Wolf Man

I really enjoyed Leigh Whannell's fresh take on a classic monster in The Invisible Man so I was eager to see his interpretation of another one in Wolf Man.  I saw it last night and, even though it is not as good as the previous movie, I thought it was pretty solid (I jumped a foot out of my seat during one particular scene).  When a hiker goes missing in the remote mountains of Oregon it is believed that he was attacked and infected by an animal so Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger) goes to extreme measures to keep his young son Blake (Zac Chandler) safe from a mysterious humanoid figure he sees in the forest.  Thirty years later, Grady is declared legally dead after also disappearing in the forest so Blake (Christopher Abbott), who now lives in San Francisco with his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth), returns to Oregon with his family to clear out his house.  While driving through the forest, a creature forces them off the road and scratches Blake's arm but the three of them are able to make it to Grady's isolated house and barricade themselves inside.  Charlotte and Ginger are terrified of the monster outside but they soon realize that Blake might be a bigger threat.  There is a heavy-handed message about becoming so afraid that the ones you love will be hurt that you actually become what hurts them (it is reiterated so many times) but I like how it plays out in the resolution.  The light and sound design is very atmospheric, especially the distortion that occurs when the POV shifts back and forth between Blake and Charlotte as he transforms, and the creature design is incredibly unsettling even if it doesn't resemble a traditional werewolf or incorporate any of the mythology.  There are some effective jump scares and Whannell does a good job building tension (a scene involving the creature's breath is absolutely spine-tingling) but the big twist in the narrative is pretty much telegraphed from the opening sequence and is somewhat underwhelming.  Finally, Abbott and Garner give great performances individually but they lack chemistry together.  There are definitely issues but I enjoyed seeing a different approach to a well-known character and I would recommend this.

Little Women at HCT

Last night I went to see the musical Little Women at HCT and I loved it so much! The March sisters, Jo (Scout Smith), Meg (Kat Hawley Cook), Beth (Julia Bradford), and Amy (Olivia Shelton), come of age in Concord, Massachusetts during and after the Civil War. We first meet Jo when she is in New York City pursuing her dream of becoming a writer.  When Professor Bhaer (Landon Horton), another resident at her boardinghouse, tells her that she should write about what she knows rather than the sensational pieces she has been submitting to magazines, there are flashbacks to the trials and triumphs of her adolescence with her sisters and mother "Marmee" (Claire Kenny), her neighbor Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence (Weston Wright), his grandfather Mr. Lawrence (Mark Knowles), and her Aunt March (Jen Kroff). My favorite character from the novel by Louisa May Alcott has always been Jo because she is so fiery and independent and Smith perfectly embodies these qualities, especially in the scene where she rejects Laurie's proposal and in the scene where Aunt March tells she won't be going to Europe with her. She has a beautiful voice and she is incredibly powerful in "Astonishing" and "The Fire Within Me" and her emotional version of "Some Things Are Meant to Be" with Bradford had me in tears. However, I think my favorite moment came during "The Weekly Volcano Press" when she reads one of her sensational stories to Professor Bhaer as it is acted out by all of the other characters because she mouths the dialogue and pantomimes the action in a hilariously over the top performance. There are a lot of other memorable moments from the rest of the cast as well, including a heartfelt performance of "Here Alone" from Kenny, a moment of vulnerability from Knowles during "Off to Massachusetts," and a delightful version of "Take a Chance On Me" from Wright who is as irrepressible as a puppy (the girls sitting near me were very taken with him and eagerly read his bio aloud during intermission). The set, which rotates on a turntable to reveal the parlor in the March home on one side and the attic and various locations on the other side, is lovely and the staircases connecting the two areas are used in very innovative ways, particularly in the choreography for "Five Forever." I also really loved the projections of Jo's writing and Amy's paintings (watch the pages located on the proscenium arch very carefully before the show). Finally, the costumes are absolutely exquisite with beautifully embellished fabrics. My favorite is the dress Jo wears to Sallie Moffat's ball because it features gorgeous appliqued flowers (and a scorch mark in the back). I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful production and I am sure that fans of the classic novel will love it as much as I did. It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through May 3 and tickets may be purchased here but, as always, act quickly because many shows are sold out.

