Midway

The second movie in our double feature last night was Midway and both my Dad and I really enjoyed it.  Intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) predicts that Japan will eventually attack the U.S. but he is ignored by Washington.  After the devastation of Pearl Harbor, Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet and he decides to listen when Layton predicts that the next attack will be at Midway even though Washington believes that the location will be the Aleutians.  He orders the USS Enterprise, under the command of Admiral Halsey (Dennis Quaid), to leave the Coral Sea to regroup near Midway.  Layton is correct and the Japanese are caught unaware.  Ultimately, because of the bravery of Squadron Leaders Wade McClusky (Luke Evans) and Dick Best (Ed Skrein) in a series of aerial dogfights, all three Japanese aircraft carriers are damaged and they withdraw from battle which turns the tide of the war in the Pacific.  The script is very rudimentary with lots of cliched dialogue (but that is to be expected with a Roland Emmerich blockbuster).  There is not a lot of characterization beyond that of Best but every character is portrayed as heroic, even the Japanese, and the actors do a good job with the material they are given.  As a devotee of historical novels, especially those having to do with World War II, I enjoyed learning about the events leading up to the battles portrayed in this movie.  However, this movie really delivers with spectacular visual and sound effects which are intense, to say the least.  From the attack on Pearl Harbor, to the Doolittle (Aron Eckhart) raid on Tokyo, to the actual Battle of Midway, the audience feels completely immersed in the action.  There were moments when I felt like I was in the cockpit with the pilots as they are diving from a nearly vertical angle to drop a bomb on the Japanese aircraft carriers.  This movie delivered exactly what I expected and I recommend it to fans of action blockbusters.

Ford v Ferrari

There are so many movies that my Dad and I want to see so we decided on a double feature last night and it was epic!  We began with Ford v Ferrari and we both absolutely loved it!  When Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) humiliates Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) by refusing an offer to purchase his bankrupt company, Ford is determined to build a car that will defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal), Vice President of Ford Motor Company, enlists the help of Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), who won the Le Mans in 1959 but has since retired from racing because of a heart condition and now designs cars.  Shelby asks Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a hot-tempered British race car driver, to help him.  They test the Ford GT40 and Miles suggests many modifications to get it ready for the 1964 Le Mans but Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Company, doesn't think that Miles represents the ideals of the company and demands that another driver race it.  After they lose Ford promises Shelby total control as they attempt the race again but, once again, Beebe interferes to oust Miles.  Shelby bets his entire company on Miles to win the 24 Hours of Daytona which convinces Ford to let him race at Le Mans.  This leads to a thrilling 1966 Le Mans race in which Miles pushes the car past 7,000 RPMs for a stunning conclusion.  This movie is fantastic!  It has a compelling true story about two outsiders who overcome their own personal demons and corporate interference to do something that had never been done before.  It makes you want to stand up and cheer even if you are not a fan of racing!  Both Damon and Bale give brilliant performances that are generating a lot of Oscar buzz.  The two of them have great chemistry as they play off each other and I especially enjoyed their knock-down brawl!  Bale, especially, is incredible and I loved it when he talked to the car as if it was a woman.  Finally, the racing sequences are an adrenaline-fueled rush with squealing tires, shifting gears, and fiery crashes.  We saw it in IMAX and these sequences were thrilling, to say the least.  I cannot recommend this movie enough (see it in IMAX).

Note:  At one point my dream car was a Dodge Daytona Shelby.  I thought Shelby was just the name of the car until my friend Michael explained to me that Carroll Shelby designed it!

Rhapsody in Blue

Last night I spent an absolutely delightful evening at Abravanel Hall listening to the Utah Symphony and guest soloist Kevin Cole play the music of George Gershwin.  It was a lovely way to end a very busy week!  The orchestra began with Gershwin's Cuban Overture.  I really enjoyed all of the percussion and Latin rhythms.  I was practically dancing in my seat!  Next the orchestra was joined by Kevin Cole on piano for Gershwin's Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra.  I liked how the main theme was repeated by the various sections in the orchestra.  After the intermission Kevin Cole joined the orchestra once again for "I Got Rhythm" Variations for Piano and Orchestra.  It was a lot of fun listening for all of the different versions of this popular song.  Next came Promenade "Walking the Dog" which Gershwin wrote for the scene in the movie Shall We Dance where Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire walk a dog on a luxury liner.  It was very lively and I heard the man sitting in front of me giggling at the end of it!  The orchestra and Kevin Cole concluded with the main event, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.  I waited all evening to hear this piece and I loved it!  I especially enjoyed the instantly recognizable opening solo played by Principal Clarinet Tad Calcara because it is so whimsical.  It was very entertaining watching Cole's fingers flying up and down the keyboard and he received a thunderous standing ovation (which prompted, not one but, two encores).  Gershwin can always be counted on for a wonderful concert and I recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance which will be less formal (go here for information and tickets).

Note:  The orchestra also played a piece called Sacred Geometry by Andrew Norman, the Composer in Association with the Utah Symphony.  I must admit that I didn't really care for it because I found it to be quite jarring.

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!