Elemental

I went to see Elemental yesterday afternoon and I absolutely loved it because not only is the story incredibly moving (I actually had a tear in my eye during one poignant scene) but the animation is gorgeous.  Bernie and Cinder Lumen (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Omni, respectively) leave their home in Fire Land, despite great personal sacrifice, to emigrate to Element City for a better life for their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis).  They face xenophobia from the other elements of water, air, and earth so they settle in Fire Town and keep to their own element.  They establish a successful convenience store called The Fireplace and Bernie's greatest wish is that Ember take over when she is ready.  When a water pipe bursts in the store, Ember meets Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) and they eventually work together to stop the flooding.  They also develop feelings for one another despite Bernie and Cinder's disapproval of him because he is a water element.  Wade discovers Ember's talent for glass blowing and he encourages her to follow her passion but she feels the weight of responsibility to run the family store because her parents worked so hard to build it as a legacy for her.  Will her duty to her parents and their prejudice against water elements keep her from following her dream and finding true love?  This is very obviously about the immigrant experience and what it is like for a second-generation immigrant to grow up with the pressures of keeping the traditions of one culture alive while living in another one and I loved the message that the differences between people can also bring them together.  I also enjoyed the message that love can conquer all, especially in a scene where Ember and Wade realize that love has altered their chemistry so they can touch each other without being vaporized or extinguished (the animation in this scene is so beautiful and it took my breath away).  The world building is incredibly clever (I was especially impressed by how much Fire Town looks like its own separate neighborhood within Element City) and so is the character design (I loved the clothing worn by the fire elements).  I wasn't as impressed with the music as I usually am with a Pixar release but I loved the animation so much it didn't really matter.  This has had a very disappointing opening weekend at the box office so I definitely encourage everyone to go out and see it because, in my opinion, it is one of the best Pixar movies in recent memory.

The Lion in Winter at CPT

One of the first shows I saw at the Utah Shakespeare Festival was The Lion in Winter and I loved it so much I learned everything I could about the historical figures depicted (Eleanor of Aquitaine is fascinating). I was, therefore, thrilled when I found out that it would be performed in the Leishman Performance Hall at CPT because not only do I love the play but I also love the intimate black box theatre. I saw it last night and it is a brilliant production!  It is Christmas Eve 1183 and King Henry II of England (Nathan Riddle) has summoned his family to spend the holiday together. This includes his sons Richard (Matthew Dickerson), Geoffrey (Mark Andrus), and John (Alex Beck) as well as his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Leslie Barrett), who has spent the past ten years as his prisoner for staging a rebellion against him. Since the newly crowned King Philip of France (Ryan Kinville) is pressuring him to honor his alliance by wedding his sister Alais (Isabella Giordano) to the heir to the throne, Henry uses this opportunity to decide the succession. He advocates for John simply because he knows that Eleanor wants her favorite son, Richard, to be the next king. This pits brother against brother as they scheme, manipulate, plot, and form and break alliances and it is so much fun to watch! However, the real fireworks come in the scenes between Henry and Eleanor as they spar with each other. Riddle and Barrett give amazing over the top performances because everything their characters say is a calculated performance for an audience of one! They have great chemistry together and I was riveted whenever they were on stage together! The princes are the ultimate pawns in their parents' battle and I love that the characters revert to their defined childhood roles within the family (Richard is held to a higher standard, Geoffrey is ignored, and John is babied) when they are home for Christmas, much like any other family. Even though they are almost caricatures, Dickerson, Andrus, and Beck imbue the princes with moments of vulnerability, especially in a scene when Henry discovers they have all betrayed him. The intimate black box theatre lends itself very well to this family drama and I really enjoyed sitting so close to the action because I could see every facial expression. The stage is configured as if for a Shakespeare play with an upper and lower level and minimal props. I especially liked the use of long fabric panels as tapestries for the characters to hide behind. The period costumes are absolutely gorgeous and I loved all of the embellished fabrics and textures (particularly the chain mail). Everything about this production is stellar and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) for a performance in the Leishman Performance Hall through July 8. It is better than an episode of Succession!

Note:  Don't forget about the delightful production of 42nd Street also playing at CPT on the Barlow Main Stage through July 11.  Go here for tickets.

