Before I Fall

I saw Before I Fall at Sundance this year and it received a bit of a lukewarm reception at my screening and, recently, a few of my friends have panned it.  I decided to see this film again last night because I have very strong opinions about it and, for some reason, I feel the need to defend it.  Based on the best-selling novel by Lauren Oliver, Sam Kingston (Zoey Deutch) is a popular high school student who is forced to live the same day over and over again until she realizes what is most important in her life beyond her superficial happiness.  She has a trio of best friends, Lindsay (Halston Sage), Ally (Cynthy Wu), and Elody (Medalion Rahimi), who all behave badly, particularly to a classmate whom they bully mercilessly.  All Sam cares about is receiving the most roses during the school's annual "Cupid Day" (I always say that you haven't really lived unless you have spent Valentine's Day in a high school) and losing her virginity to the most popular boy in school.  Each time she relives the day she attempts to change her behavior in the hopes of changing her fate and I really enjoyed her journey as a character.  Every iteration of the day seams fresh and unique based on the choices she makes.  Obviously, I view this film through a much different filter than most people I know because I have worked with this age group for many years as a high school teacher.  The situations ring true and the dialogue is incredibly authentic (however much we might wish for the light and effervescent teen comedies we are used to).  Just yesterday I had to deal with a horrible case of bullying within the group of student leaders I work with.  Lindsay, the ringleader of the group of friends, is especially brutal in her treatment of Juliet (Elena Kampouris) but the film does a good job, in my opinion, of showing her motivation.  The two girls were once friends but Lindsay lashes out at her to cover up her own insecurities.  It has been my experience that the student who exhibits the worst behavior in class is often the one who most needs my attention and understanding.  I really liked the fact that Sam is able to find redemption after all of her bad behavior (I don't think the film glorifies this behavior at all) because I like to think that no teenager is beyond hope, no matter how unlikable they may appear to be.  She is a very different girl at the end of the movie from the one we meet at the beginning.  Just my two cents.

Note:  I really think that this film will appeal more to the demographic for which it was intended.  This second screening was filled with teenage girls and they seemed to really enjoy it.

Utah Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor

Last night I went to see Utah Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor.  The libretto is based on The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott and the incredible music is composed by Gaetano Donizetti.  I loved it!  In fact, I loved it so much that I wondered why I had never seen it before!  In seventeenth century Scotland, Enrico (James Westman) is in financial ruin and the only way to save his honor is to have is sister Lucia (Abigail Rethwisch) marry Arturo (Tyson Miller).  However, Lucia is in love with Edgardo (Mackenzie Whitney), a man who is her brother's mortal enemy.  During a secret rendezvous, Edgardo tells Lucia that he must leave for France but they make solemn vows to each other and he gives her a ring.  They end this touching scene with Edgardo promising to write.  Enrico discovers this relationship and intercepts all of Edgardo's letters.  In his desperation he begs to Lucia to marry Arturo for the good of the family and she finally consents, thinking that Edgardo has forsaken her.  As she signs the marriage contract, Edgardo returns and, in a rage, violently removes the ring from Lucia's finger.  As guests celebrate at the wedding, it is discovered that Lucia has killed Arturo and has descended into madness.  As she lays dying, Enrico is filled with remorse and pity.  When Edgardo learns of Lucia's death, he stabs himself in order to be reunited with her in Heaven.  What could be better than murder, betrayal, insanity, and death?  I really loved every single number, especially Lucia's aria before meeting Edgardo (there is a ghost!), the beautiful duet between Lucia and Edgardo where they declare their vows to each other, and Edgardo's emotional final aria.  However, nothing compares to the famous "mad scene" where Lucia, wearing a white nightgown covered in Arturo's blood, sings of her love for Edgardo while her horrified wedding guests look on.  This aria is in the Bel Canto style and is filled with a dazzling vocal display.  Rethwisch's performance is absolutely visceral and her collapse at the end of it was met with thunderous applause!   I could hardly breathe!  The entire cast is amazing and, in addition to Rethwisch, I was also particularly impressed with Derrick Parker (who recently performed Mozart's Requiem with the Utah Symphony) as a cleric who tries to defend Lucia.  The production is visually stunning with a set that includes a Gothic castle, a haunted fountain, and a snow-filled graveyard as well as beautiful period costumes.  I loved everything about this opera and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to a remaining performance.

Note:  Lucia di Lammermoor would be perfect for those who have never been to an opera before.  It is easy to follow and my attention never wavered once during the three-hour run time.

