The Light Between Oceans

Saturday night I went to see the movie The Light Between Oceans.  My book club read the bestselling novel by M.L. Stedman several years ago so I have been eagerly anticipating the movie adaptation and it did not disappoint.  Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), traumatized by the events of World War I, takes a position as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island off the coast of Western Australia.  On a trip to the mainland, he meets the fiery Isabel (Alicia Vikander) and their courtship and marriage slowly brings Tom back to life.  After a series of miscarriages, Isabel begins to lose her vitality and Tom despairs because he doesn't know what to do to help her.  Then a boat containing a dead man and a baby washes up on shore.  Isabel begins to care for the baby and, when Tom explains that he will have to report the discovery, she begs him not to so they can raise the baby themselves.  Tom is torn between his duty as a lighthouse keeper and his love for Isabel but he ultimately decides to keep silent.  Years later, on a visit to the mainland, Tom encounters a woman (Rachel Weisz) who lost her husband and baby daughter at sea.  He is tormented by this woman, knowing that his daughter belongs to her.  He breaks his vow to Isabel and reveals the truth with devastating consequences for all involved.  The action develops very slowly so this movie might not appeal to everyone but I found it to be incredibly beautiful and atmospheric.  The scenery is breathtaking (it was filmed in Australia and New Zealand) and Alexandre Desplat's score is lush and evocative.  Both Fassbender and Vikander give highly nuanced performances and their chemistry is undeniable (they became a real-life couple after filming this movie).  My only complaint is that, while all of the secondary characters have Australian accents (the film is set in Australia), Fassbender, Vikander (who is Swedish), and Weisz have very British accents.  It became a bit distracting after a while.  However, I highly recommend this movie to fans of the book!

A Big Win!

Sean was all smiles after his game against the Hunter Wolverines!

Yesterday Sean's team played the Hunter Wolverines and it was a great game!  He was really down after his game last week so his parents talked to him about being positive.  When he came off the field after his first play he had a big smile on his face and said that he thought he had done his best!  Sean, and the whole team, played so well and as the game went on they fed off of the energy and kept getting better and better!  It was so much fun to watch!  In the first half, the Braves scored two touchdowns and Sean had his first tackle (and his first personal foul!).  In the second half, they got an interception and eventually scored two more touchdowns to win the game 26-0.  Sean earned the nickname "Sean the Bomb" in this game and we love it!  As much fun as watching Sean was, I think my favorite moment was when the Bountiful coaches all got in trouble.  The referee (who was kind of a jerk) started yelling at one of the coaches and then dramatically threw a flag on the field after the fact.  The head coach had to have a conference with the ref and came back and told the other coaches to tone it down.  We thought it was so funny!  I also really enjoyed the community around the team.  All of parents and families are so friendly and have started talking to us.  When Sean got his big tackle, all of the parents around us cheered and congratulated us and when he made another big play the Mom sitting next to me asked me if I got a picture.  Now that the team has gelled a little bit, I am really looking forward to watching the Braves every week (even though I have to get up early on a Saturday!).  The whole family took the star out to breakfast to celebrate his win and he grinned from ear to ear the whole time!  Here are some pictures from the game.

Note:  It was a little hard for me not to cheer for the Wolverines, especially since I had spent Friday night cheering for the HHS Wolverines!  I had to make sure I wasn't wearing any Hunter apparel because I have so much of it! (I just ordered a Bountiful Braves shirt).

Cold Play at the Vivint Arena

I think that I spent almost all of 2001 listening to Coldplay's album Parachutes after my friend introduced me to it on a trip to Ireland.  I loved the song "Yellow."  I tend to get really obsessed with things and I would usually fixate on one song from each new Coldplay album, playing it over and over:  "In My Place" from A Rush of Blood to the Head, "Fix You" from X&Y, "Viva La Vida" from the album of the same name, "Paradise" from Mylo Xyloto, "A Sky Full of Stars" from Ghost Stories, and "Adventure of a Lifetime" from A Head Full of Dreams.  I guess you could say that the music of Coldplay has had a significant place in the soundtrack of my life.  Every one of these songs can take me back to a particular point in my life with just a few notes.  I have always wanted to see them play live but I've never had the opportunity until last night.  The show was simply amazing!  Every audience member was given an LED wristband which would light up in various colors in syncopation with the music.  My favorite moments during the concert were when all of the wristbands would flash different colors.  The arena looked so cool whenever that happened.  In addition to the colorful wristbands, the arena was dumped with multi-colored confetti several times (not just during the encore) and I loved it when Chris Martin would jump on the secondary stage and cause the confetti to rise all around him.  Then there were the multi-colored lasers and images on the giant screens and, at one point, the audience was inundated with colorful balloons bouncing all over the place.  The arena was literally a kaleidoscope of color which, when combined with the music, was almost overwhelming to the senses!  It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen despite the terrible sound in the Vivint Arena.  The band played all of my favorites (except "In My Place") and I loved each rendition, especially "Paradise" and "Fix You" (with Chris Martin rolling around in the confetti).  I also really enjoyed the acoustic version of "Trouble" played by the band on a small platform in the crowd and the passionate rendition of "The Scientist" which had everyone in the audience singing.  The show ended, appropriately, with a spirited version of "Up & Up," a lovely message for these troubling times we are living through (always believe in love).  I'm still on a bit of a high from this show, even though it was really difficult to wake up this morning.

