Bohemian Rhapsody

Last night I finally had the chance to see Bohemian Rhapsody and I absolutely loved it!  The movie begins when Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek), a college student of Indian descent who works as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport, goes to see Smile, a band he has been following.  After the show he introduces himself to guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) who tell him that their lead singer has just quit.  Farrokh joins the band, changes their name to Queen, changes his name to Freddie Mercury, and has the band record a demo.  The movie then chronicles Queen's rapid rise to fame, the creation of their epic song "Bohemian Rhapsody," tensions within the band, and their triumphant reunion performance at Live Aid.  The movie also explores his difficult relationship with his very traditional family who disapprove of him, his complicated relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) who he considers to be the love of his life, his troubled relationship with his personal manager Paul Prenter (Allen Leech), his questioning of his sexuality, his loneliness, his promiscuity, his AIDS diagnosis, and, finally, his loving relationship with Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker).  The story of redemption is very powerful and emotional but I was completely blown away by the staging of Queen's performances, especially the 21-minute Live Aid performance (which I remember distinctly).  It seems as if Rami Malek is actually channeling Freddie Mercury in these performances, from the distinctive strut across the stage to the twirling of the microphone stand to the dramatic poses.  Malek gives an absolutely incredible performance, which is already receiving some Oscar buzz, and I had goosebumps whenever he was on stage.  I love the music of Queen and it was fascinating for me to see how they experimented to get their distinctive sound, especially on "Bohemian Rhapsody."  One of my favorite moments in the movie is when an EMI executive, played by Mike Myers, refuses to release the song saying that teenage boys will never bang their heads to it in their cars.  This made me laugh out loud considering a certain scene in the movie Wayne's World where a character, played by Mike Myers, bangs his head to it in his car!  I've heard criticism that this movie doesn't accurately portray his sexuality but I think it is very clear.  It is just not portrayed in an overly salacious way.  I've also heard criticism that there are historical inaccuracies but I don’t think this detracts from the narrative at all.  This is not meant to be a documentary but, rather, a movie that entertains and captures the spirit of Freddie Mercury.  I think it succeeds in doing both and I highly recommend it!  I want to see it again!

Ghostbusters in Concert

This week I have been really sick, which in and of itself is not very pleasant, but the bad thing is that I had a lot of plans which all had to be cancelled.  I was especially bummed about missing the Josh Groban concert!  Luckily, I felt much better yesterday and, since I made it through a day of school, I was able to go to the movie Ghostbusters with the score played live by the Utah Symphony.  It was so much fun!  I love the Utah Symphony Films in Concert series and this movie was especially appropriate for Halloween.  I remember loving this movie when I saw it on the big screen during its first run and, while some of the special effects are a little bit dated, it is still comedy gold.  Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis play Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Egon Spengler, respectively.  They are paranormal psychologists who have recently been fired from Columbia University and, as a result, decide to form the Ghostbusters, a firm which hunts, captures, and disposes of ghosts.  A cellist named Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) hires them and they discover that her apartment building is a gateway for a supernatural being known as Grozer.  Both Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis) are possessed by Grozer's Gatekeeper and Keymaster and, when an officious EPA officer (William Atherton) shuts down the Ghostbusters and releases all of the ghosts back into the city, Grozer appears.  It takes the form of whatever they choose and Ray inadvertently chooses the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (the crowd cheered when he appeared on screen) and an epic battle ensues.  The score, composed by Elmer Bernstein, is absolutely dazzling and the symphony performed it brilliantly.  I think hearing the music performed live adds so much to the experience of watching the movie and I highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's screening (go here for tickets and enter the promo code STAYPUFT for a $5 discount on each ticket).

Note:  As an added bonus, the guest conductor was Peter Bernstein, the son of the composer who also contributed to the score.

Pumpkin Carving 2018

Last night we had our annual pumpkin carving party.  Sean picked out pumpkins for everyone at the pumpkin patch last week and he was so excited to carve them!  He called me several times over the weekend to confirm that we were going to do it!  It was a lot of fun!

Tashena's Wolf

Sean's Bat

While we were carving the pumpkins my sister cooked the seeds and they were so good!  Now I've almost crossed everything off my fall bucket list!

Eighteen

Yesterday my family celebrated Tashena's 18th birthday.  We had dinner from Cafe Rio (it was delicious) and the traditional ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.

After cake she opened her presents.  At the beginning of October she emailed all of us a list of three things that she wanted for her birthday and she got all three of them!

She got some new Nike basketball shoes (in her school colors) from her Mom and Dad.

I got her some Nike basketball socks (in her school colors).  These are very specific socks so I ordered them early this year (one year I had to drive all over the valley looking for them!).

My parents and Marilyn went in together to get her some AirPods and now we all want them!  Tashena always has every new technology before any of us do!

She got a bonus gift from Sean:  a gift card from Fiiz.  He was so excited to give it to her!  I can't believe that she is 18!

Brown Eyed Girl

My niece Tashena is eighteen today!  It has been so much fun watching her grow and develop into the amazing person that she is!  I love her so much and I can't wait to see what life has in store for her because she can do anything!