Boy Erased

I love this time of year because a lot of Oscar contenders are released and I had the chance to see one of them, Boy Erased, yesterday.  Lucas Hedges is Jared Eamons, the son of Marshall (Russell Crowe), an affluent Baptist minister and owner of a car dealership, and his wife Nancy (Nicole Kidman).  He breaks up with his girlfriend and questions his sexuality when he begins college.  After a traumatic incident at school with another boy he is outed to his parents who, seeking the counsel of other church members, decide to send him to a gay conversion therapy program run by Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton).  In the beginning he is a willing participant who wants to change.  He is told by one attendee named Jon (Xavier Dolan) to devote himself wholeheartedly to the program and by another named Gary (Troye Sivan) that he should play the part so that he can go home again.  He begins to question Sykes' practices when an attendee named Cameron (Britton Sear) is humiliated in front of the group and, during an emotional exercise, he retrieves his phone and contacts his Mom.  She is horrified by what has been happening in the program and decides to take him home despite her husband's objections.  What I really liked about this movie, which sets it apart from The Miseducation of Cameron Post, is that neither the parents nor the program director are vilified but the message about the harm done by conversion therapy is very clear.  They are misguided but they mean well.  Both Kidman and Crowe give highly sympathetic performances because you definitely understand why they do what they do even if you are horrified by it and I loved the fact that they ultimately accept their son (the final scene between Hedges and Crowe is so affecting).  I also really enjoyed a cameo by Cherry Jones who plays a doctor who tells Jared that he is completely normal.  Hedges, as always, gives a brilliant performance that is incredibly nuanced as a young man forced to reconcile his sexual identity with his Evangelical Christian upbringing.  You see his confusion, his desire to please his parents, and his dawning realization that he is not evil.  It is very restrained but it is extremely powerful with an important message that everyone needs to see.  I highly recommend it!

Winter Ball 2018

Last night Tashena went to the Bountiful High School Winter Ball with Carson who was in Ragtime with her.  He is absolutely adorable and the two of them can dance (I wish I could have seen them together at the dance).

Pinning on the boutonniere.

The corsage.

I always love the dresses that Tashena picks!  I think this one is beautiful!

I hope they had a good time!

Sean is Fourteen

Yesterday we celebrated Sean's fourteenth birthday (his actual birthday is tomorrow).  He wanted to stay at home have hamburgers and fries for lunch, which tasted delicious.  After lunch we had the traditional Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and he picked a polar bear design.  It was absolutely adorable (the ears were made of Oreos).

For his birthday he only wanted one (really expensive) thing so we all pitched in together and got it for him!

We got him a PlayStation4 and he was so excited!

After he opened it he took it to his room and started playing with it!  I love this kid so much and I hope he had a great birthday!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert

Last night I got to see the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban screened at Abravanel Hall with the Utah Symphony playing the wonderful score by John Williams.  I love the Films in Concert series but seeing this particular movie, which chronicles Harry's third year at Hogwarts, was especially fun.  Many people in the crowd were in costume representing the four houses of Hogwarts and they cheered enthusiastically when every character was introduced or when anything dramatic happened.  Having the score played live adds so much to the experience!  Of course the instantly recognizable main theme is amazing but I also really enjoyed the music played when Harry takes the Knight bus to the Leaky Cauldron, when he rides Buckbeak the hippograff, when he plays Quidditch (the timpani and the chimes!), when he and Hermione are attacked by the Whomping Willow, when he summons a Patronus to save Sirius Black from the Dementers, and when he and Hermione rescue Sirius from the tower with Buckbeak.  There is a lot of percussion in this score and it is much darker in tone than the music in the first two films.  I loved watching the members of the orchestra playing their instruments while I watched the movie.  It was also cool to have the Utah Opera Chorus perform "Double Trouble" which is sung by a student choir in the Great Hall at Hogwarts at the beginning of the term.  I loved every minute of this movie and, if you are a fan of Harry Potter, I recommend getting a ticket to see it when it is screened again tonight (go here).

Festival of Trees 2018

Last night I volunteered at the Festival of Trees for the tenth year in a row!  This is such a worthwhile cause because every penny earned goes to Primary Children's Hospital.  Christmas trees are decorated by groups and individuals, donated, put up for auction, and then displayed for the public.  I volunteer as a hostess to provide information about the trees and to keep them safe.  After my shift I always like to wander around and look at the various trees.  Here are some of my favorites.

The Hogwarts tree was my favorite.

The Festival of Trees continues at the Mountain America Expo Center through December 1.  Go here for more information.

