Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen in general and of the novel Pride and Prejudice in particular so you might think that a contemporary novel which combines the classic tale about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy with the undead would be unappealing to me.  You would be wrong!  I think the novel by Seth Grahame Smith is brilliant because it is a clever parody (I actually think the zombies are just a metaphor for the social conventions Austen pokes fun of in her novels) but the integrity of the original story is maintained.  I have eagerly been anticipating the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for months and I had the chance to see it yesterday with my sisters, my brother-in-law, my niece and my nephew.  They loved it.  I, however, could not have been more disappointed.  The movie begins so well.  Lily James and Sam Riley are perfect as the fiercely independent Elizabeth and the brooding, yet handsome, Darcy.  Matt Smith practically steals the show as the ridiculous Mr. Collins (I laughed and laughed at the scene with him dancing at the Netherfield ball) and I loved Lena Headey (and her eye patch) as the warrior version of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.  The first half of the movie is a hilarious spoof, following the book faithfully.  I especially enjoyed seeing the Bennett sisters tucking their weapons into their garters as they get ready for the Netherfield ball, seeing Mr. Darcy shoot the head off a zombie who is talking to Elizabeth, and seeing Jane (Bella Heathcote) fighting zombies while traveling to Netherfield for tea with Miss Bingley.  In my opinion, it is perfect.  Then, mid-way through the movie, a completely new storyline involving Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston) is introduced, turning the movie into an epic battle for England against the zombies.  It becomes just like every zombie movie you have ever seen before and it is not even particularly well done.  From this point forward, the plot of the book is completely ignored.  Charlotte (Aisling Loftus) does not become one of the undead, Elizabeth does not visit Pemberley (the turning point of the novel), Lydia (Ellie Bamber) does not elope with Wickham, Elizabeth does not fight a duel with Lady Catherine (what I was most looking forward to), and Elizabeth and Darcy do not fight against a horde of zombies after their engagement.  In fact, the two main couples get together at the end of the movie almost as an afterthought.  The only reason Elizabeth falls in love with Darcy is because he is a great zombie killer but he was a great zombie killer at the beginning of the movie.  There is no character arc whatsoever!  Ugh!  With a perfect cast, gorgeous costumes, atmospheric locations, and great fighting sequences, this movie could have been so great with a decent screenplay.  Instead, it turns into third-rate zombie apocalypse movie.  Don't waste your money.

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Last night's Utah Symphony concert featured guest conductor Jun Markl.  I have seen him before and I find him to be wildly entertaining because he is incredibly enthusiastic, to say the least!  I loved watching him leap around the podium!  I also really enjoyed the music!  The orchestra began with the Overture to Der Freischiitz by Carl Maria von Weber.  I must confess that I knew nothing about this piece but I enjoyed it because it was very atmospheric and moody.  Then the brilliant Stefan Jackiw joined the orchestra for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.  I was blown away by his dazzling performance of this piece which I found to be incredibly beautiful with moments of both sadness and joy.  All of my attention was riveted on Jackiw as his bow flew over the strings!  It was an incredible performance and the audience rewarded it with a rousing standing ovation!  I am so glad that I got to experience it.  After the intermission, the concert continued with Stravinsky's Petrushka and I really enjoyed the themes played by the solo flute, the brass, and the solo piano.  It was so dramatic!  This was followed by the "Ritual Fire Dance" from El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla and I thought it was very passionate and stirring!  While I certainly enjoyed the second half of the concert, I would highly recommend that you get a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance for a chance to hear Jackiw play so magnificently.  You absolutely do not want to miss it!

Note:  By the way, have you seen the sneak preview of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera 2016-2017 Season?  I couldn't be more excited!  So many of my favorite Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Mussorgsky, are being performed plus Mozart's Requiem and Don Giovanni! Squeal!

The Producers

Last night I had the opportunity to see the musical The Producers and I could not stop laughing!  I have seen this show several times before so I have been looking forward to its return to SLC ever since the Broadway in Utah 2015-2016 Season was announced!  Max Bialystock has just had one of the biggest flops on Broadway (Funny Boy, a musical version of Hamlet).  When his mild-mannered accountant, Leo Bloom, tells him that he could actually make more money with a flop than a hit, the two of them team up to produce the biggest flop Broadway has ever seen!  Their plan is simple:  all they need to do is find the worst play ever written, Springtime for Hitler, hire the worst director in town, Roger "Keep it Gay" De Bris, and hire the worst actors in New York, most notably, a blond bombshell from Sweden named Ulla.  Max raises two million dollars to finance the show by shtupping every little old lady with a checkbook in New York and they begin holding rehearsals. Of course, the show is a huge hit and instead of running away to Rio, Max and Leo end up in Sing Sing (where they produce the show Prisoners of Love).  It is completely over the top with jokes about Hitler, Nazis, women, and homosexuals that are so tasteless that they are hilarious!  David Johnson and Richard LaFleur are great as Max and Leo, respectively, but in my opinion Thomas Slater, as the fanatical playwright of Springtime for Hitler, and John B. Ross, as the flamboyant director, steal the show!  My favorite moments were "Der Guten Tag Clop-Hop" (especially the pigeons), the aforementioned "Keep It Gay," and "Heil Myself," complete with tap dancing brown-shirts!  I really loved it and I definitely recommend it for a fun night out.  It runs at Capitol Theatre through Feb. 7 and tickets may be purchased here.

