Official Secrets

I had the chance to see Official Secrets at Sundance this year and it was one of my favorites of the festival.  I decided to see it again last night now that it is in wide release and, once again, I thought it was a taut and suspenseful political thriller.  It tells the true story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a translator at GCHQ (a British intelligence gathering agency) who leaks a top-secret memo from Frank Koza of the NSA asking for intelligence which could be used to blackmail smaller countries into voting for a U.N. resolution supporting the invasion of Iraq to the press in 2003.  Once the story is published in The Observer, she confesses and is charged with violating the Official Secrets Act.  She pleads not guilty and her lawyers argue that she acted to prevent the imminent loss of life from an illegal war, a defense which could potentially be embarrassing for the British government.  I found the story to be both fascinating and compelling because it profiles an ordinary woman willing to face extraordinary consequences in order to follow her conscience.  Knightley gives an absolutely riveting performance, especially in a powerful interrogation scene where she tells investigators that she doesn't work for the British government but for the British people who are being lied to by the government.  The movie also features an impressive all-star cast including Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, and Rhys Ifans as the reporters who break the story, Ralph Fiennes as a defense lawyer, and Jeremy Northam as a Crown prosecutor.  The movie is fraught with tension (even on a second viewing), particularly during a sequence surrounding the deportation of Gun's husband in retaliation for her actions.  I enjoyed this movie (again) and I recommend it highly.

The Addams Family at HCT

Last night I got to see the musical The Addams Family on the Jewel Box Stage at Hale Centre Theatre.  I've seen this show several times before and it is a lot of fun so I have been anticipating it for quite a while. A nearly perfect cast and some amusing little additions make this one of the best productions of this particular show that I have seen.  The Addams family is not like other families because they are all obsessed with the macabre and rely on their dead ancestors to help them through life.  Things start to go wrong when Wednesday (MaKenna Tinney) falls in love with Lucas Beineke (Nathaneal Abbott), a normal Midwestern boy. She wants to introduce his uptight parents, Mal (Shawn Lynn) and Alice (Carolyn Hartvigsen), to her family which includes her father Gomez (Josh Richardson), her mother Morticia (Erin Royall Carlson), her brother Pugsley (Blake Walker), her uncle Fester (Jeff Thompson), her Grandma (Jayne Luke), and their manservant Lurch (Michael Von Forrell). She arranges a dinner and begs her family for just one normal night.  Of course, chaos ensues when a mishap involving a poisonous potion occurs and it is up to Uncle Fester, with the help of the ancestors, to convince everyone that love is the answer. The plot is quite silly but the message about the importance of families is very appealing. The songs in this show are not especially memorable but the cast is so outstanding that they made them very enjoyable, particularly "Just Around the Corner," "The Moon and Me" (a highlight), and "Tango de Amor."  The choreography is outstanding and I especially enjoyed all of the big song and dance numbers involving the ancestors (a Conquistador, Caesar, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, a Pirate, General Custer, Joan of Arc, and a Titanic passenger). The set is fantastic and features an ornate spiral staircase, a Medieval torture chamber, bedrooms with velvet draped canopy beds (Pugsley's bed is made out of a guillotine), and an imposing iron gate. The costumes are also quite spectacular, especially Morticia's slinky gowns and Gomez's elaborate smoking jackets. The entire cast is strong but Richardson and Carlson are absolutely perfect as Gomez and Morticia.  I laughed and laughed at just about everything they said and did!  Speaking of laughter, if you see this show pay very close attention to the antics of Lurch and Thing (Eden Tinney) because they provide many laugh out loud moments of physical comedy that are often hidden in the background.  The Addams Family is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it but act quickly (go here for tickets) because shows are selling out at a record pace.

