Sam Smith at the Vivint Arena

I briefly considered the advisability of seeing a concert during the first week of school but I love Sam Smith so much that I decided to get a ticket any way!  I knew that I would be really tired today but the concert was so fabulous that it was worth it.  The stage was a large triangle that jutted out onto the floor and there were multiple platforms for his amazing band (not only were they great musicians but they also had some epic choreography, too) and back-up singers.  He entered and exited the stage through some of the platforms several times during the show (often when there was some misdirection going on with the large pyramid at the back of the stage).  I really enjoyed his interactions with the audience because he seemed so sincere and genuine!  I love him for the same reason that I love Adele.  He is unabashedly himself and he doesn't conform to anyone's stereotypes about what a pop star should be.  It also doesn't hurt that he can belt out a song, which he did all night to the delight of the crowd!  He sang quite a few of his hits including "I'm Not the Only One," which got the crowd singing, "Lay Me Down," "Nirvana," "I've Told You Now," "Latch," "Money on My Mind," and "Like I Can."  He also performed a dramatic rendition of "Writing's on the Wall" from the Bond movie Spectre with an extended piano and cello intro and, even though I don't really love that song, I loved his performance of it.  He devoted a large portion of his setlist to his latest album The Thrill of It All which made me very happy because I love this album even though, as he acknowledged, it is filled with very depressing songs!  He began the concert with "Burning," and continued with "One Last Song," "Say It First," "One Day at a Time," "Baby, You Make Me Crazy," "Midnight Train," my favorite song from the album, "HIM," with a great message about love, and "Too Good at Goodbyes," another favorite which ended the set.  For the encore, he sang "Palace," "Stay With Me," which definitely got the audience singing, and "Pray."  I loved this concert and I’m so glad that I decided to go!

Note:  Rather unusually, I didn't go to any concerts over the summer but I have quite a few coming up this fall!

Pandas

I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than to watch baby pandas frolicking on an IMAX screen so that is what I did yesterday.  The new documentary Pandas begins by telling us that these animals are being pushed further and further into the mountains by the overdevelopment of China's forests and that they are being isolated into small groupings which is limiting their biodiversity.  Because they are so endangered, Rong Hou, the head of research at the Chengdu Panda Base, is spearheading a program to introduce pandas born in captivity into the wild.  Then we meet Qian Qian and follow her journey as she is set free.  I loved learning about the process of teaching pandas how to be wild and the footage of Qian Qian is absolutely adorable.  I also loved the bond between Qian Qian and her handlers because it is so evident that she loves them.  You can't help but root for her to succeed!  She does have a major setback but this documentary is not quite as emotionally manipulative the Disneynature films (I am still not over Dawa's death in Born in China).  My only complaint is that this documentary is so short (the run-time is barely 45 minutes which is a bit disappointing given the price of an IMAX ticket) and the fate of Qian Qian is unresolved.  However, this documentary has an important message and the pandas are delightful so I highly recommend it!

Note:  The 3D footage felt so real that I keep swatting flies away from my face!

Alpha

The trailer for Alpha really intrigued me so I went to see it Friday night.  During the Paleolithic period in Europe, members of a tribe go on a bison hunting expedition and Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee), the son of the chief, is hunting with them for the first time.  He wants to make his father proud of him and show the tribe that he is worthy of leading them but he displays weakness multiple times on the journey.  During the actual battle, he is seriously injured by a bison causing the tribe to leave him for dead but he eventually regains consciousness and begins making his way back home.  When a pack of wolves attacks him, he injures the leader and the rest of the wolves run away.  Unable to kill it, Keda begins nursing it back to health.  Since both of them are injured and isolated they eventually bond and help each other brave the elements to get back home.  I loved this movie!  It is absolutely beautiful with stunning cinematography and dazzling effects.  The action sequences, especially the bison hunt and a scene under a frozen lake, are very well staged.  The story, while simple, is incredibly heart-warming as Keda and the wolf begin to depend on each other.  Their relationship is lovely to watch and there were times when I started to tear up, especially when Keda tells the wolf that he can't lose him and begins carrying him.  There is not a lot of dialogue, and that is in an unidentifiable language with subtitles, but Smit-McPhee gives an incredible performance in a highly physical role.  His desire to please his father is communicated with just a look and his despair when he finds the cairn his father made for him is very affecting.  He has a genuine character arc that feels triumphant, if a bit sentimental.  If you have ever loved a dog go see this movie.