Anomalisa

I have been so intrigued by this movie and I finally had the opportunity to see it last night.  Anomalisa is a brilliant tale about loneliness and existential angst using stop-motion animation.  Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis) is a motivational speaker who has traveled to Cincinnati for a conference.  We see him painfully avoid conversations with a seatmate on a flight, with a cab driver, with the bellboy at his hotel, and even with his wife and son during an awkward phone call.  He is so lonely that, in a fit of desperation, he arranges a rendezvous with a former girlfriend that ends in disaster.  Then he meets Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh), a sales-rep who has splurged on this conference just for the chance to meet Michael.  Even though she is plain and unsophisticated, he sees her as a breath of fresh air in his dismal life, the one person he has been waiting his whole life to meet, and invites her up to his hotel room (for one of the most interesting sex scenes you will ever see involving puppets).  He feels a deep connection and actually proposes that they run away together but, eventually, she becomes like everyone else and he ends up returning home to his boring life in Los Angeles.  One of the most intriguing aspects of this movie is that every character, other than Michael and Lisa, has the same voice (Tom Noonan) which highlights why Lisa is so special to Michael, an "anomaly" if you will.  When Michael becomes disenchanted with Lisa, her voice becomes Noonan's as well.  At first I found the use of one voice for all of the minor characters to be disconcerting but it ends up being an incredibly powerful device.  It is a beautiful and heartbreaking commentary on our desire for human connection that I haven't been able to stop thinking about.  I highly recommend it with the proviso that it might not be for everyone (the aforementioned sex scene is quite graphic).

The Finest Hours

One of the things I love most about living in my new house is that I am now close enough to my family to participate in their spontaneous dinner and a movie nights!  Last night we saw The Finest Hours which I might not necessarily have seen on my own.  I'm glad my sister suggested it because I ended up really enjoying it.  The movie tells the real-life story of a 1952 Coast Guard rescue operation which saved 32 men from a tanker that had split in two during a massive winter storm off Cape Cod and to say that it is intense would be an understatement.  There are so many elements which contribute to the tension.  The engineer on board the damaged SS Pendleton, Raymond Sybert (Casey Affleck), is an antisocial introvert who must take control of the survivors amidst vocal opposition from a few who want to launch a lifeboat.  Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana), the commanding officer of the Coast Guard station, is perceived as an outsider who doesn't understand the treacherous weather and his decision to send a crew is perceived by many as a suicide mission.  Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), the captain appointed to lead the rescue operation, is tormented by his previous failure to save another vessel and takes many risks, including continuing on even after the compass has been destroyed.  Adding to the suspense is the fact that the majority of the Coast Guard's available resources have already been deployed to help another crippled tanker leaving only a small wooden lifeboat to transport 32 survivors.  I was on the edge of my seat!  The only storyline that didn't really work for me was the framing device depicting the romance between Bernie and Miriam (Holliday Grainger) and her efforts to get the mission called back.  In fact, I was less engaged whenever the story moved from the sea back to land, but the incredible special effects at sea, both practical and CGI, definitely kept me riveted to the screen, especially when the small lifeboat crashed through the waves.  The cinematography is so immersive that I sometimes felt like the waves were crashing into me!  Pine, in an uncharacteristically low-key role, and Affleck give great performances which drew me in and made me care about their plight (my Mom covered her eyes whenever they were in peril).  This is a typical man overcoming the elements movie but I would recommend it for the compelling story, great special effects, and affecting performances.

