The Shawshank Redemption

Yesterday I went to see one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption, on the big screen once again and it made me so happy!  Mild-mannered banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of killing his wife and her lover and sentenced to two consecutive life terms despite the fact that he is innocent.  When he arrives at Shawshank State Penitentiary, he is horrified by the violent captain of the guards (Clancy Brown) and the corrupt warden (Bob Gunton) but he refuses to give into his emotions on the first night.  He befriends Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) and uses his skills as a banker to curry favor with the guards and the warden and to help his fellow prisoners.  Throughout his time at Shawshank Andy clings to hope.  I love that he never gives into despair but, instead, he quietly takes steps to obtain his freedom and does so when he deems that he has done enough penance for his sins.  I love that he also instills a sense of hope in Red who believes that he has been institutionalized by his time in prison and wonders if he will suffer the same fate as Brooks (James Whitmore), who is unable to live on the outside after 50 years in prison.  I love the triumphant ending when the two of them reunite in Zihuatanejo, a place with no memory where they can find redemption.  The story is so inspirational and I especially love the scene where Dufresne plays an aria from the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart for the entire prison to remind them that nothing cannot take away the memory of the things they love!  Both Robbins and Freeman give powerful performances that are incredibly moving.  Robbins is so rigid and self-contained in his portrayal of Dufresne that even they way he walks is circumscribed.  This makes the scene where Dufresne raises his arms in victory after escaping from the sewers of the prison so poignant (I wait during the entire movie for this scene).  Finally, the score by Thomas Newman is incredibly beautiful and evocative.  In my opinion, this is one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King story (it is based on the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption) and I highly recommend seeing it!  You have another chance to see it on the big screen on Wednesday (go here).

Note:  This movie is celebrating its 25th Anniversary which makes me feel old because I remember seeing it in the theater during its first run!

Ad Astra

My Dad and I have been anticipating the movie Ad Astra for quite some time and we were able to see it last night.  We both thought it was brilliant!  In the near future, the Earth is being threatened by solar power surges which U.S. Space Command (SpaceCom) has traced to the Lima Project.   A group was sent to the far reaches of the Solar System to search for intelligent life under the command of Dr. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), a legendary astronaut who abandoned his wife and son for the mission, twenty-six years ago.  They lost communication with McBride sixteen years ago and he was presumed dead but now they have reason to believe he is still alive.  McBride's son Roy (Brad Pitt) is also a decorated astronaut whose personal life has suffered as a result of his dedication to the job.  He is given the mission to travel to Mars to send a communication to his father but once he gets there he learns that SpaceCom may have other plans for the mission and that his father might not be the hero he has always believed him to be.  He sends an emotional appeal to his father but is then judged to be psychologically unfit to continue with the mission.  He sneaks aboard the ship traveling to the Lima Project base stationed near Neptune and he both longs for and dreads a meeting with his father.  While this movie does have some spectacular action sequences, including an amazing free-fall from a space antenna, a lunar rover chase, a dramatic manual landing on Mars, and a flight through space that is only propelled by the thrusters on a spacesuit, it is primarily a psychological portrait of a man who both reveres his father but fears that he is becoming like him.  Roy's character arc is incredibly satisfying and the ultimate message about the universe is strangely positive. Pitt gives an understated but riveting performance that is among his best, especially in the scene where he confronts his father.  I really enjoyed the depiction of space travel, especially the commercial flights to the moon operated by Virgin Atlantic, and the visual effects are spectacular.  This may not be the action adventure that people are expecting from a space movie but it is a meditative, haunting, and powerful masterpiece.  I will be thinking about it for days to come and I highly recommend it!

The Goldfinch

When I saw the first trailer for The Goldfinch, I was so intrigued by it that I decided to read the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Donna Tartt upon which the movie is based.  I was absolutely captivated by it, so much so that I stayed up reading well into the early morning hours on several occasions (not a very good idea during the first week of school) because I could not put it down.  It is an epic story that is Dickensian in scope so I wondered how it would translate to film.  I finally had the opportunity to see it yesterday afternoon and I loved it as much as I did the book!  Theodore "Theo" Decker (Oakes Fegley) is a 13-year old boy when his mother is killed by a bomb at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  In the confusion after the explosion he takes a painting called The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius from the rubble.  His life then becomes incredibly chaotic.  He is first placed with the Barbours, the wealthy family of a school friend, and he bonds with Samantha Barbour (Nicole Kidman) over art and antiques.  Just when he is about to be adopted by the Barbours, his estranged and alcoholic father Larry (Luke Wilson) and his girlfriend Xandra (Sarah Paulsen) show up to take him to Las Vegas.  Larry's motivation is to access Theo's trust fund to pay off his gambling debts.  He is left to his own devices much of the time and eventually meets Boris (Finn Wolfhard), the son of a Ukrainian emigre working on a mine in Las Vegas.  Boris introduces Theo to smoking, drinking, and shoplifting and the two of them eventually drop acid in a pivotal scene.  When Larry is killed in a car accident, Theo returns to New York and finds James "Hobie" Hobart (Jeffrey Wright) and Pippa (Aimee Lawrence), the business partner and niece, respectively, of Welty Blackwell (Robert Joy), a man who spoke to Theo in the museum before dying from the explosion.  Hobie restores antique furniture and allows Theo to live with him.  As a young adult, Theo (Ansel Elgort) is incredibly unhappy.  He is selling fake antiques which brings serious consequences to Hobie, is addicted to drugs, is engaged to Kitsey Barbour (Willa Fitzgerald) as a way to hold on to a relationship with the Barbours even though he has unrequited feelings for Pippa (Ashleigh Cummings), and becomes involved in a dangerous criminal underworld when he reconnects with Boris (Aneurin Barnard).  Throughout the turmoil, the one constant in Theo's life is the painting.  It is only when he realizes that the painting is a symbol of the guilt and trauma he feels over his mother's death that he can release it and be happy.  It seems like every critic in the world hated this movie but I loved it.  I can understand why people not familiar with the story about loss, survival, obsession, and the importance of art might find it confusing, especially because the explosion at the museum is shown in a series of random flashbacks, but having recently read the book I did not have that problem.  I will also concede that there are some elements of the story that do feel rushed, especially the ending, but I am still impressed with how faithful the movie is to the book (which is almost 800 pages).  The story is beautiful, the images on the screen are luminous, and the performances are incredibly powerful.  I'm glad I saw this movie, despite the dreadful reviews, and I recommend seeing it for yourself if you enjoyed the book.

