The Scarlet Pimpernel at Hopebox Theatre

One of my favorite novels when I was a teenager was The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (I also loved the movie starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews) so I am obviously a big fan of the stage adaptation. Last night I got to see it at the Hopebox Theatre and I was very impressed by the elaborate production. English aristocrat Percy Blakeney (Ricky Dowse) disguises himself as the Scarlet Pimpernel and recruits a band of followers to save his counterparts in France from the sinister Chauvelin (Dugan Brunker) and the guillotine during the French Revolution. He keeps his identity secret from his new wife Marguerite St. Just (Chrissy Andreasen), a Parisian actress, because he believes that she is helping Chauvelin, her former lover. He is also keeping his identity a secret from the Prince of Wales (Roger Brunker) by pretending to be a foppish nincompoop. His journeys to France are fraught with danger but he must make his most daring rescue when Marguerite is arrested trying to save her brother Armand (Porter Beesley). All three of the leads are fantastic and I loved their voices. Dowse is really entertaining as Percy and I laughed out loud at all of his dandified antics, especially his rendition of "The Creation of Man," but he is also very stirring in his performance of "Into the Fire" (my favorite song in the show) and quite affecting in "She Was There." Brunker is one of the best Chauvelins I've seen because his versions of "Falcon in the Dive" and "Where's the Girl" are incredibly passionate and his exasperation with Percy is a lot of fun. Andreasen is a lovely Marguerite and she sings "Storybook," "When I Look at You," and "I'll Forget You" beautifully and with a lot of emotion. The three of them also harmonize really well together in "The Riddle." The staging of the big musical numbers on such a small stage is extremely clever, especially "Into the Fire" because the boat used by the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel to travel from England to France appears suddenly from the rafters and the wings (I loved that Percy's boat is renamed Rachel's Resolve in honor of Rachel Rounds, the Wall of Hope recipient for this production, because it is such a touching detail), and the choreography is incredibly dynamic, particularly the integration of props (I loved the butterfly net and the cricket bat) in "Into the Fire" and "The Creation of Man" as well as the intricate patterns created by the dancers in "Ouilles Gavotte." This is a small community theatre but they really went all out with the costumes and set. Marguerite's gowns are gorgeous but the outfits worn by the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel take "frou frou" to the next level! The backdrop consists of marble archways and various set pieces for Marguerite's carousel at the Comédie-Française, Percy's study, the garden at the Bakeney estate, a prison, and the guillotine appear on stage by way of a turntable featuring a scarlet pimpernel. The guillotine is especially dramatic and a shadow effect used to show the drop of the blade is very effective. I had so much fun watching this show and I highly encourage everyone to get a ticket because, not only will you be entertained, you will be supporting a very worthwhile cause! It runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (with a Saturday matinee) through Nov. 1. Tickets may be purchased here but act quickly because most shows are either sold out or have limited availability (although there is a possibility that more shows will be added).

Anemone

I was thrilled when I learned that Daniel Day-Lewis was coming out of retirement to star in his son's directorial debut, Anemone, and I immediately wanted to see it.  My nephew and I finally had the opportunity at the Broadway last night but, unfortunately, we were both incredibly disappointed.  In fact, the more we talked about it, the more we disliked it.  Ray Stoker (Day-Lewis) was so traumatized by his experiences as a paramilitary officer in Northern Ireland in the 1960s that he left his wife Nessa (Samantha Morton) and infant son Brian to live in self-imposed exile in a remote cottage in the woods.  Now, many years later, Brian (Samuel Bottomley) is struggling after joining the military himself and fears that he will end up just like his father.  Nessa sends Jem (Sean Bean), Ray's estranged brother, to deliver a letter asking him to return and help his son.  Tensions are palpable when Jem arrives because there is a lot of unresolved conflict between the brothers, most notably the fact that Jem is now married to Nessa and has raised Brian, but Ray eventually achieves a reconciliation with his brother and the possibility of one with his son.  Day-Lewis is a compelling presence (and often a terrifying one) on screen during the many scenes of protracted silence but it is in two very powerful monologues, especially the one in which he finally reveals the incident that psychologically scarred him, that he really proves why he is one of the greatest actors of his generation.  Bean and Morton are also outstanding actors but they are not given much to do beyond reacting with stoicism or concern, respectively.  The cinematography featuring the surrounding landscape is beautiful and atmospheric but there are also lots of intricately composed shots that range from vaguely symbolic (I had no idea what many of them were meant to represent, especially the supernatural elements) to utterly pretentious.  Finally, even though the story is slight, the pacing is still extremely sluggish (at least 30 minutes could have been removed from the runtime) and it becomes very boring tedious watching similar scenes over and over again. I really wanted to like this because I am a big fan of Day-Lewis but I wouldn't recommend it.

