Prom 2019

Last night Tashena went to her last high school dance!  I can't believe that she will be graduating from high school in just a few weeks!

I have really enjoyed taking pictures of all her high school dances and I think she has always chosen such beautiful dresses.

Homecoming 2016

Winter Ball 2016

Prom 2017

Homecoming 2017

Winter Ball 2017

Prom 2018

Winter Ball 2018

Penguins

Is there anything cuter than a waddling penguin?  I submit that there is not so I have been eagerly anticipating Disneynature's newest documentary, Penguins, for quite some time.  I was able to see it last night and I absolutely loved it!  This time the focus is on a goofy Adelie penguin named Steve.  He couldn't be more endearing or entertaining as he travels with the rest of the males in his colony from the open ocean to a breeding ground in Antarctica during the spring thaw to build a nest, find a mate, and raise a family for the first time.  Steve has a penchant for getting lost which causes him to mistakenly join a group of Emperor penguins and attract the unwanted amorous attentions of an elephant seal!  He also must contend with the harsh Antarctic environment, the necessity of constantly feeding and supervising his chicks, and predators such as killer whales and leopard seals.  Steve's story is both humorous and compelling.  As with many Disneynature documentaries, it is very anthropomorphic with hilarious narration from Ed Helms and I especially enjoyed the commentary when Steve is courting his mate Adeline.  Antarctica is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth but it has a stark beauty (I want to go there someday) that is heroically captured by a team of filmmakers over a period of three years and the cinematography is simply stunning, particularly the underwater sequences.  Definitely stay though the credits to see how the filmmakers are able to get some of the more spectacular shots (and for more amusing narration depicting Steve as an actor trying to hit his marks).  I also really enjoyed the classic rock needle drops including Patti LaBelle's "Stir It Up" as Steve struts across the ice, REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" when he courts Adeline, Average White Band's "Work to Do" as he makes a 100 mile trek to get food for his chicks, and Whitesnakes's "Here I Go Again" when he returns to the open ocean in the winter.  I highly recommend this enchanting documentary, especially if you love penguins as much as I do!

Note:  If you see Penguins during its opening week (April 17-23), Disneynature will make a donation to the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) to help protect penguins around the world.

An Outing

Every month I have an outing with Sean where I pick him up from school and we go to Barnes & Noble to pick out a book and then go to Crumbl for cookies.  We went yesterday and we had so much fun (it took him over 45 minutes to choose a book).  I think I look forward to it just as much as Sean does!  We started this tradition at the end of last summer after we went to the move The Darkest Minds.  Sean absolutely loved this movie and when I mentioned that it was based on a series of books he immediately wanted to read them.  I took him to Barnes & Noble the next day so he could get the first book.  I told him that I would buy him any book that he wanted because I love the fact that he likes to read.  He took me at my word and, eventually, I had to limit it to once a month!  After one of our trips to the book store we drove past the the Crumbl store and, after Sean mentioned how good the cookies were, we decided to stop in.  I love the cookies so now that is a part of the tradition.  Sean usually gets a chocolate chip cookie and I get a sugar cookie or a snickerdoodle (when they are available).  I sure do love this kid and I love that he wants to spend time with me!

The Wind

I frequently find the wind to be a bit unnerving, especially when I am trying to fall asleep, so when I saw the trailer for an atmospheric thriller called The Wind I immediately wanted to see it (because I like to torture myself) and I did so last night.  Lizzy Macklin (Caitlin Gerard) and her husband Isaac (Ashley Zuckerman) have settled on a remote and desolate piece of land in the American frontier during the late 1800s.  She is initially very hard working, resourceful, and capable but soon the isolation starts to take a toll on her and she begins to sense a malevolent presence.  Her husband dismisses her fears (he thinks that she is simply being hysterical) but they become overwhelming when another couple, Emma (Julia Goldani Telles) and Gideon Harper (Dylan McTee), move nearby resulting in tragedy.  The story is very nonlinear, beginning with the mysterious death of Emma with flashbacks to when Lizzy and Isaac first move to their homestead and when Emma and Gideon arrive, and this serves to keep you guessing as to the cause of Lizzy's madness.  The tension builds and builds, although it does start to lose steam in the third act, with brilliant sound design where every creak in the floor, every rattle of the shutters, and every howl of the relentless wind is amplified to the point where you want to jump out of your seat!  Gerard is great in the role of a woman slowly being driven mad and her physical transformation is the best part of this film.  While not as frightening as The Witch or Hereditary, this is a disturbing psychological thriller that explores some interesting feminist themes and I recommend it.

Note:  In order to occupy her mind, Isaac reads Lizzy a passage from Frankenstein (which my seniors are currently reading).  I found the passage about the isolation felt by the creature to be particularly apt and I wonder how many members of the audience got the allusion!

Transit

I am not very keen on the new releases this week so I have decided to check out a few independent films instead.  I started last night with Transit because the trailer was so haunting and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Unnamed fascists have come to power in Europe and the city of Paris has been occupied.  Soldiers begin rounding up people for ethnic cleansing so Georg (Franz Rogowski) must flee the city as soon as possible.  He is asked by a friend to deliver two letters to a writer named Weidel but when he goes to his hotel room he discovers that Weidel has committed suicide.  One of the letters is from his estranged wife Marie (Paula Beer) and one is is from the Mexican Consulate giving Weidel and his wife exit visas, a wire transfer of money, and passage for both of them on a ship leaving from the port city of Marseilles.  Georg travels to Marseilles and impersonates Weidel to get the exit visa.  He is extremely affected by the refugees he meets in his hotel, at the consulate, and in the bar he frequents as he waits for the ship to depart and he feels tremendous guilt, especially about leaving behind a young boy he has befriended.  Soon he encounters Marie, who is in Marseilles with her lover (who has an exit visit and will soon leave her behind) and is desperate to find her husband to get the visa he has for her.  She doesn't know that her husband is dead or that Georg is impersonating him but keeps encountering him in her search.  Eventually Georg falls in love with her and offers to get her a visa without telling her how or what he has done which complicates the situation with her lover.  What makes this film so powerful is that, while it references many of the events of World War II, it is set in an indefinite time period without the Nazi iconography and I found that to be incredibly menacing because it could be happening now.  The soldiers are wearing riot gear instead of jackboots and there is a terrifying scene where a woman is dragged out of a hotel while the other refugees watch with relief that it isn't them being arrested.  The scenes in the consulate are filled with a desperation that is palpable and the tension is almost unbearable as the characters try to outrun the invading army.  All of the characters have multi-layered relationships with others but they are ultimately alone in their quest for survival and there are many existential themes explored.  Both Rogowski and Beers give compelling and sympathetic performances which will haunt you long after you leave the theater.  This film reminded me of Casablanca but with much higher stakes and I highly recommend it!