The Flash

I am a huge fan of the DCEU (I also like the MCU but I prefer DC's characters) and, since my nephew's favorite character is The Flash, we have been planning to see The Flash together for months.  We finally had the chance last night at a Thursday preview and we both loved it!  Barry Allen/ The Flash (Ezra Miller) travels back in time to prevent the murder of his mother Nora (Maribel Verdu) and the wrongful imprisonment of his father Henry (Ron Livingston).  However, when he attempts to return to the present he ends up in an alternate version of 2013 where he encounters a younger version of himself when visiting his mother.  He realizes that his actions have had terrible consequences when he sees a broadcast of General Zod (Michael Shannon) landing on Earth and is unable to locate Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman, Victor Stone/ Cyborg, or Arthur Curry/ Aquaman.  Both Barrys travel to Wayne Manor where they meet an alternate version of Bruce Wayne/ Batman (Michael Keaton) and convince him to help them find Kal-El/ Superman.  They find Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle), a female Kryptonian and Kal-El's cousin, instead and this reconfigured Justice League has an epic showdown with General Zod and his forces.  Ultimately, Barry learns an important lesson about fate.  I really loved the story and Barry's character arc as he learns how to deal with loss is very emotional.  I am extremely frustrated by Ezra Miller's off screen behavior because they give an absolutely brilliant performance as both versions of Barry Allen/ The Flash and, while it is difficult to praise such a terrible human being, I really enjoyed how they portrayed this character.  Ugh!  I loved seeing Keaton return as Batman (and hearing his iconic theme by Danny Elfman) because I am a big fan of his version of the character!  The audience cheered out loud when he delivered some of his iconic lines.  I also loved Calle as Supergirl (she steals every scene she is in) and I hope we get to see her in this role again.  As a huge fan I really enjoyed all of the nostalgia on display and I think this is a great sendoff to the DCEU.  I also enjoyed the humor and it was really fun to see this in a crowded theater with an audience that laughed out loud many times!  I will say that some of the CGI, especially in the first act, is bad but I still loved most of the action sequences, particularly when both iterations of the Flash team up in the final act.  I am sure that there will be a lot of discourse about this movie (and I understand why) but I think it is one of the better CBMs and I am looking forward to seeing it again!

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

I am not a big fan of the earlier movies in the Transformers franchise (to say the least) but I absolutely loved Bumblebee so I was interested to see where Transformers: Rise of the Beasts would land.  I went to see it yesterday and it definitely doesn't have the same heart as Bumblebee but I didn't hate it.  A world-eating transformer named Unicron (voiced by Colman Domingo) is seeking the Transwarp Key, which can open portals through space and time, on the homeworld of the Maximals, or cyber animals, but a group of them use it to escape to Earth.  A museum intern named Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishbeck) discovers half of the key hidden in an ancient artifact and accidentally activates it which calls Autobots, who are still stuck on Earth, and Terrorcons, who are searching for it for Unicron.  Meanwhile, an ex-soldier named Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is talked into stealing a Porsche 911 in order to sell it to pay for treatments for his younger brother who is suffering from leukemia.  When the Autobots are summoned, Noah is inside the Porsche when it is transformed into Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson) and he is eventually recruited by Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) to steal the key from the museum where he meets up with Elena.  They are attacked by the Terrorcon Scourge (voiced by Peter Dincklage) who steals the key but they are saved by the Maximal Airazor (voiced by Michelle Yeoh).  They eventually head to Peru in search of the other half of the key where they meet Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman) and the other Maximals.  The humans, the Autobots, and Maximals learn that they must work together to defeat the Terrorcons and keep the key from Unicron.  The story is convoluted with way too much exposition and much of the dialogue is incredibly cringe-worthy but it is still far superior to the Michael Bay movies (in my opinion).  The goofy interactions between Noah and Mirage are a lot of fun (I actually really liked Davidson's performance) and I found the juxtaposition between Noah's motivations and those of Optimus Prime to be very effective.  I also really enjoyed the final battle sequence (I love that Bumblebee now communicates with movie dialogue) because the effects look really good.  I think Bumblebee is still my favorite but I had a lot of fun watching this and recommend it to fans of big action blockbusters.

Sanctuary

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Sanctuary.  I really enjoyed this psychological thriller until the ending derailed it for me.  Hal (Christopher Abbott) is the presumptive heir to a billion dollar chain of luxury hotels.  He likes to engage in BDSM role-playing games with a professional dominatrix named Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) but, after inheriting his father's empire, he tries to end their relationship because he feels it is no longer appropriate for such a high profile businessman. She feels that her services are what has given him the self-confidence to be a CEO and wants further compensation. They engage in a tense (but thoroughly entertaining) battle of wills in a hotel suite after one of their games in which they each vie for control with escalating stakes.  What makes this so compelling is that you never know if what is happening is real or just part of an elaborate game.  Rebecca first enters the hotel suite as a businesswoman and begins interviewing Hal for the position of CEO but then he complains that she is not sticking to the script that he wrote.  She proceeds to humiliate him because she believes that she knows what he needs better than he does.  Then a close-up of the script reveals that the entire encounter has been part of the game and this is only the first of many times that expectations are subverted.  You are literally left guessing until the final scene but, unfortunately, I found the resolution to be hurried and anticlimactic (several people in my audience groaned out loud).  The action takes place in one location with only two characters but the production design is incredibly stylish with compelling performances from both Abbott and Qualley.  Ultimately, I had a great time trying to figure out who would emerge victorious (even if I didn’t like the answer) so I would recommend it for a bit of escapist fun.