21 Bridges

I was planning to see the movie 21 Bridges over the Thanksgiving break but I ran out of time!  I decided to see it last night and what I thought would be an entertaining police procedural was actually an intense psychological thriller that I really enjoyed.  In a drug deal gone wrong, Ray Jackson (Taylor Kitsch) and Michael Trujillo (Stephan James) kill eight police officers from the 85th Precinct.  Captain  McKenna (J.K. Simmons) of the 85th specifically requests that Detective Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) be in charge of the manhunt for the cop killers.  Davis is haunted by the death of his father, a police officer killed in the line of duty, and has a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later, especially when cop killers are involved.  He decides to lock down the island of Manhattan and an epic pursuit ensues with the clock ticking.  He is assigned to work with Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller), a narcotics agent whom he doesn't trust, and he is dogged at every turn by FBI agents Butchco (Obi Abili) and Dugan (Andy Truschinski).  As the manhunt escalates, Davis becomes suspicious and must ultimately protect one of the killers to uncover a vast conspiracy.  The narrative is incredibly predictable (I guessed the details of the conspiracy very early on) with some boilerplate dialogue but what makes this movie compelling is Boseman's performance as a troubled cop who ultimately finds redemption,  His character arc is fascinating to watch as he goes from a man out for blood to the only voice of reason in an increasingly emotional conflict.  Boseman imbues Davis with an intelligence that I really appreciated.  James also gives a great performance as a man involved in circumstances beyond his control who wrestles with the consequences of his actions rather than just being a stereotypical villain.  I really enjoyed the action sequences, particularly the opening shoot-out, a car chase through the meatpacking district, a foot chase culminating in a subway car, and an epic stand-off.  These scenes are gritty and feature fast-cutting to add to the intensity.  This movie reminded me of the kind of crime-dramas that we used to see back in the day and it was much better than I thought it would be.  I recommend it to fans of the genre.

When Harry Met Sally

I didn't see When Harry Met Sally when it was first released in theaters because I am not a big fan of romantic comedies.  I have since seen it several times because I had a friend who absolutely loved it and was appalled that I hadn't seen it before.  She forced invited me to watch it with her and, of course, I thought it was absolutely charming.  I was really excited that it was included in the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year and I've been looking forward to seeing it in the theater for months.  Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) and Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) drive cross-country from college to New York City together and immediately dislike each other.  Over the next twelve years they have several chance encounters and they eventually become friends, become attracted to each other, break up, and then fall in love.  There are so many things that I love about this movie!  I love Carrie Fisher as Sally's best friend Marie and Bruno Kirby as Harry's best friend Jess.  I love it when they end up together after Sally sets Marie up with Harry and Harry sets Jess up with Sally.  I love it when they toast Harry and Sally at their wedding, saying that they got together because they didn't find either of them attractive!  I love it when Harry and Jess do the wave several times at the Giants game when they are talking about Harry's divorce.  I love the scene with Sally at the restaurant (you know the one I mean) and a customer (played by director Rob Reiner's mother) says, "I'll have what she's having!"  I love it when Harry and Sally discuss Casablanca on the phone while watching it separately in bed.  I love that every time Harry is shown reading a book, he turns to the last page.  I love when Harry and Sally sing a karaoke version of "Surrey With the Fringe on Top."  I love when Harry tells Sally that she looks good in skirts and then she is wearing one in the next scene.  I love all of the interviews with the older couples about when they first met.  I love all of the music by Harry Connick, Jr., especially his version of "It Had to Be You."  Watching this movie was just delightful and I was really impressed with how timeless it is.  I highly recommend seeing this on the big screen (go here for information and tickets).

Fifteen

Sean turns fifteen tomorrow but we had our family celebration of his birthday yesterday!  The birthday boy chose to stay at home for dinner and he picked burgers and french fries which tasted delicious!  Afterwards we had the traditional ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.  We all laughed because he had the exact same cake last year!

He was pretty spoiled for his birthday!

Tashena gave him a gift card to Amazon (she flew back to school in Washington after his party and I already miss her).  Sean was so thrilled he almost gave her a hug...almost!

Marilyn gave him a video game and a book series.

Grandma and Grandpa gave him Motion Controllers for his PlayStation.  I don't know what they do (it has something to do with what he wants for Christmas) but Sean was absolutely thrilled to get them!

I got him this video game.  He was very specific when told me that he wanted Assassin's Creed Odyssey (the Gold Edition) and he told me that there was only one left on Amazon so I had to get it quickly!  When I told him that I would get it, he got mad because he wanted to be surprised!  He cracks me up!