Note:  I saw this in IMAX 3D and I would recommend that format because the visuals are truly remarkable.

Mile 22

I am a huge fan of espionage thrillers so I have been looking forward to Mile 22 since I saw the first trailer a few months ago.  James Silva (Mark Wahlberg) is an extremely volatile member of a covert and elite paramilitary group within the CIA known as Overwatch.  When a deadly radioactive isotope capable of leveling several major cities goes missing, Silva's team is tasked with finding it.  One of their informants, Li Noor (Iko Uwais), brings a disk containing the locations of this isotope to the American embassy in Indonesia.  He will give them the password if they give him asylum in the U.S.  The team must transport him, you guessed it, 22 miles from the embassy to an airfield for extraction and it seams everyone, from Indonesian agents to a random group of Russians, wants him dead.  The action in this movie is amazing, particularly during a fight between Noor and two potential assassins in the embassy while the former is handcuffed to a bed, during a high-speed chase between cars and motorcycles through city streets, and during a shoot-out in an apartment building.  It is intense, incredibly violent, and graphic but it is also riveting.  However, the editing is very chaotic with cuts that sometimes last for mere seconds.  The story is a mess and half the time I didn't know what was going on.  I enjoyed it much more after they got through the exposition in the first act and settled into the mission of transporting Noor and I liked the twist at the end which did clear up some inconsistencies (although it has a very ambiguous ending to set up a possible sequel).  The dialogue consists mainly of characters spewing vitriol, peppered with profanity, as fast as they can and it gets really old.  Most of the characters are extremely unlikable, especially Silva.  At one point several characters speculate about what kind of psychological disorder Silva might have and one of them says that he is just an asshole.  That's basically how I felt about him as well.  Wahlberg mostly glowers at the camera but I did like John Malkovich as the team's handler and I think Lauren Cohan has a few affecting moments as a team member with family issues.  Ronda Rousey is surprisingly good as another team member.  My reaction to this movie is much like my reaction to American Assassin.  It is somewhat entertaining but there is nothing that we haven't seen done better in other espionage thrillers.  Hardcore fans of the genre will probably like it more than the casual movie-goer.

Slender Man

Horror movies are hit and miss with me.  I like to be genuinely scared but movies that can actually scare me are few and far between (go here and here).  However, the premise for Slender Man seemed pretty terrifying so I went to see it Saturday afternoon.  Four teens, Wren (Joey King), Hallie (Julia Goldani Telles), Chloe (Jaz Sinclair), and Katie (Annalise Basso), become fascinated by the urban legend of Slender Man and decide to watch a video that will summon him in order to disprove the myth.  When one of them disappears, the other three try to make contact with him and are subsequently terrorized.  Not only is this movie not scary but it is incredibly boring.  The filmmakers took a promising subject, a truly creepy internet meme with tragic real world repercussions, and, not knowing where to go with the story, incorporated every image from every horror film we've ever seen into a jumbled mess that went on and on...and on.  The only other person in my screening actually left half way through!  A derivative script might be forgiven but the execution is just as bad.  The lighting, or lack thereof, is terrible and makes it difficult to see what is happening (which is not much).  It is almost as if the filmmakers thought a spooky atmosphere would be an adequate substitute for a story.  The editing is haphazard at best and some scenes make absolutely no sense, particularly one in a science lab (I heard that this particular scene was edited from the original to get the PG-13 rating but it should have been cut altogether if that is the case). The acting is absolutely abysmal but you can't really fault these young actresses because their characters are so one-dimensional.  The most interesting character with an actual backstory is the first one to disappear.  This movie is an absolute mess and I definitely recommend giving it a miss.