Sundance Film Festival 2016

This year at the Sundance Film Festival I had the opportunity to see sixteen films in nine days in five venues and I would say that I had an even greater experience than last year!  I loved every minute!  A week ago last Saturday I saw Maggie's Plan at the Grand Theatre and it was really funny!  A woman (Greta Gerwig) decides that she wants to have a baby and devises a plan to do it.  However, she soon falls in love with a married man (Ethan Hawke) and realizes that you can't plan love.  This is a typical offbeat Greta Gerwig comedy and I really enjoyed it, especially the hilarious supporting cast: Julianne Moore, Maya Rudolph, and Bill Hader.  Later that night I drove to Ogden (which is not as far away as it used to be now that I live in Bountiful) to see The Lobster.  This was the strangest film I saw at Sundance but I admit that it is pretty intriguing.  In a dystopian future everyone who is not married by a certain age must report to a hotel for 45 days to find a match or be turned into an animal of his or her choice.  David (Colin Farrell), recently divorced, enters the hotel and goes through the motions of finding a mate (in some hilarious scenes) but soon escapes to join the "singles" who are frequently hunted down by the hotel guests.  Ironically, the "singles" have even stricter rules, especially against coupling, and, of course, David finds his soulmate (Rachel Weiss).  It is a fascinating indictment against social norms, but it's pretty weird. Sunday morning I was back at the Grand for a documentary about Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper called Nothing Left Unsaid.  I really enjoy documentaries about interesting people and this one was very well done (as were all of the documentaries I saw at Sundance this year).  Vanderbilt's story of notoriety and heartbreak is told through her art and I thought it was an effective device.  Anderson Cooper was there to conduct the Q & A after the screening, to my delight, and he was charming and quite funny.  Later that evening I saw Love & Friendship, which was one of my most coveted tickets because it is based on a Jane Austen novella called Lady Susan.  For those of you who don't know this, I love Jane Austen!  Recently widowed and penniless, Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) schemes to marry off her daughter to a foolish, but wealthy, man and to marry the eligible brother of her sister-in-law.  It is an engaging comedy of manners with a fabulous cast, especially Tom Bennett who steals the show as the dim-witted Sir James.  I also loved the the introductions of the dramatis personae with fish-eye close-ups and amusing character descriptions.  So much fun!  Monday night I drove up to the Sundance Mountain Resort to see the documentary Weiner.  Filmmaker Josh Kriegman had unprecedented access to Anthony Weiner as the embattled politician attempted a comeback run as New York mayor.  Just when it looks like he has a chance of winning the nomination, another sexting scandal, similar to the one which forced him to resign from Congress, erupts which causes his campaign to derail while the cameras continue to roll.  It is a fascinating look at politics today, where every move is choreographed.  I especially loved when Weiner practices different inflections of "...and for that I am profoundly sorry."  Good stuff!  Tuesday morning I took a group of my students to see The Fits at the Rose Wagner Theatre.   Toni (Royalty Hightower) is an eleven year old tomboy who trains to be a boxer with her brother at a local community center.  One day she watches a drill team practicing and eventually decides to join.  It is a powerful story about identity and fitting in and my students loved it (so did I).  That night I drove back to Ogden to see Manchester by the Sea which was another highly coveted ticket.  Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a janitor/handyman in Boston who is clearly tormented.  When he receives the news that his brother has died, he returns to his hometown for the funeral and learns that he has been appointed as guardian to his nephew (Lucas Hedges) which leaves him reeling.  He does not want to stay because he is constantly reminded of a tragedy that occurred, which is revealed through perfectly timed flashbacks, and his nephew doesn't want to leave his life.  What I loved about this movie, aside from the brilliant performances, is that, while there is a sort of resolution, there isn't a happy ending where Lee's grief is magically abated.  This film is definitely my favorite of the festival.  Wednesday night I was back in Ogden for Little Men, which I thought was a lovely little gem.  When Jake's (Theo Taplitz) grandfather dies, his family moves back to Brooklyn to live in his grandfather's apartment.  A single mother from Chile runs the shop downstairs, paying significantly less rent than market value.  Her son Tony (Michael Barbieri) befriends the shy Jake and their friendship deepens as their parents battle over rent.  The boys give very affecting performances, especially Barbieri, and I really enjoyed it.  Thursday night I had a double feature at the Rose Wagner beginning with Certain Women.  It is a tale of three desperately sad and lonely women living in Montana who search for a connection.  Laura (Laura Dern) is a lawyer whose client will not accept that he doesn't have a Worker's Compensation case.  She spends all of her time trying to help him, eventually even visiting him in prison.  Gina (Michelle Williams), emotionally estranged from her husband and daughter, is obsessed with building a vacation house in the wilderness and badgers a family friend to give her the sandstone on his property.  A nameless ranch hand (Lily Gladstone) with nothing to do follows a group of people into a school for an adult education class on school law taught by a lawyer (Kristen Stewart) who lives hundreds of miles away.  She becomes fascinated by the lawyer and attends the class every night with the hope of talking to her afterwards at the local diner.  It is simultaneously beautiful and depressing and I can't get the scene where Gina's family is inside a tent eating dinner while she sits outside staring at the pile of sandstone out of my mind.  Some of my friends met me for Lovesong next.  A frazzled young mother (Riley Keough) who feels neglected by her husband goes on a road trip with Mindy (Jena Malone), her best friend from college.  Their feelings deepen for each other and they begin an affair.  Three years later they must deal with their feelings before Mindy gets married.  It is very intense, particularly a scene where the women look at each other while on a Ferris wheel.  Friday night I had another double feature, this time back at the Grand Theatre.  The documentary Gleason follows Steve Gleason, a former NFL football player, from his diagnosis with ALS to the present.  It began as a video journal to his unborn son and turned into a triumphant story about living life to the fullest!  It is very powerful and his wife, Michel Varisco, was there for a powerful Q & A.  Next up (it is quite amusing to walk out of a movie and get right back in line for another one) was The Intervention which is hilarious!  A group of friends plan a weekend getaway to stage a marriage intervention for Ruby and Peter (Cobie Smulders and Vincent Piazza) unbeknownst to them.  In the process, each of them must deal with their own problems.  Melanie Lynskey is absolutely brilliant in this film and I laughed and laughed (which was good after crying through Gleason).  Saturday was a full day at the festival with three screenings at three different venues!  First was Newtown, a documentary about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, at the Rose Wagner.  It follows the lives of three families who lost children that day and how the tragedy impacted the entire community.  I cried so hard that I had to find Kleenex in my bag and the woman sitting next to me asked for some, too.  One of the mothers was there for the Q & A which was also very moving.  Next was Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny at the Broadway.  This documentary follows Richard Linklater, one of my favorite directors, as a Hollywood outsider who makes movies on his own terms with discussions about all of his movies from Slacker to Boyhood (which I think is a masterpiece).  I really enjoyed it.  Finally, I saw Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall with my sister Marilyn at the Grand.  Marilyn loves Michael Jackson and I'm so glad that we were able to see it (another very coveted ticket).  Spike Lee focuses on Michael Jackson's transition from a member of the Jackson 5 to a solo artist with archival footage and interviews with those who were there.  I know that most people view Thriller as Jackson's masterpiece but I have always really loved Off the Wall because it is brilliant (I had a copy on vinyl when I was in Jr. High) and it is before he became so weird.  Marilyn loved it and so did I.  Yesterday was my final screening at Sundance!  I saw Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures at the Rose Wagner.  This documentary explores the scandalous life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and his controversial photographs.  I found it to be fascinating but it is not for everyone (in fact, it was the only film that required ID to enter).  Once again, I loved talking to people about film (and, occasionally, snowshoeing) while standing in line.  I had a conversation with a guy from Florida about all the films we had seen at the festival (most notably, The Lobster) which turned into an epic discussion about Wes Anderson.  Talking to people who are just as passionate about the things that I am makes me come alive!  It was a wonderful nine days and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Sundance Student Screening 2016

