The Testaments

The TV series on Hulu has made The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood extremely popular again but I remember reading it as a teenager when it was first published in 1985.  I also had the opportunity to hear Margaret Atwood speak about it at the University of Utah when I was in college. The dystopian story about the subjugation of women in the totalitarian society of Gilead affected me as no other book has before or since so I was beyond excited to learn that this month's book club selection was The Testaments, Atwood's long awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. More than anything I wanted to know the fate of Offred and this book answers that question...sort of. Offred is a powerful and integral part of the story but she is not an actual character. Instead, the narrative alternates between the perspectives of Aunt Lydia, a young girl living in Gilead named Agnes, and a young girl living in Canada named Daisy. Aunt Lydia is a villain in The Handmaid's Tale but, fifteen years after the events in that story, we learn that Lydia has been creating an illegal document recounting her life before Gilead and how she had to overcome many obstacles to become a respected judge, how she chose to accept her role as an Aunt as a means of survival, and her attempts to undermine the patriarchy. Agnes is a privileged young girl who is being prepared for marriage to a Commander. She is content with her role in society until she is allowed to read the Bible for herself and realizes that she has been lied to her entire life. Daisy has never been told that she was smuggled out of Gilead as a baby, that the people who have raised her are really members of the Resistance, and that she is now an important symbol to the people of Gilead. When she learns her identity, she decides to work for the Resistance and infiltrate Gilead society. What I loved about this book is that you never really know what any of the three main characters will ultimately do until the final resolution because the stakes are so high for them. It actually felt like a suspenseful thriller more than a manifesto. My book club last night had some great discussions about the corrupting influence of absolute power and how the oppressed will always find a way to rise. We also talked about the dangers of fundamentalism and how the narrative seems to echo many events in the world today which is truly frightening.  Finally, we discussed the important role that reading (we are a book club with members who love reading, after all) played in toppling the totalitarian regime. As a huge fan of The Handmaid's Tale I really enjoyed this sequel (I finished it in two days because it is so compelling) and I would highly recommend it.

Note:  Next month's selection is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.  The early reviews of this book are great so I am eager to start reading it.  Go here for more information about the Barnes & Noble Book Club and join us for a lively discussion of this selection on Nov 5.

Rambo: Last Blood

My Dad is as much of a night owl as I am and we have decided that we like going to late movies on Saturday nights (we saw Ad Astra a few weeks ago) and now we want to go as often as we can.  Last night we decided to see Rambo: Last Blood and we had such a good time.  Vietnam veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is suffering from PTSD but has found a measure of peace on his father's horse ranch in Arizona and has created a surrogate family with his housekeeper Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal).  Gabriela has tracked down the father who abandoned her and her mother and, against Rambo's advice, she travels to Mexico to confront him.  After her father rejects her, she goes to a club where she is drugged and kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring run by Hugo and Victor Martinez (Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Oscar Jaenada, respectively).  Rambo travels to Mexico to save her but is unsuccessful.  He ultimately kills Victor forcing an epic confrontation with Hugo and a large group of his hitmen back at his ranch where he has booby trapped a series of elaborate underground tunnels.  This confrontation, which is the entire third act of the movie, is violent, graphic, and intense but it is strangely satisfying.  Even though they are violent, the action sequences are amazing because Rambo uses a variety of different weapons in very innovative ways and I actually wanted to cheer when a particularly despicable character meets a grisly end.  I really liked Rambo's character arc in this movie because this time around he is exacting revenge for the brutal death of a loved one and there are scenes that are filled with genuine emotion.  I also liked the fact that Rambo isn't entirely invincible in this movie.  He willingly puts himself in harm's way, and gets beaten very badly, for the sake of someone he loves and that is what makes this a fitting conclusion his story.  All of the critics hated this movie but I think fans of the franchise will enjoy it.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at CPT