Inland

For the past couple of months I have been thinking about joining another book club.  I missed being challenged to read books that I wouldn't necessarily choose for myself and I have recently made a goal to be a little bit more social (I really struggle in this area). I eventually decided to join a book club that is held monthly at a Barnes & Noble bookstore near me. I went for the first time last night and, even though I stressed about it all day yesterday, I had a lot of fun.  The selection for this month was Inland by Tea Obreht and, while I didn't love it, I found the writing to be incredibly beautiful. Set in the Arizona Territory in 1893, the narrative alternates between two complicated characters fighting for survival. Lurie is an outlaw who joins the Camel Corps of the U.S. Army in charge of surveying the Southwest. He is doggedly pursued by Marshall John Berger because he committed a murder as a young man so he eventually takes a camel named Burke and wanders aimlessly on his own. Nora lives on a homestead plagued by a severe drought. She is left to fend for herself after her husband leaves to find water and her two older sons leave after an argument. She also gets into a squabble with a few locals about moving the county seat to another town which will almost certainly mean the end of her homestead. There is an interesting juxtaposition between the two characters because Lurie is unable to stay in one place for long and Nora cannot seem to leave a place no matter how inhospitable. The connection that ties them together is their ability to speak to the dead.  Lurie is followed by the ghosts of people he knew as a child and acquires their negative characteristics (which gets him into trouble).  Nora speaks to the daughter who died as an infant as a way to assuage her guilt over her death. The two are also connected by the common theme of water and how the lack thereof affects them. However, I had a very difficult time getting through the story because it meanders so much and so many characters appear and disappear without resolution.  I kept picking it up and putting it down, impatient for the two narratives to converge which doesn't happen until the final pages.  If you can make it to the end, both characters do find some redemption and are left with hope for the future but I'm not entirely sure I understand the point Obreht is making.  As previously mentioned, the prose is quite stunning, especially in the vivid descriptions of the Southwest, and there were many times when I went back to read a particular passage again because it was so poignant.  While I can appreciate Obreht’s brilliant writing style, I wouldn't recommend this book.  I would, however, recommend the Barnes & Noble book club because the facilitator asked some interesting questions which stimulated a great discussion (I was not the only one to struggle with this selection) and who can resist the delicious cookies from the cafe!  Go here for information and to find a book club near you!

Note:  Next month's selection is The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (the long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale).  I can't wait to read and discuss this book!

The Empire Strikes Back in Concert

I am such a fan of the Utah Symphony Films in Concert so I try to attend every concert in the series each season.  Last night Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was shown on the big screen while the orchestra played the amazing score by John Williams live.  This movie begins after the Rebels destroy the Death Star.  Darth Vader searches the galaxy for Luke Skywalker, who begins his Jedi training with Yoda, leading to an epic confrontation between the two of them.  I love this movie so much and the experience of watching it with a really rowdy crowd, many dressed in costume, was so much fun!  The score is iconic and the orchestra played it brilliantly.  I was positively giddy when the instantly recognizable "Star Wars (Main Theme)" played during the opening crawl and so was the crowd because the cheering was very enthusiastic!  I particularly loved all of the brass during "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)."  This gave me chills every time it was repeated because I was so terrified of Darth Vader when I saw this movie for the first time.  I also really enjoyed "Han Solo and the Princess," especially when Han and Leia kissed each other!  The crowd was amazing and there were massive cheers when Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Lando Calrissian appeared on the screen for the first time but the character that got the loudest applause was Yoda!  My favorite scenes were during the Battle of Hoth when Luke brings down the AT-AT walkers, when Yoda lifts Luke's X-wing fighter out of the swamp using the Force, when Leia tells Han that she loves him before he is frozen in carbonite, and when Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father after their lightsaber duel.  It has been a long time since I've seen this movie on the big screen and I certainly enjoyed it last night.  This concert will be repeated again tonight and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Note:  Abravanel Hall was visited by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) who were attending Fan-X next door!  It was quite exciting!