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to take some of my students to see the film The Fits as part of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.  Every year the Sundance Institute, through the support of generous donors such as the Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation and the Zoo, Arts, and Parks (ZAP) Program, provides free tickets for high school students to experience the power of independent film and I've been taking my students since 2010.  I think this is such a great opportunity!  Even though arranging a field trip can be a bit daunting, being able to share my passion for independent film with my students makes it so worthwhile!  My students absolutely loved the film (so did I) and, because it had a very ambiguous ending, they have been talking about it ever since the screening!  In fact, the entire theatre (filled with high school students) erupted when the screen went black at the end of the film!  One of my favorite aspects of the Sundance Film Festival is having a Q & A with the filmmakers (and sometimes cast members) after the screening.  Royalty Hightower, who gave an absolutely incredible performance, was there for the Q & A much to the delight of the audience.  Many of my students were able to get pictures with her!  It was an incredible experience and I am very grateful to the Sundance Institute for the opportunity they give to my students!  (A full wrap-up of my Sundance experience is coming soon).

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Note:  I was interviewed by The Salt Lake Tribune a few years ago about my experiences taking my students to the Sundance Film Festival.  Go here to read it.

Dinner at Pago

A couple of years ago I made a New Year's resolution to try a new restaurant every month and I actually kept it!  Not only was it a really fun resolution (you should try it!), but I found lots of restaurants that I now frequent on a regular basis.  I thought I would share a few of them for those of you in the SLC area looking for new places to try.  Pago is one of many great restaurants in the trendy 9th & 9th neighborhood of SLC.  It has a modern and rustic design with a really fun vibe.  Pago features contemporary American cuisine with an ever-changing seasonal menu incorporating a farm to table philosophy.  I eat there quite a bit, usually before attending the theatre, and the service has always been excellent and the wait staff are friendly and personable.

I consider myself to be a really picky eater.  I sometimes have a hard time eating meat (It's a long story) so when I find a good burger I tend to order it a lot.  The Pago Burger ($18.00) with bacon, Gouda, pickled onion, black garlic aioli, and truffle frites is a good one.  I'm telling you, it is Heaven on a bun and, in my opinion, it is one of the best burgers I've had in SLC.  Pago is located at 878 S. 900 E. in SLC and is open for Lunch: Monday - Friday 11:00am- 3:00pm, Dinner: Monday- Sunday 5:00pm - 10:00pm, and Brunch: Saturday - Sunday 10:00am -2:30pm.  Prices for dinner vary from $31 to $50.

