Ben-Hur

Yesterday I went to see Ben-Hur on the big screen as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series and it was an awesome spectacle!  Messala (Stephen Boyd) is a Roman tribune who returns to Jerusalem as the new commander of the Roman garrison.  He has a joyous reunion with his childhood friend Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), a wealthy prince in Jerusalem.  Messala asks Judah to help quell the rebellion that is brewing in Jerusalem but they soon quarrel when Judah refuses to spy on his people.  During a military parade, a tile falls from Judah's house injuring the new governor and Judah, his mother, and sister are arrested.  Messala, wanting to curry favor with the governor, sentences Judah to be a galley slave while the fate of his family is unknown.  Judah vows revenge for this betrayal.  After several years, Quitus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), a Roman consul, is assigned to Judah's ship and notices his will to live.  Arrius has Judah's chains unlocked just before a battle allowing him to escape the sinking ship as well as rescue him.  In gratitude, Arrius takes Judah to Rome where he learns to drive a chariot.  Eventually, Judah returns to Jerusalem to seek his mother and sister.  When he, erroneously, hears that they are dead, he challenges Messala to an epic chariot race.  A parallel story to Judah's involves that of Jesus Christ and his birth, ministry, and crucifixion.  They have two brief but meaningful encounters with each other which allows Judah to forgive the Romans for what they have done to him and his family.  This movie is epic in every sense of the word.  It had the biggest budget of any movie up to that point with thousands of extras, horses, and costumes and a crew of 200 to create over 300 sets.  It was the highest grossing movie of 1959 and won 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director for William Wyler, and Best Actor for Charlton Heston.  I thought it was amazing, especially the chariot race which is absolutely thrilling.  It was so much fun to see this again on the big screen and I highly recommend it!  You have one more chance to see it on Wednesday (go here for tickets and information).

Rachmaninoff & Shostakovich

As a card carrying Russophile (I absolutely love Russia and have been there twice), I have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time!  Not only did I get to see Ballet West's production of Onegin on Friday night but I also got to see a Utah Symphony concert featuring the works of Rachmaninoff (my favorite) and Shostakovich last night!  I loved both the ballet and the concert so much!  The orchestra began with Dances of Galanta by Zoltan Kodaly.  I was unfamiliar with this piece but I really enjoyed the Hungarian folk music heard throughout and I loved the themes played by the woodwinds.  Next the orchestra continued with Concerto No. 4 for Piano and Orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  I love this piece so much, especially the second movement which is incredibly romantic and emotional but tinged with just a bit of melancholy.  Soloist Simon Trpceski played it brilliantly with a lot of expression.  He was so energetic and fun to watch!  He literally bounced up and down on the piano bench and his fingers seemed to fly up and down the keyboard.  The concert concluded with a powerful rendition of Symphony No. 12 by Dmitri Shostakovich.  This piece is quite dramatic and I really loved the themes played by the brass and the timpani, especially the triumphant conclusion.  It was an amazing evening of music and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Ballet West's Onegin

