Nobody 2

I really liked Nobody so I was excited to see the sequel, Nobody 2, at a matinee yesterday.  It is not quite as good as the first movie but I enjoyed it.  Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is still going on missions for "The Barber" (Colin Salmon) to repay the debt he owes after burning the Russian mob's money and his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) feels that he is neglecting his family as a result.  He decides to take a break so he can take Becca, his son Brady (Gage Munroe), his daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), and his dad David (Christopher Lloyd) to the same amusement park in the small town of Plummerville that he once visited as a child with his dad and brother Harry (RZA).  Hutch eventually runs afoul of Abel (Colin Hanks), the corrupt sheriff, and Wyatt (John Ortiz), the owner of the amusement park who runs a bootlegging operation for the notorious crime boss Lendina (Sharon Stone).  He must ultimately break his promise to Becca to leave the violence behind in order to protect his family from Lendina's henchmen.  The non-stop action sequences, particularly those in an arcade, on a duck boat, and the final confrontation in a booby-trapped amusement park, are really fun, violent, and chaotic and I loved the use of ordinary objects in the fight choreography.  Odenkirk, once again, does most of his own stunts and he is very kick-ass in the role.  I enjoyed all of the humor, especially the needle drops because they are hilariously on the nose, but the villains are so ridiculously evil that it often verges on parody.  What is missing in this sequel is the novelty of an ordinary suburban dad who also happens to be an assassin.  In this version, an assassin tries to be an ordinary suburban dad and, in my opinion, it is not as compelling because it is not as unexpected.  I still had fun with it and fans of the genre will definitely love it.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at West Valley Arts

Last night I was absolutely thrilled that my performance of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the West Valley Performing Arts Center was completely sold out because I have long been a fan of this theatre and they are so deserving of this support, especially for this show! I have seen it many times over the years and I can honestly say that this production is my favorite! It is simply amazing and you should probably stop reading right now and get a ticket (if you can). Quasimodo (Taylor J. Smith) has been hidden by his uncle Frollo (Chase Petersen) in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral all of his life because of a deformity. However, he yearns to leave the cathedral and decides that the Feast of Fools would be the perfect opportunity to do so. He is eventually crowned the King of Fools but, when the crowd turns on him, he is rescued by the gypsy Esmeralda (Beatriz Melo). She also catches the eye of Phoebus de Martin (James Carter), the captain of the cathedral guard, and bewitches Frollo who becomes obsessed with possessing her. When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her but he refuses and they become fugitives. Quasimodo gives them sanctuary in the cathedral which forces a dramatic confrontation in the bell tower. I was blown away by the staging of certain scenes and by the performances of my favorite songs. The childlike wonder and yearning expressed by Smith in "Out There" and "Heaven's Light" is palpable and I was incredibly moved by his performance of both songs.  I really liked seeing the actual portrayal of the trauma experienced by Phoebus on the battlefield juxtaposed with his desire for a bit of fun in the staging of "Rest and Recreation." Melo's entrance in the song "Rhythm of the Tambourine" is very dramatic and she absolutely commands the stage with her singing and dancing. It is easy to see how Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Frollo would be captivated by Esmeralda and I loved seeing the three of them circling her at the end of this number. She gives another incredible vocal performance of my favorite song, "God Help the Outcasts" (it brought tears to my eyes), and I loved her tender interactions with Smith in "Top of the World." In the staging of "Hellfire," Frollo lies prostrate at a statue of the Virgin Mary (Sophia Morrill Mancilla) and this image is unbelievably powerful. Petersen has rich deep voice and does an outstanding job of portraying Frollo's torment in this scene and in the scene where Frollo expresses his love for Esmeralda (I was actually stunned by the physicality of his advances because it is more aggressive than I have ever seen before). The interactions between Quasimodo and Phoebus when they search for Esmeralda are quite amusing and provide a bit of comic relief before the emotional and heartbreaking performance of "Someday" by Melo and Carter.  I loved the way the gargoyles are portrayed by Emily Duncan, Soren Ray, and Scot Struble because they seem like real people who interact with Quasimodo, especially in the passionate performance of "Made of Stone." The staging of Quasimodo's rescue of Esmeralda from the pyre and Frollo's fall from the bell tower are very striking and I loved seeing Jehan (Roman Curiel) embrace Quasimodo and Florika (Sophia Morrill Mancilla) embrace Esmeralda during the final scene. The costumes and sets, especially the bell tower, the bells, and the rose window that appears in the final scene, are all some of the best I've seen from this theatre. Everything about this production is very special and I loved experiencing it with a large and appreciative crowd! I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the six remaining performances through August 30 (go here).