Two Dollar Bill at PTC

Last night I had the opportunity to see the world premiere of a powerful and provocative play called Two Dollar Bill by playwright T.J. Brady at Pioneer Theatre.  It takes place in the present day on an unnamed Ivy League University campus where it is discovered that a well-respected and tenured history professor has falsified his undergraduate degree.  The play opens with Bill Dudley (Mark Zimmerman) lecturing to a U.S. History class on the Treaty of Paris which "officially" ended the Revolutionary War even though the British had surrendered at Yorktown a year earlier.  He states that the fledgling country needed legitimacy, in the form of an official piece of paper, in the eyes of the world.  Thus the central theme of the play is introduced:  what constitutes legitimacy?  Dudley is informed by the dean of faculty, who happens to be his wife, that the University has discovered that he was one credit short of receiving his Bachelor's degree and demands his resignation while an undergraduate student demands that a failing grade be changed because it will ruin her GPA and, therefore, her chances of getting into law school or business school.  In the midst of these goings-on, Dudley laments the loss of a two dollar bill given to him by his father and wonders why the lack of a degree makes him unsuitable for a position he has held for over thirty years and why his student seems more interested in getting a degree rather than learning the material.  Is legitimacy based on a piece of paper rather than knowledge and ability?  In the end, Dudley finds the two dollar bill and gives it to his teaching assistant, asserting that he doesn't need a piece of paper to remember his father.  This play is incredibly thought-provoking, to say the least, judging by the many conversations swirling around me at intermission and, even though this play deals with higher education, I couldn't help but think about the pressure I am under to pass students in my classes when they have clearly not mastered the material because our school is judged on its graduation rate.  I enjoyed this production immensely, not only for the subject matter, but also for the excellent performances by the aforementioned Zimmerman, Lesley Fera as the dean of faculty, Corey Allen as Dudley's teaching assistant, and Ephie Aardema as Dudley's undergraduate student.  Aardema is especially effective as an entitled student who, at one point, calls her Dad to threaten the school over her grade.  I'm sure she prepared for her role by visiting one of the high schools nearby (said without the slightest bit of cynicism).  I highly recommend this timely drama, especially to anyone concerned over the state of public education in this country.  It runs at PTC through January 30 and tickets may be purchased here.

I Heart Snowshoeing

My brother-in-law Trent told me about a snowshoeing trail less than five minutes from my front door (it actually takes me longer to put on my snow boots than it does to drive to the trailhead) and I have certainly taken advantage of it!  I have already gone several times and I absolutely love the fresh air up in the mountains.  I got up early yesterday (a day off from school for MLK Day) and spent several hours on the trail.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  In fact, the only other person I saw was a guy that I have seen on the trail before.  He recognized me and talked to me for a while and then eventually went ahead of me because he was a lot faster.  Ha ha!  It makes me so happy that I can be in the great outdoors doing things I love, like snowshoeing, in mere minutes!  I am also looking forward to hiking this trail in the spring and summer.

Utah Opera's The Merry Widow

Last night I attended opening night of Utah Opera's production of The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar and it was so much fun!  I normally do not like operas with an English libretto and I usually prefer tragedies to comedies, but I must admit that I enjoyed every minute of this delightful romp through Paris at the turn of the 20th century.  The Pontevedrian Ambassador to Paris , Baron Zeta (Michael Wanko), is concerned that a wealthy widow from his country, Hanna Glawari (Caroline Worra), has become the toast of Paris and may marry one of her Parisian suitors.  Zeta seeks to prevent such a marriage because all of the widow's 20 million francs would then leave the almost bankrupt Pontevedro.  He instructs Count Danilo Danilovich (Daniel Belcher), the Embassy Secretary who spends more time at Maxim's than at the embassy, to marry her.  The only problem is that they have a past, and while they clearly love each other (demonstrated in the "Ladies' Choice" dance), Danilo refuses and complications abound.  Will Danilo and Hanna realize that they love each other?  It was so much fun to watch.  Sometimes I think that the comedic elements are overdone in Utah Opera productions but this was really funny and I actually laughed out loud many times (as did the entire audience).   My favorite moment was when the Pontevedrian diplomats performed their own version of the can-can as they lament their inability to understand women (It brought the house down).  The cast sang (and, rather unusually, spoke) their roles beautifully, including Belcher who, it was announced, was suffering from a cold and wore a microphone.  I loved the Belle Epoque costumes (especially the black and white costumes at the embassy in juxtaposition with Hanna's red gown), the opulent sets (especially Maxim's), Lehar's glorious music (conducted by Utah favorite Jerry Steichen) and the lively choreography (all of that waltzing and a wildly entertaining performance of the can-can!).  I certainly had a lovely time at this opera and I highly recommend it!  Go here for information and tickets.

