A House of Dynamite

The second movie in the double feature at the Broadway with my nephew last night was A House of Dynamite and it is incredibly tense and thought-provoking if ultimately anti-climactic.  The launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from an unknown country is shown from three different perspectives.  The first perspective introduces the threat as Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) and his team at Fort Greely in Alaska first detect the missile heading inbound to the United States on radar and attempt, unsuccessfully, to neutralize it with anti-ballistic missiles and as Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), the senior  officer in the White House situation room, and her team assess the danger to the population and inform all high-ranking government officials.  The second perspective proposes possible responses as General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts), the senior military officer at STRATCOM (the United States Strategic Command), advocates for nuclear retaliation against all known enemies and as Jake Bearington (Gabriel Basso), the Deputy National Security Officer, urges caution after contacting Ana Park (Greta Lee), the NSA's North Korea expert, and the Russian Foreign Minister (Andrei Kouznetsov).  The third perspective conveys the weight of making an impossible decision as the POTUS (Idris Elba) consults with Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris) and Presidential Military Aide Lieutenant Commander Robert Reeves (Jonah Hauer-King) in order to choose between several devastating options.  One of the things I found most compelling is how the narrative humanizes the characters who are responsible for keeping the country safe, often at the expense of their own families, especially when Walker tearfully advises her husband (Neal Bledsoe) to take their son (Nicholas Monterosso) and drive as far away as possible, when Baker calls his estranged daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) after he realizes that she lives in the targeted city, and when the POTUS calls the First Lady (Renee Elise Goldsberry), who is visiting Africa, to ask her opinion.  However, this is also extremely disconcerting because we see that these very human individuals tasked with keeping us safe are also fallible and are the weakest link in elaborate contingency plans. The action is frenetic as the camera shifts from person to person in the large ensemble cast and the suspense is almost unbearable as the countdown to impact is shown three different times with an unsettling score.  I was on the edge of my seat until the ending which I found very disappointing (I may or may not have uttered an expletive under my breath) even though it is probably the only way it could have ended.  I would recommend seeing this in the theater because it is a visceral experience but it will be available on Netflix beginning October 24.

Orwell: 2+2=5

My nephew was very eager to see Orwell: 2+2=5 so it was the first in a double feature at the Broadway last night.  It is an incredibly insightful (and deeply upsetting) look at the life and writings of George Orwell that is, unfortunately, very relevant in the world today.  It takes a nonlinear approach to show how his life experiences informed his world view and his work, most notably Nineteen Eighty-Four, with Damian Lewis narrating as the voice of the author.  Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote under the pen name George Orwell, was born into what he called the lower-upper-middle-class in which he felt his status very keenly, especially while at Eton, and came to abhor social classes.  His family was unable to afford university and his marks were not good enough for a scholarship so he joined the police force in what was then Burma.  He saw first hand the oppression of the powerless by the British and developed a hatred for imperialism.  He eventually volunteered to fight against Franco's military uprising during the Spanish Civil War where he experienced the evils of fascism and totalitarianism and also worked for the BBC for a time during World War II but resigned after observing media manipulation.  He began writing as a way to call attention to these issues.  The documentary then highlights the themes of Nineteen Eighty-Four by reiterating the motto of Oceania (War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength) and then applying it to the global situation today by highlighting the military invasions of Iraq, Ukraine, and Palestine; the growing income inequality around the world; and the spread of misinformation, anti-intellectualism, AI, and book banning.  For me the most chilling motif, shown multiple times with footage from the various movie adaptations of Nineteen Eight-Four, is when the protagonist Winston is forced to agree that 2+2=5 during his interrogation because I think that people have willingly abandoned what they know to be true in favor of what is expedient in our current political climate.  As distressing as this is to watch, it does end with the belief that people will not abandon their common decency and will eventually heed Orwell's warnings.  I think this is an important documentary for everyone to see and I highly recommend it.

