Scrapper

Yesterday I went back to the Broadway (my second home) to see Scrapper and it is so charming.  Georgie (Lola Campbell) is a twelve year old girl living alone on a council estate in a working class suburb of London after the recent death of her mother.  She evades social services by pretending that an imaginary uncle, named Winston Churchill, is looking after her and she steals bicycles, with her accomplice and best friend Ali (Alin Uzun), and sells them for parts to earn money.  When her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson) suddenly appears, she is less than pleased to see him and resists his attempts to get to know her.  However, as they spend more and more time together, they realize that they just might need each other after all.  I have seen a lot of comparisons to Aftersun but, aside from having a fragile relationship between a father and daughter in common, this movie has a more lighthearted tone.  I loved the inclusion of magical realism when we see into Georgie's imagination as she tries to process her grief, especially a scrap metal tower she is building in her mother's bedroom, and having all of the neighbors (who each have their own color) break the fourth wall to give their opinions about her situation like a Greek chorus is hilarious.  Speaking of color, the production design is so vibrant and fun and, when combined with the quirky hand-held camera work, it contributes to a playful vibe.  Dickinson gives a really nuanced performance as a bit of a cad, little more than an adolescent himself, who has been able to avoid all responsibility but suddenly realizes that he wants to be responsible for his daughter.  Campbell, in her debut, absolutely shines and I really enjoyed the back and forth between Georgie and Jason.  I was enchanted by this and highly recommend it.

Black Panther in Concert

Last night I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall for this season's first Utah Symphony concert.  The movie Black Panther was shown on the big screen while the orchestra performed the dramatic score by Ludwig Goransson.  I love this movie (it is one of my favorites from the MCU) and it was so much more immersive hearing the music performed live as I watched T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) return to Wakanda after the death of his father to become king only to have Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) challenge him for the throne in order to use vibranium-enhanced weapons to fight oppression around the world.  The score features the West African instrument known as the tama, or "talking drum," so the orchestra was joined by soloist Massamba Diop who actually played the tama on the original recording.  It was so interesting to watch Diop because the tama is an hour-glass shaped drum with two drumheads connected by leather tension cords and it was held between his arm and body which he would use to squeeze these cords to control the pitch as he hit the drumheads with his hands.  I would sometimes pay more attention to him than to the images on the screen!  The sound of the tama represents T'Challa/Black Panther and I loved hearing it in conjunction with a dramatic fanfare by the horns during key moments, such as the coronation, the car chase in Busan, the challenge, and the final battle with Killmonger.  I also loved the theme for Killmonger (one of the best villains in the MCU) which incorporates a mysterious piano melody accompanied by a harp and I was particularly moved by the variation played in the scene where Killmonger finally sees the sunset in Wakanda.  The most emotional moments are when T'Challa visits his father on the Ancestral Plane and the themes played by the strings, especially the cellos, during these scenes are beautiful and a bit mournful.  I really enjoy these films in concert and Black Panther is now my favorite because the score is one of the most exhilarating I've heard the Utah Symphony play in this series.  I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance (go here).

Note:  The other films in the series are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Frozen, and Casablanca with special performances of Love Actually and How to Train Your Dragon.  I'm looking forward to all of them (go here for more information and tickets).

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Yesterday afternoon I went to see Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe at the Broadway and I loved this subdued but incredibly sweet coming of age story.  Aristotle "Ari" Mendoza (Max Pelayo) is a lonely teen living in El Paso who feels alienated from his peers at school because he feels so different and from his parents (Eugenio Derbez and Veronica Falcon) because they are incredibly closed off and full of secrets.  Dante Quintana (Reese Gonzales) offers to teach Ari how to swim when they meet at the local pool and they bond over their unusual names.  Soon they become inseparable as Dante continues to teach Ari about art, literature, and star gazing.  When Dante movies to Chicago with his family (Kevin Alejandro and Eva Longoria) for a year, Ari misses him and struggles with his own identity.  Their friendship is tested when Dante comes out to Ari in a letter and then declares his love for him when he returns to El Paso.  The themes about identity, masculinity, friendship, sexuality, and love are powerful but they are explored in a gentle and languid way with many beautiful shots in the desert during the golden hour.  The narrative takes place during the 1980s (it features a fantastic soundtrack) and I can't imagine what this movie would have meant to countless teens struggling with their identity and sexuality during this era and I especially love that both sets of parents are supportive of Ari and Dante's relationship without ignoring the challenges they might face.  Gonzales gives a moving performance filled with vulnerability and charm and Pelayo is very handsome and appealing but I sometimes found his performance to be a bit too restrained (I haven't read the book by Benjamin Alire Saenz upon which the movie is based so I'm not sure if his characterization is intentional) because I wanted more emotion during an important turning point.  Their chemistry, however, is palpable and there is a tension about the outcome of their relationship that makes the story compelling.  I highly recommend this tender love story, especially for teens.

