Across the Universe

As a huge Beatles fan I jumped at the chance to see Across the Universe on the big screen again!  To say that I love this movie would be an understatement!  The narrative is informed by the lyrics of Beatles songs and tells the love story of Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).  With a little help from their friends Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Jo-Jo (Martin Luther McCoy), and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), they navigate the turbulent 1960s to discover that all you need is love.  I think the screenplay is extremely clever with lots of references to the Beatles (I find more every time I watch it).  I love every single Beatles song used but I especially love the staging of "I've Just Seen a Face," "If I Fell" "Let It Be" (which makes me cry), "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," "Something," "Revolution," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Hey Jude," and "All You Need Is Love."  However, I'll be honest and say that I wait for the whole first half of the movie for Bono, who plays Dr. Robert, to sing "I Am the Walrus."  That whole sequence with the psychedelic bus is just so awesome and when he says, "You're either on the bus or off the bus," it just about kills me.  Words to live by!  The first time I saw this on the big screen I developed quite the crush on Jim Sturgess because he reminded me so much of a young Paul McCartney.  Seeing it again yesterday may have revived that crush because I couldn't take my eyes off him whenever he was on the screen.  I had so much fun watching this again and I had to stop myself from singing along.  I recommend that all Beatles fans take the opportunity to see this movie musical on the big screen as it was meant to be seen (go here for more information about screenings).  A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

I am a huge fan of the Mission: Impossible franchise and it seems like I have been waiting all summer for the latest installment, Mission: Impossible - Fallout.  It was worth the wait because it is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end and, in my opinion, it is the best movie in the bunch.  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team have a mission to intercept some plutonium bound for a terrorist group made up of members of the former Syndicate.  However, the mission fails when Hunt chooses the life of a team member over the plutonium.  When Hunt gets a tip that an arms broker named the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) is brokering a deal for the plutonium, he and August Walker (Henry Cavill), a CIA agent assigned to shadow him by Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett) who doesn't trust him, infiltrate her organization and learn that the price of the plutonium is the release of Hunt's arch-nemesis Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).  As they attempt Lane's release, they encounter Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) who has her own reasons for wanting Lane.  There are moves, counter-moves, and betrayals which keep you on the edge of your seat and no one, even possibly Hunt, is who he or she appears to be.  The action sequences are intense and unrelenting, including the much hyped HALO jump (which is spectacular), multiple car and motorcycle chases through Paris, a foot race across the roof of the Tate Modern, and an aerial helicopter chase through the mountains of Kashmir.  It goes without saying that Cruise, who performs the majority of his stunts, is absolutely amazing in the action sequences but he also gives Hunt some vulnerability as he deals with the consequences of his actions in both the present and in his past.  I saw this movie in IMAX and I recommend that you do the same!  It is an absolute blast!

One Last Camping Trip

My sister and her husband are bringing their trailer home from Hanna at the end of the month so I had one last opportunity for a quick camping trip.  I love it in Hanna and I had such a relaxing time.  I spent most of the day sitting outside reading and then at night I would build a fire and make s'mores.  My idea of heaven!

I'm so glad I had one last camping trip before school starts in a few weeks!

Summer Reading: The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

The next selection on my summer reading list was The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan. It is delightful! The story takes place in a sleepy little English village during World War II. We learn about the goings-on through the letters and journal entries of our main protagonists: a timid widow who is worried about her son on the front, the self-absorbed town beauty who is embarking a real romance after flirting with the boys of the village all her life, her awkward younger sister who inadvertently discovers an intrigue, a young Jewish refugee hiding a secret, and a midwife in over her head in a sinister plot. With so many men away, the women must pick up the pieces to keep life in Chilbury as normal as possible. When a music teacher named Primrose Trent comes to the village she decides to revive the church choir with just the women, much to the consternation of the village busybody. The choir provides solace when the events of the war impact Chilbury and it emboldens the women to change their lives for the better. I loved this book because it has a definite Miss Marple feel to it with a charming little village with more intrigue going on than meets the eye. All of the characters are very well developed and each have a unique voice. They all have very satisfying character arcs, including Edwina Paltry whom I found very unsympathetic in the beginning. As someone who enjoys World War II novels I really appreciated the perspectives of ordinary women in ordinary circumstances trying to cope with the devastation of war and I really enjoyed the hopeful tone. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is humorous and heartbreaking and I highly recommend it!

Note:  Have you read The Chilbury Ladies' Choir?  What did you think?

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.