The first time I saw The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I fell in love with both the story about a group of outcasts who take refuge in Notre Dame Cathedral and the beautiful music!  I was very impressed with HCT's production so I was really looking forward to CPT's version. I got to see it last night and, once again, I loved everything about it! Quasimodo (Christian Lackman) has been hidden by his master Frollo (Daniel Frederickson) in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral all of his life because of his deformity. He wonders what it would be like to leave the cathedral and decides that he will be safe on the streets of Paris during the Feast of Fools. He is eventually crowned the King of the Fools but when the crowd turns on him the gypsy Esmeralda (Becca Burdick) rescues him. She also catches the eye of the captain of the cathedral guard Phoebus de Martin (Spencer McCoy) who falls in love with her and she bewitches Frollo who becomes obsessed with possessing her. When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her.  When Phoebus refuses they both become fugitives who are aided by Quasimodo until the final confrontation in the bell tower. The four main leads are outstanding! My favorite song in the show is "God Help the Outcasts" and Burdick sings it so beautifully; Frederickson's version of "Hellfire" is incredibly dramatic and powerful (it is also staged brilliantly);  Lackman's rendition of "Heaven's Light" brought tears to my eyes; and McCoy is so romantic when he sings "Someday" with Burdick.  The talented ensemble also does an excellent job narrating the story in "The Bells of Notre Dame" and its multiple reprises.  One of my favorite aspects of this show is the use of gargoyles (Jacob Grossenbach, Loren Atwater, Kylee Turner, and Azia Moeai) as characters who help and inspire Quasimodo, especially in "Made of Stone."  The choreography is very energetic and engaging, particularly when the gypsies dance in "Rhythm of the Tambourine" and "Topsy Turvy."  The set is spectacular with large moving pieces that instantly transform the stage into the bell tower of the cathedral, the town square in front of the cathedral, and the Court of Miracles.  I especially loved the rose window of the cathedral and the the giant bells above the stage that would "ring" when needed.  Everything about this production is fabulous;  in fact, it is one of the best productions I've seen at CPT.  I highly recommend seeing this beautiful story come to life for yourself (go here for tickets).

Joker

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Joker and I thought it was as brilliant as it was disturbing.  Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a mentally ill young man who suffers from a condition where he laughs uncontrollably in inappropriate situations.  He is a clown for hire during the day and an aspiring comedian at night who feels alienated from everyone around him.  He feels that he has been rejected by his mother, his colleagues, a would-be girlfriend, his social worker, and a society that values the wealthy over the less fortunate.  After he is attacked on the subway by a group of wealthy young men who are provoked by his clown costume and his laughter, he brutally kills them.  This starts a series of riots where people dressed as clowns attack the wealthy and it also awakens something inside Arthur who begins taking revenge against everyone who has hurt him.  His killing spree culminates on a TV talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro, in a nod to The King of Comedy), a comedian who ridicules him by playing footage of his disastrous routine at a comedy club.  Arthur eventually becomes a cult hero for the less fortunate of Gotham City with unforeseen consequences involving the wealthy Wayne family.  This is a thought-provoking condemnation of a society that fails to protect the vulnerable and it is upsetting to watch, particularly because of the tension that builds and builds as Arthur descends into a madness that feels inevitable.  Phoenix is absolutely brilliant in this physically and emotionally demanding role.  As much as I was repulsed by the violence of Arthur's actions, Phoenix actually made me empathize with the character and that left me feeling incredibly unnerved.  It is a performance that I will definitely not soon forget.  The cinematography is striking with an incredibly dark and gritty tone that calls to mind Martin Scorsese's best films of the 1970s and the score by Hildur Gudnadottir is haunting.  I don't know if I can recommend something that left me feeling so traumatized but it is one of the best movies of the year.

Hustlers

I didn’t initially have a lot of interest in seeing Hustlers but several people whose opinions I value recommended it very highly to me so I decided to see it last night.  I'm glad that I took a chance on this movie because it is much better than I was expecting.  Dorothy (Constance Wu), who takes the stage name Destiny, is working at a strip club to support her infirm grandmother but she is barely getting by.  She turns to veteran stripper Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) who coaches her on how to get better tips.  She begins making a lot more money but, more importantly, she and Ramona become close friends.  Everything changes when the financial crisis of 2008 happens and both Destiny and Ramona become desperate to make money.  Ramona comes up with the idea of luring wealthy Wall Street traders into the club, drugging them with a mixture of ketamine and ecstasy, and running up their credit cards to the limit.  Destiny and strippers Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart) join her and they all become fabulously wealthy until it all falls apart.  This movie is a true story based on a 2015 New York Times article called "The Hustlers at Scores" so there is a framing device of having a reporter (Julia Stiles) interview the strippers in 2014 with flashbacks to the past.   What I really loved about this movie is that it has a powerful message about friendship and female empowerment.  While there are a few fun shopping montages, both Ramona and Destiny are ultimately trying to improve the lives of their daughters so that they will have more choices than they did.  I also found the biting social commentary to be very interesting (it reminded me a lot of The Big Short).  The women justify what they are doing by saying that these corrupt Wall Street bigwigs have fleeced Americans for years with their unscrupulous policies so they are just trying to get some of the money back.  It's hard not to root for them to succeed!  Finally, the performances are great!  Wu is incredibly affecting, especially when her conscience begins to bother her, but Lopez gives a tour-de-force performance that is definitely one of her best (it has already generated some Oscar buzz).  Cardi B and Lizzo have some fun cameos as strippers as does Usher who plays himself.  I would recommend this movie with the proviso that it does earn its R rating with quite a bit of nudity, sexuality, (the characters are strippers who dance provocatively) drug use, and language.