Anatomy of a Fall

My nephew has made a lot of new friends in college but, apparently, he has missed going to movies with me (which I think is really sweet) so I arranged for us to see Anatomy of a Fall at the Broadway last night.  This was one of my most anticipated movies from the fall festivals (it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes) and both Sean and I found it to be incredibly thought-provoking.  When Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis) falls to his death from the attic window of his isolated chalet in the mountains of France, an autopsy is unable to determine is it was an accident or murder.  His German wife Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) becomes the prime suspect because she was the only one home at the time.  She is eventually put on trial when an audio recording of an argument between her and her husband surfaces.  Her lawyer (Swann Arlaud) introduces evidence suggesting a suicide, even though she is very uncomfortable with this defense, but the aggressive public prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz) builds a case, based on a subjective interpretation of the audio recording, showing that the marriage was troubled and that their fights often escalated to violence.  Their young son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), who is visually impaired and was out for a walk when his father fell to his death, struggles to make sense of the evidence he hears in court but he must ultimately decide who to believe before he testifies.  This is an incredibly tense courtroom drama made even more so by including a language barrier (Sandra is German and, therefore, not fluent in French so she often lapses into English when testifying) because this creates even more opportunities to misconstrue her meaning.  It is a cautionary tale about the ways in which private moments between two people can appear very differently to others when they become public and I was absolutely riveted!  In fact, Sean and I both came to different conclusions about Sandra's culpability (in my opinion her guilt or innocence almost doesn't matter) and I am still thinking about it!  Hüller gives a brilliant and highly nuanced performance (the Oscar buzz surrounding her is entirely warranted) but Machado-Graner is absolutely amazing because the camera is often on him during the courtroom scenes and his reactions inform the audience how to feel about the various revelations.  Finally, this movie features one of the best uses of a song (an instrumental version of "P.I.M.P" by 50 Cent no less) that I have ever seen because it has multiple meanings and becomes more and more important as the narrative progresses.  Believe the hype about this one!

Nyad

I went to see Nyad at the Broadway last night and I really liked it (I am a sucker for inspirational sports movies).  On her 60th birthday, former long distance open water swimmer Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) feels that she is standing on the sidelines of life as a sports commentator and decides that she wants to revisit the dream of swimming from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida that she abandoned after one ill-fated attempt at age 28.  She enlists her best friend Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) to be her coach, assembles a team, including a navigator named John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans), and begins training for a swim that is so dangerous many believe it cannot be done.  She faces challenges from Gulf Stream currents, storms, hypothermia, dehydration, sharks, and jellyfish as well as her own inner demons (shown as flashbacks to the father who pushed her to succeed and to the coach who abused her) and push back from her team for taking them for granted but, after four failed attempts, she perseveres and makes it to Key West on September 2, 2013 after swimming 110 miles in 53 hours.  This is the first narrative feature from award-winning documentarians Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (I really loved Meru) and I think this compelling true story about triumphing in the face of overwhelming odds in an extreme sport is a perfect fit for them.  Even though I knew the outcome I was on the edge of my seat from the suspense created by their use of immersive cinematography showing all of the dangers in the water and the integration of actual footage from the swim and the news coverage of it is very well done.  I really loved the message that it is never too late to pursue a dream and the portrayal of a strong female friendship is very refreshing to see.  I also enjoyed the tremendous (and vanity-free) performance from Bening as the sometimes unsympathetic Nyad and the incredibly moving one from Foster as her biggest supporter.  The score by Alexandre Desplat is outstanding but I particularly enjoyed all of the music that Nyad uses to keep a rhythm to her strokes, especially "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel and "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young.  This is a stand up and cheer movie about an incredible feat of epic determination and I highly recommend it.

Jazz vs. Kings

My friend Angela renewed her Utah Jazz ticket package and, just like last season, she very graciously allowed me to select several games to attend with her.  The first game I picked, against the Toronto Raptors (for reasons), is not until January but, when Angela let me know that the ticket for the game last night was available, I jumped at the chance to go!  The arena is once again known as the Delta Center (which is really funny to me because I still called it the Delta Center for years after the name changed) so there was a big celebration out on the plaza before the game and it was so much fun to be there.  The atmosphere inside was just as electric because it was the first game of the season and we have several new players with a lot of promise on the roster.  The Jazz played the Sacramento Kings and they let them take an early lead in the first few minutes of the first quarter.  Despite 24 points from Jordan Clarkson, 19 from Lauri Markkanen, 15 from John Collins and some exciting back-to-back layups from Talen Horton-Tucker and Walker Kessler, the Kings never relinquished that early lead for the rest of the game and even led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.  It was a bit frustrating because the Jazz couldn't seem to stop Sacramento's offense, especially their three-point shots, while their own offense struggled to find a rhythm (I think they are still learning how to play together as a team).  By the fourth quarter, the Kings were basically having their way with the Jazz and they ended up winning 130-114.  Despite the loss I was really excited by what I saw from our rookie Keyonte George (I like him a lot).  He ended up playing 19 minutes and finished with eight points (including an exciting dunk that got the crowd cheering), two rebounds, and two assists.  I am looking forward to watching his progress this season!  It was also a lot of fun to spend time with Angela and I'm so glad I got to go to the game with her even with the final outcome.