The Addams Family at Draper Historic Theatre

I haven't been to the Draper Historic Theatre since I went with my cousins Emily and Julie to see Once Upon a Mattress in 2009! I returned last night for a production of The Addams Family because is it even October if you don't see this show? I had so much fun (even though I thought it started at 7:30 instead of 7:00 and barely made it after having to park two blocks away). The Addams family is not like other families because they are all obsessed with death and the macabre and rely on their dead ancestors to help them through life. Complications ensue when Wednesday (Olivia Lane) falls in love with Lucas Beineke (Elijah Carillo), a normal Midwestern boy, and wants to introduce his uptight parents, Mal (Jonathan Saul) and Alice (Ayssa Powers), to her father Gomez (Brett Lyman), her mother Morticia (Beth Weber), her brother Pugsley (Kai Sanders), her uncle Fester (Keith Nielson), her Grandma (Laura Shipp), and her family's manservant Lurch (Cameron Hess). She arranges a dinner and begs her family for one normal night but, of course, things go wrong when a mishap involving a poisonous potion occurs during a game of Full Disclosure. It is up to Uncle Fester, with the help of the ancestors, to convince everyone that love is the answer! The cast is fantastic because everyone is perfectly suited to their role! Lyman and Weber have some hilarious interactions with each other and I especially loved their version of "Tango de Amor" because Weber is at least a foot taller than Lyman so their lifts and dips are highly amusing! Lane has both the look (I love that she sports Wednesday's signature braids) and the voice for this iconic character and her renditions of "Pulled" and "Crazier Than You" are really powerful and were the highlights of the show for me. Sanders is adorable as Pugsley (he sings "What If" with a lot of emotion) and Hess is an absolute hoot as Lurch (he is so perfect for the role that he doesn't even wear platform shoes). I also really enjoyed Carillo (he reminded me of the actor George MacKay) because he is endearingly awkward. The choreography is a lot of fun and I liked how the ancestors are integrated, especially in "When You're an Addams," "One Normal Night," "But Love," "Secrets," "Full Disclosure," "Just Around the Corner," and "The Moon and Me" (another highlight of the show). I was really impressed with the costumes and I don't know which I liked more: Gomez's burgundy velvet smoking jacket, Morticia's slinky black lace gown, or Wednesday's black jumper and white blouse. The costumes for the ancestors are also quite elaborate with lots of quirky details to enhance the characterization (I loved the hoop skirt for Marie Antoinette). Finally, the set is minimal but very effective. The stage is configured as a spooky graveyard in the woods with simple pieces brought on stage (my favorites were Gomez's collection of Medieval torture devices) and projections for various rooms in the Addams mansion. I recommend this as a fun show to see with the whole family for Halloween (go here for tickets). It runs on various days through Oct. 30.

Note: I will definitely be back for their production of Elf The Musical because is it even December if you don't see this show?

Kiss of the Spider Woman

I was absolutely blown away by Kiss of the Spider Woman when I saw it at Sundance this year so I was really excited to see it again with my sister Kristine last night.  I loved it just as much, if not more, upon a second viewing!  During a brutal military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1980s, Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a flamboyantly gay window dresser, is jailed for public indecency and placed in the same cell as a political dissident named Valentin Arregui (Diego Luna).  The Warden (Bruno Bichir) offers Molina early parole if he can get Valentin to reveal important information about his revolutionary activities but this seems unlikely as the two of them take an immediate disliking to each other.  However, the bleak conditions in the prison prompt Molina to begin describing his favorite movie musical starring Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez) as a way to escape their circumstances and they soon form an unlikely bond.  As the musical comes vividly to life in technicolor, Molina starts to feel conflicted about betraying Valentin as life imitates art.  As a huge fan of movie musicals, I love that the characters use the genre as a way to escape from reality and as inspiration and I love all of the old Hollywood musicals that are referenced in the big production numbers (especially An American in Paris, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Singin' in the Rain).  I love the bright and effervescent color palette and the dynamic choreography, especially when juxtaposed with the drab and dreary scenes in the prison, because it really emphasizes the fantasy even if the songs themselves are largely forgettable.  Lopez is brilliant in a role that was made for her and I particularly enjoyed her singing and dancing in "Gimme Love" because she is dazzling. Luna is more subdued but I liked his sensitive portrayal of Valentin’s arc of learning how to love.  I was most impressed with Tonatiuh because he steals the show with an incredibly nuanced performance that is both tender and powerful and his rendition of "She's a Woman" is beautiful.  This might not be for everyone because there are some dark themes but, ultimately, it is about the transformative power of art and I highly recommend it.

Roofman

I have been looking forward to Roofman ever since I saw the first trailer so my nephew and I went to see it with a big Saturday night crowd.  It is funny but it is also much more poignant than I was expecting and I really liked it.  Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) is at loose ends and estranged from his wife and children after being discharged from the military.  He is especially upset at not being able to give his children everything they want so, after observing the routines and schedules of a local McDonald's restaurant, he breaks in through the roof at night and surprises the early morning shift in order to rob the safe. He continues until he is eventually caught and sentenced to prison but, once again, he exploits the routines and schedules to escape.  He takes refuge in a Toys "R" Us store while he waits for his friend, and fellow soldier, Steve (LaKeith Stanfield) to procure him the necessary documents to leave the country.  However, Steve is deployed and will not be back for six months so he creates a more permanent hiding place behind a display.  He figures out how to stop the CCTV cameras from recording, roams the store at night, subsists on peanut M&Ms, and washes in the employee bathroom but he gets bored so he sets up baby monitors around the store so he can observe the employees.  He surreptitiously intervenes when Mitch (Peter Dinklage), the ill-mannered manager of the store, refuses to accommodate a scheduling request from Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst) and this eventually leads to a relationship with her and her two daughters, Lindsay (Lily Collias) and Dee (Kennedy Moyer).  When Steve returns and provides his documents, his relationship with Leigh wreaks havoc on his plans for escape.  Tatum gives an outstanding performance, one of his very best, and he handles both the humor and the pathos with a deftness that is sometimes difficult to achieve.  He is so charismatic that you root for him to succeed even though what he is doing is wrong and I really liked his arc as he discovers that people just need love rather than things.  I appreciated the deliberate development of his relationship with Leigh, even if the action does get a bit bogged down towards the end, because it provides a compelling motivation for his actions.  Dunst is also outstanding (she has tremendous chemistry with Tatum) and Dinklage is an amusing villain.  I thought that I would probably enjoy this but I am surprised by just how much I liked it.  I highly recommend it!