My Boyfriend's Back

For several years I had a Utah Jazz weekend package with my friend Dana.  I didn't really care all that much about basketball.  The games were just a fun night out and an excuse to go out to dinner.  At the end of December 2007 Dana mentioned that a player who was really good at shooting three-pointers had just been traded to the Jazz and she was really excited about it.  I barely paid attention.  On New Year's Eve I was at a sports bar with some friends and I just happened to look up at the Jazz game on the big screen when Kyle Korver was shooting a free throw.  I was immediately smitten and asked who he was.  My friends mentioned that he had just been traded to the Jazz and I suddenly remembered what Dana had said.  For the rest of the season I went to every game that I could possibly go to.  I started watching the away games on TV.  I got a number 26 jersey before they even had them available because I had one customized.  I was obsessed!  The next year I got season tickets with my aunt and cousin and even started going to Jazz events.  I donated a coat to a drive sponsored by Korver just so I could meet him and I hyperventilated!  I was so obsessed with him that I spent most of every game looking at him with my binoculars.  I had so much fun going to games while he played for the Jazz but after two seasons he signed with the Chicago Bulls.  I gave up my season tickets and became a casual Jazz fan again because it just wasn't the same any more.

Yesterday I woke up really early and couldn't go back to sleep so I checked social media.  I found out that Korver had been traded back to the Jazz!  This news was so exciting to me and it brought back all of the fun memories.  I immediately bought a ticket to the next Jazz home game, which is next week, and I am literally giddy with the thought of seeing him play again!  I am now searching for my Korver jersey!

Green Book

The movie Green Book is one that I have been anticipating for quite awhile and I had the opportunity to see it last night.  Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is a celebrated black pianist embarking on a concert tour in 1962.  Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), a bouncer at the Copacabana who is out of work while the nightclub is renovated, is hired by Shirley's record company to be his chauffeur/bodyguard and help him navigate his way through the segregated south (with the help of the titular Green Book which lists the hotels and restaurants that blacks are allowed to frequent).  Don is refined and elegant while Tony is brash and crude and their interactions are fraught with tension at the beginning of their journey (and provide quite a bit of comedy).  As time goes by Don begins to soften some of Tony's rough edges, particularly in his letter writing endeavors, and Tony helps Don lighten up and enjoy himself, especially in a scene where Don plays the piano in a colored bar.  Both of them have inner demons, not to mention stereotypes about each other, but as they get to know each other they form an unlikely friendship which ultimately lasts for the rest of their lives (it is based on a true story).  This movie is a bit formulaic but it works on the strength of the lead performances.  Ali and Mortensen have great chemistry as their characters banter back and forth and it is a joy to watch them interact.  I also really enjoyed the message of overcoming prejudices by getting to know someone who is different.  However, there is one scene that is incredibly jarring about an issue that is not referenced again which I feel detracts a bit from the narrative.  Otherwise it is a feel-good movie that I really enjoyed and would highly recommend.

A Snowy Avalanche Trip

I have been watching hockey with my Dad for as long as I can remember and we are huge fans of the Colorado Avalanche.  We try to see at least one, sometimes two, games in Denver every season and last year we went over Thanksgiving weekend.  Since the weather was nice and the roads were clear then we decided to go once again over Thanksgiving break.  However, this year a huge winter storm decided to hit the mountain states!  It was snowing really hard when we started driving Saturday morning and it took us over two hours to get to Evanston.  Then I-80 was closed when we got there due to heavy winter conditions.  We had to sit there for over two hours before they opened the road again which was a lot of fun.  I usually drive from Little America to Cheyenne but the conditions were so bad that my Dad ended up driving the whole way to Denver which was a good thing because I don't like driving in the snow.  One section was so bad, it was foggy and the snow was blowing on the road, that I thought we wouldn't make it!  We finally made it to our hotel and I had just enough time to change into my jersey before we had to head to the Pepsi Center.  The Avalanche played the Dallas Stars, who are a division rival, and it was an awesome game.  Nathan MacKinnon scored the first goal for the Avalanche in the second period with assists by Gabriel Landeskog and Mikka Rantanen.  These three players are not only the Avalanche top line but they lead the NHL in points and they are so much fun to watch (my favorite player is Rantanen).  Then the Stars scored two goals with less than five minutes left in the third period and it kind of deflated the atmosphere in the Pepsi Center.  Quite a few people even left but you should never leave a game until its over, especially an Avalanche game.  J.T. Compher got a goal with an amazing wrist shot and less than a minute later Rantanen got a beautiful goal!  The energy was incredible!  The Stars pulled their goalie but it wasn't enough and the Avalanche ended up winning 3-2.  This game was so much fun it made all of the hassle of getting there worth it!  We drove home yesterday and the driving conditions were a little better but there were a few sketchy spots.  Even with all of the snow I'm so glad that my Dad and I were able to go on this road trip because we always have so much fun!

Note:  My Dad consented to listen to my Queen playlist on the drive and I think I’ve turned him into a fan!  He loves the song “Radio Ga Ga.”