Note:  The Jazz won every game I attended for the past two seasons.  It looks like my streak is now over.

The Rocky Horror Show at PTC

I have been waiting for PTC's production of The Rocky Horror Show with great ANTICI.....say it.....PATION. I was able to see it last night and I had so much fun! This cult classic is a campy spoof of science fiction B-movies complete with an usher named Magenta (Ginger Bess) who introduces the story. While driving home on a rainy night, a young and naive couple named Brad (Alex Walton) and Janet (Alanna Saunders) get a flat tire and end up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Jeremiah James), a cross dressing mad scientist from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy Transylvania, who is having a wild party with his entourage, including Riff Raff (Hernando Umana) and Columbia (Micki Martinez), to unveil his latest creation Rocky (Michael Dalke), a beautiful and muscular man designed to give pleasure. Hi-jinks (and a floor show) ensue! The Narrator last night (the role rotates between three different Utah personalities) was the popular former news anchor Randall Carlisle and he got some of the biggest laughs of the evening, especially with his references to BYU. The rest of the main cast is also outstanding with great voices and excellent comedic timing! James is perfect as Frank with all of his over-the-top facial expressions and I loved his flamboyant rendition of "Sweet Transvestite" and his surprisingly poignant version of "I'm Going Home." Walton provides a lot of the comedy as the nerdy Brad and I laughed out loud during "Damn It, Janet" and "Once in a While." The same could be said of Saunders as the prudish Janet because the physical comedy as she loses her sexual inhibitions during her performance of "Touch-A Touch Me" is a highlight of the show. The choreography is so much fun, particularly the iconic number "Time Warp" and the dazzling "Floor Show." I also loved how Frank's seduction of both Janet and Brad is staged and the ending of the song "Space Ship" provides a lot of laughs. The costumes, including corsets, garters, fishnet stockings, and high heels, are fabulously outrageous and the hair and makeup are very glam while the stage features a spooky castle backdrop (I loved all of the freestanding candelabras) with lots of quirky laboratory set pieces. A live band is also located on stage and they sound fabulous! Of course, what makes a live performance of The Rocky Horror Show so much fun is all of the audience participation! Even though it had been quite a while since I'd seen it, I remembered the words to the songs, when to use all of the props (prop kits are available to purchase for $5.00 online and in the lobby before the show), and most of the talk backs! I always think it is so funny to yell "asshole" and "slut" every time the names Brad and Janet, respectively, are mentioned. To be sure, this show provides a fun and raucous night out but, more than anything, it has a powerful message about acceptance that is needed now more than ever and I highly recommend it! It runs at PTC through October 31 with several matinees and late night performances (go here for tickets).

Note:  One of my fondest memories from participating in high school theatre is when a bunch of us climbed up to the catwalk and performed "Time Warp" at a late night rehearsal.  It was so fun to perform it again last night at the end of the show.

The Birds

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock (my rankings change all of the time but he is definitely one of my top three favorite directors) so I was really excited to see The Birds, which is back in theaters in honor of its 60th anniversary, last night.  I have seen this movie many times but it was a very different experience seeing it on the big screen!  Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets a man named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store as he attempts to buy two lovebirds for his eleven-year-old sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).  On impulse, she decides to buy the birds and take them to him at his family home in the small Northern California town of Bodega Bay where she meets his former girlfriend Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) and his disapproving mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy).  As the relationship between Melanie and Mitch develops, the town is inexplicably and viciously attacked by a variety of birds.  What is so brilliant about this movie is the almost casual introduction of the romance between Melanie and Mitch with subtle foreshadowing of the horror to come.  Then, when the birds finally begin attacking, the tension is almost unbearable.  I was especially unnerved by the suspense as Melanie waits for Cathy outside of the schoolhouse while birds ominously gather on the playground and when Mitch, Melanie, Lydia, and Cathy anxiously wait inside their house for an attack they know is coming.  The practical effects, involving both real and mechanical birds, really hold up because they are quite disturbing, particularly the attack on the school children as they are running away, the attack on Melanie as she is trapped in a phone booth, and the attack on Melanie in the attic.  The sound design is absolutely brilliant because the sound of the birds attacking is terrifying but the use of silence is even more effective at creating an atmosphere of dread.  Finally, the ending is so bleak (my audience sat in stunned silence even after the lights came back on) but it is the perfect way to emphasize the fact that we are all powerless against the forces of nature.  This is one of Hitchcock's best movies, in my opinion, and I'm so glad I got to see it on the big screen (especially during the month of October).