The Music of John Williams

Last night I went to my first Utah Symphony concert of the 2019-2020 season and I was so happy to be at Abravanel Hall after a long week!  This concert featured iconic film scores composed by John Williams and it was absolutely wonderful!  The orchestra began, rather appropriately, with Call of the Champions which was commissioned for the Opening Ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.  John Williams actually conducted the Utah Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the recording that was used in the Opening Ceremonies and it was so fun to hear it again.  Then the orchestra played the "Superman Theme" from Superman which I really enjoyed because I will be seeing the movie on the big screen in a few weeks.  Next came "Flight to Neverland" from Hook which was very stirring.  The movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is not one that I enjoy but "David's Theme" is quite poignant and I especially loved the solo cello in this piece.  Next came the Overture from The Cowboys which is a movie that I have never seen before but I really liked the music from it.  The highlight from the first half was a series of excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind because it is one of my favorite movies.  The music brilliantly portrays the feeling of amazement that the characters have over what they are seeing and I had goosebumps as the orchestra played it because I could see the UFOs landing in my mind!  Next came "The Devil's Dance" from The Witches of Eastwick and I especially liked the chimes!  The first half ended with "Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the rousing fanfare got the audience cheering!  After the intermission the orchestra played Liberty Fanfare which was commissioned to celebrate the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.  It was also very stirring.  Next came the Suite from Far and Away which was very atmospheric.  Another highlight was the Theme from Schindler's List.  This piece is incredibly moving and Concertmaster Madeleine Adkins played the violin solo so beautifully that it brought a tear to my eye.  "Hedwig's Theme" and "Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (another movie that I will see on the big screen in a few weeks) were a lot of fun.  I particularly liked the celesta used in these pieces.  Those two instantly recognizable notes played by the cellos in the Theme from Jaws are brilliant because they evoke a feeling of menace without actually showing the shark!  Another favorite from the evening was the Theme from Jurassic Park.  I love when scientists see the dinosaurs for the first time and I think the score really adds to that sense of wonder.  For the finale the orchestra played "Adventures on Earth" from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial which guest conductor Jack Everly, who told amusing anecdotes about each of the scores, revealed was John Williams' favorite of all his compositions.  I was so excited when the orchestra played "Darth Vader's Theme" from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as an encore because it is always simultaneously thrilling and terrifying to me (I was so scared of Darth Vader when I was a child).  Hearing these scores brought back so many memories of watching these movies for the first time and I highly recommend getting a ticket to this concert when the program is repeated tonight (go here).

Downton Abbey

My Mom, my sisters, and I are huge fans of the PBS series Downton Abbey and we have been giddy with anticipation ever since we found out about the movie!  I actually binge-watched all six seasons again to prepare myself for it (yes, I am a nerd).  Last night the four of us had a girls night out to watch a Thursday preview and we all loved it!  Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, respectively) are visited by King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) when they stop at Downton Abbey as part of their royal tour of Yorkshire.  Chaos ensues!  Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is overwhelmed by the details of the visit and wonders if keeping Downton open is worth the effort in a changing world.  Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is finding it difficult to adapt to her role as Marchioness of Hexham (I love it that Edith outranks everyone).  Tom (Allen Leech) puts his loyalty to the Crawley family to the test when he is inadvertently involved in an intrigue against the King.  Violet, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), is up to her old tricks and plotting against the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton).  Of course, Violet has some of the best dialogue in the movie ("Machiavelli is frequently underrated.").  My favorite part of the story is when the downstairs staff take great exception to the fact that the royal entourage has taken over Downton Abbey.  The Royal Page of the Backstairs (David Haig) has usurped Carson's (Jim Carter) authority, Monsieur Courbet (Philippe Spall) has taken over the kitchen from Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nichol), and Mrs. Webb (Richenda Carey) has relegated Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) to a mere bystander in the house.  Anna (Joanne Froggatt) comes up with a brilliant plan to help the staff resume their duties and to allow Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) to serve the King and Queen at dinner (in the funniest scene in the movie).  I also enjoyed the opening credits because the bringing of the letter from Buckingham Palace to Downton mimics the bringing of the telegram about the Titanic in the very first episode.  I thought that was very clever.  I loved this movie so much because it was like watching an extended episode showing us what has happened to these beloved characters since they last appeared in our living rooms but with even more sumptuous production values (especially the costumes and jewelry) and beautiful cinematography.  Fans of the series are sure to love this movie (the rowdy crowd in our screening, many of whom were in 1920s period costumes, was very appreciative) but people who are not familiar with the show and characters may not enjoy it as much.

Note:  Our girls night out was so much fun!  We even got ice cream after the movie!