Avatar: Fire and Ash

Yesterday my whole family went to see Avatar: Fire and Ash together (we almost took up a whole row) and it was a lot of fun.  The movie is a dazzling spectacle but it is definitely my least favorite in the series.  The Sully family, including Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), their son Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and adopted human son Spider (Jack Champion), are still mourning the death of Neteyem (Jamie Flatters) when Jake decides that Spider should be taken back to the human base on Pandora.  They travel with a group of Wind Traders to get there but the convoy is attacked by the Mangkwan, a violent tribe of Na'vi led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), and the family is separated.  Spider's oxygen mask malfunctions which causes him to asphyxiate so Kiri accesses her mysterious connection to Eywa to revive him and, in so doing, she gives him the power to breathe Pandora's atmosphere.  Meanwhile, Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who is still hunting for Jake, wants to use Spider's newfound ability to find a way for all humans to breathe on Pandora and forms an alliance with Varang and the Mangkwan to capture them both.  Captain Mick Scoresby (Brendan Cowell), a whaler working with the RDA (Resource Development Administration), decides to hunt the Tulkin when they gather for a mating ritual and, because biologist Ian Garvin (Jemaine Clement) disagrees with this plan, he helps Jake and Spider escape from Quaritch so that they can stop the slaughter.  An epic battle ensues in which Neytiri must trust Spider, Jake must allow Lo'ak to fight with him, the Tulkin must follow the exiled Payakan into battle, and Kiri must explore her connection with Eywa more fully.  The visuals are absolutely stunning and I loved the continued world-building on Pandora with the introduction of new tribes of Na'vi (the Mangkwan are especially intriguing) as well as new creatures.  The action sequences are exhilarating and they kept me invested during the long runtime.  I particularly loved the set pieces involving the aerial attack on the Wind Traders by Varang and the Mangkwan and the underwater attack on Scoresby and the rest of the RDA fleet by the Tulkin.  However, the narrative and themes are disappointingly repetitive because they are the same as those in Avatar: The Way of Water, just on a bigger scale. Varang is an incredibly compelling villain and I think that her motivation should have been explored more fully rather than continuing with Quaritch as the main antagonist.  This is certainly worth seeing on the biggest screen possible (our giant IMAX theater was almost completely full) but the ambiguous fates of several characters do not inspire confidence that the story will evolve in the next two planned sequels.

Note:  This was my final theatrical release of the year.  My list of favorites is coming soon!

Christmas 2025

Yesterday I celebrated Christmas with my family and it was especially wonderful because my niece and her husband were there with us (I hadn't seen her since her wedding).  We met up at my sister Kristine's house to open presents at 8:00 in the morning (my nephew planned the whole day and he was really excited) and it was so much fun.  Since we open presents one at a time from oldest to youngest, it took us quite a while to get through all of them.  We also exchanged stockings (I had Marilyn and my nephew had me) and there were a lot of funny surprises.  I did very well and got some new AirPods and a photo printer along with a sweater, a book, and some stuff for my house.  After opening presents and stockings we had sweet rolls and juice which is a tradition that we have had since we were children.  We had Christmas dinner later in the afternoon with ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry fluff salad, pasta salad, vegetables and dip, and rolls.  Everything was delicious!  In the evening we played Shanghai rummy and we all pretty much lost our minds (my niece's husband fits right in with the insanity of this game and it was so much fun to have him there with us).  We were all laughing so hard and, at various times, we were talking with accents, quoting song lyrics, and quoting from movies.  We had lots of treats and paused the game to have banana cream pie.  It was honestly the best day ever and I am so happy that we still have a few more opportunities to spend time together before my niece has to go back to Washington.  I hope you were able to spend the holiday doing things you love with friends and family!