TRON: Ares

Last night my nephew and I went to an early access screening of TRON: Ares in IMAX and I had so much fun watching it!  Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the CEO of Dillinger Systems, and Eve Kim (Greta Lee), the CEO of ENCOM, both have access to a generative laser that can reproduce digital structures in the real word.  Dillinger wants to militarize this technology, much to the dismay of his mother Elisabeth (Gillian Anderson) who wants to regain control of the company, and creates a highly sophisticated program known as Ares (Jared Leto) that can be used in battle while Kim wants to use it to solve world hunger and creates an orange tree.  However, the technology is in the early stages and anything created with it degenerates in 29 minutes.  Kim eventually finds a Permanence Code created by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), the former CEO of ENCOM, and Dillinger will do anything to get it from her.  He sends Ares and another program named Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) to the real world to capture the code but, when Kim destroys it, they bring her to the grid to extract it from her memory.  Complications ensue when Ares decides to ignore his directive and protect Kim and when Athena decides to do whatever is necessary to complete it.  When I walked into the theater, I was hoping for mind-blowing visuals, an epic score, a story that made sense, and a performance from Leto that wasn't too weird and I definitely got all of that!  We saw this in 3D and I absolutely loved all of the dynamic chase sequences, especially when Ares and Athena are trying to capture Kim in the real world and when Ares and Kim are trying to evade Athena in the digital world because the trails of light are absolutely dazzling, and the final confrontation between Ares and Athena because it is so striking to see the competing red and blue lights on their suits.  I also loved that when Dillinger hacks into the ENCOM server it is portrayed by having Ares and the rest of the programs physically break in to the digital structure.  I am a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails and the score is so propulsive that I could hardly take a breath.  I think the techno-synth music really emphasizes the tension between the digital world and the real world.  The story is so much better than I was expecting and I found the comparisons to Frankenstein, particularly when Ares rebels against his creator and discovers his humanity, to be very thought-provoking.  Finally, I really enjoyed the performances from everyone in the cast, especially Lee.  Leto is not my favorite actor but his surprisingly restrained delivery really works for the character and it often provides a bit of comic relief as Ares learns about the real world (I loved the running bit about his love for Depeche Mode).  This was everything I hoped it would be and I had an absolute blast watching it with my nephew!  I recommend it to fans of the franchise.

Good Boy

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Good Boy and I loved the message about the loyalty of dogs.  Todd (Shane Jensen) is suffering from chronic lung disease when he decides to move from New York City to the isolated house in the woods where his grandfather (Larry Fessenden) died and where his grandfather's dog Bandit (Max) disappeared.  When he arrives, his dog Indy (himself) immediately senses a presence and repeatedly tries to warn Todd about the danger.  As Todd's health worsens and his behavior becomes more erratic, especially towards Indy and his sister Vera (Arielle Friedman) who frequently calls to check on him, the presence becomes more malevolent and manifests itself as shadows, unexplained noises, the ghosts of Todd's grandfather and Bandit, and, eventually, a dark entity that stalks and then tries to consume Todd.  Indy must go to extraordinary lengths to protect him.  The story is told entirely from Indy's POV and this is an incredibly clever premise because, as someone who has spent a lot of time around dogs, I know that they can intuit things that their human owners cannot.  It is also quite ingenious because a dog is not necessarily a reliable narrator which allows the audience to interpret the goings-on in several different ways (I choose to see the presence as a metaphor for illness).  It is really scary at times (at one point I jumped out of my seat), with clever cinematography and atmospheric lighting that uses reflections and shadows very effectively as well as an incredibly unnerving sound design, but it is also very emotional because of how Indy's unconditional love for Todd is portrayed.  Finally, Indy gives a fantastic performance (I think he is a better actor than his human co-stars) that is very compelling.  I definitely recommend this to fans of horror (and dogs).

The Smashing Machine

Last night I went to the Broadway for a double feature (there are so many movies I want to see in October).  I started with The Smashing Machine because I love inspirational sports movies and I was really intrigued by Dwayne Johnson's physical transformation in the trailer.  Unfortunately, I found it very underwhelming despite an outstanding performance from Johnson.  Mark Kerr (Johnson) is an incredibly successful UFC fighter who has never lost a match but, for financial reasons, he also fights in the Pride Fighting Championships in Japan.  When he loses a fight against Igor Vovchanchyn (Oleksandr Usyk) in a controversial decision, he spirals into depression which is exacerbated by his worsening dependence on prescription and illegal drugs.  When he overdoses, his best friend and fellow fighter Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) convinces him to enter rehab.  He gets sober and begins training at a camp run by fellow fighter Bas Rutten (himself) in order to redeem himself at the next tournament in Japan but his dysfunctional relationship with his girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt) threatens his comeback.  Johnson completely disappears into this role (I thought it was the hair but he is still unrecognizable when his character shaves his head before a match) and gives the best performance of his career.  In the scene after his first loss in Japan you can see the coiled rage in his body as the camera follows him walking to the locker room and then you can see him release it when he breaks down crying once he is alone.  It is a very powerful moment and Johnson conveys everything that Kerr is feeling without any dialogue.  I also really liked the way the fighting scenes were filmed because we see most of the action through the ropes from the POV of a spectator.  However, I found the narrative itself to be somewhat pointless.  This is a mild spoiler so you may want to stop reading but the first act sets up a revenge match between Kerr and Vovchanchyn since the latter won on an illegal move and the second act sets up a match between close friends Kerr and Coleman (either would have created interest and tension) but neither of these matches happen.  The filmmakers also take great pains to portray Staples as toxic and there is an incredibly satisfying moment when Kerr finally realizes it but an end title says that they eventually reconcile and marry which lessens the impact of that scene.  I understand that the filmmakers wanted to highlight a fighter who impacted the future of his sport without a lot of recognition but, in my opinion, Kerr is not a compelling enough subject for a movie.  I recommend giving this a miss.