It: Chapter Two

I am a huge fan of Stephen King's best-selling novel It!  I thought it was a brilliant idea to divide the story into two movies, with the first one focusing on the events in 1989 and the second one focusing on the present, but I have to admit that as soon as I walked out of It I started looking forward to the conclusion (and immediately started casting all of the adult roles in my head).  After anticipating It: Chapter Two for so long I finally got to see it last night at a Thursday preview.  In 1989, Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Martell), Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), and Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff) are able to defeat the evil presence that appears in Derry every 27 years but they do not kill it.  They make a blood pact to return to Derry if it reappears again.  In the present, Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only member of the Loser's Club who remained in Derry, calls Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Ben (Jay Ryan), Richie (Bill Hader), Eddie (James Ransone), and Stan (Andy Bean) when there are some unexplained deaths.  All but Stan return even though they have forgotten much of what happened.  They all must eventually confront their pasts in order to retrieve artifacts to use in an ancient ritual which they conduct in the sewers of Derry.  Will this ritual be enough to kill the evil presence that appears in the guise of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard)?  I loved the performances of the young actors in the first movie and I thought the filmmakers did a brilliant job of casting the adult roles (I thought Teach Grant, the adult version of Henry Bowers, was also spot-on).  The actors do a great job of recreating all of the idiosyncrasies of the younger characters, particularly Ransone as Eddie.  The adults have just as much camaraderie as the kids and infuse a lot of comedic elements to balance out the horror (it was fun seeing this with a rowdy crowd who laughed out loud multiple times).  There are some really scary moments but I think the first movie is a bit more unsettling because Pennywise is fighting younger and more vulnerable characters.  I didn't feel as much dread in the final confrontation.  I also think this movie is a lot longer than it needs to be because it kept returning unnecessarily to the events of the past and my mind sometimes wandered.  Still, I think the outstanding performances by the ensemble cast make this a satisfying conclusion to the saga and I recommend it to fans of the first movie.

Note:  Many of my students are reading the novel and they made me promise not to reveal any spoiler alerts in class today!

The Nightingale

I was very intrigued by the trailer for The Nightingale but I wasn't sure that I wanted to see it because I had heard that it was incredibly violent (many people walked out when it was screened at the Venice Film Festival).  However, one of my friends recommended it so highly that I changed my mind and saw it last night.  To be sure, it is absolutely brutal but it is also beautiful and one of the best films I've seen all year.  In Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania) in the early 1800s, Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is an Irish convict serving as a laborer for a British Army outpost under the command of Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin).  An officer is visiting to determine if Hawkins should be promoted to Captain.  Clare's sentence has expired but Hawkins refuses to release her because he likes to hear her sing and calls her his Nightingale.  When Clare's husband Aidan (Michael Sheasby) drunkenly demands that Hawkins release her, it ends in an altercation that ultimately loses Hawkins his promotion.  In retaliation, Hawkins and his second-in-command brutally rape Clare and then he kills Aidan and their baby daughter.  Hawkins decides to travel through the treacherous bush to the town of Launceston to advocate for the promotion himself.  After persuading an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) to help her, Clare decides to follow him through the bush to get revenge.  This is a very Gothic revenge film but, more than that, it is a beautiful story of friendship that is incredibly affecting.  Clare and Billy form an uneasy alliance and are hostile to each other until she learns of the atrocities perpetrated against the Aborigines and they bond over their mutual hatred of the British.  Billy (whose Aboriginal name means Blackbird) saves her life several times and they come to rely on each other and then care for each other.  I really loved watching their relationship unfold and there were many times when I was moved to tears.  The symbolism in this film is so powerful and I especially loved a scene where they get separated and a blackbird guides Clare back to the road.  The message about the evils of colonialism is also very powerful and I think it is one that everyone should hear.  Franciosi gives one of the most riveting performances that I have seen all year, Ganambarr is incredibly sympathetic as Billy (I was a sobbing mess during a scene where he breaks down and says that Australia is his country), and Claflin is so loathsome as Hawkins that it was hard for me not to hate him.  The cinematography is absolutely stunning, particularly the gorgeous final shot, and the score is so evocative.  There is no doubt that this movie is difficult to watch.  I do think the violence is very organic and not at all gratuitous but it is definitely not for the faint of heart.  Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