Even though I studied British literature in college, I have a great passion for Russian literature and Alexander Pushkin is one of my favorite Russian authors.  I would have to say that The Captain's Daughter is my favorite piece by Pushkin but Eugene Onegin would definitely be a close second.  I love the opera based on the novel with music by Tchaikovsky (I wish Utah Opera would program it again) so I have been looking forward to Ballet West's production of Onegin since they announced their season.  I was lucky enough to see it last night and it was absolutely glorious!  I loved everything about it including the story, the music, the choreography, the performances, the sets, and the costumes.  A young girl named Tatiana (Katie Critchlow) is preparing for a ball in honor of her birthday with her mother (Emily Adams), her sister Olga (Jenna Rae Herrera), and friends from the countryside.  Lensky (Joshua Shutkind), a poet engaged to Olga, arrives with Onegin (Adrian Fry), his friend from St. Petersburg.  Onegin is worldly and sophisticated and Tatiana falls desperately in love with him.  She impetuously writes a passionate letter declaring her love to him and has her nurse deliver it.  Prince Gremin (Dominic Ballard) attends the ball and falls in love with Tatiana but she ignores him in favor of Onegin who, thinking her a silly girl who has read too many romantic novels, rejects her and tears up her letter.  Onegin soon grows bored with the company and flirts outrageously with Olga.  Lensky challenges him to a duel and Onegin ends up killing him.  Years later a disillusioned Onegin visits Prince Gremin in St. Petersburg and is shocked to discover that his friend has married Tatiana.  He realizes that he is in love with the beautiful princess and writes her a letter.  In a reversal in fortune, she rejects him and tears up his letter.  The magnificent music by Tchaikovsky is the perfect backdrop for this tragic love story.  It isn't as well known as some of his other more iconic scores but it is no less dramatic and passionate.  I especially loved the music during the duel because it is so heartbreaking.  The choreography is incredibly innovative.  I enjoyed the wild abandon of the folk dances in the countryside, particularly the leaps across the stage by the women in the ensemble, juxtaposed with the elegant and stately waltzes at the ball in St. Petersburg.  I was blown away by the tumultuous and acrobatic final Pas de Deux between Onegin and Tatiana.  Critchlow and Fry danced their roles brilliantly, executing some of the trickiest throws and maneuvers I've ever seen with such emotion!  The elegant sets and beautiful costumes in muted jewel tones transport the audience to imperial Russia for a few hours and it is a journey that I definitely recommend taking!  There are two more performances today at the Eccles Theatre (go here for tickets and more information).

Storm Boy

When I saw the trailer for Storm Boy I thought it was so visually stunning that I immediately decided I wanted to see it.  I didn't hear anything more about the film or its release date so I kind of forgot about it.  Last night I was looking at the website for a movie chain that I sometimes frequent to see about getting advanced tickets for another movie and I saw that it was playing.  I spontaneously decided to see it and I am glad that I did because this lovely film about the bond between a boy and a wild pelican really touched me (at one point I was sobbing like a baby).  Michael Kingley (Geoffrey Rush) is a retired businessman whose former company, now controlled by his son-in-law (Erik Thomson), owns vast holdings of real estate.  He has been called to a shareholder's meeting to vote on a proposal to lease a tract of land to a mining company.  His granddaughter Maddie (Morgana Davies) angrily confronts him about the proposal and accuses him of not caring about the environment.  He then begins telling her about his childhood on an isolated beach in South Australia where his father Tom (Jai Courtney) brought him to hide from the world after the death of his mother and sister.  When young Michael (Finn Little) sees a group of pelicans who have been killed by hunters he discovers three newly hatched birds who will most likely die without their mother.  He decides to save them and, with the help of an aboriginal man (Trevor Jamieson) who lives nearby, he learns how to care for them.  His friendship with one of the pelicans (who he calls Mr. Percival after a character in Lord of the Flies) ultimately changes his life and changes his mind about the land deal.  I loved this movie so much!  It is a gentle and beautiful story that is told very simply.  Australia is one of the most beautiful places I've visited and the scenes on the beaches (it was shot in Coorong National Park) are absolutely breathtaking.  Courtney (who is hit or miss with me) gives a great performance and Little is so endearing as the young Michael.  I loved the scenes of him cavorting with the pelicans, especially when he is trying to teach them how to fly, and the scene where he lets them go back into the wild just about broke my heart.  This film is under the radar (at least in the SLC area) but it is definitely worth seeking out!

The Best of Enemies

Last night I went to see The Best of Enemies and, while there are flaws, I think it has a great message about listening to someone who has a different opinion to find common ground and this is definitely a message that is really needed right now!  This movie tells the true story of an unlikely friendship that develops when a "charrette," or an intensive community council where all parties involved come together to propose solutions and vote on a binding course of action, is held on school integration in the racially segregated city of Durham, North Carolina in 1971.  Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson), a civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell), the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan, are chosen as co-chairs of the council.  At first their interactions with each other are incredibly acrimonious but as they are forced to spend time together (they literally have to sit together at the same table during lunch) they begin to see each other as people rather than enemies.  They are finally able to find some common ground and there is a stand-up-and-cheer moment at the end of the movie that, well, made everyone in my screening cheer out loud.  The biggest criticism that I have read about this movie is that it focuses too much on Ellis' journey of redemption and, while I would have liked more insight into Atwater's character, I think that Ellis needed to make the bigger transformation.  Both Henson and Rockwell give fantastic performances and they both have several incredibly poignant scenes.  I really enjoyed this movie, despite what the critics say, and I recommend it to everyone.

