Antlers

Last night I crossed another movie off my list by seeing Antlers and, even though I enjoyed many elements, I ultimately found it to be too bleak even for my taste.  Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) has recently returned home to an economically depressed small town in Oregon to be with her brother Paul (Jesse Plemons), the local sherriff.  She takes a job as a teacher at the middle school and, as a victim of abuse herself, she begins to suspect that one of her students, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas), is also being abused.  Several weeks earlier, his father Frank (Scott Haze) and his younger brother Aiden (Sawyer Jones) were attacked by an unknown creature inside of an abandoned mine that Frank was using as a meth lab.  They survive the attack but Frank begins a disturbing transformation so he forces Lucas to lock them in the attic and bring him roadkill to satisfy his insatiable hunger.  Frank eventually becomes a terrifying horned creature and escapes into the woods.  Soon after, Paul is called to the scenes of several brutal, but unexplained, murders and Julia suspects that Lucas is somehow involved.  When Lucas finally confides in her, she is forced to confront the creature, and her own inner demons, to save him.  I like horror movies that are based on folklore and the mythology surrounding the wendigo, a humanoid creature that is often depicted with antlers and represents an imbalance in many Native American cultures, is fascinating.  I really liked the design of the creature and there are quite a few genuinely frightening moments.  The narrative alludes to childhood trauma, poverty, addiction, and the destruction of the environment and, even though these themes are not as well developed as they could be, it is this hopelessness that unleashes the horror that follows.  I usually like movies that are dark and depressing because I find them to be cathartic (I don't know what this says about me) but this movie, especially the ending, is so devoid of hope that I left the theater feeling numb.  If even I find a movie too disheartening, I can't imagine that anyone else would enjoy it.

Last Night in Soho

The next movie on my list was Last Night in Soho and I was very excited to see it last night as it was one of my most anticipated movies of the fall.  I ended up really enjoying this stylish and atmospheric thriller.  Eloise "Ellie" Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is a young and impressionable girl from the English countryside who is obsessed with the movies, music, and fashion of the 1960s.  She dreams of becoming a fashion designer and travels to London to study but has trouble fitting in with with her roommate and the other girls in the dorm.  She rents a room in Soho from a Mrs. Collins (Diana Rigg) instead and this seems to be a portal to the 1960s.  Each night she encounters Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an aspiring singer who once occupied her room in the past, and she experiences everything that happens to her.  At first Ellie is exhilarated and finds inspiration for her designs.  She even dyes her hair and buys vintage clothing in the present to mimic Sandie's style but this brings about the unwanted attention of a mysterious stranger (Terrence Stamp) who seems to recognize her.  When Sandie meets a dashing man named Jack (Matt Smith), who promises to help her with her singing career but actually becomes her pimp, Ellie is caught up in a dangerous lifestyle that follows her into the present.  Eventually, Ellie witnesses what she believes to be Sandie's murder by Jack in the past and becomes convinced that the mysterious stranger is really Jack in the present and tries to hold him accountable. McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are both outstanding and I also really enjoyed Rigg in her final role.  The camera work showing Ellie and Sandie seamlessly changing places in a dazzling dance sequence and mimicking each other as they descend a mirrored staircase is absolutely  brilliant.  I loved both the music, especially "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World" by Cilla Black, and the clothes from the 1960s (I might be as obsessed with the 1960s as Ellie is).  The exploration of how young women alone in a big city can be victimized is incredibly compelling and I found it interesting that both Ellie and Sandie experience the same type of harassment from men even though they are very different women in different time periods.  Finally, I actually enjoyed it when Ellie has difficulty distinguishing between the past and present in the third act because these scenes are very unsettling and they kept me guessing until the end.  This is a bit of a departure from Edgar Wright's other films (it features much darker themes than we usually get from the director) but I think his fans will recognize his distinct visual style and I recommend it.

The French Dispatch

There are quite a few movies on my list this week (I am a little bit behind) but, as a huge fan of Wes Anderson, I had to start with The French Dispatch last night.  It is probably the most Wes Anderson-like movie that Wes Anderson has ever made and I loved it!  Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray) is the editor of The French Dispatch, a Sunday supplement to The Liberty Kansas Sun, located in the French city of Ennui-sur-Blase.  When Howitzer dies, the editorial staff, per his wishes, chooses four of the best stories from previous issues to become part of the farewell issue.  The Cycling Reporter by Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wislon) is presented as a video travelogue of Ennui-sur-Blase emphasizing how the city has changed but stayed the same over the years.  The Concrete Masterpiece by J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton) is presented as a lecture about the painter Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro) and his relationship with Simone (Lea Seydoux), the guard at the Ennui Prison/Asylum where he is incarcerated who becomes his muse, and Julien Cadazio (Adrien Brody), a fellow inmate who discovers his talent and promotes him when he leaves prison.  Revisions to a Manifesto by Lucinda Kremetz (Frances McDormand) is presented as a diary about her involvement in a student uprising and with the student leader Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet).  The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner by Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) is presented as a talk show interview about a dinner with the Police Commissaire (Mathieu Amalric) that goes awry when his son Gigi (Winston Ait Hellal) is kidnapped and the crime is solved by his personal chef Nescaffier (Stephen Park).  This movie is so funny!  In fact, I was laughing out loud through the whole thing because there are so many witty little details (I loved all of the names of characters and places).  I will need to watch it again because I am sure there are even more that I didn't notice.  I also really loved the cast, especially Chalamet as an angst-ridden revolutionary and Wright as a lonely outsider who finds solace in food.  Anderson is known for using the same actors over and over again and it seems as if everyone who has ever worked with the director wanted in on this movie because some well-known actors have little more than cameos.  These include frequent collaborators Anjelica Houston as a narrator, Jason Schwartzman as a cartoonist, Fisher Stevens as an editor, Wally Wolodarsky as a writer who never finishes any stories but lurks in the hallway, Tony Revolori as the young Rosenthaler, Bob Balaban as Cadazio's uncle and business partner, Liev Schreiber as the talk show host, Edward Norton as a kidnapper, Willem Dafoe as an underworld accountant, and Saoirse Ronan as a showgirl.  My favorite cameos were Lois Smith as an art collector and Elisabeth Moss as an editor with a passion for grammar (obviously).  Finally, it is visually stunning because Anderson plays around with color and black and white cinematography, different aspect ratios, and animation.  Surprisingly, I was not a fan of the score.  Alexandre Desplat is one of my favorite film composers but I found the music to be repetitive at times and, therefore, distracting.  Otherwise, I had a smile on my face from beginning to end and I highly recommend this movie, especially to fans of Wes Anderson.

