Greta

Last night I went to see a late night screening of Greta because I was really intrigued by the trailer.  I love a good psychological thriller but, unfortunately, this movie is not that.  Frances McCullen (Chloe Grace Moretz) finds an expensive handbag on the subway and decides to return it to its owner who turns out to be Greta (Isabelle Huppert), a middle-aged French woman who gives piano lessons in her home.  Having recently lost her mother, Frances befriends the lonely woman who becomes a sort of surrogate mother to her.  When Frances finds out a disturbing secret about Greta, she tries to end the relationship.  However, Greta won't let the friendship end and begins stalking Frances, becoming more and more aggressive until she eventually kidnaps Frances.  Two-thirds of this movie is really good.  It is intense and full of suspense.  Greta is such a fascinating character because at first she is very sympathetic as a lonely woman looking for a friend but then she becomes more and more menacing as her motivation is revealed.  The scenes between Greta and Frances are fraught with tension, especially when Greta visits the restaurant where Frances works, and both Huppert and Moretz give great performances.  Huppert is suitably creepy as the villain and Moretz really makes us feel Frances' desperation.  Regrettably, the final act descends into the absurd as a series of underdeveloped secondary characters enter the action to try and save Frances.  There is one scene in particular, when a private detective (Stephen Rea) visits Greta, that is so absolutely bonkers that I laughed out loud because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Apparently, all of the acting budget was spent on Huppert and Moretz because every other actor in this movie is abysmal, especially Maika Monroe who plays Frances' roommate.  Finally, I found the final resolution to be be very campy, and not in a good way, which would have been fine had it been marketed as a B-movie rather than a spine-tingling thriller.  I was quite disappointed because, like so many movies I have seen this year (go here and here), it could have been so good if it had kept its focus on the dynamic between the two main characters.  Give this a miss.

Casablanca In Concert

I absolutely love the Utah Symphony Films In Concert Series!  Last night the film shown on the big screen with the score played live by the Utah Symphony was Casablanca, widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, and it was simply amazing!  Casablanca is one of my favorites and I've seen it many times, even on the big screen, but last night is definitely the best viewing experience I’ve had!  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-drinking club owner who is only out for himself in Casablanca, a haven for European refugees desperate for exit visas to escape the Nazis during World War II.  He ably navigates the the world of black marketeers, corrupt officials, and German officers until Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a hero of the resistance in need of safe passage.  Ilsa was once Rick's lover in Paris but she abandoned him, and even though he has documents that will ensure safe passage for her and her husband, he is bitter and refuses to help her.  Ilsa loves Rick but she admires and respects her husband and will do anything to help him continue his work with the resistance, even sacrifice her own happiness, but is Rick willing to sacrifice his own happiness to help them?  I have to admit that I am usually so riveted by the action on the screen that I don't pay much attention to Max Steiner's score.  However, hearing it played live by the orchestra brought the music to the forefront and it added so much to the story!  I noticed that elements of the song "As Time Goes By" by Herman Hupfeld are incorporated beautifully throughout the score as a leitmotif for Rick and Ilsa's doomed relationship, adding to the poignancy of their scenes.  One of my favorite moments in the film is when "La Marseillaise" is sung to drown out a German drinking song and, once again, I noticed that elements of this anthem are used throughout to highlight the political intrigue.  I loved this concert and I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's screening (go here).