After the Wedding

The film After the Wedding wasn't on my radar at all during the Sundance Film Festival this year but I found the trailer to be intriguing so I saw it last night.  Even though there are some great performances, it fell a little flat for me.  Isabel (Michelle Williams) is an American woman who runs an orphanage in India.  Theresa (Julianne Moore) is a wealthy media mogul who has offered to fund her orphanage with the proviso that Isabel come to New York to meet personally with her.  The visit coincides with the wedding of Theresa's daughter Grace (Abby Quinn) so Isabel is invited.  At the wedding, Isabel is surprised to see Theresa's husband Oscar (Billy Crudup), with whom she had a former relationship, and all three of them of them are forced to confront the past when further secrets are revealed.  The story is compelling enough and, as previously mentioned, both Williams and Moore give highly nuanced performances.  Williams reveals more with just a look than other actresses do with pages of dialogue, particularly in a scene where Isabel advocates for vaccines to keep children from dying of preventable diseases only to be interrupted by Theresa berating her assistant for not finding enough lobster to serve at the wedding and in a scene where she first recognizes Oscar across the room.  Moore is also excellent, particularly in a vodka fueled rant.  Despite these performances, many of the scenes lose their emotional impact with strange editing.  The camera always seems to cut away just when the characters are on the verge of a breakthrough and I kept wishing for more fireworks (beyond the fireworks at the wedding!).  Crudup, especially, is very restrained in this role and Quinn is not given much to do considering how integral her character is to the story.  I was hoping for more with such an interesting premise but Williams and Moore elevate it enough for me to recommend it.

Lawrence of Arabia

I tried many times, unsuccessfully, to watch Lawrence of Arabia on TV (it was my friend Tony's favorite movie) but I always fell asleep.  I finally came to the realization that it is a movie that really needs to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated.  When I saw it as part of the Megaplex Silver Screen Classics series a few years ago, I was absolutely captivated and I couldn't believe that I ever found it to be boring.  I was so excited to see it again as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series yesterday and, once again, I thought it was a masterpiece.  It tells the true story of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), a British officer who was able to unite a group of warring Arab tribesman to take the cities of Aqaba and Damascus from the Turks during World War I.  O'Toole (in his movie debut) is absolutely brilliant as a man who starts to believe in his own mythology but then ultimately becomes disillusioned by the necessity of violence, the perfidy of the British, and the renewal of tribal hostilities.  Much has been made about how handsome O'Toole is but it is Omar Sharif, who plays a tribal leader, who makes me swoon!  The rest of all-star cast, including Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, and Claude Rains, is also outstanding.  This movie is truly epic and I really enjoyed all of the locations around the world used in filming.  The first time I watched it all the way though, I thought that British Headquarters in Cairo looked a lot like the Plaza de Espana in Spain and this time around I paid particular attention and then looked it up to confirm it.  I was right!  I loved the breathtaking cinematography, especially the widescreen shots of camels racing across the desert or of the rising sun, and the atmospheric score by Maurice Jarre.  It is almost four hours long (plus an intermission) but I found it to be riveting and I highly recommend seeing it when it is screened again on Wednesday (go here for tickets and information).

Sting with the Utah Symphony at USANA

What an unforgettable evening with Sting and the Utah Symphony!  I have seen Sting in concert several times (including, rather memorably, at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and then in SLC the very next night with my friend Tony) but the concert last night at USANA might be my favorite!  It was absolutely brilliant and what made it even better was that it benefitted the Zion Forever Project in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Zion National Park, one of my favorite places on Earth!  The Utah Symphony began the evening with Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Gershwin's An American in Paris which were lovely.  After the intermission, Sting came on stage and performed "Englishman in New York" to the delight of the crowd.  During the chorus he incited the crowd to sing along with just the mere flick of his fingers and we responded enthusiastically (and not for the last time).  He then became quite the raconteur as he told amusing anecdotes about each of his songs.  I especially loved the story about how he came to write "Roxanne" and I loved the sultry arrangement of it that he performed with the orchestra.  Then he performed "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Fields of Gold," and "When We Dance."  A highlight for me came next when he sang the title song from the musical The Last Ship which he wrote about the community where he grew up.  I had the opportunity to see PTC's production of this show on the night that Sting attended a performance.  It was amazing to watch him (I was six rows behind him) react to what was happening on stage so I loved hearing him sing this song.  He told personal stories about his relationship with his father before singing "Why Should I Cry for You," his relationship with his wife before singing "The End of the Game," and his childhood dream of being a cowboy before singing "I Hung My Head."  He was so charming and he seemed genuinely moved by the crowd's reactions!  He ended his set with "King of Pain" and "Every Breath You Take" which brought back so many memories of high school.  It was interesting to me how great the old Police songs sounded with symphonic arrangements!  For the encore he performed an amazing rendition of "Desert Rose" which got the crowd on their feet and then ended the evening with "Fragile."  I loved every minute of this concert and I won't soon forget it!

