My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea

Last night I met my new movie friends for dinner and a movie and it was such a fun night.  We saw My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea, a quirky movie that all three of us really liked.  Dash (Jason Schwartzman) is a nerdy high school sophomore who writes for the school newspaper with his best friend Assaf (Reggie Watts) and Verti (Maya Rudolph), the editor.  He decides to write a story about the new addition of an auditorium and finds evidence that the school did not pass a safety inspection because it is located directly on a fault line.  No one listens to his warning but when the school actually begins to sink, he tries to evacuate everyone.  Only Assaf, Verti, a popular girl named Mary (Lena Dunham), and the lunch lady Lorraine (Susan Sarandon) join him in climbing to the top floor to be rescued.  As they climb each floor, which amusingly correspond to each grade level, they encounter new obstacles to their survival.  There is a great message about unlikely friendships and teamwork but what I loved most about this movie is that it is a spoof of the usual teen high school movie, with the requisite stereotypical characters such as the stoner and the jock (I loved the scene where the sports hero is sitting on a throne with the other athletes and cheerleaders paying homage to him), combined with a disaster movie with all of those usual tropes (my friend described it as if Napoleon Dynamite and The Poseidon Adventure had a baby).  The animation is innovative and psychedelic.  The characters look like they have been drawn with a sharpie but there are lots of wild and trippy colors swirling around everywhere.  This movie is what might happen if Wes Anderson were to drop acid and get his 64 pack of Crayola crayons out (Dash reminds me of Max Fischer and the school is an almost exact copy of the Grand Budapest Hotel).  It is out there but I highly recommend it!

The Lovers

Yesterday was the first official day of summer vacation and I spent it doing all of the things I love to do when I have free time:  I slept in scandalously late, I spent most of the afternoon reading, and I went to a late movie.  The movie I chose to see was an indie at my favorite art house theater called The Lovers.  It was an interesting exploration of marriage anchored by great performances by Debra Winger and Tracy Letts.  Mary (Winger) and Michael (Letts) are a middle-aged couple whose marriage has become stale.  They are both involved in long-term affairs, Mary with an uptight poet (Aidan Gillen) and Michael with a neurotic ballerina (Melora Walters), and both of their lovers are pushing them to end the marriage to be with them.  Just when they are on the verge of divorce, they suddenly become physically attracted to each other all over again and, ostensibly, cheat on their lovers.  They actually sneak around to be with each other and lie to their lovers about what they are doing in some highly amusing scenes.  I especially liked a scene when they are with their lovers but surreptitiously texting each other.  I really enjoyed this movie because it explored familiar themes about the break-up of a marriage in a new and interesting way and the ending surprised me.  Neither character is particularly likable but, somehow, I was drawn into their relationship without a lot of tedious exposition.  I haven't seen Debra Winger in a movie for a long time and it was good to see her in such a great role.  Both WInger and Letts have great chemistry (in some pretty steamy scenes) and I laughed out loud several times.  I recommend The Lovers to people who like intelligent movies about relationships.

Note:  I hope to repeat this day often this summer!

Two Tries!

Once again Marilyn, my Mom, and I went to see Sean play rugby last Saturday and this time we actually got to see him play!  Just so you know rugby is incomprehensible (although I understand it better after watching a few games) and Sean is very good at it!  Bountiful played Copper Hills, West Lake, and Taylorsville and they won the game against West Lake!  Sean and two other kids on the team are over the height and weight limits for his age group so, unless the team they play is physically matched with them, they cannot tackle but can only touch the other players.  I think this is a little bit frustrating for Sean because, when he had the opportunity to tackle against West Lake because they were similar in size, he let loose.  At first he was a bit timid but then he started knocking kids to the ground!  He was always involved in the action and he was able to run the ball the entire length of the field for a try two different times!  It was so fun to watch and the three of us just about lost our minds cheering for him!  By the way, a try is a point in rugby which I think is dumb because he didn't just try to score, he actually scored!  One of the things I really like about rugby is at the end of the game all of the players link arms and bow to the crowd!  That is cool!  Here are some pictures of Sean in action!

This is the scrum.  It is used to determine who gets the ball (kind of like a jump ball in basketball).  Sean is always in the middle of the scrum!

Sean had this amazing tackle right in front of me so I was able to capture it!

The teams bowing to the crowd at the end of the game!

He was all smiles after his big win!

I sure do love watching him play!

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Last Thursday I went see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and I thought it was a lot of fun.  I loved Curse of the Black Pearl but I liked each successive sequel less and less (I hated On Stranger Tides) so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this latest entry in the franchise.  Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) is searching for the Trident of Poseidon as a way to break the curse that binds his father Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to The Flying Dutchman.  He is helped by Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), an astronomer (who is periodically accused of being a witch) who has a map that can locate the Trident.  The two of them encounter Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), as he is trying to rob a bank, and the three join forces.  Meanwhile, Salazar (Javier Bardem), an undead captain in the Spanish Armada who was trapped in the Devil's Triangle by Jack Sparrow, vows revenge against him and enlists the help of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to find him.  They all meet up for an epic confrontation on the sea for control of the Trident.  The story is kind of all over the place and there are a lot of characters to keep track of (every captain has a large crew and the British Royal Navy makes an appearance) but it has a similar tone and feel as the first movie in the franchise.  I loved all of the swashbuckling action sequences on land, especially one involving Jack Sparrow and a guillotine, and the sea battles are also pretty spectacular (although the sequence involving the Trident of Poseidon drags on a bit).  Javier Bardem is a great villain (I loved his hair) and Johnny Depp is always highly amusing as Sparrow.  I also enjoyed the (very brief) return of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann and I squealed with delight at the cameo of Paul McCartney as Jack's uncle (I guess Keith Richards and Paul McCartney are brothers?).  This movie is definitely not a masterpiece but it is a great summer blockbuster and it was a fun way for me to start my summer vacation.  If you are a fan of the franchise, then I suspect you will enjoy it.

The Rite of Spring

Last night's Utah Symphony concert was the final one of the 2016-2017 season.  In my opinion it has been an outstanding season as it has featured so many incredible performances of some of my favorite pieces.  Last night was no exception.  The orchestra began with a piece by Tchaikovsky called Souvenir d'un lieu cher (Memory of a dear place).  It consists of three little vignettes which were originally intended for a violin concerto but they were abandoned and later orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov.  I thought all three of them were beautiful with a lovely performance by soloist Simone Porter on violin.  Next the orchestra played Ameriques by Edgard Varese and it was quite spectacular.  This piece was written when Varese moved to New York City after World War I.  He wanted to capture the cacophony of industrialization and one of the main themes involved a siren!  I was very impressed by the sheer number of musicians on the stage (there were 15 musicians on percussion instruments alone!).  After the intermission the orchestra concluded the concert with The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky and it was amazing.  This piece, as the same implies, is about a pagan ritual celebrating the advent of spring and I think it is wild and exuberant.  I really loved all of the themes played by the brass and the timpani and I could definitely see young girls dancing with abandon as I listened.  I really enjoyed this concert (especially since I am now officially on summer vacation) and I recommend getting a ticket to tonight's concert featuring the same program (go here).

Note:  The Utah Symphony will be performing concerts at various outdoor venues during the summer.  I am particularly looking forward to La La Land performed in concert at the Usana Amphitheater and to Leslie Odom, Jr. (from the original cast of Hamilton) with the Utah Symphony at the Deer Valley Amphitheater.