Shazam!

The one and only time I ever waited outside of a theater door is when I saw the Broadway revival of She Loves Me a few years ago because I wanted to meet Zachary Levi.  He signed Playbills and posed for pictures with every person in line and I thought he was adorable. I have been looking forward to seeing him in the new superhero movie Shazam! and I absolutely loved his performance!  In 1974 a young boy named Thaddeus Sivana is magically transported to the Rock of Eternity where the Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) has been looking for a champion who is pure of heart to battle against the Seven Deadly Sins which have been unleashed into the world.  He is judged to be unworthy and sent back to Earth but in the present day the adult Sivana (Mark Strong) finds a way back to the Rock of Eternity to become the host for the Seven Deadly Sins.  Fourteen year old Billy Baston (Asher Angel), a troubled orphan searching for his birth mother, is placed in a group home along with Mary (Grace Fulton), Pedro (Jovan Armand), Eugene (Ian Chen), Darla (Faithe Herman), and Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) but he is not happy about being there.  When Billy saves Freddy from a group of bullies, he is summoned to the Rock of Eternity and chosen by the wizard to be his champion.  He is transformed into an adult (Zachary Levi) with all of the wizard's powers whenever he says his name.  With Freddy's help, he discovers all of his superpowers but lets them go to his head.  He is more concerned with his status as a YouTube personality rather than his responsibility as a hero. Sivana eventually discovers that the Wizard has a champion and challenges him but Billy must figure out what is worth fighting for before he can defeat him.  This movie is a really fun superhero origin story with a great message and I had a smile on my face the whole time.  Levi is so endearing in the title role because he is, essentially, playing a fourteen year old boy who happens to have superpowers.  Grazer is also fantastic as the disabled foster kid who has it all and the scenes where the two of them discover Shazam's powers are hilarious (and feature the song "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen!).  The special effects and action sequences are great and I really liked all of the bright primary colors (as opposed to the dark color palette used in most of the DCEU movies).   I enjoyed this movie so much and I highly recommend it!

Pet Sematary

I love Stephen King (I once argued the literary merit of his novels with one of my English professors in college).  I especially love his earlier novels and I read them all when I was an impressionable teenager.  All of them scared me but Pet Sematary terrified me, so much so that I slept with the light on for over a week after I read it in eighth grade.  The story about an ancient Micmac Indian burial ground haunted by a malevolent spirit known as the Wendigo was entirely believable to me because I grew up in eastern Canada and was very well acquainted with the folklore surrounding the Wendigo.  I was so unnerved by this book that I debated for quite some time whether or not I should see the 1989 adaptation.  I finally decided to see it and I was very disappointed because it replaced what actually made it scary with gore.  After similar deliberations I decided to see the new adaptation last night and it is both more and less faithful to the source material than the 1989 movie.  Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) decide to move from Boston to the rural town of Ludlow, Maine with their two children, Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie), and their cat, Church.  Their house is surrounded by forests but it is also near a busy highway.  As Rachel and Ellie explore the forest they discover a cemetery used by the local children for burying their dead pets.  When Church is killed by an Orinco truck on the highway, Louis wants to bury him in the pet cemetery but the Creed's neighbor Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) shows him the ancient Micmac burial located beyond the cemetery and instructs him in the ritual of burying his cat.  Later that night, Church is discovered to be alive but much more aggressive.  When another tragedy strikes the family, Louis is grief-stricken and decides to make use of the burial ground again with catastrophic consequences.  The biggest difference from the novel is that the other child is killed (but that decision makes the third act even more terrifying, in my opinion, because it enhances the physical threat) and the ending is a bit hokey (although I loved the Starcrawler cover of "Pet Sematary" by the Ramones during this scene).  What is retained from the novel is the story of the Wendigo and the unsettling and dread-filled atmosphere of the burial ground which scared me as much as the novel did.  This version is definitely much more menacing than the 1989 movie and I just might need to keep the light on at night.

