The Mule

Last night I crossed yet another movie off my list by seeing The Mule.  I was very intrigued by the trailer but I found the movie itself to be boring and very forgettable.  It is a character study of Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood), a 90 year old horticulturalist whose business has been ruined by the internet but not before it took him away from his family too many times.  He is trying to make amends with his ex-wife (Dianne Wiest), daughter (Allison Eastwood), and granddaughter (Taissa Farmiga) but they are not making it easy on him, for good reason. A random encounter leads to a job as a mule for a drug cartel which he thinks of as a one time thing to earn money for his granddaughter's wedding.  However, he keeps finding ways to use the money and continues, becoming more and more entrenched.  Despite the fact that Earl is a successful mule precisely because he is unpredictable, a cartel boss (Andy Garcia) assigns him a handler (Ignacio Serricchio) who puts pressure on him to conform to their instructions which, ironically, puts him on the radar of two DEA agents (Bradley Cooper and Michael Pena).  When his ex-wife gets sick, he decides to go AWOL from a drug run to reconcile with his family which gets both the drug cartel and the DEA after him.  There are quite a few problems with this movie, in my opinion.  I did not find Earl to be a very sympathetic character because he is a racist curmudgeon who just smiles when people call him out on his derogatory comments as if he can't be held accountable for anything because he is old.  It really bothered me.  Most of the other characters do not get a lot of development and, after leaving the theater, I struggled to remember their names.  Even great actors like Wiest, Pena, and Cooper can't do much with the material.  I found the portrayal of women to be very off-putting because every character is either a shrew or a sex object.  There are long sustained shots of women twerking and Earl has, not one but two, threesomes with prostitutes.  Ew!  Earl's reconciliation (undeserved, in my opinion) with his family happens very quickly and feels contrived so it doesn't have the emotional punch that this movie needs.  Finally, there are way too many scenes of Earl driving along the highway singing along to the radio and, after a while, I found them to be boring.  There is not a lot of tension in this movie and the final confrontation between Earl and the DEA feels inevitable and anticlimactic.  Meh.  Give this one a miss.

The Favourite

I have a really long list of movies to see in the next little while (it might help if I didn't keep going to see Bohemian Rhapsody over and over) but I crossed one of them off yesterday by seeing The Favourite.  In 18th century England, Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) suffers from gout and is more concerned with playing with her rabbits (which represent all of the children she has lost) than in governing the country which is it war.  Anne's closest confidante, and secret lover, is Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz).  Anne is completely under the control of Sarah, who essentially rules the country through her influence and advocates for more taxes to support the war.  Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), a cousin of Sarah's whose family has lost their place in society, applies to Sarah for a job at court and is employed as a scullery maid.  Abigail impresses Anne when she creates an herbal remedy for her gout and is promoted.  She cultivates an alliance with the opposition in government, Robert Harley (Nicholas Hoult), who encourages her promotion because he wants her to influence Anne to end the war.  She eventually begins to insinuate herself into Anne’s favor which causes open warfare between Abigail and Sarah.  Much like Yorgos Lanthimos' other films, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, this is a scathing and satirical commentary on social norms and, while it is much more accessible than the other two, it is filled with the absurd (racing ducks, throwing pomegranates at a naked man, and breakdancing at a ball).  His movies always make me laugh but feel vaguely uncomfortable!  However, it is just so much fun watching the machinations of both Sarah and Abigail as they compete for power and I never really knew which one I wanted to prevail.  Weisz and Stone give amazing performances but Colman is simply brilliant as the capricious and petulant, yet ultimately sympathetic, Queen who plays both women off of each other for her own gain.  The use of a fish-eye lens, long tracking shots, and the low-angle perspectives all serve to keep the action slightly off-kilter and the use of low lighting emphasizes the intrigue.  The overdecorated interiors and elaborate black and white costumes are a superb backdrop for this biting comedy of manners.  It isn't for everyone but I loved it!

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I went to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse last night and, not only did I love it, but I had so much fun in a packed theater of rowdy and appreciative fans who laughed and cheered throughout!  It is absolutely fantastic and manages to create a story, about a character that we have seen so many times, that is fresh and original!  Miles Morales (Shemeik Moore) is bitten by a radioactive spider and, after waking up with superpowers which disrupt his life completely, he returns to the alley where he was bitten.  He finds a secret lab with a supercollider created by Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) to access parallel universes in order to bring back alternate versions of his wife and son who died during an altercation with Spider-Man (Chris Pine).  Spider-Man appears in order to disable the collider but, after he is wounded when he falls into it, he asks Miles to destroy it.  This also allows several incarnations of Spider-Man from parallel universes to appear including a down-and-out Peter B. Parker/ Spider-Man (Jake Johnson),  spunky Gwen Stacy/ Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld), the cartoon Peter Porker/ Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), a monochromatic Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage), and Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) a young Japanese girl who pilots a biomechanical spider.  After Spider-Man dies, they help Miles discover his powers and find the motivation to fight Kingpin as well as other familiar villains.  It is so clever and funny but it has quite a few surprisingly poignant moments, as well, and I love the message that anyone can be a hero.  The characters are a lot of fun and are very well-developed.  The animation is absolutely dazzling, unlike anything I have ever seen before, because it looks like you stepped inside of a comic book.  Each Spider-Man character has his (or her) own comic book style (I really liked Peni because she looked like an anime character).  The music is also fantastic, featuring the hip-hop music that Miles listens to, and I especially like "What's Up Danger" by Blackway and Black Caviar.  This movie is so much fun and I highly recommend seeing it on the biggest screen possible!

