Charlie's Angels

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of the latest installment of Charlie's Angels.  This movie is basically just an excuse to watch girls kick ass around the world with some fun gadgets while wearing fabulous clothes but I am so there for that!  The Townsend Agency has gone global with multiple teams of Angels and Bosleys running missions around the world.  A computer scientist at Brock Industries named Elena Houghton (Naomi Scott) discovers that the Calisto Project, a technology she created which taps into the Earth's magnetic core to produce clean energy, can be weaponized.  When her concerns are ignored by her boss Alexander Brock (Sam Claflin), she enlists the help of Angels Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) and Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) to investigate.  After stopping an assassination attempt on Elena, they discover a conspiracy within Brock Industries to sell Calisto to the highest bidder.  With the help of Rebekah Bosley (Elizabeth Banks), the Angels try to stop this powerful weapon from getting into the hands of an unexpected enemy.   This movie is exactly what I was expecting and I really enjoyed watching it.  I am a big fan of Kristen Stewart (I think she is very underrated) and it was a lot of fun seeing her in a more lighthearted role.  She is great in the action sequences and I found her to be surprisingly funny with some fabulous throwaway lines.  The themes of female empowerment and teamwork really worked for me and I like the fact the Angels are strong and capable rather than overtly sexual (this idea is hilariously spoofed in the opening sequence).  In my opinion, the action sequences are fun rather than spectacular, especially when Elena worries about dying during a car chase and when Sabina verbally spars with an assassin during hand-to-hand combat.  I liked Charlie's Angels and I recommend it as the perfect girls night out movie.

Harriet

Whenever my Mom and I would see the trailer for the movie Harriet, she would whisper to me that she really wanted to see it.  Of course I told her that I would take her the week it came out and we made plans to see it last Wednesday.  When I went to pick her up, I realized that she wasn't feeling up to going out but she was really distressed at the thought of missing the opportunity to see it.  I promised her that I wouldn't see it without her and we made new plans for last night.  We both loved it!  Araminta "Minty" Ross (Cynthia Erivo) is a slave owned by Gideon Brodess (Joe Alwyn) in Dorchester County, Maryland in the mid-1800s.  When she learns that Brodess intends to sell her further south, she decides to run away to freedom.  After a harrowing escape, she makes it hundreds of miles on her own to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she meets abolitionist William Still (Leslie Odom, Jr.) and a boardinghouse owner named Marie Buchanan (Janelle Monae).  She begins a new life (and changes her name to Harriet Tubman) but she is uneasy about the fact that she is free while her husband and family are still slaves.  Against the objections of William and with the help of Marie, she returns to Maryland to get her husband John (Zackary Momoh) but she learns that, thinking her dead, he has remarried and is expecting a child.  She wonders why she was directed by God to save her husband and decides to rescue her brother instead but he brings eight other people with him.  She ultimately leads all nine to safety.  William is astonished by what she has done and introduces her to members of the Underground Railroad where she becomes one of the most successful conductors.  This is an amazing movie about the courage and tenacity of one woman who believed that she was being directed by God to save as many people as she could and I love that it didn't shy away from portraying her faith.  Even though I was familiar with Harriet Tubman's story, I found the scenes where she and the other slaves are being pursued to be incredibly intense because of the quick-cut style in which they were edited.  I found myself holding my breath many times.  Erivo gives a powerful and heart-felt performance that is definitely worthy of the Oscar buzz it is generating.  The scene where she learns that her husband has remarried is gut-wrenching.  I also love the beautiful song "Stand Up" performed by Erivo in the final credits.  It gave me goosebumps.  This is an inspirational movie about a courageous woman that both my Mom and I highly recommend!

Note:  After the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, Harriet had to lead the escaped slaves to Canada.  She brought many of them to St. Catharines, Ontario which is where my Grandma Johnson lived!

The Lifespan of a Fact at PTC

Last night I went to see The Lifespan of a Fact, the current production at PTC.  The premise of this play was very intriguing to me so I was eager to see it.  When a powerful essay written by John D'Agata (Ben Cherry) lands on the desk of magazine editor Emily Penrose (Constance Macy), she knows it has the potential to impact her magazine's bottom line and possibly win some major awards.  She wants to use it as the cover story but she is on a tight deadline.  She enlists a young Harvard-educated intern named Jim Fingal (John Kroft) to fact-check it over the weekend.  All she wants is a good-faith effort to keep the lawyers happy but Fingal, wanting to do a good job to impress her, obsessively researches every minute detail.  He even goes so far as to fly to Las Vegas to verify some details and to get clarification from the author himself.  D'Agata does not take kindly to having his work questioned so Penrose eventually ends up in Las Vegas to play referee between the two of them (in some highly amusing scenes).  D'Agata argues that he is trying to find a universal truth about the meaning of life through the story of a boy who commits suicide and that the details do not matter.  Fingal argues that, in an age when anyone with a smartphone can verify every fact, he will lose credibility if anything is proven to be false thereby lessening the impact.  I really enjoyed the verbal sparring between the two characters and I found myself agreeing with both sides of the argument (I love and hate it when that happens).  My favorite scene occurs near the end of the play when, after a night of arguing back and forth, Penrose must make a decision whether to publish or not.  The three of them read the paragraph about the boy's final moments before jumping off a building aloud and are incredibly moved.  The audience is left to wonder if the emotional impact of that paragraph would be diminished if the prose was amended to correct a bit of minutiae.  The topic is particularly salient in the age of "fake news" and I think it is very powerful.  All three characters are interesting and compelling and the actors give wonderful performances.  Even though it is very cerebral without a lot of action, the narrative moves at a very steady pace (there is no intermission) so I was always completely engaged.  This play will definitely give you a lot to think about and I highly recommend it!  The Lifespan of a Fact runs at PTC until November 16 (go here for tickets).