The Big Short

The Academy Award nominees for Best Picture were announced last Thursday and there was only one film that I hadn't seen (see my reviews of Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Room, Spotlight, Brooklyn, and The Revenant).  Since I always like to see all of the nominees before the ceremony, I crossed The Big Short off my list last night.  When I graduated from college in 1990, many of my contemporaries, who were just beginning their careers and making approximately the same amount of money as I was, bought big and expensive homes.  I couldn't understand how people my age could afford to live in the same type of neighborhood as my parents.  They couldn't.  Many were given subprime loans (they didn't have to meet income and credit score requirements) and had adjustable-rate mortgages (mortgages would reset with higher interest rates causing much higher payments over time).  Eventually, people who could no longer afford their monthly payments were forced to sell these expensive homes or they defaulted on their loans which, in part, lead to a nationwide banking crisis and recession.  The Big Short follows a group of industry outsiders who predicted that banks would lose money from their collateralized debt obligations (don't worry if you don't understand these complicated banking terms because there are celebrity cameos, such as Selena Gomez, who explain them to the audience) once people began defaulting on their mortgages.  Michael Burry (Christian Bale) is an antisocial genius who figures out a way to profit from the situation and risks his clients' hedge fund on a hunch.  Mark Baum (Steve Carell) is a bombastic crusader out to right the wrongs he sees in the banking industry.  Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) are small-time investors who want in on the action but lack credentials and have to rely on their mentor Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), a former banker who is paranoid about the collapse of the world economy and advises them to invest in seeds, to conduct their transactions.  Wall Street trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) is the ringmaster who connects all of the characters (and occasionally, and rather amusingly, speaks directly to the audience about what is going on).  The script is full of snappy dailogue and the performances are a lot of fun to watch.  Director Adam McKay uses fast cutting and montage sequences very effectively to create the frenetic energy and chaos of the crisis.  It is an incredibly entertaining film that is also a scathing indictment of the unscrupulous practices used by the banking industry; I laughed all the way through it and left the theater sick to my stomach.  I highly recommend it.

The Revenant

Last night I went with my parents to see The Revenant.  To be honest, I wasn't really that interested until Leonardo DiCaprio won the Golden Globe for Best Actor last Sunday and I decided that I couldn't miss out on such a lauded performance!  I don't even know if I can do justice to this epic tale of one man's survival!  It is simultaneously the most gruesome and beautiful film I have ever seen and DiCaprio gives a tour de force performance that is simply astonishing.  During the early 1800s, a group of fur trappers in the unexplored Louisiana Purchase is attacked by a hostile Native American tribe and all but a small group are killed.  They escape down the river but Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), their guide, recommends leaving their pelts and going overland because they are bound to be attacked again.  John Fiztgerald (Tom Hardy) takes great exception to this as it will mean the loss of their pay  and animosity develops between the two.  Glass stumbles upon a Grizzly bear with her two cubs and is ferociously attacked (in one of the most intense scenes I've ever seen), barely surviving.  The trappers build a stretcher to carry Glass but it soon becomes impossible and the leader of the expedition, Captain Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), asks for volunteers to stay behind with him until he dies.  His son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), a young trapper named Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), and Fitzgerald volunteer and Henry exacts their promise to stay with him and give him a proper burial.  Thinking Glass a burden, Fitzgerald tries to kill him.  Hawk witnesses the attempt so Fitzgerald kills him, telling Bridger that he is missing, and then leaves Glass, who is still alive.  Glass uses his intense desire for revenge to survive in the harsh environment (where everything, and I mean everything, happens to him) and find Fitzgerald.  There are some twists and turns (literally and figuratively) along the way, culminating in a scene that blew my mind.  The cinematography is breathtaking, emphasizing both the destructive power and pristine beauty of the wilderness (it was filmed primarily in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada) and the score is innovative, haunting, and intense.  As previously mentioned, DiCaprio is outstanding is this physically demanding (to say the least) role, totally immersing himself into the world of a frontiersman.  Hardy and Gleeson, who is having quite the year (go here and here), also give memorable performances.  This film is not for the faint of heart (I actually had to turn away in one of the more graphic scenes) but it is certainly a not-to-be-missed adventure.

Note:  I have seen most of the films that are likely to be nominated for Academy Awards and, in my opinion, there is not a performance to equal DiCaprio's.  Not even close.  They might as well just give him the Oscar.

