Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar! is another movie that I have been anticipating for weeks which left me somewhat disappointed.  Normally I am a fan of the Coen Brothers (I love O Brother, Where Art Thou?) but this movie just didn't do it for me.  In the 1950s, the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a "fixer" for Capitol Pictures.  Throughout the course of one day, Mannix must deal with a brassy Esther Williams-like actress (Scarlett Johansson) who is pregnant out of wedlock, a hysterical director of drawing room comedies, Laurence Laurentz (an ascot-wearing Ralph Fiennes), who has been forced to cast an actor more known for his singing cowboy roles (Alden Ehrenreich) as the lead in his picture, and the abduction of his biggest star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), by a communist cell, all while trying to avoid not one, but two, rival Hedda Hopper-like gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker (Tilda Swinton), who happen to be twin sisters.  We see the dim-witted Whitlock filming an incredibly complicated scene for Hail, Caesar! (a biblical picture modeled on Ben Hur) with chariots, horses, and an endless array of extras, only to flub a line, DeeAnna Moran (Johansson) filming a synchronized sequence underwater in a mermaid costume, Burt Gurney (a blond Channing Tatum) filming a song-and-dance number (reminiscent of Singing in the Rain), Hobie Doyle (Ehrenreich) filming an exciting chase scene on horseback, and, in what might be the funniest moment of the movie, Laurence Laurentz trying to coach Doyle through a single line of dialogue ("Would that it were so easy.")  Most of the time I felt like I was watching TCM and falling asleep during one movie and waking up during another because these vignettes had only the thinnest of narratives tying them together:  Mannix is being headhunted by Lockheed and is, therefore, trying to decide if the pictures he produces are worth the hassles of his job.  The pacing is oftentimes very disjointed and the comedy is frequently interrupted by philosophizing on religion, ideology, art, and entertainment (the scene with the Communists is excruciatingly boring).  It's funny, at times, but it wasn't funny enough to sustain my interest for very long.

Note:  Who knew that Channing Tatum could sing and dance so well?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen in general and of the novel Pride and Prejudice in particular so you might think that a contemporary novel which combines the classic tale about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy with the undead would be unappealing to me.  You would be wrong!  I think the novel by Seth Grahame Smith is brilliant because it is a clever parody (I actually think the zombies are just a metaphor for the social conventions Austen pokes fun of in her novels) but the integrity of the original story is maintained.  I have eagerly been anticipating the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for months and I had the chance to see it yesterday with my sisters, my brother-in-law, my niece and my nephew.  They loved it.  I, however, could not have been more disappointed.  The movie begins so well.  Lily James and Sam Riley are perfect as the fiercely independent Elizabeth and the brooding, yet handsome, Darcy.  Matt Smith practically steals the show as the ridiculous Mr. Collins (I laughed and laughed at the scene with him dancing at the Netherfield ball) and I loved Lena Headey (and her eye patch) as the warrior version of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.  The first half of the movie is a hilarious spoof, following the book faithfully.  I especially enjoyed seeing the Bennett sisters tucking their weapons into their garters as they get ready for the Netherfield ball, seeing Mr. Darcy shoot the head off a zombie who is talking to Elizabeth, and seeing Jane (Bella Heathcote) fighting zombies while traveling to Netherfield for tea with Miss Bingley.  In my opinion, it is perfect.  Then, mid-way through the movie, a completely new storyline involving Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston) is introduced, turning the movie into an epic battle for England against the zombies.  It becomes just like every zombie movie you have ever seen before and it is not even particularly well done.  From this point forward, the plot of the book is completely ignored.  Charlotte (Aisling Loftus) does not become one of the undead, Elizabeth does not visit Pemberley (the turning point of the novel), Lydia (Ellie Bamber) does not elope with Wickham, Elizabeth does not fight a duel with Lady Catherine (what I was most looking forward to), and Elizabeth and Darcy do not fight against a horde of zombies after their engagement.  In fact, the two main couples get together at the end of the movie almost as an afterthought.  The only reason Elizabeth falls in love with Darcy is because he is a great zombie killer but he was a great zombie killer at the beginning of the movie.  There is no character arc whatsoever!  Ugh!  With a perfect cast, gorgeous costumes, atmospheric locations, and great fighting sequences, this movie could have been so great with a decent screenplay.  Instead, it turns into third-rate zombie apocalypse movie.  Don't waste your money.