Freakier Friday

To be honest, I was not very excited about a sequel to Freaky Friday but I eventually decided to see Freakier Friday at a matinee yesterday and, to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed it.  Twenty-two years after Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) swapped bodies, Anna is now a single mother to Harper (Julia Butters) with lots of support from Tess and has a job as the manager of a pop star named Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan).  When she becomes engaged to British chef Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto), both his daughter Lily (Sophia Hammons) and Harper, who have had several confrontations at school, are against the marriage.  On the night of Anna's bachelorette party, all four of them get their palms read by Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer) and this leads to a four-way swap.  Tess and Anna swap with Lily and Harper, respectively, and mayhem ensues as Lily and Harper try to stop the wedding by reviving Anna's relationship with her high school boyfriend Jake (Chad Michael Murray) and by disrupting an immigration interview for Eric.  Lily and Harper ultimately discover that they are more alike than they are different and that their parents truly love and belong with each other and this realization returns everyone to their own bodies.  There was not a lot for Butters as Anna and Hammons as Tess to do but there are some fun scenes where they rebel during detention (I loved the cameo by Stephen Tobolowsky), ride scooters, and eat as much junk food as they can.  However, Lohan as Harper and Curtis as Lily are absolutely hilarious and so much fun to watch, especially when Curtis attempts to play pickleball and gets lip filler for a passport photo and when Lohan goes to a dance lesson and tries to flirt, but there are also some really poignant moments when they acknowledge that they were wrong, particularly about how much their parents love them.  The two of them have a palpable chemistry with each other and look like they are having a blast in their return to these iconic roles.  The plot does get really convoluted, particularly the subplot involving Ella (although, without it we wouldn't have the reunion of Pink Slip performing "Take Me Away" on stage), with too many characters (many actors are reprising their roles from the first movie).  I also wish that Hammons and Curtis would have switched their British and American accents because I think it would have made their swap easier to follow since their characterizations don't really match.  These criticisms didn't really detract from my enjoyment and I liked this a lot more than I was expecting.

Shrek the Musical at Hopebox Theatre

I was really happy to see Shrek the Musical at Hopebox Theatre last night because it is such a fun show and it is for a very worthwhile cause! Shrek (Gregory Harrison) is an ogre just minding his own business when his swamp is invaded by the Fairytale Creatures banished from Duloc by Lord Farquaad (Justin L. Cook). After some encouragement from Pinocchio (Ace Johnston), he decides to visit Farquaad himself to get his swamp back. Along the way, he saves Donkey (Lance McDaniel) from Farquaad's guards and they end up traveling to Duloc together. Farquaad agrees to give Shrek back his swamp if he rescues Princess Fiona (Dusti Mulder) from a tower guarded by fire-breathing Dragon (Kaylee Echeverria) so he can marry her and become King. Donkey distracts Dragon so Shrek can rescue Fiona but chaos ensues on the way back to Duloc when Shrek develops feelings for Fiona. I was very impressed with the talented cast because everyone gives a performance that will put a smile on your face. Harrison is great in the title role because he is very charismatic but he also shows a lot of vulnerability behind the gruff exterior, especially in the songs "Who I'd Be," "When Words Fail," and "Build a Wall." McDaniel is so much fun as Donkey because his energetic physical performance is hilarious (I laughed out loud at his pole dance in "Make a Move"). Mulder has a beautiful voice and I particularly enjoyed her versions of "I Know It's Today" with Lizzie Abercrombie as Young Fiona and Everleigh Jensen as Teen Fiona (they harmonize so well together) and "This is How a Dream Comes True" with Harrison and McDaniel but I also enjoyed her physical performance in "I Think I Got You Beat" and "Morning Person" because her comedic timing is spot on. I loved Echeverria as Dragon because she can really sing the blues and her rendition of "Forever" is definitely a highlight. However, Cook steals the show as Farquaad because I don't think I stopped laughing whenever he was on stage! I especially loved seeing him dangle his tiny legs from his tower in "What's Up Duloc," ride in on a rocking horse to meet Fiona for the first time (when he dismounted from the rocking horse, it accidentally rolled away from him and his ad-libs had the crowd in hysterics), and walk down the flower-strewn aisle to his wedding. The ensemble is also very strong and I enjoyed the colorful costumes and lively choreography in "Story of My Life" and "Freak Flag." An honorable mention goes to Johnston as Pinocchio because their performance is very heartfelt. I am always impressed with how well the small space is utilized and for this show the stage features a series of steps configured to look like forest that revolve to become Farquaad's castle and the Dragon's keep with Shrek's swamp on one side of the stage and Fiona's tower on the other.  I had such a great time watching this show and I encourage everyone to get a ticket because not only will you be entertained but you will also be supporting the mission of Hopebox Theatre which is to bring hope to families battling cancer through the performing arts (go here to meet the inspiring recipient for this show). It runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (including a Saturday matinee) through September 6 and tickets may be purchased here.

The Bad Guys 2

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed The Bad Guys so I decided to see the sequel last night as part of my double feature at the Megaplex.  The plot is a little bit silly and farfetched but it is funny and I loved the dynamic animation.  The Bad Guys, including Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), are finding it difficult to fit into society after giving up their criminal ways so, on the advice of Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz), they attempt to help the newly promoted police commissioner Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein) capture the Phantom Bandit.  However, they soon realize that the Phantom Bandit is really a criminal gang of Bad Girls, including a snow leopard named Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks), a raven named Doom (Natasha Lyonne), and a wild boar named Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova), who eventually blackmail them into helping with one final caper.  They steal a smartwatch that controls the MOON-X rocket from the billionaire inventor Mr. Moon (Colin Jost) so the Bad Girls can hijack it to use a substance known as MacGuffinite (this Alfred Hitchcock reference made me laugh out loud) to steal the world's gold from space.  Will the Bad Guys choose the allure of power offered by the Bad Girls and join them or will they choose to be respected rather than feared and stop them?  The story is surprisingly convoluted for an animated movie for children but it has a great message about not being defined by past mistakes and there are a lot of hilarious references to each animal's defining characteristics (I laughed out loud again when Mr. Snake accuses another character of being duplicitous).  I really enjoyed the vivid animation, particularly in the action sequences (which pay homage to the Mission: Impossible franchise and other heist movies).  My favorite scenes include a high-speed chase through the streets of Cairo after stealing a car and a stealthy infiltration into a high security society wedding.  The voice cast is outstanding with the back and forth banter between Rockwell and Brooks as the highlight.  I enjoyed The Bad Guys 2 and I recommend it to fans of the first movie.