Friday, July 5, 2019

Fourth of July in Hanna

I spent the Fourth of July with Kristine, Trent, and Sean up at our favorite campground in Hanna.  It was absolutely lovely up in the mountains and it was so relaxing.
We barbecued burgers for dinner and they were delicious.  I think everything tastes so much better outside!
After dinner Sean and I made our traditional flag cake.  I have made this cake every year since I was a teenager!
Sitting around the fire is my very favorite part of camping.
Of course we had to make s'mores!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with fun, friends, and family!

Summer Reading: Something in the Water

I enjoyed Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, the next selection on my summer reading list, very much. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a broken record but I couldn't put this one down either! The novel begins very dramatically with one of the characters digging a grave to bury another one and I just had to know what happened to bring this about! Erin is a documentary filmmaker working on a project about criminals reintegrating into society after being released from prison, including Eddie Bishop a notorious crime boss. Her fiance Mark is a successful investment banker but he has recently lost his high-profile job. This necessitates a much more modest wedding than Erin had planned on but their extravagant honeymoon to Bora Bora is already booked so they decide to go any way. While they are scuba diving, they find something in the water which turns out to be a duffel bag containing enough money and diamonds to solve all of their financial woes. They decide to keep it and they set up a Swiss bank account to launder the money and attempt to sell the diamonds through Eddie Bishop. Of course, this decision brings about unexpected consequences and a few twists and turns along the way. After such a dynamic beginning, I found the first third of this novel to be a bit slow with a lot of details that didn't seem to be relevant to the story. Then the action becomes incredibly compelling and the seemingly random details, such as the minutiae surrounding Mark's job in investment banking, what it is like to fly first class, and Eddie Bishop's involvement in organized crime, become important and the tension escalates. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, especially how easy it is to rationalize dishonest behavior and how easy it is to succumb to greed. It made me think about what I would do if I found myself in similar circumstances! Finally, I really enjoyed Erin's voice in the novel. At first I thought the writing was very haphazard but I eventually came to see Erin as an ordinary person in over her head and that made the dialogue seem more believable. I enjoyed her as a character as a result. This is an intriguing read that will keep you turning the pages until the end and I recommend it.

Note:  Have you read Something in the Water?  What did you think?

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Midsommar

Despite the fact that I screamed out loud both times I saw Ari Astor's previous film, Hereditary, (I even knew what was coming the second time I saw it and I still screamed), I decided to see Midsommar last night.  I don't know why I do these things to myself because this movie is just as unsettling as its predecessor.  Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) have a precarious relationship because she is needy and he is emotionally distant.  Christian contemplates leaving her but, when Dani suffers a family tragedy, she is so traumatized that he stays with her out of guilt.  Dani learns that Christian is planning a trip with his friends Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Mark (Will Poulter) to Sweden.  Pelle has invited them to his remote village to observe a Midsummer festival that occurs every 90 years so they can conduct anthropological research.  Dani is distraught at the thought of him abandoning her so Christian reluctantly invites her along.  At first they find the festival to be enchanting but the pagan rituals become increasingly bizarre and then, ultimately, terrifying.  However, when Dani participates in one of the rituals, she eventually finds a release from her fear and suffering (and her toxic relationship).  What I found to be most interesting is that Dani is truly an outsider in this community, as Christian and his friends are anthropologists who have studied religious rituals, but she is the most accepting and respectful of it.  Although many of the practices are violent (a ritualistic suicide) or strange (a mating ritual), they all are driven by the cycle of life, death, and rebirth and have a certain logic which Dani ultimately embraces.  The fact that the most terrifying scenes take place in a beautiful setting in bight sunlight creates an atmosphere that is full of tension and the score adds to the sense of dread.  Pugh gives a mesmerizing performance as a woman consumed by grief and her look of exultation at the end of the movie is worth the price of admission.  This movie is incredibly difficult to watch (there was much nervous laughter in my screening) but it is brilliant and I am sure that I will be thinking about it for days.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Last night I spontaneously canceled my plans and ended up at a movie theater for a screening of Spider-Man: Far From Home.  It was a good decision!  In the aftermath of the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is mourning the loss of his mentor Tony Stark but he feels the heavy responsibility of being one of the few remaining Avengers.  All he wants to do is be a normal teenager and have a good time on his school trip to Europe and tell M.J. (Zendaya) how he feels about her.  Meanwhile, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) investigate a destructive storm in Mexico and discover that the Elementals, a group of four monsters who can channel the power of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, have come to Earth from a different reality and that Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) has come from that reality to fight them.  When the Water Elemental attacks Venice, where Peter and the other students have begun their trip, Spider-Man helps Beck, who is dubbed Mysterio, destroy it.  Nick recruits a reluctant Peter to help Beck fight the Fire Elemental in Prague and gives him Tony Stark's glasses which have an artificial intelligence known as E.D.I.T.H. that can access all of Stark Industries' databases and weapons.  After Mysterio and Spider-Man defeat the Fire Elemental, Peter turns down Nick's invitation to form a new Avengers team and gives up E.D.I.T.H. with dire consequences.  What I really liked about this movie is Peter's journey (literally and figuratively) of discovery.  In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he yearns for adventure and wants the excitement of being an Avenger but, in this movie, he now understands the consequences and is not sure that he is ready for the responsibility.  He is forced to find his own inner strength, without his mentor, to save the people he cares about.  I have always loved Holland in this role and he is even more endearingly awkward this time around.  Gyllenhaal is having so much fun as Mysterio and I thought he was a great character.  I also really enjoyed the action sequences, especially the virtual reality aspect of some of the battles, because they feel quite fresh for the MCU.  Finally, I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious because of the interactions between Peter and his friends, especially the relationship between Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Betty (Angourie Rice).  Having taken students on three school trips to Europe, I laughed out loud at just about everything Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (J.B. Smoove) said and did. I also laughed when Happy (Jon Favreau) played "Back in Black" and Peter said that he loves Led Zeppelin.  This movie is a lot of fun and it does a good job of bridging the gap between Avengers: Endgame and the future of the MCU (stay for the mid and end credits scenes).  I definitely recommend it!

