathi and Naveen finally communicate how they feel, they are a lot more accepting than their children assumed they would be (in some really moving scenes).  The central romance is a lot of fun, especially their meet-cute in a Hindu temple and when Naveen reenacts the song from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge that Jay embarrassed him with when he sang it to him on the street.  All of the performances are great (Soni and Groff have believable chemistry) but I especially enjoyed Garg when the overwrought Megha plans the elaborate wedding (with printed invitations).  This is incredibly charming and I had a lot of fun watching it so fans of romantic comedies will love it.

The Friend

Last night I went to the Broadway for a double feature and I started with The Friend because I have a soft spot for dogs.  It is a slow-moving but poignant exploration of how an unlikely friendship helps a woman come to terms with her grief (bring tissues).  Walter (Bill Murray) is a successful author and professor with a messy personal life which includes three troubled marriages, countless affairs with students, and an estranged daughter.  The only constants in his life are Iris (Naomi Watts), a friend and former student who is also an author, and Apollo (Bing), a 150-pound Great Dane.  Iris is devastated when Walter commits suicide but she is surprised and annoyed when she learns that he has chosen her to care for Apollo.  This completely disrupts her life because her rent-controlled apartment has a strict no-dogs policy and, since Apollo is also mourning the loss of Walter, he dislikes being alone which keeps her from working on her current novel.  She eventually forms a bond with Apollo so, in a last ditch attempt to avoid being evicted, she meets with a therapist to certify that she needs him as an emotional support animal only to discover that she actually does.  Anyone who has ever had a dog will definitely relate to how much comfort they can provide and I cried several times, particularly when Iris wishes that Apollo could live as long as her.  Even though Watts and Murray are outstanding, especially in an emotional scene where Iris imagines confronting Walter about abandoning Apollo (who is a stand-in for her), I absolutely loved Bing's performance because he is so expressive.  I enjoyed this touching movie and highly recommend it (but please heed my suggestion about the tissues).

The Amateur

My nephew and I have been eagerly anticipating the release of The Amateur since the first trailer dropped (he actually sent me the trailer and we discussed it endlessly) so we were both absolutely thrilled to go to an early access screening last night.  I am really biased (spy thrillers are one of my favorite genres of both movies and books and I am a huge fan of Rami Malek) but I loved it!  CIA analyst Charlie Heller (Malek) receives information from an anonymous source which implicates his boss, Deputy Director Alex Moore (Holt McCallany), in unsanctioned black ops missions around the globe.  When his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terror attack in London, he tracks down those responsible but Moore seems hesitant to take action against them.  He decides use the information from his source to blackmail Moore into allowing him to go after the terrorists himself and trains with Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) who determines that Heller doesn't have the killer instinct to be an operative.  However, he uses his own specific skills to chase his wife's killers but it takes the help of his informant (Caitriona Balfe), and another unlikely ally within the CIA (Julianne Nicholson), to stay ahead of Henderson and the other operatives sent by Moore to stop him.  The story is entertaining with lots of twists and turns and I enjoyed the clever methods used by Heller to exact revenge as well as the message about the toll that killing can take on someone whether justified or not.  All of the different locations around the world are fabulous and I like that we actually see Heller using his skills to get from place to place.  This is a role that is very well suited to Malek's strengths as an actor (the character reminded me a lot of Elliot Alderson) and I loved his performance.  My only complaint is that there are some pacing issues.  I started to get a bit restless when there were still two terrorists left to track down (but I did find the resolution to be thrilling).  I had so much fun watching this with my nephew (he loved it, too, and is hoping for a sequel) and I highly recommend it!

Bob Trevino Likes It

My nephew and I went to the Broadway last night for Bob Trevino Likes It and it is one of the most heartwarming movies I've seen in a long time!  Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira) had a traumatic childhood with an absent mother and her father Bob (French Stewart) continues to be narcissistic and manipulative.  She is desperate for a relationship with him, so after he cuts off contact with her, she tries to reach out to him by searching for him on Facebook.  She finds a profile without a picture for a Bob Trevino and sends him a friend request.  Even though he doesn't know her, this Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) accepts it, starts liking her posts, and begins communicating with her.  They eventually meet and, because Bob had a tragedy in his past that has left him feeling just as alone as Lily, their interactions help both of them heal.  The story about a young woman who is so isolated and starved for affection that she seeks a connection anywhere she can find it is incredibly moving and there were several scenes that reduced me to tears, particularly one that takes place at an animal shelter.  The message about the importance of found families to fill the void left by dysfunctional or absent biological families is also really powerful and I found it very hopeful.  Ferreira gives a raw and emotional performance and it is easy to root for her character as she finally learns how to put herself first in her dealings with her abusive father.  She has wonderful chemistry with Leguizamo, who gives one of the best performances of his career, and I absolutely loved his character because he is so kind, gentle, and caring (everyone needs someone like Bob in their lives).  The cathartic ending is earned rather than manipulative, in my opinion, and it left me a blubbering mess (several people walking out of the theater were also wiping their eyes).  I cannot recommend this enough!

