Top Gun: Maverick

Last night my sister Marilyn and I went to an early access screening of Top Gun: Maverick and to say that we both loved it would be an understatement!  It is the most exhilarating movie I have seen in a very long time!  The large IMAX theater was absolutely packed and the crowd started cheering during "Danger Zone" in the opening credits and kept on cheering through the whole movie.  There was a lot to cheer for!  Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is now a navy test pilot but he is still breaking the rules.  His superior officer, Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain (Ed Harris), wants to permanently ground him but Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer) requests that he go back to Top Gun to train an elite group of graduates for a specialized mission, much to the displeasure of the commander of Naval Air Forces Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (Jon Hamm) and to the delight of an old flame named Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly).  The mission involves bombing a facility that will soon be capable of producing enriched uranium and it is extremely dangerous because it is located in a deep mountainous canyon protected by surface-to-air missiles.  Maverick is extremely conflicted because one of the candidates for the mission is Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of his former wingman Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, and he doesn't want to send him on a mission he might not survive but knows that he will never forgive him if he doesn't.  The story is incredibly compelling and a lot more emotional than I was expecting (I had tears in my eyes three different times).  It pays homage to the original, with a lot of fun callbacks that fans will instantly recognize, while paving the way for a new narrative with a new group of pilots who are easy to root for.  The action sequences are thrilling and incredibly immersive (the audience is literally in the cockpit with the pilots thanks to all of the practical stunts) and the final dogfight in an F-14 Tomcat will have you cheering out loud!  I loved Cruise's performance and Maverick's character arc is a logical progression from the original movie because, even though he is still a bit cocky, he is more mature and feels his responsibility to his team of young pilots (he even has a love interest who is more age appropriate).  Kilmer's performance will tug at your heartstrings (his character arc is executed so well) and Teller is outstanding.  I loved everything about this movie and had a smile on my face during the whole runtime.  It is the perfect summer blockbuster and I highly recommend seeing it on an IMAX screen!

Men

Critics and audiences have been divided on Men but since I am a huge fan of Alex Garland (I loved Ex Machina and Annihilation) I decided to see it last night.  I initially enjoyed this tense and atmospheric psychological thriller until it was derailed by a truly bizarre ending and a message that didn't sit well with me.  Harper (Jessie Buckley) witnesses the death of her estranged husband James (Paapa Essiedu) and is haunted by the possibility that he killed himself and that she drove him to it.  She books a two week stay at a country house in a picturesque village hoping to heal from the trauma.  However, all of the men she encounters in the village, including an insensitive estate agent, a deranged stalker, a troubled schoolboy, a judgmental priest, and a dismissive policeman (all played by Rory Kinnear), seem to want to exact revenge for James' death.  Garland always excels at creating an oppressive and claustrophobic mood (even in nature) in his movies and Men is no exception.  He uses trippy lighting, menacing sound design, and both biblical and pagan symbolism to create a sense of dread that grabs you almost immediately and doesn't let up.  Buckley does an outstanding job at portraying both grief and fear but Kinnear is absolutely brilliant because each of his characters have distinct looks and personalities but they are all recognizably him (and they are all seriously creepy, especially the priest).  I'm not sure how I feel about the gory over-the-top final confrontation between Harper and all of the men (there was much nervous laughter during these scenes in my audience) even though I understand what Garland is saying about the cycle of abuse but I certainly didn't like the message that all men are bad and that women are responsible for their bad behavior.  My take might be completely off base (it is very different from others I have seen) but I don’t think so.  Having one actor portray every male character seems to imply that all men are the same and the repeated references to original sin (Harper even takes a bite of an apple in an early scene so it couldn't be more obvious) suggest that women are to blame.  I really wanted to like this but, honestly, it made me angry.

Note:  I may or may not have uttered an expletive out loud after a conversation between Harper and James at the end of the movie.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Whenever I visit Zion National Park I usually stay on the Mt. Carmel Highway which eventually leads to Bryce Canyon.  I like to drive through the park and stop at all my favorite viewpoints then take Highway 89 home.

I met a couple from Florida in Zion and ran into them at just about every viewpoint in Bryce.  They took my picture at both signs!

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of my favorite places on Earth so it is really hard for me to resist driving through whenever I am in St. George.  The park was really crowded yesterday but I was still able to stop at some of my favorite viewpoints.

My best memory of Zion is driving through the park in my Dad's blue Dodge Ramcharger while listening to the Eagles.  Zion is my happy place!

Mary Poppins at Tuacahn Amphitheatre

One of my very favorite things to do in the summer is see a live music or theatre performance outdoors!  Last summer I had a wonderful time visiting all of my favorite venues after a year of missing out and this year I am planning on adding a few new ones.  I got started yesterday by taking a quick road trip to St. George to see a preview of Mary Poppins at Tuacahn.  I love this show so much and Tuacahn's production is absolutely magical.  Mary Poppins (Gail Bennett) comes to Cherry Tree Lane to look after Jane and Michael Banks (Lilly Pearson and Charlie Stover, respectively) but, after a few adventures with Bert the chimney sweep (Neil Starkenberg), she ends up saving their father, George Banks (James Taylor Odom).  Bennett is practically perfect in every way as Mary.  She has a beautiful voice, especially in the songs "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Feed the Birds," and she is an outstanding dancer in "Jolly Holiday," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and "Step in Time."  She has a lot of chemistry with Pearson and Stover, who are adorable and have lovely voices, particularly when she is being stern with them.  Starkenberg is an amazing dancer and I really enjoyed an effect that had him dancing on the wall in "Step in Time."  Speaking of which, the choreography in the whole show is absolutely brilliant.  I thought "Supercalifragilistiexpialidocious" would be the highlight of the show because it is incredibly high-energy and so much fun to watch (I don't know how they formed the letters so fast) but the tap dancing on the rooftops of London in "Step in Time," including an epic dance-off between Mary and Bert, is spectacular!  The show features large LED panels, which display row houses on Cherry Tree Lane, the park, the London skyline, and the bank, along with elaborate moving sets for the living room, nursery, and kitchen of the Banks' house, as well as the bank.  Sometimes I found the screens to be a bit distracting but I did enjoy seeing the perspective of the row houses change to correspond with the different levels of the living room, nursery, and roof.  The costumes are elaborate and colorful (my favorites were for "Jolly Holiday") and the lighting is very dramatic (I loved the red in "Brimstone and Treacle").  Because it is Tuacahn, there are always a lot of special effects.  Mary makes some very exciting entrances and exits with her umbrella (the young woman sitting next to me squealed with delight and pointed to her flying in the air), the Admiral (Randal Keith) uses a real cannon at sunrise and sunset (I jumped every time it went off), and real horses are used in "Jolly Holiday."  This is one of my favorite shows and this production did not disappoint!  It was definitely worth the four hour drive!  Tuacahn is performing Mary Poppins, Wonderland, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in repertory through the end of October (go here for information and tickets).