Carol

I went to see Carol Sunday afternoon because Cate Blanchett's performance has garnered quite a bit of Oscar buzz but I left the theater completely blown away by Rooney Mara!  The film begins with a man interrupting a conversation fraught with tension between Therese (Mara) and Carol (Blanchett) and then flashes back to their first meeting to tell the story of how the two women got to that point (not a very original framing device but effective enough).  Therese is a young and naive woman who aspires to be a photographer but is temporarily working at a department store for the holidays in New York during the 1950s.  She has a sweet boyfriend who want to marry her but she is unsure of her feelings.  Carol, a beautiful and wealthy suburbanite going through a messy divorce, comes into the department store to buy a Christmas present for her daughter.  Therese helps her and, when Carol accidentally leaves her gloves on the counter, she retrieves her information from the sales slip and returns the gloves.  This leads to lunch, then a friendship, and then a passionate affair.  The nature of the relationship between Therese and Carol is the exact opposite of what I was expecting!  I thought that Therese would be the pursuer, leading Carol to completely disrupt the seemingly perfect life she had with her husband and daughter but Carol, who has had relationships with other women before, is the aggressor and she overwhelms the innocent Therese with just a smoldering glance.  I loved two things about the story.  First, neither woman is ashamed of the relationship, even in the repressive 1950s, and Carol refuses to admit that her homosexuality is wrong just for the sake of winning custody of her daughter.  Second, the relationship doesn't move forward until Therese becomes Carol's equal.  She lives on her own, begins a successful career in photography, and then chooses to be with Carol.  It is a compelling narrative that is beautifully told.  The production design and costumes perfectly capture the elegance of the 1950s and I thought the repeated use of the color red, especially against the stark white of winter, is particularly effective in portraying the vibrancy of the two women.  I loved the score because it is moody, atmospheric, and emotional.  Of course both Blanchett and Mara give incredible performances.  Blanchett is absolutely luminous and conveys more with just one look across a crowded room than many actresses do with pages of dialogue.  However, I was particularly impressed with Mara's ability to portray Therese's innocence and vulnerability (especially since my only exposure to her was as the antisocial hacker Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).  The scene where she silently cries on the train is incredibly affecting.  The Oscar buzz surrounding this movie is entirely justified and I recommend it.

Hitchcock/Truffaut

I have long considered Alfred Hitchcock to be one of my very favorite directors.  I watched many of his movies at a young age late at night on public television.  I had a small black and white TV in my room and, when I couldn't sleep at 2:00 in the morning, my only option was public television (this was back in the day when there were very few channels and many of them signed off at midnight!).  I was introduced to a lot of wonderful old movies in this manner but Hitchcock's made a lasting impression, particularly Notorious, Spellbound, Rebecca, and North By Northwest.  My first exposure to Francois Truffaut was, ironically, as an actor in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which is a favorite!  I was very taken with his performance as a scientist investigating extraterrestrials and it was my Dad who told me that he was a famous director.  Of course, I have since become a fan of his movies, especially Day for Night.  What happens when one of the founders of the French New Wave meets with the Master of Suspense for one week to talk about the latter's entire body of work?  You get a groundbreaking book, published in 1966, considered by many filmmakers to be, not only a masterpiece, but a blueprint for the craft.  You also get a fascinating documentary by Kent Jones, which I had the chance to see last night, wherein he uses the films of both Hitchcock and Truffaut to illustrate the points mentioned in their epic conversations, which were recorded, with particular emphasis on Vertigo and Psycho.  Jones also interviews many of my favorite contemporary directors, such as Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Richard Linklatter, Olivier Assayas, Peter Bogdanovich, and Martin Scorsese, who talk about the effect the book, and Hitchcock's movies, had on them as filmmakers.  That they are effusive in their praise, which is interesting but gets to be a bit much, is to be expected;  however, it is incredibly compelling when they analyze specific scenes, especially when Fincher talks about Vertigo ("It's so perverted.") and Scorsese talks about Psycho.  I enjoyed this documentary immensely because it reminded me of why I love Hitchcock's movies and I think it is a must-see for any film lover.

Mozart & Mahler

There was one thing that got me through this difficult first week back at school after winter break and that was the prospect of listening to the Utah Symphony play Mozart, my favorite composer, on Friday night.  I've said this before but I credit the movie Amadeus with turning me on to classical music.  I remember distinctly the first time I watched it.  It was a Sunday night when I was in junior high and I was sitting on the floor in my parents' bedroom leaning against the foot of their bed watching it on HBO.  It was getting late and I'm sure that they wanted to go to sleep but they could see that I was absolutely transfixed and let me continue watching!  Several years later I was given a VHS copy for Christmas, the first movie I ever owned!  (When I moved to my new house I donated all of my VHS tapes and, later, I regretted that I gave away Amadeus.  I received a Blu-Ray copy for Christmas this year!)  Needless to say, I fell in love with Mozart's music after watching Amadeus over and over so I try to attend any concert featuring it.  Friday night the orchestra, along with soloist Augustin Hadelich, played Concerto No. 4 for Violin and Orchestra.  This piece totally exemplifies what I love about Mozart:  it is light, airy, romantic, and beautiful (not to be confused with simple).  Hadelich was absolutely brilliant (receiving a thunderous standing ovation) and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance!  But Mahler, though!  After the intermission the orchestra played Symphony No. 7 and I read in the program notes that this is considered the least popular of Mahler's symphonies.  It could very well be my favorite!  More than any other symphony that I've heard during the Mahler Cycle this year and last, this piece has made me a Mahler fan for life!  The first movement is rousing and exuberant with an incredible theme played by the brass, not to mention the horns, the harps (there were two), the timpani, and the crash cymbals!  There were moments when I couldn't catch my breath and, mind you, this was only the first movement!  It only got better!  The second movement features a playful theme by the woodwinds and the third movement is so vigorous that Maestro Thierry Fischer lost his baton (in what might possibly my favorite moment, ever, at a Utah Symphony concert!)  The fourth movement is beautiful and atmospheric with lovely violin and horn solos echoed by a guitar and mandolin!  It gave me goosebumps!  The fifth and final movement begins, spectacularly, with timpani and ends the only way it possibly could:  with the ringing of the chimes! I loved it!  It goes without saying that it was an exceptional evening and you should go here right now and get yourself a ticket for tonight's performance!