Chess at PTC

A few years ago PTC created a series featuring rarely performed musicals in concert format.  The actors use scripts and there are minimal costumes, sets, and props in order to let the music take center stage.  They began with The Rocky Horror Show (which was so popular that PTC presented it two years in a row) and this year they continued with Chess, the musical that Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba wrote before Mamma Mia.  Even though I only knew one song from the show, the wildly popular radio hit "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head (Freddie from the original West End production), I have always wanted to see it.  I am so glad I had the chance last night because it pretty much blew me away.  Against the backdrop of an international chess tournament between the United States and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, a member of the U.S. delegation and the Soviet champion fall in love but become pawns (pun intended) in the political intrigue of their respective governments.  This tension makes for a fantastic rock opera filled with anthemic (I couldn't resist) pop songs which I absolutely loved, especially the aforementioned "One Night in Bangkok," "Where I Want to Be," "Someone Else's Story," "Nobody's Side," "Anthem," "Heaven Help My Heart," and "I Know Him so Well."   The three main leads, Matthew Hydzik as Freddie, Coleen Sexton as Florence, and Michael Halling as Anatoly, are absolutely incredible!  I was particularly blown away by Hydzik because he has the type of voice that I find to be very appealing, what I like to call a powerful rock and roll tenor.  In fact, he reminded me so much of Adam Pascal (I bet Hydzik would be phenomenal as Roger in Rent or Radames in Aida) who, incidentally once played Freddie in a concert version of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008, but I digress.  My favorite moment of the show was Hydzik's rendition of "Pity the Child."  All I can say is, "Wow!"  I highly recommend this concert but there are only two more performances so get your tickets quickly (go here).

Note:  Next year's concert musical was announced last night and it will be In the Heights.  I will get to see two Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals in 2018!

Kong: Skull Island

Late last night (early this morning?) I saw an early screening of Apocalypse Now Kong: Skull Island and it was quite the spectacle.  At the end of the Vietnam War, a team of scientists (John Goodman and Corey Hawkins) armed with satellite images mount an expedition to an uncharted island to prove the existence of heretofore unknown monsters.  Along for the ride is a military escort led by an officer bitter that the war is over who may or may not be insane (Samuel L. Jackson), a tracker (Tom Hiddleston), and a photojournalist (Brie Larson).  Helicopters, with speakers blaring music (not the only reference to Apocalypse Now), begin dropping explosives on the island in order to draw out the monsters and are immediately attacked by a giant primate known as Kong.  These scenes are absolutely relentless, with unbelievable effects, and I was holding my breath as Kong swatted helicopters out of the air, broke them in two, and stomped on soldiers as they fled.  Several scattered groups survive and one of them encounters a pilot who has been marooned on the island since World War II (a hilarious John C. Reilly who provides much comic relief).  As Jackson's character vows revenge on Kong for killing his men, Reilly's character informs them that there are other monsters (in the form of these strange lizard-like creatures) on the island and Kong is their only protection which leads to conflict and then to an epic battle.  I have to admit that, while these scenes are also pretty exhilarating, I was less engaged because they seem to go on forever.  Just when I think Kong has finally gotten the better of the lizard, it crawls back for more.  Also, I really had to suspend a lot of disbelief to buy that Kong could tell the difference between those who meant to harm him and those who who wanted his help.  Having said that, I thought this movie was a lot of fun which is something that I didn't necessarily expect (I despised Peter Jackson's version).  Reilly and Jackson are great (although Hiddleston's and Larson's characters are a bit one-dimensional) and the action scenes are spectacular (I saw it in IMAX 3D).  I loved the music, especially "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath as the helicopters storm the island and "Run Through the Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival as the soldiers, well, run though the jungle.  I liked it and I am sure that fans of monster movies will love it (the group of twenty-something guys that I walked out of the theater with discussed their plans to see it several more times over the weekend).

Note:  There is an end of credits scene setting up the sequel in the so-called MonsterVerse.

Logan

Well, I did it.  After deciding that I didn't really want to see Logan and turning down an opportunity to see an advance screening on Thursday night, I went to see it last night (in IMAX, no less) because it got such great reviews.  I didn't expect to love it but I did!  Let me say at the outset that it is not your typical stylized superhero movie with sanitized violence.  It is laden with profanity and the violence is shocking and bloody (Logan uses those adamantium claws to decapitate someone).  But, in a way, it is a real and very raw portrayal of a tortured man living with regrets who, ultimately, finds redemption.  In 2029 mutants have all but been destroyed.  A grizzled and weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) is holed up in an abandoned silo in Mexico with Caliban (Stephen Merchant) and an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart).  He is still pretty lethal in a fight but it takes him much longer to recover.  There has definitely been a cost.  He eventually meets a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) who also has adamantium implants.  She was genetically engineered (using Logan's DNA) as a weapon by the Transigen Project but she escaped and is now on the run from Transigen's cybernetically enhanced mercenaries.  Logan reluctantly agrees to take her on a cross-country journey to find an elusive safe haven for mutants in Canada.  This eventually leads to an epic showdown with Logan, Laura, and all of the other surviving genetically engineered children against the mercenaries.  What I liked most about this movie is that it is very character-driven.  Logan is flawed, to be sure, and he is broken and angry but he is unbelievably sympathetic, especially in his interactions with Charles.  Jackman's portrayal is highly nuanced and more affecting than in any of the other X-Men movies and Keen is remarkable as the newest mutant in the franchise (could we see her again?).  While the tone is somber, the message, in my opinion, is incredibly hopeful and the ending is so moving that I had tears in my eyes.  I am surprised by how much I liked this movie but it is definitely not for everyone.

Note:  There is no end of credits scene (so don't wait like almost everyone in my theater did) but there is a hilarious Deadpool teaser before the movie which made me laugh out loud.