Note:  This was my third concert at USANA in a week.  It has been so much fun but I am really tired!

Heart at USANA

I have been a huge fan of Heart for as long as I can remember.  I listened to their 1985 self-titled album on repeat for hours when I was in high school, especially the song "These Dreams" which I absolutely love.  They toured with this album and made a stop in SLC but I wasn't able to go to the show.  I thought that I had missed my opportunity to see them after their acrimonious split so when I heard about their latest tour I got really excited and bought a ticket immediately.  It seems like I have been waiting for so long but I finally got to go to the concert at USANA Amphitheatre last night and it was fabulous!  Ann Wilson told the crowd that they were going to sing songs from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and I loved them all.  I particularly liked their renditions of "Magic Man," "Dog & Butterfly," "Straight On," "Crazy On You," and "Barracuda" from the early years.  I was thrilled when they played "These Dreams" and "What About Love" from my favorite album.  I haven't heard these songs for years and it was amazing to me that I could still remember every single word!  They performed a beautiful cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" featuring the lovely harmonies of Ann and Nancy together and they also performed an epic version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" which had the entire crowd singing.  For the encore they performed an incredibly powerful version of "Alone."  I have always really loved Ann's voice but her amazing vocal performance during this song gave me goosebumps!  Before Heart took the stage, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (my favorite song was "Bad Reputation") and Elle King (I loved her cover of the Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty song "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") performed lively sets.  This concert was extremely nostalgic for me and I am so glad that I finally got to see Heart perform live!

Dave Matthews Band at USANA

Last night I saw Dave Matthews Band at USANA Amphitheatre with Kristine and Trent and it was so much fun because, while I consider myself a casual fan, the two of them are hard core and I loved watching their excitement (my sister was positively giddy).  Dave Matthews is known for putting on a great live show but this concert was especially amazing because it seemed so spontaneous!  I looked up the previous setlists for this tour and no two shows have been the same.  Last night they played a very eclectic mix of old and new songs, mixing hits along with deeper tracks. There were pauses in between songs and it almost seemed as if the band was deciding what to play next right there on the stage!  Even though they only played three of their really big hits ("Too Much," "Everyday," and "Ants Marching") it didn't matter!  I enjoyed the songs I didn't recognize because it looked like the band was having so much fun jamming (every song featured long extended solos which delighted the crowd) and they sounded great, especially the horn section.  I have been listening to Come Tomorrow a lot lately and I was hoping that they would play "She" which is my favorite song from the new album.  I was thrilled when I heard the opening notes and I sang along to every word!  Other highlights included a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," an acoustic version of "Here On Out" from the new album, and an epic rendition of "Don't Drink the Water" during the encore.  It was a perfect late summer evening and, even though I will be really tired after seeing a concert on a school night, I'm so glad I got to go with my sister and brother-in-law!  We all agreed that it was one of the best concerts any of us have seen!

Note:  Kristine and Trent had never been to USANA before and I told them that it was sometimes a lot of fun getting out of the parking lot after the show.  Of course, Trent got us out in less than five minutes!

Angel Has Fallen

Saturday nights are perfect for an action blockbuster and a big tub of popcorn so I went to see Angel Has Fallen last night.  After saving the world in Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) must now save himself.  He is tapped to be the next director of the Secret Service but the years have definitely taken both a mental and physical toll on him.  While on a fishing trip in a rural area, there is an assassination attempt on President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) which incapacitates him and kills the entire protection detail except for Banning who is framed for the incident.  After Banning escapes from police custody, he enlists the help of his estranged father Clay Banning (a hilarious Nick Nolte) to elude FBI Agent Helen Thompson (Jada Pinckett Smith) and the real perpetrators in order to prove his innocence, protect the president from another attack, and confront an old friend.  The narrative is incredibly predictable (I figured out who was responsible for the attack before it even happened) but that doesn't really matter.  Although the story about a man dealing with the consequences of his past has more depth than its predecessors, I went to this movie for the action sequences and they are a lot of fun, particularly a spectacular attack by drones, Banning's escape from a moving van with four guards while handcuffed, a high-speed police chase with a semi, an epic firefight in the woods against a group of mercenaries, a shootout in a hospital, and a knife fight on a rooftop.  As previously mentioned, Nolte is fabulous in the role of a man tormented by war and he steals every scene he is in (stay for a hilarious mid-credits scene).  It is Clay's relationship with Mike that gives the story its heart.  This movie is definitely not going to win any awards but it is a lot of fun on a Saturday night and I recommend it to fans of the franchise.