The Godfather Part II

I had never seen The Godfather Part II before (I had never seen The Godfather until it was screened as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series a few years ago) so I was really excited to see it yesterday.  This movie tells the parallel stories of how a young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) comes to America and rises to become the Don of the Corleone crime family and how his son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), after eliminating all of his rivals, consolidates his power as the Don by eliminating anyone who betrays him, including family members.  I think the story is a little bit convoluted and I had a hard time following who was playing whom.  However, Michael Corleone is such a complex and compelling character and I enjoyed seeing his arc in this film.  He was absolutely ruthless in the first film but that was nothing compared to what he does in this one.  The scene where he tells his associate to assassinate his brother Fredo (John Cazale) at the funeral of his mother (Morgana King) is pretty chilling but shutting the door on his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) is particularly harsh.  I think the young Al Pacino is incredibly handsome and he gives a riveting performance.  Pacino keeps his face very stoic but you can see everything he is feeling by looking into his eyes, especially during the final scene where he is alone and bitter.  Equally captivating is DeNiro as the young Vito (he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance).  I loved the scene where he takes his revenge against the man who murdered his family and I was especially impressed with how well he mimicked the mannerisms of Marlon Brando (who played Vito in the first film).  The cinematography and score are moody and atmospheric and I especially enjoyed the period verisimilitude, especially in the scenes in Cuba (even if I didn't really understand what Michael was doing there).  Many people say that this is the best sequel in movie history and I can understand why because it brilliantly portrays the natural progression of Michael Corleone's corruption begun in the first movie.  I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen (go here).

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco

I bought a ticket for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the day they became available online and it seems like I have been waiting forever to see it!  This was actually the reason for my trip to San Francisco and seeing it yesterday was absolutely magical!  It is nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry Potter (John Skelley) now works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his wife Ginny (Angela Reed) writes for The Daily Prophet.  Hermione Granger (Yanna McIntosh) is now the Minister of Magic and her husband Ron Weasley (David Abeles) manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  Their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley (Folami Williams) and Harry's son Albus Potter (Benjamin Papac) are on their way to Hogwarts when Part One begins.  Albus soon forms an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy (Jon Steiger), the son of Harry's nemesis Draco (Lucas Hall).  Both boys are unpopular and bullied.  Albus is bothered by his father's notoriety and feels that he is a disappointment while Scorpius is plagued by unfounded rumors that he is really Lord Voldemort's son.  Feeling that they have something to prove, the boys decide to steal a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic and they go back in time to save Cedric Diggory (William Bednar-Carter) from his fate.  This act changes the future so now Lord Voldemort rules and Dolores Umbridge (Katherine Leask) is Headmistress of Hogwarts.  Darkness has descended as Part Two opens and Scorpius must enlist Hermione, Ron, and Severus Snape (Andrew Long) to help him go back in time to change the future.  However, the mysterious Auguery (Emily Juliette Murphy), who hopes to fulfill a prophecy that will bring back Lord Voldemort, forces Albus and Scorpius to use the time-turner once again to restore the alternate timeline leading to an epic confrontation in Godric's Hollow.  I loved this show so much!  I loved the continuation of Harry's story and the exploration of father-son relationships.  I loved all of the choreography, especially the Wand Dance where the new students at Hogwarts learn how to use their wands.  I absolutely loved the staging of the magic, especially running into Platform 9 3/4, traveling by flue powder, Harry and Draco dueling, using the polyjuice potion, and the Dementors flying through the audience (which was amazing).  I loved the set, especially all of the House Banners, the Forbidden Forrest, and the moving staircase.  I loved the music, which was composed by Imogen Heap, especially "Unbroken Friendship" which plays when Harry forbids Albus to see Scorpius again (it is so haunting).  Finally, I loved all of the performances but my favorite was Steiger as Scorpius because he is hilarious!  This was such a fun and immersive theatre experience because all of the ushers wore vests denoting their House affiliation during Part One and then wore vests with the Dark Mark for Part Two (all of the banners in the lobby changed from the Houses to the Dark Mark, as well).  Many in the audience also showed their House affiliation (I proudly supported my House, Ravenclaw).  I am so glad I got to see this show and I highly recommend it to fans of the Harry Potter series.

Note:  In between Part One and Part Two I went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant and most of the people sitting around me had also just come from the show.  We all talked to each other about how much we were enjoying it.  It was a lot of fun!