Note:  As much as I loved this, I think my favorite is still The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Andrea Bocelli at the Vivint Arena

I have wanted to see Andrea Bocelli in concert for a really long time and I finally had the opportunity last night.  It was an absolutely amazing performance and I am so glad that I decided to get a ticket (even though it was pretty expensive).  Bocelli was backed by the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, based in Northern Utah, under the baton of Music Director Steven Mercurio and they looked and sounded very impressive.  There was a large panel of screens behind the stage which featured dazzling visuals and several numbers incorporated choreographed dances on stage with Brittany O'Connor and Paul Barris so the show was more like a theatrical experience than a concert.  The first half featured many well-known selections from the operatic repertory and I loved it.  I particularly enjoyed "Di quella pira" from Il Trovatore by Guiseppe Verdi, "La donna e mobile" from Rigoletto by Guiseppe Verdi, "Mario! Mario! Mario!" from Tosca by Giacomo Puccini with soprano Larisa Martinez, "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca by Giacomo Pucinni as a solo by Larisa Martinez, "Come un bel di di maggio" from Andrea Chenier by Umberto Giordano, "Si Pel Ciel" from Otello by Guiseppe Verdi with baritone Edward Parks, "Au fond du temple saint" from The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet with Edward Parks (this was a highlight of the night for me because I love this duet), and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from La Traviata by Guiseppe Verdi.  After the intermission, the orchestra and chorus performed a stirring rendition of "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.  Then the rest of the second half featured music from Bocelli's latest album Believe which includes songs of faith and inspiration.  I especially loved "Oh, Madre Benedetta!" (another highlight because it uses Adagio in G Minor by Tomaso Albinoni which is one of my favorite pieces in the classical repertory), "Ave Maria" (with music composed by Bocelli), a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" with his nine-year-old daughter Virginia, "You'll Never Walk Alone," "Amazing Grace" with Loren Allred (she also performed her song "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman), and "I Believe."  For the encore, Bocelli performed "Time to Say Goodbye (Con te Partiro)," which is probably his best known song, with Larisa Martinez (this brought the audience to their feet), a delightful version of "'O Sole Mio," and "Nessun dorma" from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (this gave me goosebumps).  Many of these songs moved me to tears because Bocelli has such a beautiful voice and he performs with such passion.  After wanting to see him for so long, this concert exceeded all of my expectations and it will definitely be among my favorites!

The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man Double Feature

I enjoyed the double feature of Dracula and Frankenstein so much I decided to see The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man yesterday afternoon.  I had never seen these movies before so it was a lot of fun to watch them for the first time on the big screen.  In The Invisible Man, based on the novel by H.G. Wells,  Claude Rains, one of my favorite actors, plays Dr. Jack Griffin, a scientist who has found the formula to make himself invisible.  At first he searches for a way to become invisible because wants the fame and money such a discovery will bring him but an obscure compound in the formula is slowly driving him mad and now he wants to control the world.  He goes on a killing spree and it is up to his employer Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers), his colleague Dr. Kremp (William Harrigan), and his fiancee Flora (Gloria Stuart) to stop him.  Rains is captivating in the role, even though you only see his face in the final moments, because his voice is so sinister.  The special effects are impressive, even by today's standards, especially the scenes in which Griffin removes his bandages to reveal his invisibility (apparently achieved by having Rains wear a black velvet bodysuit under his costume and then filming against a black velvet backdrop) and when he causes a train derailment.  It is a great blend of horror and science fiction with a message about the dangers of meddling where one should not and I really liked it.  In The Wolf Man, which does not have a literary reference but is based on folklore instead, Lon Chaney is Larry Talbot, the heir to a large estate in Wales who has recently returned to reconcile with his father Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains).  When a large wolf attacks a woman in the forest, Larry kills it with a silver walking stick but not before being bitten.  A gypsy fortuneteller (Maria Ouspenskaya) tells him the the wolf was really her son Bela (Bela Lugosi), a werewolf, and that he will now become a werewolf.  During the full moon he is transformed and goes on a murderous rampage but doesn't remember anything in the morning.  Eventually, he begins to suspect that he is a monster and feels tremendous guilt over what he has done but his father protects him from exposure until forced to take action.  I didn't think the transformation from man to werewolf was that spectacular (although these scenes apparently took hours to film) but the makeup effects (which involve lots of yak hair) are outstanding.  I enjoyed Chaney's emotional performance as a man who is horrified by what he has become and I loved the use of fog in the forest scenes because it so menacing.  As with Dracula and Frankenstein, the portrayal of these characters in popular culture today is influenced more by these movies than by their source material (I kept thinking about Charlie Barber's Invisible Man costume in Marriage Story).  I think these movies featuring the so-called Universal Monsters are iconic and are definitely worth seeking out (even after Halloween).