Richard Jewell

I distinctly remember the events surrounding the bombing at Centennial Park during the 1996 Atalanta Olympics (I love the Olympics so I usually watch continuous coverage) but I didn't really remember what happened with Richard Jewell, the security guard who became the prime suspect, so I was really eager to see his story portrayed in the movie Richard Jewell last night.  Clint Eastwood as a director is really hit or miss with me but I ended up liking this movie.  After he is fired for being overzealous as a campus security guard, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) takes a job as a security guard at Centennial Park during the Olympics.  During a concert at the park, Jewell finds an unattended backpack in his area and, despite the fact that no one else finds it suspicious, he calls it into the bomb squad and tries to evacuate the area.  When the pipe bombs inside the backpack explode, wounding hundreds and killing two, he is credited with saving thousands of other lives.  However, FBI Agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) develops a profile of the perpetrator as a white male who is obsessed with law enforcement and yearns to be a hero and, since Jewell fits that profile, he becomes a suspect.  Journalist Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) discovers that Jewell is a suspect and writes a damning article about him.  Soon he and his mother (Kathy Bates) are harassed by the FBI and the media causing him to turn to down-and-out attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell) to defend him.  I found the story to be very compelling and, as I mentioned, I enjoyed learning what ultimately happened to Jewell because I didn't know his story.  The ensemble cast is outstanding but I was particularly impressed with Hauser's performance because he makes Jewell so sympathetic with a powerful stand up and cheer moment at the end.  I did, however, find the message about Jewell's innocence to be a bit heavy-handed and one sided.   I didn't like the way that Shaw and Scruggs are portrayed because they are almost caricatures of villains who are out to get Jewell personally.  Shaw (an amalgamation of several real-life characters) is totally unscrupulous and violates several laws to trick Jewell into cooperating while Scruggs sleeps with sources to get information and has someone else write her copy.  This movie would be more powerful if it was objective rather than skewed to fit a certain narrative.  Ultimately, I did like this movie and I would recommend it.

Queen & Slim

Yesterday I finally got to see Queen & Slim, a movie that has been on my list for a really long time!  I usually enjoy movies that feature some kind of social commentary but I was surprised by how much I loved this.  A black man (Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) who have been matched by Tinder have a first date that does not go very well because she is uptight and he is deeply religious.  As he is driving her home, they are stopped by a white police officer for a minor traffic violation and the situation quickly escalates.  As the officer attempts to arrest the man, who has done nothing wrong, the woman, who is a lawyer, interferes and is shot in the leg.  In the ensuing scuffle, the man grabs the gun and kills the officer in self-defense.  He is traumatized by what he has done and wants to turn himself in but she, as a lawyer, knows that a black man accused of killing a cop won't get any justice so she demands that they go on the run.  The footage from the police camera goes viral so they decide to go to Florida and try find a way to Cuba.  As they travel through the rural South, they are helped by the people they encounter and soon realize that they have become reluctant folk heroes.  This movie is sometimes very difficult to watch but it is also beautiful and very powerful.  The audience does not learn the backstories of the two main characters until almost the third act (we don't even learn their names until the final scenes and neither of the nicknames in the title are ever used) but this works because they are essentially archetypes for the black experience.  I found their transformation fascinating because they are only able to find a measure of happiness and freedom when they abandon the roles they have been playing all of their lives (which makes their choice at the end, while shattering, at least understandable).  I loved the structure of the narrative because, while there are some really tense and desperate scenes where they have to elude capture, most of the action involves poignant moments between the two characters. I especially enjoyed a scene at a blues club where she finally lets down her guard.  Kaluuya and Turner-Smith give riveting and highly sympathetic performances and I found myself willing them to succeed while waiting for the outcome I knew was coming.  This movie features beautiful cinematography, atmospheric lighting, and a message that is both provocative and profound.  I was very moved by it and highly recommend it.

Kurt Bestor at the Eccles

I have certainly been getting my fill of Christmas music this season because I went to yet another Christmas concert last night (the third in four days for those of you who are playing along at home).  This time it was the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert at the Eccles Theatre.  I think that Bestor can sometimes be really full of himself but I love his arrangements of Christmas carols and he always puts on a great show!  He was center stage at the piano (he also played the flugelhorn and harmonica) and was backed by a fantastic band and orchestra.  He began with "Suite De Noel" and continued with his arrangements of "Joy to the World," "Carol of the Bells," "What Child Is This," "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" (a favorite of mine from when I was in the Westminster College Choir), "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Little Town of Bethlehem,"and "Let It Snow."  Then he brought his special guest, world-renowned tenor Nathan Pacheco, to the stage to perform his arrangement of "I Wonder as I Wander" and this was incredibly beautiful.  Pacheco's voice is so powerful that he just about blew the roof off the Eccles Theatre!  He next played "Christmas Concerto for Woodwinds" which is a fun medley of lots of different Christmas carols and it features musician Ray Smith on a variety of woodwind instruments.  I've been to Bestor's concerts before and whenever he performs this piece, Smith likes to add a new instrument (it originally began with 20).  Last night he attempted 38 different instruments to break the Guinness World Record (apparently he did it!).  After the intermission, Bestor performed the song that he is best known for, "Prayer of the Children," and he featured three members of the One Voice Children's Choir.  It was beautiful and everyone around me was crying by the end of it (I may or may not have been crying, too).  Next, he played his version of "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas (including a Charlie Brown tree).  Nathan Pacheco returned to the stage to perform "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Winter Wonderland" which were lovely.  My very favorite Christmas song is "O Holy Night" and every year I always hope that I can hear it performed live.  This year I got a bonus performance because Pacheco sang a beautiful arrangement and I absolutely loved it!  He gave me goosebumps!  Bestor then dedicated his version of "Still, Still, Still" to his father who passed away this year (this is another favorite from my choir days).  He brought an audience member to the stage to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to his accompaniment, as he does every year, and it was quite amusing because he chose the same man to read it last year!  He ended the set with "Silent Night" and then performed a rousing version of "Ding Dong Merrily On High" for the encore.  This concert included so many of my favorites and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir 2019