His Mom and Dad got him a sofa for his room (he has the coolest teen hangout room ever) but they also got him his own Megatub that he doesn't have to share with anyone else at a movie!  Sean won't let anyone eat popcorn from the shared Megatub until the movie starts so this is really just a gift for all of us!  I can't believe that he is fifteen!  I sure do love him and I hope he had a great birthday!

Messiah Sing-In 2019

Attending a Utah Symphony performance of Handel's Messiah was once a really lovely tradition for me over the Thanksgiving break but for the past several years I have been out of town and not able to go.  I was really happy to revive the tradition last night!  I found my copy of the score and practiced my hallelujahs so I was ready to sing along with the audience during the choral sections!  The orchestra was joined by soloists Grace Kahl, Quinn Middleman, Addison Marlor, and Brandon Bell (Resident Artists with the Utah Opera) and the Westminster College Choir.  The Messiah is not only the perfect way to ring in the holiday season but it is also so much fun to sing!  It reminded me of when I was a member of the Westminster College Choir!  My favorite sections to sing are "For Unto us a Child is Born," "Glory to God in the Highest," and "Hallelujah!"  I fear that my hallelujahs may have been a bit too boisterous!  The orchestra performed this majestic piece beautifully and I especially loved the timpani in "Hallelujah!" because it was so stirring.  All of the soloists were fantastic but I was particularly impressed with Bell's rendition of "The trumpet shall sound" because it gave me goosebumps (the trumpet solo was also incredible)!  I thoroughly enjoyed this concert because listening to Christmas music performed live is my favorite part of the holiday season and I would definitely recommend getting a ticket to tonight's performance (go here for tickets).

Note:  Now that the holiday season is upon us it is always a good idea to allow plenty of time when driving and parking downtown.

Seussical at HCT

It is no secret that I do not like the musical Seussical.  In fact, when I saw the Broadway touring production a few years ago I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen and, if I hadn't been with a friend who drove, I would have left at intermission.  I wasn't very happy when HCT announced this show as part of the 2019 season because I vowed to never see it again.  The only reason I decided to see it last night is because I really loved what Dave Tinney, the director, was able to do with Matilda and Cinderella, two other shows that are not my favorite.  He turned the dark and dreary Matilda into something fun and whimsical and he made me giggle out loud at the magic of Cinderella so I had high hopes for his version of Seussical.  Jojo (Parker Burnham) is a young and imaginative boy who sometimes gets in trouble for the thinks that he thinks so the Cat in the Hat (Ryan Simmons), acting as a Master of Ceremonies, takes him on an adventure where he meets Horton the Elephant (Travis Anderson), Gertrude McFuzz (Kelly Coombs), the Amayzing Mayzie (Bailee Morris) and her Bird Girls (Kennedy Johnson, April Kerr, and Tianna Maxwell), the Sour Kangaroo (Mack) and the Wickersham Brothers (Abrin Tinney, Jason Buonforte, Ben Butters, Sam Cooper, Patch Wendel, and Josh Lee), the Mayor of Who-ville (Cameron Garner) and his wife (Morgan Western), and General Genghis Khan Schmitz (Zac Zumbrunnen).  Jojo ultimately learns that anything is possible and that he can go anywhere he wants just by thinking his thinks.  I don't think I will ever really like this show because the story is nonsensical, convoluted, and loses focus in the second half but I was really impressed with what Tinney was able to do with it.  The staging and choreography are incredibly imaginative and visually spectacular, particularly the aerialists (Jessica Bird, Olivia Lee, Jessica Kehl, and Jane Jackson) in "It's Possible" and "Alone in the Universe" because there was always something to draw my eye everywhere I looked (I loved the fish).  I also really enjoyed the Wickersham Brothers in "Monkey Around," the circus performers in "Circus McGurkus," and the cadets in "A Message From the Front."  The costumes are bold, colorful, and fun and I especially loved the fanciful feathered costumes worn by Mayzie, Gertrude, and the Bird Girls and I thought it was really clever that the Wickersham Brothers were dressed like an adolescent street gang.  The puppets used by the Whos are absolutely ingenious and I really enjoyed them in "Here on Who."  The sets come straight out of a Dr. Seuss book and are incredibly whimsical.  The entire cast is very strong but I was most impressed with Coombs as Gertrude because she is so endearing and Anderson as Horton because he is quite sympathetic.  Simmons is absolutely hilarious as the Cat in the Hat, particularly when he spontaneously interacts with the audience (I loved the Les Miserables reference).  I didn't love this show but I enjoyed it and I definitely recommend it for families this holiday season (the children in my audience were riveted).  It runs on the HCT Main Stage until January 18 (go here for tickets).