Spring Avalanche Trip

My Dad and I really like to go to at least one and sometimes two Colorado Avalanche games every season.  We went over Thanksgiving break and decided to take in another game in the spring.  I hadn't used any of my personal days off from school yet so we could basically pick any game we wanted.  I have seen the Avalanche play just about every team in the NHL except for the Winnipeg Jets so that is the game we picked.  It also happened to be the last home game of the regular season so we were hoping that it would be an exciting game with playoff implications.  It was on both counts!  The Avs only needed one point to clinch a playoff spot so they just needed to tie the game.  They got a lot of scoring chances in the first period but the Jets ended up with two goals (one of them should not have counted).  In the second period Tyson Barrie scored a beautiful goal to cut the deficit by one.  The crowd went crazy and we were giving high fives to everyone around us!  It was so much fun!  In the third period Carl Soderberg tied it up with 9:25 remaining.  The crowd went into hysterics at this goal because all we needed was a tie for the playoffs.  I've been to a lot of exciting games before but I don't know if I've ever seen the Pepsi Center this wound up!  With only 1:26 left in the game Colorado got a too many men penalty (which, in my opinion, is one of the stupidest penalties you can get) which left them down a skater at the end of the game.  Every time the Avs iced the puck (sent it down the ice to kill time in the penalty)  the crowd went absolutely crazy until the clock wound down.  The Avs had to start overtime with more than 30 seconds left in the penalty but Erik Johnson took a pass from Nathan MacKinnon to score the winning goal.  It was epic!  The Avs needed one point but ended up with two and are going to the playoffs!  It was such a great game!

Note:  This was my first chance to see our new goalie Philipp Grubauer in action.  He made 34 saves!  I love him!

Sweat at PTC

Last night I went to see Sweat, the latest production at PTC which chronicles the demise of the industrial town of Reading, Pennsylvania when the once enviable jobs at factories are outsourced.  I didn't know anything about this play when I walked into the theater but I found it to be incredibly compelling.  The action takes place at a working class bar frequented by Tracey (Margot White), Jessie (Susanna Florence), and Cynthia (Nafeesa Monroe) who work the line at a local manufacturing plant.  Cynthia's estranged husband Brucie (Vince McGill) wanders in and out with a cautionary tale about how he lost his job at another factory when management wanted to cut costs and shut the workers out when the union took a hard line.  Stan (Christopher Duvall), a former factory worker severely injured on the job, is the bartender who lends a sympathetic ear.  Oscar (Xavier Reyes), the barback who is viewed as an immigrant because he is Hispanic, is trying to find a better job.  When Cynthia is given a promotion from the line to low-level management, Tracey, who also applied for the job, believes it is because Cynthia is African-American and she blames her when the factory wants to cut salaries and benefits and then locks them out.  Jason (Callum Adams) and Chris (Hassiem Muhammad), the sons of Tracey and Cynthia, respecively, who also work at the factory, blame Oscar when he crosses the picket line to take a job at the factory leading to tragedy.  What I found so interesting about this story is that the audience is clearly meant to sympathize with the workers who have given more than twenty years of their lives to a company that only cares about the bottom line but playwright Lynn Nottage also wants her protagonists to be held accountable for lashing out at the wrong people (Hispanics and African-Americans) instead of blaming corporate America.  This production is so well done and the ensemble cast is outstanding.  Every single character elicits sympathy and understanding even when expressing opposing viewpoints.  Almost all of the action takes place in one location and the choreography moving the characters in and out of the bar is very innovative.  The bar itself is fabulous with so much detail (I loved all of the sports pennants and neon signs for local beers).  I really enjoyed this production but it should be noted that there is an excessive amount of profanity (many people around me left at intermission) and there were several racial slurs that really upset me.  Sweat runs at PTC through April 13 (tickets may be purchased here).