Luce

The first week back at school has concluded and, other than feeling exhausted (getting back into a routine after a summer of playing is very difficult), it went extremely well!  Last night I decided to celebrate by going to the movie Luce which I have been anticipating for weeks.  It is one of the most thought-provoking movies I've seen and it is sure to feature on my end of year list!  Amy (Naomi Watts) and Peter (Tim Roth) adopted their son Luce (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) from war-torn Eritrea when he was seven years old.  After a violent childhood as a gun wielding soldier, Luce has become an outstanding student, a champion debater, and an all-star athlete.  His parents are understandably proud and his teachers hold him up as an example of excellence to the other black students.  He is almost too perfect.  When Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), Luce's history teacher, becomes alarmed at some extreme views expressed in one of his assignments, she searches his locker and makes a shocking discovery.  This calls into question everything his parents believe about him and brings a crisis to their marriage.  It is an incredibly powerful and somewhat uneasy exploration of identity that challenges preconceptions and I am still thinking about it.  I was especially struck by the juxtaposition between Luce and another black student who is vilified for a minor mistake because he has been labeled a delinquent.  The tension, augmented by a truly menacing score, becomes almost unbearable as the mystery of who Luce really is unfolds with no easy answers.  Harrison, Jr. gives a brilliant performance as a young man feeling the weight of living up to expectations.  A scene where he tearfully practices a speech about how lucky he feels to live in America, a place where he can be anything he wants to be, is almost overwhelming in its intensity because of the irony.  I was also impressed with Roth's chilling performance as a man who just wanted a normal family not a political statement.  This is definitely a provocative movie that will spark a lot of conversations and I highly recommend it!

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The book club that I once belonged to also read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and I loved it so much that I recommended it to everyone.  I have been eagerly anticipating the movie adaptation and I finally had the chance to see it yesterday.  A golden retriever named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) has been with Denny (Milo Ventimiglia), an aspiring Formula One race car driver with an affinity for driving in the rain, since he was a puppy.  He likes watching television while Denny is away from home and learns from a documentary about Mongolia that some dogs are reincarnated into humans after they die.  Enzo hopes that he will be able to become a man so that he can be a race car driver himself.  The story is told from Enzo's point of view as he learns everything he can about driving from Denny and, as time goes by, applies these lessons to life as Denny gets married to Eve (Amanda Seyfried), becomes a father to Zoe (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), suffers an unspeakable tragedy, and overcomes adversity.  As a huge fan of the book I was happy that the movie followed the source material pretty faithfully (other than changing a minor subplot which, frankly, worked much better in my opinion).  I loved the way the relationship between Denny and Enzo is portrayed, especially Enzo's jealousy when Eve vies with him for Denny's affections and his protectiveness when Zoe is born.  I loved Costner as the narrator and I think he makes Enzo into a really believable character.  I also liked Ventimiglia as Denny because he is very appealing and Seyfried does very well in a role that is not as developed.  The story is, admittedly, quite emotional but I think everyone who has ever had a dog will relate to it and, after all of the tears, the ending will put a smile on your face.  I recommend this movie to everyone who loved the book and to everyone who loves dogs!

Note:  I've been thinking about all the books my former book club read and I've decided that I need to join another one!