Note:  The opening acts were Bishop Briggs and Alessia Cara.  I wasn't familiar with Bishop Briggs but I really enjoyed her set.  She sang her heart out to an almost empty arena which was really unfortunate because her voice gave me goosebumps, it was so incredibly sultry and soulful.  I wasn't very familiar with Alessia Cara, either (I don't get out much), but she is from Ontario, Canada so I automatically loved her.  I really appreciated the positive messages in her music.

Meet the Team

Tashena is on the volleyball team at Bountiful High School!  First, I can't believe that she is in high school!  How did this happen?  Second, I am so proud of this girl!  She is a three sport athlete and she is incredibly talented!  Last night my family went to a benefit dinner (our attendance was compulsory because Tashena was required to sell a certain number of tickets) at the school to meet the team and watch some scrimmage games.  It was really nice with tables covered in red and white tablecloths set up outside in the courtyard.  Several families worked together to make all of the food and other families (including my sister) served it and it was delicious!  After the dinner the whole team was introduced then the freshmen played the sophomore team and the JV played the varsity team.  Tashena is on the sophomore team and they won!  During the games there was a raffle for all kinds of Bountiful Braves swag and Marilyn won a water bottle!  It was really nice and I was quite impressed with BHS.  I have a feeling my family will be spending a lot of time in that gym!

Pete's Dragon

When I was in elementary school there was a summer movie program.  At the end of the school year the PTA ladies sold passes to see a movie every Saturday during the summer and my Mom always bought them for us.  Every Saturday she would send us to the local movie theater with $1.00 (to buy a small popcorn, a small drink, and a licorice rope) to see movies like Pippi Longstocking, Swiss Family Robinson, Freaky Friday, and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, just to name a few.  One of the movies I distinctly remember watching on a Saturday morning is Pete's Dragon so, when I heard that Disney was filming a remake, I really wanted to see it.  I saw it Saturday night and I thought it was absolutely charming. After surviving a car crash which killed his parents, Pete (Oakes Fegley) is left alone in a remote forested area.  He is rescued by a dragon, whom he names Elliot, and lives in the forest under Elliot's protection for six years.  He and Elliot are discovered when a logging crew begins cutting down their part of the forest and he meets Natalie (Oona Laurence), the daughter of the foreman.  He is immediately taken in by Natalie's father Jack (Wes Bentley) and his girlfriend Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), a park ranger whose father (Robert Redford) has always told stories of seeing a dragon in the forest.  Elliot is worried about Pete and visits the town looking for him but returns to the forest when he sees that Pete is happy.  Unfortunately, Jack's brother Gavin (Karl Urban) has seen Elliot and wants to capture him leading to a big showdown in the forest.  I loved so many things about this movie.  I really loved how Elliot is portrayed.  He is so protective of Pete and his facial expressions and vocalizations are so endearing.  He looks more like a big, furry dog with wings and a long tail that a scary reptilian monster with scales.  There were moments when I was almost in tears when the loggers were trying to capture him.  I loved that the children are portrayed as ordinary kids rather than fashion models.  Fegley and Laurence give really affecting performances and I thought they were adorable, crooked teeth and all.  I loved Robert Redford's performance as an old man who still believes in magic.  Even as a grizzled octogenarian he is still so handsome!  I loved the beautiful forest scenery (It was filmed in New Zealand!).  I also really loved the soundtrack, especially the song "Something on Your Mind" by St. Vincent.  This is a sweet and old-fashioned movie that hearkens back to the ones I spent Saturday mornings watching with my sisters.

Note:  Do they still have the summer movie program?  Sometimes I think that today's kids are missing out!