Nathan Pacheco Christmas Concert 2025

It has become a tradition for me to tag along with my sister Marilyn and our family friend Kelli to the Nathan Pacheco Christmas concert. I am a relatively new fan (I discovered him when he was a guest vocalist for a Kurt Bestor Christmas concert) but they have followed him for years! The concert was last night at Abravanel Hall and, as always, I loved his eclectic mix of Christmas music as well as selections from the classical repertoire and from Broadway! He began with his new single "The King Emmanuel," which was quite stirring (he told us that we were one of the first audiences to hear it performed live), and then continued with the Christmas songs "Mary, Did You Know?" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." He is a classically trained tenor with a beautiful and clear voice so next came absolutely amazing renditions of "Questa O Quello" from Verdi's opera Rigoletto, "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera Turandot (this was especially fitting because it was Puccini's birthday yesterday), and "Time to Say Goodbye" (which gave me goosebumps). He concluded his first set with a heartfelt message about giving yourself grace during this holiday season and emotional versions of "Come As You Are" and "Forever." When Pacheco left the stage for a brief moment, his piano player Jared Pierce and his cellist Nicole Pinnell performed a cool instrumental mashup of "Sing We Noel" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Pacheco returned to sing "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "O Come, All You Unfaithful" (which I had never heard before), and "Silent Night." Next, his powerful version of "I Believe in Christ" with the Lyceum Choir just about brought the house down and his version of "God Bless Us, Everyone" from the movie Scrooge was lovely. He ended the concert with "O Holy Night," the song I most wanted to hear (it was worth the wait), and I loved it because he sings it better than almost everyone I've heard sing it live! The audience leapt to their feet for an enthusiastic standing ovation so he returned for an encore, including "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman (apparently he auditioned for the role of Barnum in the upcoming musical adaptation but was the second choice), "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables (this was another favorite moment), and "The Prayer" which is one of his most popular songs. I really enjoyed this concert (I also enjoyed dinner at the newly remodeled Garden Restaurant inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building before the show) and I am already excited to go again next year!

Note:  This was my last Christmas concert of the year so my final count for performances of "O Holy Night" is three (I was lucky enough to hear it at all three concerts I attended).

Gingerbread Houses 2025

Last night we had our annual gingerbread house party and we had so much fun that, at one point, we were all laughing so hard we couldn't breathe (mostly at all of my icing mishaps).  We normally use kits that we put together but this year my sister, who is an amazing baker, decided to make the gingerbread and royal icing herself.  She did such a great job and I absolutely love how they turned out!

I love this tradition with my family!

A Kurt Bestor Christmas at the Eccles 2025

I really love Kurt Bestor's arrangements of Christmas music so his annual concert is one of my favorite traditions.  I braved the crazy holiday traffic downtown last night (it was a zoo) but I am so glad that I did because it was such a lovely night.  He began with "Sing We Noel," "Joy to the World," and "I Wonder as I Wander" then said that he was performing "Let It Snow" next as a prayer that we would get some snow soon because he wants to ski!  He was joined by Alex Sharpe, a former member of Celtic Woman, for a beautiful performance of "In the Bleak Midwinter" (I really love Sarah McLachlan's version but this one gave me goosebumps). Sharpe has one of the clearest soprano voices I have ever heard and every note seemed to hover just above the audience so it was absolutely haunting.  She continued with her arrangement of "Sleigh Ride" which was incredibly chaotic (in the best possible way) with key changes and time signature changes meant to mimic riding in a sleigh through the snow.  It was really fun.  Bestor continued with "All Through the Night" and then he played my favorite Christmas song, "O Holy Night," on fugelhorn (I always hope that he will play this).  He concluded his first set with a rousing rendition of  "Ding Dong Merrily On High" with Mairead Nesbitt, another former member of Celtic Woman, on fiddle.  Her dynamic way of playing and moving around the stage was captivating to watch!  At one point, she performed really high kicks as she played and Bestor tried to copy her while playing the bodhran with hilarious results.  After the intermission, Bestor returned to the stage alone for "Coventry Carol" (another favorite).  He was then joined by his band for "Christmas Time Is Here" featuring Michael Dowdle on guitar, Carlitos Del Puerto on bass, Eric Valentine (who had a wild afro) on drums, and Todd Sorenson on percussion, and by his orchestra for "Deck the Halls."  I remember singing "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella" every year when I was in the choir during college so I always love hearing it.  Bestor's version is very stirring.  Nesbitt returned to the stage for "Carol of the Bells" and then he continued with "What Child Is This?"  A big tradition at this concert every year is for Bestor to perform 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with his own amusing orchestrations and a narrator chosen from the audience.  This year he had Sharpe act as narrator because he loves her Irish accent.  To say that she was a hoot would be an understatement!  The concert concluded with a performance of "Silent Night" with Sharpe singing in Gaelic and Nesbitt accompanying her on fiddle.  It was ethereal!  Unfortunately, last night's concert was the final one but I highly recommend putting it on your radar for next year because it is always an amazing show!