Blinded by the Light

Have you ever had a favorite band whose music speaks to your soul and so perfectly reflects how you feel about life, love, and the world and your place in it that you listen to it over and over again?  I have felt that way about both the Beatles and U2 so when I saw the preview for Blinded by the Light, a true story about a young man who is inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen, I knew that I had to see it and I did last night.  I couldn't love this movie more!  Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra) is the son of very traditional Pakistani immigrants living in an economically depressed town in England in 1987.  He yearns for the courage to stand up to the racist bullies who attack him, to finally kiss a girl, and to escape his town and become a writer.  When a friend (Aaron Phagura) gives him a Bruce Springsteen tape, he listens to the song "Dancing in the Dark" when feeling particularly down and something inside him is awakened.  He loves Bruce Springsteen so much that he collects all of his records, listens to his music all of the time, covers his bedroom walls with his posters, finds out everything he can about him, starts dressing like him, and takes extreme measures to get tickets to his concert.  I couldn't relate to him at all!  He is inspired by "Badlands," "The Promised Land," "Thunder Road," and "Prove It At Night" to pursue his dreams but it is the song "Blinded by the Light" that eventually helps him understand who he is.  This movie is definitely one of my favorites this year!  I loved the message about the power of music, I loved the earnest and heartfelt performance of Kalra (in his feature film debut), and I loved all of the great Bruce Springsteen music used throughout!  Definitely go see this feel-good movie!

Note:  In the end credits we learn that the real Javed Khan has seen Bruce Spingsteen over 150 times!  Nope!  I couldn't relate to him at all!

The Book of Mormon at the Eccles

I saw the Broadway touring production of the musical The Book of Mormon when it first came through Salt Lake City in 2015 and the excitement and energy in the crowd was palpable!  The audience laughed out loud, cheered, and even gave a standing ovation after the song "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" (which is in the middle of the show!).  It was one of the most memorable theatre experiences that I have ever had so, of course, I wanted to see it again during its return visit to SLC.  After a busy week back at school, seeing The Book of Mormon last night was so much fun!  After spending some time at the Missionary Training Center learning how to preach the gospel around the world ("Hello"), Elder Price (Liam Tobin) and Elder Cunningham (Jacob Ben-Shmuel) are called to serve in a remote village in Uganda.  Elder Price is very disappointed in the location because he wanted to go Orlando, the most wonderful and magical place on Earth, and in his companion because Elder Cunningham has a tendency to lie to compensate for his low self-esteem but he realizes that he will be a great missionary no matter the circumstances ("You and Me But Mostly Me").  When they meet their fellow missionaries in Africa, they get some advice about dealing with any unusual feelings they might be having ("Turn It Off").  The elders begin teaching ("An American Prophet") but the villagers are more concerned with poverty, famine, AIDs, and a violent overlord than in hearing their message.  However, Nabulungi (Alyah Chenelle Scott), the chief's daughter, is interested because she is hoping to leave Africa and go to paradise ("Sal Tlay Ka Siti").  Elder Price becomes discouraged because Uganda is nothing like The Lion King and decides to go home leaving Elder Cunningham, who has never actually read the Book of Mormon because it is so boring, to teach Nabulungi ("Man Up").  He begins embellishing the message with references to Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings ("Making Things Up Again") and, after he baptizes Nabulungi ("Baptize Me"), he converts the rest of the village.  Meanwhile, Elder Cunningham decides to return after having a dream about being in Hell with Jeffrey Dahmer, Genghis Khan, Hitler, and people who drink Starbucks coffee ("Spooky Mormon Hell Dream").  They eventually get in trouble for their false teachings but they realize that they have made the lives of the villagers better and decide to stay in Africa ("Tomorrow is a Latter Day").  It is absolutely hilarious and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, as did everyone sitting around me.  My favorite number is "Turn It Off" because I love the choreography and Andy Huntington Jones is fabulous as Elder McKinley, a missionary trying to pretend that he is not gay!  There is quite a bit of profanity and some might be offended by the content but if you understand going in that it is a satire, this show is a lot of fun.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre until August 25 (go here for tickets).

Note:  The cast has mentioned how much fun this show is to perform in Salt Lake City.  They get reactions here that they don't get in other cities, especially during "Sal Tlay Ka Siti," and it sometimes throws them off!