Note:  Every year I make a goal to see 100 new releases in the theater and I reached it with this movie (it is the earliest I have ever done so).

Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano in Las Vegas

I have always thought that Lady Gaga is an amazing performer with a flamboyant persona that is fun to watch but I began to respect her as a singer when she sang a medley of songs from The Sound of Music as a tribute to Julie Andrews at the Oscars.  I was absolutely blown away by her performance and since then I have really wanted to see her live.  When I found out that she was doing another residency in Las Vegas this fall featuring her Jazz & Piano Show I spontaneously bought a ticket and, even though I have spent way too much money on concert tickets this year, I am so glad that I did because it was an unbelievable experience!  The concert was last night in the Dolby Live Theatre at the Park MGM Resort and it is an incredible venue!  Lady Gaga had an insanely talented band backing her (like the big band singers in the glory days of Las Vegas) and the setlist included selections from the Great American Songbook as well as jazz and piano arrangements of some of her most popular hits.  The show was divided into five sets and each featured a different costume (and sometimes an elaborate headdress).  For the first set she sang an acoustic version of "Orange Colored Sky" while walking out on stage and then "Luck Be a Lady," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "The Best Is Yet to Come," and "Call Me Irresponsible" with some hilarious interactions with a couple sitting at a table on stage.  She ended this set with a naughty (naughtier?) version of "Poker Face" on piano (she joked that she hoped no one was foolish enough to bring their children to a Lady Gaga show).  The second set featured "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "If I Had You," "Do I Love You" (one of my favorite moments in the show), an incredibly powerful rendition of "Born This Way" on piano, and a jazz version of "Stupid Love" with extended solos from Brian Newman on trumpet and Steve Kortyka on saxophone.  Next came "Sway," "Rags to Riches," "Mambo Italiano," and an impressive vocal performance of "'O sole mio."  This set concluded with a jazz arrangement of "Paparazzi" which was another favorite moment for me.  The fourth set included "La vie en rose," "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," and a piano version of "Bad Romance."  For the final set she sang "Lush Life" and then spoke about her friendship with Tony Bennett before giving an emotional performance of "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)."  As an encore she sang "New York, New York."  I loved all of her interpretations of these standards because, not only does she have the vocal chops to sing them, she also really respects these songs and all of the all of the singers who performed them before her (there is an ode to the songs and singers in the playbill).  Lady Gaga was also hilarious in her interactions with the crowd.  She is almost larger than life and there were several times when I wanted to pinch myself because I couldn't believe that I was actually in the same room with her!  This was definitely a bucket list moment for me and I loved it so much!  There are eight more concerts in this residency (although she hinted that she would be back with a new setlist) and I highly recommend this show!

The Equalizer 3

Last night I finally got around to seeing The Equalizer 3 (I had a very chill Labor Day weekend) and, as a fan of this franchise, I liked the conclusion to the trilogy.  Tormented former operative Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) finds himself at a winery in Sicily, for reasons, and executes members of a cell who have been smuggling amphetamines purchased from a terrorist organization.  He is inadvertently shot but makes it to the Amalfi Coast where he is rescued by the local carabiniere Gio Bunucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea) and taken to a doctor named Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone) who cares for him in the small town of Altamonte.  He makes a slow recovery but calls in a tip about the smuggling operation to CIA agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) who begins an investigation.  McCall feels peace for the first time in years and comes to love the village and its people, especially a waitress he sees every day named Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro), but notices that the Camorra crime family, led by Vincent and Marco Quaranto (Andrea Scarduzio and Andrea Dodero, respectively), is harassing villagers to coerce them to leave to make way for their business ventures.  When Collins discovers that the Camorra family is also responsible for the drug smuggling operation, McCall must get vengeance in order to get back to the quiet life he longs for.  The story is formulaic, the script is a bit messy (the subplot with Fanning's character is really shoehorned in and doesn't really add anything), and there are definitely some pacing issues (McCall sits around drinking tea a lot) but the action sequences are tense and visceral and Washington is captivating as he silently dispatches some thoroughly bad guys in some intriguing, and incredibly brutal, ways.  I really liked the use of light and shadow in the cinematography as well as the many shots of rain drenched cobblestones as a portent of the violence to come.  I also liked the atmospheric score because it really adds to the tension.  In my opinion, this is a satisfying resolution for the character and fans of the franchise will enjoy it.