Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

For me, and many people will disagree with me, the Jurassic Park franchise has always been about the dinosaurs.  I absolutely love the sense of wonder on the faces of the characters when they see the dinosaurs for the first time in Jurassic Park.  I even really liked Jurassic World, which has its fair share of issues, because the action sequences involving the dinosaurs are really intense and exciting. Last Thursday I went to a preview of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom thinking that, if nothing else, I would enjoy the dinosaurs.  I was a little bit disappointed.  Isla Nublar is now threatened by a volcano and debates arise about whether the dinosaurs who remain there should be protected as an endangered species.  Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), who now heads a dinosaur rights activist group is hired by Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), the head of the Lockwood Corporation, to rescue the dinosaurs and take them to a new island sanctuary and she recruits Owen Grady (Chris Pratt).  It turns out that Mills just wants the dinosaurs for nefarious purposes and is using Claire to access the island tracking system and Owen for his skill with the velociraptors.  The dinosaurs are brought to the Lockwood estate for auction to the highest bidder and that goes about as well as you would expect.  I really enjoyed the sequences on the island as they try to round up the dinosaurs (except for one which actually made me tear up a little bit).  These were really thrilling, especially on an IMAX screen!  But as soon as they leave the island, I found the narrative to be tedious because it turns into an atmospheric conspiracy thriller.  For much of this, the dinosaurs are sedated and in cages as Claire and Owen try to figure out what is going on.  And there are a lot of things going on!  I think that some of the subplots are entirely superfluous, especially one involving Lockwood's granddaughter, and some of the characters are unnecessary, particularly Geraldine Chaplin's character.  There is a spectacular battle with one of the dinosaurs at the end of the film but I wanted more dinosaurs (I also wanted more of Dr. Malcolm!)!  I'm sure that many people will enjoy this movie but I found it to be disappointing.

Note:  For me, the best movie in the franchise is the original Jurassic Park.  It will be screened in concert with the Utah Symphony playing the iconic score at USANA Amphitheatre on September 8 (go here for tickets).  I already have my tickets and I am so excited!

A Great Season

Last night I took my Mom to Sean's final rugby games of the season.  The Bison played really well and got several tries in each game but they ended up losing both games.  It has been a rough season for the Bison but they have worked really hard and never gave up!  Most of the team had never played rugby before and most of them were sixth graders playing boys who were much older.  It was so much fun to watch (even though I usually have no idea what is going on).  Great job Bison!

Now bring on the football season!

Summer Reading: The Alice Network

The next selection on my summer reading list was The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It is 1915 and Evelyn Gardiner longs to do more for the war effort than just file in an office in London. Eventually she is recruited as a spy and sent to France to work in a restaurant run by Rene Bourdelon, a collaborator who caters to German officers. She passes information through a real-life espionage ring of women known as the Alice Network to help the Allies. In 1947, in the aftermath of another war, American heiress Charlie St. Clair is in London searching for her cousin Rose who disappeared in occupied France. She follows a lead which brings her to Eve, now a drunk and disillusioned woman haunted by a betrayal. Their stories converge when Charlie learns that Rose worked for the Resistance in another restaurant owned by Rene. Eve travels through France once again to help Charlie find Rose but also to face her greatest enemy, Rene Bourdelon. The perspective alternates between that of Eve and of Charlie and one of these perspectives worked more for me than the other. Eve's story is absolutely fascinating and she is a strong and courageous character who faces truly harrowing conditions that kept me reading well into the night. Lili (based on real-life spy Louise de Bettignies), the leader of the spy ring, and Violette, another spy, are also intriguing characters. Charlie's story is not as compelling and I found her to be a weak and whiny character without the stakes that Eve has throughout the story. I found myself skimming through the pages of Charlie's narrative to get back to Eve and her journey of redemption. Had this novel been just about Eve and the other brave spies who put their lives in danger during the first world war, I would have enjoyed it so much more. However, I would recommend this novel (just skim through Charlie's story).

Note:  Have you read The Alice Network?  What did you think?

Crazy For You at CPT

Since moving to Bountiful three years ago I have become a huge fan of CenterPoint Theatre. Last night I had the chance to see their production of Crazy For You, a wonderful musical featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin and lots of tap dancing! Who could ask for anything more? Bobby Child (Fred Lee) just wants to dance for the Zangler Follies but he has a fiance, Irene (Hailey Weeks), who has been waiting five years to get married and a mother who wants him to work at the family bank. He is sent by the bank to Deadrock Nevada to foreclose on a theatre owned by Polly Baker (Landry Thomas) and her father Everett (Shane Casteel). Instead, he immediately falls in love with Polly and comes up with a plan to save her theatre by producing a show. Polly doesn't want anything to do with him so he decides to impersonate Bela Zangler (Adam West) and brings the Zangler Follies to Deadrock. The show comes together until both Irene and the real Bela Zangler come to town! I loved all of the classic Gershwin songs: "Shall We Dance," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and "But Not For Me." The choreography is spectacular, especially in "I Can't Be Bothered Now," "Slap That Bass," and "Nice Work If You Can Get It." I also loved all of the physical comedy in "What Causes That." All of the ensemble are great dancers and perform with a lot of energy. The leads, Lee and Thomas, are both incredibly talented with strong voices and impressive tap dancing skills. Lee, especially, is very charismatic and the two of them have a lot of chemistry. I am always really blown away by the costumes and sets for CenterPoint Theatre and this show is no exception! I highly recommend this fun and energetic show which runs through July 14 (tickets may be purchased here).

Note:  One of my former students was in the ensemble and he was fantastic! I didn't know that he could tap!

Hearts Beat Loud

Believe it or not, I actually saw a few films at the Sundance Film Festival this year that were not dark and gritty!  One such film was Hearts Beat Loud which is absolutely charming and I enjoyed it so much I decided to see it again now that it is in wide release.  It is a heartwarming story about Frank Fisher (Nick Offerman), a single father who is facing many changes including having to close his record shop, a mother (Blythe Danner) with dementia, and a daughter (Kiersey Clemons) about to leave for college.  Frank and his daughter Sam write and record a song during one of their weekly jam sessions and, when Frank uploads it to Spotify, it goes viral.  Frank begins to fantasize about recording an album and going on tour with Sam but, ultimately, he realizes that he needs to let her go to pursue her own dream.  There is a tremendous amount of humor in this film, especially when Frank hears their song playing in a coffee shop for the first time and when he begins thinking about their potential costumes.  Both Frank and Sam are incredibly sympathetic characters and the father-daughter relationship is very affecting.  Offerman, more known for his comedic roles, give a heartfelt performance as a father afraid to lose his daughter and there are moments when he looks at Sam that are so poignant.  Even more impressive is the fact that both Offerman and Clemons perform several original songs.  Clemons has an amazing voice and I really loved the song "Hearts Beat Loud."  I highly recommend this feel good movie.  It will put a smile on your face!