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

I read the novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple years ago in a book club that I once belonged to.  It was one of the funniest books that I had ever read so I was really excited to see the movie adaptation last night.  Even though it had a different tone than the book, I quite enjoyed this movie!  Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) was once a brilliant and prize-winning architect in Los Angeles.  After a devastating incident with one of her houses, she flees to Seattle and lives with her husband Elgin (Billy Crudup) and daughter Bee (Emma Nelson) in a crumbling mansion that she is halfheartedly renovating.  Without a creative outlet, she becomes antisocial, agoraphobic, and acerbic, channeling all of her energy into criticizing the provinciality of Seattle and the pretentiousness of the other parents at Bee's school.  After a series of troubling incidents, Elgin decides that Bernadette needs professional help and stages an intervention with a therapist (Judy Greer) which causes Bernadette to run away.  When Bernadette disappears in order to find herself in the unlikeliest of places, Bee sets out to discover where she is.  Because the novel is epistolary, some of the snarky humor doesn't really translate very well to the screen but I still really enjoyed it because the story about a woman who loses herself, both literally and figuratively, is much more poignant in the movie (deeply flawed characters finding redemption is one of my favorite themes).  Blanchett gives an incredible performance, especially whenever Bernadette goes on a manic rant about her surroundings.  On the page Bernadette is an unsympathetic character but Blanchett imbues her with a certain humanity that is hard to resist.  Finally, I found the resolution of the movie to be much more uplifting than that of the novel and I actually prefer it.  While I laughed out loud reading the book, I enjoyed the movie for its heart and I would recommend it.

Note:  I have always wanted to go to Antarctica!

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Yesterday I crossed another new release off my long list by seeing The Peanut Butter Falcon.  This contemporary retelling of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a heartwarming movie that put a huge smile on my face!  Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, has spent most of his life in a nursing home because his family is unable to supervise him and there is nowhere else for him to go.  As a huge fan of a wrestler named Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), Zak escapes hoping to make it to his wrestling school in rural North Carolina.  He meets up with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a down-on-his-luck fisherman in the Outer Banks, who is on the run from a rival fisherman with an ax to grind (and his own demons).  Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who works at the nursing home, is sent to retrieve Zak but she is eventually persuaded to join them on their way to the wrestling school.  The three of them form a bond as they go on a journey of discovery (literally and figuratively) where Zak is reborn as a wrestler named Peanut Butter Falcon.  I loved this movie because the story about an unlikely friendship and living life to the fullest on your own terms really touched my heart.  It also made me laugh out loud, particularly a scene where Tyler tells Zak the rules for traveling with him and the scenes where Salt Water teaches Zak to wrestle.  The performances are wonderful! Gottsagen, who actually has Down syndrome, is incredibly endearing and LaBeouf gives an emotional performance that is one of his best.  The two of them have great chemistry and I really enjoyed watching them play off each other.  The soundtrack, which features bluegrass and folk music, and the beautiful cinematography are also outstanding!  I cannot recommend this movie enough!

Brian Banks

The movie Brian Banks is another recent release on my list and I was able to see this inspirational true story last night.  In 2002 Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge) is a sixteen year old high school student and an All-American football player committed to play at USC after he graduates.  He meets a fellow student named Kennisha Rice (Xosha Roquemore) in secret in a hallway and, when he rejects her, she falsely accuses him of raping her.  He is tried as an adult and pressured into taking a plea bargain to avoid going to jail.  However, he is sentenced to six years, which he serves, and then three years of parole.  His parole officer won't let him play football as a walk-on at a community college and he has difficulty finding a job as a convicted felon so, in desperation, he turns to Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) of the California Innocence Project.  Thinking that there are too many obstacles to getting his conviction overturned, Brooks is initially hesitant to take the case but is eventually won over by the sheer force of Banks' character.  Overcoming unbelievable odds, Banks is finally able to achieve his goal of playing in the NFL.  Before I discuss the movie I need to confess that the exoneration of people who have been wrongly convicted has always been a topic that I am incredibly passionate about and it always pushes my buttons (it was a frequent subject for me as a debater in high school) so it is inevitable that I would find this movie powerful and moving.  Some may find the story to be emotionally manipulative but I found it to be very compelling with affecting performances by both Hodge (I really liked him in the movie Clemency, which has a similar theme, at the Sundance Film Festival this year) and Sherri Shepherd who plays Banks' mother.  I was moved to tears several times and I really appreciated seeing a movie with such a positive message about perseverance.  I would highly recommend this feel-good movie!