Note:  There is a cameo with Stan Lee and a post-credits scene.  Both are really great!

An Evening in Spain

Last night I decided to take a little trip to Spain.  Well, I did take a little trip downtown to Abravanel Hall to hear the Utah Symphony perform music inspired by Spain and it was pretty spectacular!  The orchestra began with Espana by Emmanuel Chabrier which was written after the composer was first introduced to flamenco dancing.  It is very lively and exuberant.  Next, the orchestra played Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla with soloist Ingrid Fliter on piano.  The composer took inspiration for this piece from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.  I found it to be very moody and atmospheric at the beginning and then it becomes more passionate and stirring as it progresses.  I really enjoyed it.  After the intermission, the orchestra played a selection from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet.  Carmen is the first opera that I fell in love with as a teenager (Utah Opera performed a portion of it at my school and I was captivated) and I have since seen it countless times.  The music is incredibly dramatic and my favorite selections are "The Toreador Song" and the "Habanera."  I have to admit that when the orchestra was playing the "Habanera," I couldn't help but picture the scene in Bohemian Rhapsody when Queen is pitching their idea for a new album to an EMI executive while Freddie plays a recording of it.  I even did the same fist pump that Freddie does during a particularly dramatic point in the aria!  I think the lady sitting behind me thought I was crazy!  I absolutely loved hearing it!  Next, the orchestra played Capriccio espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.  Even though Rimsky-Korsakov is one of my favorite composers, I had never heard this piece before.  I really liked it, especially the theme played by a solo clarinet during the first variation.  Finally, the orchestra played the piece that I had come specifically to hear: Bolero by Maurice Ravel.  When I was a child my Dad had a recording of various classical pieces played by a Moog synthesizer.  I loved the whole thing but Bolero was my favorite piece because the synthesizer mimicked all of the instruments, including the applause at the end!  There is a continual rhythm played by a snare drum throughout the whole piece.  Then the melody begins slowly and softly with a theme played by a solo flute and then that same theme, with variations, is repeated by all of the different instruments in the orchestra for fourteen minutes, gaining in speed and intensity until a final thundering crescendo at the end.  It is absolutely epic and I love it! I may or may not have been pumping my fist again by the end (the poor lady behind me!).  It was quite the evening and I recommend that you visit Spain, too, when this program is repeated again tonight (go here for tickets).

Note:  The guest conductor was Jun Markl who is a favorite with Utah Symphony audiences, including me!

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir

Last summer Kristin Chenoweth was going to perform a concert with the Utah Symphony at the Deer Valley Music Festival.  I bought a ticket immediately but, sadly, she had to cancel because of an injury (Sutton Foster replaced her so it was still an amazing concert).  I was a little bit disappointed because I really wanted to see her so, when it was announced that she would be the special guest for this year's Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir concert, I was so excited!  This might be my favorite one yet because Kristin Chenoweth is absolutely adorable!  The Choir, Orchestra on Temple Square, Bells on Temple Square, and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble began with "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" which was just lovely.  Chenoweth appeared from the audience (after interacting with some lucky audience members) and sang "We Need a Little Christmas" while flirting with Mack Wilberg!  She said her goal was to make him blush and he certainly did!  The highlight of the concert for me came next when she sang a beautiful arrangement of "O Holy Night" which is my very favorite Christmas song!  It gave me goosebumps (and a few tears).  Then the Choir sang "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah which is always very stirring.  Next, Chenoweth sang an almost bluesy rendition of "Mary, Did You Know?" and a rousing rendition of "Come On, Ring Those Bells."  The Orchestra played selections from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, which is a favorite!  Chenoweth then sang "The Christmas Waltz" and pulled a member of the Choir to dance with her (did I mention that she is adorable?).  The audience joined in on a fun arrangement of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and Chenoweth appeared with the Choir wearing one of their costumes.  Then she appeared with the Bells on Temple Square in one of their costumes carrying a bell that was bigger than her for "Carol of the Bells," another favorite of mine.  She then narrated "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, sang "Angels Among Us," "What Child Is This?," and concluded with "Angels from the Realms of Glory."  I loved this concert so much and I am so grateful and happy that I got to go again this year!

Note:  I have seen Renee Fleming, Sissel, Natalie Cole, Sutton Foster, and, now, Kristin Chenoweth perform with the Tabernacle Choir during their annual Christmas concert.  Chenoweth is my favorite guest...so far!