Beau Jest at HCT

Hale Centre Theatre likes to ring in the new year with a comedy and, once again, they picked a delightful one!  I interrupted my long winter's nap (it has been hard adjusting back to reality after winter break and I have been in bed by 8:00 most nights this week) to see their production of Beau Jest last night and it is absolutely hysterical! Sarah Goldman's parents want her to marry a nice Jewish boy and, because the man she is dating isn't Jewish, she hires an actor named Bob to pretend to be her boyfriend. There is only one problem. He isn't Jewish, either! With her parents at the door, there is no other choice but to proceed (Bob believes he can handle the "role" because he was once in a touring company of Fiddler on the Roof) and, of course, chaos ensues! I laughed and laughed at all of their antics, particularly when Sarah and Bob embrace and inadvertently hit the radio (several times) causing them to be serenaded by the song "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin over and over again. LizAnne Chapman is suitably overwrought as Sarah and Bryan Dayley is incredibly endearing as Bob and they have great chemistry together but, in my opinion, Ben Parkes, as Sarah's uptight brother Joel, and Todd Michael Thompson, as Sarah's boyfriend Chris, steal the show! Parkes brings a physicality to his role that is just so much fun to watch, especially in a scene involving throw pillows! I laughed out loud, as did everyone around me, in the scene where he tells Sarah to get over it! Thompson's facial expressions (and his double finger gun) are a hoot, especially when he competes with Bob for Sarah's attention! So funny!  I only have two complaints.  First, the scene with the Seder is much too long (in a play that is otherwise filled with lots of snappy dialogue) and I started to lose interest but it is early in the run and I suspect it will tighten up. Second, the set, uncharacteristically, is rather blah and, in my opinion, doesn't really look like an apartment that a young woman living in Chicago would have.  It didn't detract from my enjoyment but I kept wondering if it was the same set from last year's Over the River and Through the Woods. Aside from that, I definitely enjoyed Beau Jest and I highly recommend it for a bit of fun on a long winter's night!  It runs through January 30 and tickets can be purchased here.

A Day Snowshoeing

I really love snowshoeing and last winter was so mild that I only got to go a couple of times.  This winter we definitely have enough snow and my brother-in-law Trent showed me a great place to go that is literally five minutes from my house (I plan on going a lot).

Last Saturday Trent, Kristine, the kiddos, and I snowshoed the Meuller Park Canyon Trail and it was so much fun!

What a great day!

New Year's Celebration

If you are a music lover, the best place to be on New Year's Eve is Vienna attending one of the many concerts featuring the classic Viennese waltzes made famous by Johann Strauss and his family.  If you can't afford the airfare to Vienna, the next best place to be is Abravanel Hall to hear the Utah Symphony's version.  Last year Marilyn and I took my Mom to the New Year's concert and she loved it so much I decided to get her a ticket for this year's concert which was performed last night.  It was as much fun watching my Mom's reaction to each piece as it was listening to the music!  The concert began, appropriately, with the Overture to Die Fledermaus (about a ball on New Year's Eve in Vienna) by Johann Strauss, Jr.  This piece was very rousing and I especially enjoyed the chiming of midnight (I love the chimes).  Next, Utah favorite Celena Shafer sang "Mein Herr Marquis" from Die Fledermaus.  Shafer also gave a highly amusing rendition of "Meine Lippen sie kussen so heiss" from Giuditta by Lehar later in the evening.  Most of the concert featured incredibly stirring waltzes from Johann Strauss, Jr. and Josef Strauss, including the instantly recognizable On the Beautiful Blue Danube.  My favorite piece of the evening was "New Year's Eve Ball" from War and Peace by Sergei Prokofiev.  I kept picturing women in ball gowns twirling and twirling in a grand ball room of an opulent palace in St. Petersburg.  The concert ended with an encore of the ever popular Radetzky March by Johann Strauss, Sr. complete with enthusiastic clapping from the audience.  It was a lovely evening made even more so by the giggling of my Mom after every single number!  Happy New Year!