Utah Opera's Hansel and Gretel

Last night I went to see Utah Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel because it is an opera that I had never seen before.  Everything about this production is extremely well done but it just wasn't for me.  Hansel (Sarah Coit) and Gretel (Maureen McKay) are left alone in their cottage in the woods to make brooms and darn socks, respectively, but Hansel complains that he is hungry and there is nothing to eat so Gretel distracts him by getting him to dance with her.  Mother (Aubrey Adams-McMillan) comes home and is angry that they have not completed their work and, when she attempts to spank them, she breaks the jug containing the cream she was going to use to make rice pudding for their dinner.  She sends them out into the woods to gather strawberries as punishment and then despairs that she cannot feed her children.  Father (Gabriel Preisser) returns with a feast because he was able to sell his brooms to the wealthy who are cleaning for an upcoming festival.  They celebrate but Father becomes worried when he hears that the children are in the woods and tells Mother about the evil witch who turns children into gingerbread and then eats them.  After Hansel and Gretel encounter woodland creatures, they begin picking strawberries but, when they eat all of them, they realize that they can't go home without picking more but it gets dark and they get lost.  The Sandman (Sarah Scofield) visits them to help them go to sleep and, after saying a prayer, fourteen angels gather to protect them through the night.  In the morning a Dew Fairy (Stephanie Chee) wakes them up and they soon find a large house made of gingerbread.  Hansel is so hungry he begins nibbling on it and is caught by a witch (Freddie Ballentine).  She tries to lure them into her oven but they trick her and push her inside, instead.  They also rescue all of the gingerbread children who were trapped by the witch and bring them back to life before being reunited with their Mother and Father.  Coit and McKay have amazing voices, especially in the incredibly beautiful "Evening Benediction" before Hansel and Gretel go to sleep in the woods (it gave me goosebumps), and I really enjoyed their physical performances during the folk dances in Act 1 and when the witch controls their movements in Act 3.  Ballentine steals the show with his over the top comedic performance (but I would really love to see him in a dramatic role because I loved his voice) and the children (the dancers from Children's Ballet Theatre who portray the woodland animals and the angels and the Choristers of The Madeleine Choir School who portray the gingerbread children) are wonderful.  The sets and costumes are magical and the special effects are a lot of fun, particularly the broom that chases the witch across the stage.  The score by Engelbert Humperdinck, which incorporates folk music into its themes, is lovely.  However, with the exception of "Evening Benediction," I didn't find any of the songs particularly memorable and the story feels like a simple fairy tale that has been extended and embellished to make a full-length opera and it really drags in some places (I kept waiting for the witch to appear).  To be fair, I definitely prefer tragic operas to comedic ones so others may appreciate this more than I did.  It runs through January 26 and tickets may be purchased here.

Twilight Marathon

When I noticed that an inordinate number of my students were reading the same book with a distinctive black cover, I was really curious because getting them to read for pleasure was a hard sell and I wanted to know what had them all so enthralled.  I asked one of my classes and then immediately went to my computer to order a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  They all told me to order New Moon at the same time because I would definitely want to read it as soon as I was finished with Twilight but I decided to see if I liked it before ordering the next one.  The book came on a Friday and I ended up staying up all night to finish it (then drove to Barnes & Noble and waited an hour in the parking lot for it to open so I could get New Moon and pre-order Eclipse).  Since I enjoyed the books, I was really excited for each of the movies to come out and I saw all five of them at midnight screenings.  I have to admit that I love them and binge watching them is a guilty pleasure so, of course, I had to go to a Twilight marathon at the Megaplex with my sister Kristine yesterday.  We had so much fun at the Harry Potter marathon last summer so we were really excited for this one because it was considerably shorter (only 12 hours instead of 22).  The set-up at the theater was very similar to the Harry Potter marathon and, once again, I was really impressed with how organized everything was because checking in and ordering concessions was quick and easy despite the large crowd (six theaters were in use at the Legacy Crossing location). Our audience was very animated with lots of cheering whenever Jacob appears without a shirt (which is most of the time) and whenever Edward appears in the sun.  There was also a lot of laughing when the Quileutes turn into wolves and when we first see baby Renesmee (the CGI is admittedly pretty bad).  What I noticed most when watching these movies on the big screen again was how much I love the music, especially "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, "Decode" by Paramore, and "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine in Twilight, "Possibility" by Lykke Li and "Meet Me on the Equinox" by Death Cab for Cutie in New Moon, "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" by Muse in Eclipse, "From Now On" by The Features, "I Didn't Mean It" by The Belle Brigade, "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars, and "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri in Breaking Dawn Part One, and "The Forgotten" by Green Day in Breaking Dawn Part Two (I remembered the words to all of these songs even though I hadn't heard them in a long time).  I think I love these movies so much because they are a form of escapism and spending my Saturday escaping from the world was really fun (and much needed).  Kristine and I can't wait for the next marathon at the Megaplex (we are hoping for The Hunger Games).

Nickel Boys

I was very moved by Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Nickel Boys so I was eager to see the movie adaptation Nickel Boys by director RaMell Ross.  I was hoping that it would get a wider release after the fall film festivals and, luckily, it is now playing at the Broadway.  I had the chance to see it last night and the more I think about it the more I love it.  Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) is an idealistic Black teenager living in Tallahassee, Florida with his grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) during the era of segregation.  He is inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr. to participate in the Civil Rights Movement and by his history teacher Mr. Hill (Jimmie Fails) to enroll in college courses.  He is picked up by a man driving a stolen car while hitchhiking to campus and, when the man is pulled over by police, he is unjustly arrested as his accomplice.  Because he is a minor, he is sent to the reform school Nickel Academy where he befriends a cynical student named Turner (Brandon Wilson).  Elwood soon discovers that the academy is both cruel and corrupt after he is brutally whipped for defending a student who is being bullied and when he and other students are hired out as slave labor.  They come to suspect that a student has been executed and buried on the property but, when  Elwood wants to expose the academy to a visiting government inspector so that conditions will improve, Turner advises him to keep his head down.  He does not listen and is severely punished.  Many years later, Turner is inspired by Elwood to come forward after mass graves are discovered at the academy.  This features a non-linear structure and the narrative is told through the first person POVs of Elwood and Turner (the audience only sees what they see) with lots of archival footage of the Black experience during this time period interspersed in between.  It took me a little while to adjust to this but eventually something clicked and I realized that I was actually experiencing everything that the two characters do.  It was both visceral and powerful.  The images on the screen are hauntingly beautiful and the performances by Herisse and Wilson are incredibly compelling even if some of the scenes are difficult to watch.  I don't think I have ever seen anything like this before and I highly recommend it but I will say that those who have not read the book might not understand everything that is happening.