The Mustang

Last night I had the chance to see The Mustang, a film that generated a lot of buzz at Sundance this year and rightly so!  It is a beautiful story about the redemption of a violent convict through his bond with a horse that is just as wild as he is.  Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) has recently been transferred to a prison in Nevada after spending several years in isolation because of anger management issues.  A prison psychologist (Connie Britton) refers him to a rehabilitation program, run by the curmudgeonly Myles (Bruce Dern), in which convicts are used to train wild mustangs rounded up by the government to keep the population sustainable.  Successfully trained horses are sold at auction and unsuccessful ones are euthanized.  Myles pairs Roman with the wildest of the horses hoping that they will be able to tame each other (the resolution is beautiful but it might surprise you).  The more success he finds in the ring, the more Roman is able to make peace with himself and with his daughter (Gideon Adlon).  Schoenaerts gives an exceptional performance, one in which there is not a lot of dialogue but one in which body language and facial expressions show the full extent of Roman's pain.  He exudes a fury that is palpable which makes his transformation in the scene where he finally breaks down with his daughter all the more powerful.  The action is quite slow because the trust between Roman and the horse is developed very gradually, culminating in one of the most beautiful scenes in the film.  It is visually striking with the wide open spaces of the desert juxtaposed with the claustrophobic interiors of the prison.  I also really liked the score, especially a plaintive theme played by a guitar when Roman is in solitary confinement.  I was very moved by this film and I highly recommend seeking it out.

The Aftermath

I love books and movies about World War II.  I especially love romances set during World War II so as soon as I saw the trailer for The Aftermath I was almost giddy with anticipation for it to hit SLC theaters.  It finally reached my favorite art house theater this weekend and I had a chance to see it yesterday afternoon.  I really enjoyed it.  Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) is stationed in Hamburg with the British Forces tasked with rebuilding Germany at the end of the war.  He sends for his wife Rachael (Keira Knightley) to join him in a house requisitioned by the British government for their use.  Their reunion is chilly and it is slowly revealed that their son was killed during the Blitz and that they have never really resolved their feelings about his death.  Rachael is horrified when she learns that her husband has allowed the previous owners, Stefan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgard) and his teenage daughter Freda (Flora Thiemann), to remain in the house with them.  Both Rachael and Stefan resent each other's presence in the house and the atmosphere is incredibly charged. Lewis wants everything to go back to how it was before the war and is largely oblivious to the tension in the house as he deals with the tensions between the British Forces and the German citizens.  Eventually Rachael and Stefan bond over their love of music and they begin an affair.  This domestic betrayal mirrors a larger one leading to a dramatic confrontation.  It is a very standard story about a love triangle but what elevates it is the exploration of what happens when you have to live and work with someone who was once your enemy and about finding forgiveness for actions, large and small, committed during war.  I found it to be very compelling.  All three main actors give outstanding performances, especially Knightley during one particularly emotional scene.  Of course, the costumes and sets are exactly what you would expect in a historical drama and I was especially impressed with the overhead shots of the bombed out city.  If you have enjoyed other period pieces starring Keira Knightley (there are so many to choose from), I would recommend seeking this out.

Dumbo

Last night I went to see Disney's remake of its animated classic Dumbo and, while I absolutely loved the flying baby elephant, I didn't love the movie.  Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns to the Medici Brothers Circus after being wounded in World War I only to discover that the circus is in financial difficulty.  Max Medici (Danny DeVito), the ringmaster of the circus, has gambled on the purchase of Jumbo, a pregnant elephant, hoping that the novelty of a baby elephant will bring business.  He puts Farrier and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) in charge of the elephants.  The baby, named Dumbo, is born with extremely large ears and is ridiculed during his first appearance in the ring causing Jumbo to go on a rampage.  Max is forced to sell Jumbo but Farrier's children discover that Dumbo can fly which brings business back to the circus.  This attracts the attention of the impresario V.A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) who brings the circus to Dreamland, his elaborate amusement park, and has Dumbo perform with the aerialist Colette Marchant (Eva Green).  However, Dreamland is not all that it appears to be and the circus performers decide that they must rescue Dumbo and reunite him with his mother.  I found most of the acting in this movie to be flat and lifeless, especially the children.  Honestly, the CGI elephant is much more expressive than any of the actors and I absolutely loved Dumbo's character design, especially those big blue eyes.  I also found the story to be very convoluted with the addition of themes of corporate greed and animal cruelty to the simple story told in the original.  But, ironically, it is the simple story of a baby longing to be reunited with his mother that is the best part of this movie and I found the early scenes between Dumbo and Jumbo to be incredibly affecting.  I wish that they had stayed at the circus longer to develop that relationship more.  Once the action moves to Dreamland it becomes very bloated with thinly drawn characters and loses focus until the heartwarming ending between Dumbo and his mother.  Dumbo is just so adorable and endearing and his yearning for his mother is so poignant that I was willing to overlook its faults and I would recommend it.