Last night I was able to attend Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir and it was such a beautiful concert.  It featured the choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, Bells on Temple Square, the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble, and guests Richard Thomas and Kelli O'Hara.  The evening began with "Star in the East" performed by the orchestra and the choir while members of the choir walked down the aisles through the crowd to the stage carrying lights.  This was so dramatic and it gave me goosebumps!  Then they performed a stirring rendition of "In Dulci Jubilo."  Next Kelli O'Hara, a Broadway star who won the Tony Award for her performance as Anna in the revival of The King and I, came to the stage to perform "Mary's Little Boy Child" and "The Birthday of a King." I wasn't very familiar with O'Hara but her voice is absolutely exquisite and she sang these songs so beautifully and effortlessly!  The concert continued with a fun medley of Christmas carols performed by the orchestra.  O'Hara returned to give the audience what she called the gift of Rogers & Hammerstein by performing "A Cockeyed Optimist" from South Pacific, "I Whistle a Happy Tune" from The King and I, and "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.  I love all of these musicals so I really enjoyed this part of the concert.  Then she sang "Cradle in Bethlehem" which is her father's favorite Christmas carol and she dedicated it to her family.  I found her to be very warm and genuine!  This was followed by "Hallelujah" by Johann Sebastian Bach and "Hallelujah" from Messiah by George Frederic Handel performed by the choir and orchestra.  Richard Elliott performed a fun version of "Jingle Bells" on the organ with a bluegrass group called Cold Creek (Andrea Ivey Banner, Craig Miner, Blaine Nelson, Rob Ricks, and Bill Sprunger).  This was an audience favorite and received a standing ovation.  The actor Richard Thomas, best known for the TV series The Waltons, gave a heartfelt reading of a story by Pearl S. Buck called "Christmas Day in the Morning."  I loved the message about love being the best Christmas present you can give and I loved the set which was designed to look like an old fashioned farmhouse.  My favorite part of the concert came next with O'Hara's rendition of a song called "Baby of Bethlehem (Singing in the Land)."  I had never heard this before but it was absolutely ethereal and I loved it.  Thomas narrated the Christmas story from the Bible while a group of children acted it out (I loved the sheep).  The concert concluded with "Angels From the Realms of Glory" and it was spectacular!  As always, this concert was wonderful and I am so glad that I was able to go!  All tickets have been allocated for tonight's concert but you can get in a standby line at the Tabernacle.  It is well worth the effort (go here for more information).

The Lower Lights 2019

One of my very favorite Christmas traditions is to see the Lower Lights Christmas concert at Kingsbury Hall.  I was able to see the show last night and, as always, it was amazing and did much to restore my spirits.  The Lower Lights is a group of twenty insanely talented musicians, songwriters, and singers, many of whom are popular in their own right, who periodically join forces to record folk and bluegrass renditions of popular hymns and Christmas carols.  I really love their sound and I especially love their renditions of Christmas songs because, as you know, I really enjoy Christmas music performed live.  They began with "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" which was quite upbeat and then they performed beautiful versions of "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Angels We Have Heard On High," and "Away in a Manger" which brought tears to my eyes.  Then they played an acoustic version of "Mary's Boy Child" which was so lovely.  Debra Fotheringham provided vocals on an incredible version of "River" which is one of my favorite songs (I love Sarah McLachlan's version on her Christmas album).  In the middle of their set they performed a number of their hymns, including "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy," "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder," and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee."  These songs basically turned Kingsbury Hall into an old fashioned revival with people singing and dancing in the aisles.  It was a lot of fun.  They continued with an acoustic version of "Maybe This Christmas"  and an instrumental version of "Carol of the Bells" featuring guitar, mandolin, and banjo that was incredibly stirring.  Next came one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Still, Still, Still," with vocals provided by Corinne Gentry, Kiki Sieger, and Marie Bradshaw.  The cost of a ticket to this show is worth it for this song alone because the three of them harmonize so beautifully that they give you chills!  Sarah Sample provided the vocals for "White Christmas" and they continued with "I Saw Three Ships" which is another favorite.  There was another gospel interlude with "The River of Jordan" and "I Hear a Call."  Dustin Christensen performed a beautiful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" which was fun after seeing Meet Me In St. Louis recently.  The audience joined in on a rousing rendition of "Go Tell It On the Mountain," and they continued with "A Cradle in Bethlehem" and "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day."  They ended their set with bluesy renditions of "Working on a Building," "This Little Light of Mine," and "Calling You."  For the encore they performed "Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)" and then, as they always do, they had the audience join them for a beautiful acoustic version of "Silent Night."  I don't consider myself to be especially religious but there is just something about Christmas music and I am always moved by this concert.  I would highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the three remaining concerts (go here).