Muse at the Vivint Arena

I have seen Muse perform live many times and every show is a light and sound extravaganza.  Last night, when the band was in town in support of their latest album Simulation Theory, was certainly no exception.  It was an awesome concert!  I really love Simulation Theory and I was happy that they played quite a few songs from it.  They began the show with the Alternate Reality version of "Algorithm" and then played "Pressure," "Break It to Me," "Propaganda," "The Dark Side" (my favorite song from the album), a rousing version of "Thought Contagion" which got the Vivint Arena rocking, and the Acoustic Gospel version of "Dig Down."  Every song was accompanied by incredibly theatrical lights, lasers, visuals, and choreographed performers in various LED light up suits.  I loved it!  They also played the hits, and some more obscure tracks, including "Psycho," "Uprising," "Plug In Baby," "Supermassive Black Hole," "Hysteria," "Madness," "Mercy," "Time Is Running Out," and an epic version of "Take a Bow."  They ended their set with "Starlight," which is my favorite Muse song, and the obligatory confetti and streamers.  For the encore they played "Algorithm," a kick-ass medley of "Stockholm Syndrome," "Assassin," "Reapers," "The Handler," and "New Born" complete with a giant cyborg skeleton looming over the stage, and "Knights of Cydonia."  Matt Bellamy was in full rock-star mode wearing leather pants, neon shutter shades, and a variety of leather jackets (including several with LED lights) and he spent much of the evening shredding while on a runway extending into the crowd.  It was quite the spectacle and I absolutely loved it!

Once at PTC

When I saw the Broadway touring production of Once several years ago, I didn't know anything about the musical.  However, it quickly became one of my favorites because of the bittersweet love story and the incredibly beautiful music!  So I was thrilled to see PTC's version last night and I fell in love with the show all over again!  A Guy (Roderick Lawrence) is singing one of his songs on the street in Dublin when a Girl (Hillary Porter) hears him and strikes up a conversation.  She really likes his song but he tells her that he wants to give up on music because all of his songs were written about a girl who left him to go to New York.  She encourages him to sing more of his songs and eventually helps him record a demo.  He begins to have feelings for her and tells her that he may have written the songs for another girl but now he is singing them for her.  She knows that she needs to reconcile with her estranged husband for the sake of her daughter and that he needs to go to New York to play his music for his former girlfriend so she convinces him to go.  If you have ever had someone come into your life for just a brief moment but have a profound impact on it then this story will break your heart.  I had tears streaming down my face at the end.   The staging of this show is quite different from the Broadway version but I really liked the use of the turntable and the guitar motif.  The entire cast is unbelievably talented (all of the secondary characters in the show play a variety of instruments live on stage) but I was especially impressed with both Porter and Lawrence (I really loved Lawrence in this role).  They have beautiful voices and are outstanding musicians (piano and guitar, respectively).  Their renditions of my three favorite songs, "Falling Slowly," "If You Want Me," and "Gold," gave me goosebumps!  This just might be my very favorite production by PTC!  There is quite a bit of profanity (they are Irish, after all) but if you are not bothered by that I highly recommend this wonderful show (go here for tickets) which runs through March 2.

Fighting With My Family

Last night I went to see Fighting With My Family and I really enjoyed this biopic about WWE wrestler Saraya "Paige" Bevis.  Saraya (Florence Pugh) lives in the working class English town of Norwich and wrestles with her father Patrick "Rowdy Ricky" (Nick Frost), her mother Julia "Sweet Saraya" (Lena Headey), and her brother Zak "Zodiac" (Jack Lowden) in their own wrestling league, the World Association of Wrestling.  Both Saraya and Zak are invited to try-out for the WWE by Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) but only Saraya is signed to NXT, the developmental league for the WWE.  Zak must deal with the loss of his dream and Saraya, who changes her name to Paige after a character on her favorite TV show Charmed, must survive a grueling training program as an outsider and an underdog.  She is a skilled wrestler but doesn't know how to brand herself or relate to the crowd.  The movie ends when Paige is given an opportunity to fight for the Divas Championship in some scenes that will make you want to stand up and cheer.  Zak must learn that teaching kids with nowhere else to go how to wrestle is important and Paige must learn that all she needs to do is be herself.  It is a bit formulaic but it is also funny (especially the scenes with her parents), inspirational, and heart warming.  Pugh and Lowden give earnest performances that make it easy to cheer for their characters while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is quite funny in a cameo.  I don't know much about wrestling but I had a lot of fun watching this feel-good movie and I would definitely recommend it.