Fun at the Jazz Game

Tashena and I have been trying to get together for a Jazz game since January but with one thing or another we couldn't find a time that worked for both of us (she is so busy).  Since the regular season is ending soon (the Jazz have clinched a spot in the playoffs) I decided that I better get my act together and make it happen.  We went to the game last night and watched the Jazz play the Washington Wizards.  We always get to the arena early so that I can buy Tashena a shirt (this is tradition) and so we can get something to eat.  Because of the remodel of the Vivint arena there are so many great choices for dinner but I am partial to Hires (even though it is so expensive).  When the game started I mentioned to Tashena that I hoped the Jazz would win.  She answered, "Umm.  They're playing the Wizards!"  Apparently the Wizards don't have a very good record but they definitely gave the Jazz a run for their money and took the game to the final seconds which was a bit tense.  Tashena really likes Donovan Mitchell (whom she refers to as her husband) and he got an amazing breakaway to dramatically dunk the ball.  About halfway down the court he looked to see if anyone was close to him and got the biggest grin on his face when he saw that there wasn't!  Mitchell ended the night with 35 points to lead the Jazz to a 128-124 victory.  It was a great game but, honestly, I had such a good time just being with Tashena.  I haven't spent much time with her lately and I think we spent more time talking and laughing than we did watching the game.  She told me that I was embarrassing her about twenty times (mission accomplished), made fun of me for cheering every time Kyle Korver had the ball, and had me set up a Snapchat account so she could send me funny pictures!  It was such a fun night!  After the game she told me how glad she was that we were able to go!  I feel the same way!

Hotel Mumbai

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Hotel Mumbai, the second movie starring Dev Patel this week (this is a good thing).  It is based on the 2008 attack of Mumbai where Muslim terrorists staged a coordinated attack on various locations throughout the city.  This movie focuses on the attack on the Taj, a luxury hotel where the guest is considered to be a god, and the heroism of the staff, who could have escaped through service exits, in trying to save as many guests as possible. Patel plays Arjun, a hotel waiter who is constantly berated by the head chef Hemnat Oberoi (Anupam Kher).  When the terrorists enter the hotel and shoot everyone in the lobby, both Arjun and Oberoi sequester a group of guests in the hotel restaurant, including Zahra (Nazanin Boniadi) and David (Armie Hammer) a socialite and her American husband, as well as Vasili (Jason Isaacs), a wealthy Russian businessman.  With Special Forces hours away in Delhi, they eventually realize that they will have to take matters into their own hands to save themselves and this involves many harrowing sequences as they try to elude the terrorists, especially when David attempts to go back to his room to rescue his infant son who is being cared for by a nanny (Tilda Cobham-Hervey).  This movie is intense and unrelenting.  The action sequences put the audience right in the middle of the attack but it is very graphic and there were times when I needed to look away.  There are also moments when the tension is almost unbearable, particularly when the nanny is hiding from a group of terrorists and trying to keep the baby quiet.  I sometimes wondered if the brutality was necessary but it highlights the incredible lengths to which the staff members go in order to keep their guests safe.  I was quite moved by their courage and heroism!  There is an incredibly poignant scene where a wealthy British guest asks that Arjun remove his turban because she thinks that he is also a terrorist and she is afraid of him.  Arjun, who is a Sikh, shows her pictures of his family and explains the religious significance of his turban which brings her to tears.  This moment of understanding during a terrorist attack motivated by hatred for those who are different makes this movie one of my favorites this year (Patel is brilliant in this scene).  I recommend it but it is difficult to watch.