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Last night's Utah Symphony concert featured guest conductor Jun Markl.  I have seen him before and I find him to be wildly entertaining because he is incredibly enthusiastic, to say the least!  I loved watching him leap around the podium!  I also really enjoyed the music!  The orchestra began with the Overture to Der Freischiitz by Carl Maria von Weber.  I must confess that I knew nothing about this piece but I enjoyed it because it was very atmospheric and moody.  Then the brilliant Stefan Jackiw joined the orchestra for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.  I was blown away by his dazzling performance of this piece which I found to be incredibly beautiful with moments of both sadness and joy.  All of my attention was riveted on Jackiw as his bow flew over the strings!  It was an incredible performance and the audience rewarded it with a rousing standing ovation!  I am so glad that I got to experience it.  After the intermission, the concert continued with Stravinsky's Petrushka and I really enjoyed the themes played by the solo flute, the brass, and the solo piano.  It was so dramatic!  This was followed by the "Ritual Fire Dance" from El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla and I thought it was very passionate and stirring!  While I certainly enjoyed the second half of the concert, I would highly recommend that you get a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance for a chance to hear Jackiw play so magnificently.  You absolutely do not want to miss it!

Note:  By the way, have you seen the sneak preview of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera 2016-2017 Season?  I couldn't be more excited!  So many of my favorite Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Mussorgsky, are being performed plus Mozart's Requiem and Don Giovanni! Squeal!

The Producers

Last night I had the opportunity to see the musical The Producers and I could not stop laughing!  I have seen this show several times before so I have been looking forward to its return to SLC ever since the Broadway in Utah 2015-2016 Season was announced!  Max Bialystock has just had one of the biggest flops on Broadway (Funny Boy, a musical version of Hamlet).  When his mild-mannered accountant, Leo Bloom, tells him that he could actually make more money with a flop than a hit, the two of them team up to produce the biggest flop Broadway has ever seen!  Their plan is simple:  all they need to do is find the worst play ever written, Springtime for Hitler, hire the worst director in town, Roger "Keep it Gay" De Bris, and hire the worst actors in New York, most notably, a blond bombshell from Sweden named Ulla.  Max raises two million dollars to finance the show by shtupping every little old lady with a checkbook in New York and they begin holding rehearsals. Of course, the show is a huge hit and instead of running away to Rio, Max and Leo end up in Sing Sing (where they produce the show Prisoners of Love).  It is completely over the top with jokes about Hitler, Nazis, women, and homosexuals that are so tasteless that they are hilarious!  David Johnson and Richard LaFleur are great as Max and Leo, respectively, but in my opinion Thomas Slater, as the fanatical playwright of Springtime for Hitler, and John B. Ross, as the flamboyant director, steal the show!  My favorite moments were "Der Guten Tag Clop-Hop" (especially the pigeons), the aforementioned "Keep It Gay," and "Heil Myself," complete with tap dancing brown-shirts!  I really loved it and I definitely recommend it for a fun night out.  It runs at Capitol Theatre through Feb. 7 and tickets may be purchased here.

Anomalisa

I have been so intrigued by this movie and I finally had the opportunity to see it last night.  Anomalisa is a brilliant tale about loneliness and existential angst using stop-motion animation.  Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis) is a motivational speaker who has traveled to Cincinnati for a conference.  We see him painfully avoid conversations with a seatmate on a flight, with a cab driver, with the bellboy at his hotel, and even with his wife and son during an awkward phone call.  He is so lonely that, in a fit of desperation, he arranges a rendezvous with a former girlfriend that ends in disaster.  Then he meets Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh), a sales-rep who has splurged on this conference just for the chance to meet Michael.  Even though she is plain and unsophisticated, he sees her as a breath of fresh air in his dismal life, the one person he has been waiting his whole life to meet, and invites her up to his hotel room (for one of the most interesting sex scenes you will ever see involving puppets).  He feels a deep connection and actually proposes that they run away together but, eventually, she becomes like everyone else and he ends up returning home to his boring life in Los Angeles.  One of the most intriguing aspects of this movie is that every character, other than Michael and Lisa, has the same voice (Tom Noonan) which highlights why Lisa is so special to Michael, an "anomaly" if you will.  When Michael becomes disenchanted with Lisa, her voice becomes Noonan's as well.  At first I found the use of one voice for all of the minor characters to be disconcerting but it ends up being an incredibly powerful device.  It is a beautiful and heartbreaking commentary on our desire for human connection that I haven't been able to stop thinking about.  I highly recommend it with the proviso that it might not be for everyone (the aforementioned sex scene is quite graphic).