Skyscraper

Last night I finally had the chance to see the action thriller Skyscraper.  Dwayne Johnson plays Will Sawyer, a former FBI hostage negotiator turned security consultant.  He is hired to analyse the security of the world's tallest building, The Pearl, owned by billionaire Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han).  Kores Botha (Roland Moller), an international terrorist who has been extorting Zhao, leads a team who sets fire to the 96th floor of the building and frames Sawyer to take the blame.  Sawyer's wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and his kids Georgia and Henry (McKenna Grace and Noah Cottrell) are are inadvertently trapped in a residential unit above the 96th floor so he must elude both the police and the villains to rescue them from the building.  The story is incredibly derivative and the reason why the villains have attacked the building is pretty ridiculous but there are some innovative action sequences that are seriously cool and, to be honest, that is why I went to see this movie.  These include when Sawyer climbs a 100-story crane and then uses it to jump into a broken window of The Pearl as the fire rages on, when he rappels down the building using duct tape on his hands in order to get to an access panel behind a wind turbine, and when he confronts Botha in an elaborate virtual-reality room filled with hundreds of screens.  He completes all of the feats of daring with a prosthetic leg, which he uses very inventively in one scene, which makes them even more thrilling.  Johnson is his charismatic self and I really liked Campbell's portrayal of Sarah because she is just as resourceful and daring as Sawyer.  This movie is not perfect but I enjoyed it for what is, a bit of summer escapism.

The Equalizer 2

Sunday afternoon I went to see The Equalizer 2 which, as a fan of the first movie, I have been anticipating for a while.  Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a former black-ops agent who is now a Lyft driver in Boston but he is also a guardian angel of sorts who dispenses vigilante justice for the random strangers he meets. However, when Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), a former colleague, is murdered in Brussels while investigating the murder of a CIA contact it gets personal.  It becomes even more personal when he discovers her killers.  It is a very slow burn while McCall tracks the killers down but, once he does, there is an epic confrontation in a seaside town that has been evacuated for a hurricane where he dispatches them one by one.  The action sequences, including the opening on a train to Istanbul, are incredibly intense and exciting to watch but I also enjoyed the quieter moments that provide a satisfying emotional arc for McCall.  There is an affecting subplot where McCall helps a Holocaust survivor (Orson Bean) track down a painting stolen by the Nazis and another where he mentors an at-risk teen (Ashton Sanders).  Washington gives a riveting performance, both as a man of action and as a man in torment.  I don't think this installment is as good as the first one but I really enjoyed it and I recommend it to fans of action thrillers.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is my biggest movie surprise of 2018!  I went into the theater fully expecting to hate it and I ended up loving it!  I loved it so much that I canceled my plans for Friday night and saw it again with my Mom and sister and then the three of us saw it yet again Saturday morning.  I am a huge fan of Abba's music and I absolutely love the stage musical (I've seen it countless times including on Broadway and in London's West End).  Because I've seen incredibly talented Broadway stars perform this music live I was so disappointed in the movie adaptation because I thought most of the singing was awful.  Listening to Pierce Brosnan sing was actually painful and Colin Firth (whom I love) was not much better.  I know I had unrealistic expectations but I didn't like it so I dismissed the sequel out of hand.  The only reason I decided to see it was because the trailers intrigued me.  Before the first number was over I was completely enthralled.  Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) has been dead for a year and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has rebuilt the hotel to continue her dream.  Everyone has been invited to the grand opening including Tanya (Christine Baranski), Rosie (Julie Walters), Harry (Colin Firth), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) and Sam (Pierce Brosnan).  Since Sky (Dominic Cooper) is away, she is helped by her hotel manager Fernando Cienfuegos (Andy Garcia).  As she thinks about her mother's dream there are flashbacks to when Donna (now played by Lily James) comes to the island, meets Harry, Bill, and Sam (Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, and Jeremy Irvine, respectively), and discovers that she is pregnant.  When Sophie discovers that she is pregnant, she finally understands that her mother's dream was all about her not the hotel.  What drew me in was the charismatic performance of James who can really sing and dance.  In fact, I loved all of the younger versions of the characters, especially Jessica Keenan Wynn as Tanya (she looks and acts so much like Christine Baranski that I thought they had digitally altered her to look younger).  I really loved all of the Abba songs, especially some of the more obscure ones like "Why Did It Have to Be Me," "Andante, Andante," "I've Been Waiting For You," and "My Love, My Life," and I loved how all of them were staged, particularly "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen" which is so fun (watching Colin Firth's antics on the boat had me laughing out loud!).  The singing in this movie is so much better than the original because Lily James and Amanda Seyfried, the best singers of the group, do most of it with other characters singing with them or as an ensemble.  Finally, I need to gush for a moment about Cher who plays Sophie's grandmother.  When she sees Fernando across the crowded room I started laughing out loud again because I knew what was coming and it was everything I could have hoped for!  I had so much fun watching this movie, much to my surprise, and I highly recommend it!

Sutton Foster at Deer Valley

One of my very favorite summer activities is to see a Utah Symphony concert up at the Deer Valley Mountain Resort.  I love packing a picnic, heading up to the mountains where it is a lot cooler than the valley, and listening to some fabulous music.  I try to see at least one concert during the summer and this year I picked one featuring Kristen Chenoweth.  Unfortunately, she had to cancel because of an injury but then I learned that Sutton Foster would be replacing her!  I saw her when she performed a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and she was amazing.  I knew this would be a wonderful concert and it was.  Sutton Foster is known for her many roles on Broadway and the program featured songs from the Great White Way.  She began with "Cockeyed Optimist" from South Pacific and then a lovely medley from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie, and Little Women which showcased her most famous roles.  She continued with "I Get a Kick Out of You" from Anything Goes.  Next she performed three songs from her most recent album Take Me to the World: "C'est Magnifique," "Give Him the Ooh-La-La," and "Stars and the Moon."  My favorite moment of the concert was when she sang "It All Fades Away" from The Bridges of Madison County.  This was absolutely beautiful and it gave me goosebumps!  She closed the set with the title song from Anything Goes.  After the intermission she sang a really fun medley of "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls and "Singing in the Rain."  She continued with "The Nearness of You" and "Down With Love."  Next she was joined by Megan McGinnis, her co-star from Little Women, and they performed "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from that show which was another favorite moment because it was so beautiful!  She dedicated "Sunshine on My Shoulders" to her mother like she did at the Christmas concert.  She continued with "Being Alive" from Company and the ended the set with "Take Me to the World" from her new album.  For the encore she sang "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie which left me saying gimme gimme some more!  I loved this concert so much!  It was really windy at Deer Valley Saturday night but it was Foster's voice that blew us all away!  Not only was her performance amazing but she was just so charming and personable.  I'm so glad I got to see her again!  Go here for more information about the remaining Utah Symphony concerts at Deer Valley.

Bryce Canyon National Park

After visiting Zion National Park I decided to make another detour to Bryce Canyon National Park to see all of the stunning rock formations.  As soon as I got to the viewpoints, it started raining and it eventually turned to hail.  I did manage to get to most of the viewpoints and despite the fact that I was completely drenched by the time I was done I did manage to get some pictures.