Steel Magnolias at HCT

Before Steel Magnolias was a popular movie, it was a play written by Robert Harling as a way for him to deal with the death of his sister from complications resulting from diabetes. I loved the movie so I was really excited to see Hale Theatre's production of the play last night. I laughed out loud many times and I admit that I wiped a tear from my eye. The story is about the bond a group of women, including Truvy Jones (Michelle Linn Hall), Annelle Dupuy (Amy Ware), Clairee Belcher (Teri Cowan), M'Lynn Eatenton (DeLayne Bluth Dayton), Shelby Eatenton (Madison Ford), and Ouiser Boudreaux (Jayne Luke), share in a small town in Louisiana and how they cope with the death of one of their own. The action takes place over several years in Truvy's beauty shop where the women meet to discuss the triumphs and challenges of their lives. Through it all the women support each other saying that they might be as delicate as magnolia flowers but, when it comes to adversity, they are as tough as steel. All six of the actresses are superb and very well suited to their roles but my favorite was definitely Luke! Ouiser has some of the best dialogue in the show ("I'm not crazy! I've just been in a very bad mood for forty years.") and Luke's delivery is absolutely hilarious with lots of physical comedy. The characters are very well known and I associated them with the actresses who portrayed them in the movie so I was pleasantly surprised that each actress in this production was able to make the character her own. The set is a lot of fun with all of the accoutrements of a real beauty parlor and they actually work! Annelle literally washes and sets M'Lynn's hair during one scene. I loved all of the wacky seasonal decorations, made by Annelle after she discovers arts and crafts, to denote the different time periods. The 1980s period costumes are a hoot and I especially liked all of Shelby's outfits in different shades of pink (her signature color). The best thing about this show is the message that you can get through anything with the support of your friends! I really enjoyed this heart-warming production and I highly recommend it (especially if you are a fan of the movie). It runs at HCT through June 1 (go here for tickets and information).

The Wedding Guest

I am a big fan of action thrillers and I am also a fan of Dev Patel so I was excited to see The Wedding Guest yesterday afternoon at my favorite art house theater.  A mysterious man named Jay (Patel) travels from London to Lahore, Pakistan.  He methodically and efficiently makes his way from Lahore to Islamabad, frequently changing vehicles and identities, and purchases guns, duct tape, and a suitcase.  He tells people that he is on his way to attend a family wedding but it turns out that he has been hired to kidnap the bride, Samira (Radhika Apte), by her secret lover, Deepesh (Jim Sarbh).  When the plan goes awry, Deepesh loses his nerve and wants Jay to return Samira to her family but she sees Jay as a way to escape from an arranged marriage and convinces him to go on the run through India.  Patel is great as an action hero (I would like to see him in more roles like this) and Apte gives a highly nuanced performance as a victim who might be more than she seems and their chemistry together is smoldering.  The plot is engaging because the audience never really knows who is playing whom and the action is full of suspense and intrigue.  I really enjoyed the first two acts but, after such a dramatic build up, the resolution does not really deliver what was incipiently promised and it loses focus.  However, two hours of Dev Patel, frequently shirtless, does have its compensations!

Note:  I am looking forward to seeing Dev Patel once again when Hotel Mumbai is released next weekend!