Life of Pi at the Eccles

I really love the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I also enjoyed the movie adaptation but I wondered how it would translate to the stage because the book is very interior and the movie is incredibly cinematic.  I had the chance to see the Broadway touring production at the Eccles Theatre last night and I was blown away by the spectacular staging and an incredible central performance.  After surviving 227 days at sea, Piscine "Pi" Patel (Taha Mandviwala) is washed on shore in Mexico as the sole survivor of a Japanese freighter that was sunk during a storm.  He is questioned by officials and begins recounting his life at his family's zoo in India, their decision to emigrate to Canada with the animals, the sinking of the ship, and his fantastical journey at sea trapped in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  The officials do not believe his story about coexisting at sea with a dangerous animal so he tells them a more plausible one and leaves it up to them to determine which one is true.  I loved the emphasis on the power of storytelling and that sometimes the better story requires you to believe something without proof.  I also found the emphasis on survival and the need to create a story in order to live with what was done in the name of survival to be very compelling.  The interiority of the novel is very cleverly portrayed by having characters physically appear to Pi during his darkest moments at sea to give him instructions for survival (the admiral, portrayed by Sinclair Mitchell, who reads to Pi from his survival guide was my favorite).  The visuals used in this production are absolutely stunning and I especially loved the projections and fog used to represent the undulating ocean waves all around the lifeboat and the lighting effects that mimic a starry night at sea.  The set is absolutely brilliant and the transitions from the hospital, to the zoo, to the ship, to the lifeboat, and back to the hospital again happen in an instant.  The animals are portrayed by the most amazing puppets (they were designed by Finn Caldwell who also worked on the puppets in War Horse) and the way the puppeteers manipulate them is ingenious!  I was giggling out loud watching the orangutan swing from branch to branch in the zoo as well as the iridescent fish swimming around the lifeboat but the appearance of Richard Parker (performed by Jon Hoche, Anna Vomáčka, and Andrew Wilson) took my breath away because his movements are so lifelike and I couldn't take my eyes off him whenever he was on stage.  Finally, this production is worth seeing for Mandviwala's energetic physical performance alone.  This is one of the most mesmerizing shows I've seen and it is certainly my favorite from the 2024-2025 Broadway at the Eccles season (which is ironic because I wasn't especially looking forward to it).  There are five more performances left at the Eccles and I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of them (go here).

Jersey Boys at The Ruth

I really love the jukebox musical Jersey Boys because it reminds me of my dad.  He was a big fan of The Four Seasons and, because he would always play their music on family road trips, I know the words to every song!  I went to see a production at The Ruth last night and I had to try very hard not to sing along!  Frankie Valli (Kristian Huff), Tommy DeVito (Brock Dalgleish), Nick Massi (Chase Petersen), and Bob Gaudio (Scott Hendrickson) each take a turn narrating the story of The Four Seasons from their own perspectives, including their rise from four guys singing under a streetlamp in New Jersey to superstardom and then their downfall after the pressure of fame tears them apart, because everyone remembers it the way they need to.  As previously mentioned, I love the music in this show and the performances from the four leads are amazing!  I was especially impressed with Huff, because he captures Valli's falsetto perfectly, but I really appreciate that the four of them sing and dance in a way that is instantly recognizable as The Four Seasons but they don't just replicate the original performances (or what other productions have done).  The ensemble, who all play multiple roles, is also outstanding and so is the live band (I loved seeing all of the racks of guitars).  I think the staging is very clever and, because it is so fast-paced, I particularly liked the use of large screens on the two-story set and around the stage to denote locations as well as the quick costume changes (so many different jackets!) that happen right on stage.  Watching the songs as they are being performed in specific locations, such as "Sherry" on American Bandstand and "Rag Doll" (my favorite song by the group) at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, is so much fun because we become the audience at these venues but, in my opinion, "Dawn (Go Away)" on The Ed Sullivan Show is a highlight because they turn away from the actual audience to sing for screaming fans shown in black and white images on the screens.  Finally, this updated version does not contain the profanity used in the original (this makes the show more accessible to audiences and I don't think it detracts from the story at all) and the suggestive elements during "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" are really toned down.  I've seen several versions of this show (including the Broadway touring production) and this one might be my favorite because it feels so intimate.  I loved it and I highly recommend seeing it (go here for tickets) if you are a fan of The Four Seasons.  It runs at the Smith Grand Theater through May 10.