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at HCT

I am not a big fan of the Rodgers & Hammerstein version of Cinderella (I much prefer the Disney version) but I was actually looking forward to HCT's production because I knew the sets and costumes would be amazing. I saw the show last night and I was definitely not disappointed. In fact, I was absolutely enchanted by this magical production! The updated version of the story turns Cinderella (Shae Robins) into a social reformer who must rescue Prince Topher (Preston Taylor) from the evil Lord Protector Sebastian (B. J. Whimpey) who is deceiving him about the conditions in his kingdom. Her Fairy Godmother (Michelle Blake) tells her that she has the power to make her own dreams come true and her stepsisters Gabrielle (Rachel Bigler) and Charlotte (Kristi Curtis) eventually become sympathetic conspirators. I understand that this update is to make the story more appealing to a modern audience but when I saw the Broadway touring production a few years ago I yearned for the classic fairy tale. I missed the romance and the magic. However, director Dave Tinney managed to infuse the magic back into the contemporary story for a show that is a must-see! First of all, this is one of the strongest casts that I have ever seen at Hale Theatre! I was especially impressed with Robins as Cinderella and Blake as the Fairy Godmother. Since this is the Rodgers & Hammerstein version, the songs require an impressive range and these actresses are absolutely brilliant, especially in the songs "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "Glass Slipper/ It's Possible," and "There Is Music In You." The choreography is dazzling and I particularly liked the staging of "A Prince Is Giving A Ball/ Now Is The Time" because it involves multiple levels and props and "Ten Minutes Ago" because the dance between Cinderella and her prince is so romantic. The sets are absolutely gorgeous, with elements coming up from the pit, down from the rafters, and in from the wings. I think my favorites are the wisteria covered gazebo used in the wedding scene and the palace steps at the stroke of midnight. The costumes are amazing. Of course Cinderella's ball gown is every little girl's dream come true but all of the ball gowns are sparkling and the Fairy Godmother's dress is also beautiful. Finally, the special effects are incredible! I was completely immersed in this production and I almost believed that the transformation scene involved actual magic! There are LED lights all around the theatre that are programmed to blink on and off whenever the Fairy Godfather waves her magic wand and the effect is spectacular!  I was literally giggling out loud and the little girl sitting near me squealed with delight! The transformation of the fox and raccoon into the coachman and footman is so clever and that of the pumpkin into a coach is so much fun (the coach is spectacular). Cinderella's change into her ball gown happened so quickly I couldn't believe what I was seeing! It is simply one of the best productions I've seen at Hale Theatre and I highly recommend it, especially for children who will be captivated by what they are seeing (even if the story is different from what they are used to). Cinderella runs on the Main Stage until September 7 and tickets may be purchased here (but you better get them before the clock strikes twelve).

Note:  Don't forget Freaky Friday which is on the Jewel Box Stage until August 24.
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