Us

Last night I went to see Us, the brilliant new horror movie from Jordan Peele that I am still thinking about.  In 1986 a little girl named Adelaide (Madison Curry) is visiting the boardwalk on Santa Cruz beach.  She wanders away from her parents and goes into a Hall of Mirrors attraction where she sees her physical double.  This encounter traumatizes her but her parents are never able to get her to talk about what happened.  In the present day Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o) returns to Santa Cruz on vacation with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), her daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), and son Jason (Evan Alex).  She is uneasy and seems to fear being at the beach.  When she wants to leave, she finally confides what happened to her husband saying she senses that her double is still out there.  Moments later the doubles of all four family members break into their house and terrorize them.  This movie is incredibly suspenseful and the tension is almost unbearable but there are also some really funny comedic elements which lighten the mood periodically.  It is pretty gruesome (you will never look at scissors in the same way again) as the family tries to elude and then kill their doubles but it is also quite metaphorical and thought-provoking as the mystery of who the doubles are finally unravels.  Everything, literally everything, in this movie is portentous and full of symbolism so you really need to pay attention (and perhaps see it again) and there is a plot twist that is absolutely mind-blowing!  If you can handle the gore, I highly recommend this movie for its brilliant mixture of horror, comedy, and social commentary.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Unbelievably, the only time I have ever seen the movie To Kill A Mockingbird is when we watched it in my ninth grade English class after reading the novel!  I was so happy for the opportunity yesterday to see it again, this time on the big screen, as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series.  It is a brilliant adaptation of one of my very favorite novels and it had a very powerful impact on me.  Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham) Finch learn that their father Atticus (Gregory Peck) is a hero when he defends an innocent black man named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) against a charge of rape, even though he knows he will lose, simply because it is the right thing to do.  They also learn not to judge people until they have seen things from their perspective through their interactions with the reclusive Boo Radley (Robert Duvall). Peck gives an incredible performance as one of the most beloved characters in literature and there is a moment when he is giving his summation to the jury that took my breath away!  I love how this scene was filmed because as he leans towards the jury he is looking directly into the camera so it seems as if he is talking to the audience.  It is so powerful and I hoped against hope that the jury would be convinced and return a different verdict.  Another moment that I found especially poignant was when all of the black people sitting in the gallery rise as a sign of respect as Atticus walks out of the courtroom.  It brought a tear to my eye!  The young actors, Alford, Badham, and John Megna as their friend Dill, also give wonderful performances as precocious, yet innocent, children who must learn difficult life lessons.  I loved the scene where Jem refuses to leave his father alone when facing a lynch mob and the scene where Scout walks Boo Radley home.  Finally, I loved Elmer Bernstein's haunting score and the realistic sets representing the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Depression.  It was an incredible experience seeing this beautiful movie on the big screen and I highly encourage everyone to take advantage of one last opportunity to see it on Wednesday (go here for information and tickets).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at CPT

I have a distinct memory of watching the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my sisters at one of the PTA summer movies when I was in elementary school (do they still have this program at elementary schools?) so I thought it would be fun to see it performed by CenterPoint Theatre last night. It was just delightful! The Potts children, Jeremy (Preston Spencer) and Jemima (Kaylee Call), love playing with their favorite car, which happened to win the Grand Prix back in the day, at a junk yard. When it is sold for scrap metal they beg their father, an eccentric inventor named Caractacus Potts (Ryan Zaugg), to buy it instead. Caractacus raises the money through a series of inventions such as a candy making machine and a hair cutting machine. He restores the car and, renaming it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, takes the children and Truly Scrumptious (Alisa Woodbrey) to the seaside for a picnic where they discover that the car can float and fly. Two Vulgarian spies (Clark Bullen and Kannon Servoss) see this and want to steal it for the Baron and Baroness Bomburst (Mark Gurney and Jessica Love, respectively) who love toys. They kidnap Grandpa Potts (David Nielsen) so the family take Chitty to Vulgaria to rescue him and banish the Baron and Baroness. This production is not quite as polished as some of the others I have seen at CPT but the reason why I like community theatre is because it is so quirky. Everyone involved gave it their all and there were several highlights. Spencer and Call are adorable as the Potts children, especially in "Truly Scrumptious." I also really enjoyed the children's ensemble and "Teamwork" is definitely the best of the big song and dance numbers. Bullen and Servoss are hilarious as the Vulgarian spies and I loved watching their facial expressions and their physical comedy. The set pieces are a lot of fun, particularly the breakfast making machine, and it is really clever how they are able to make Chitty fly! However, the very best part of this show is Zaugg's performance as Caractacus because he has a lovely voice. The songs "You Too" and "Hushabye Mountain" are absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed this show and I recommend it, especially for children (go here for information and tickets).