A Call to Spy

I absolutely love movies about espionage during World War II so I was pretty excited when I saw the trailer for A Call to Spy which is based on actual events.  I finally had a chance to see it last night and I really enjoyed it.  After the Nazi occupation of France, Churchill is feeling desperate and authorizes the training of female spies because he thinks they will be more inconspicuous.  Vera Atkins (Stana Katic), a glorified secretary for the SOE (the newly formed spy agency), is tasked with finding suitable candidates.  She finds Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas), an American working at the U.S. embassy in London who wants to be a diplomat but is constantly turned down because she has a prosthetic leg, and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte), a Muslim from an aristocratic Indian family who is a pacifist but also a skilled radio operator.  They are given minimal training and dropped into France with almost no support but Virginia is able to develop a vast network of local resistance fighters and Noor is able to send messages to London while on the run before narrowly evading discovery time after time.  Meanwhile, Vera struggles to be taken seriously within the SOE because she is hiding a dangerous secret.  They overcome many hardships but it is when the women are betrayed that they become true heroes and change the course of the war.  I love the fact that this is a story that has not been told before, but definitely deserves to be, and I found it to be incredibly compelling.  The pace moves quickly with a lot of tension and, because all of the characters are so sympathetic, I was very invested in the outcome.  In fact, I felt genuine distress during moments of peril and a lot of admiration for what these women go through.  Even though many of the actors in this movie are not very well known (at least to U.S. audiences), all of the performances are great and I was especially impressed with Thomas who is very affecting.  I highly recommend this inspirational story of bravery and perseverance.

Note:  After watching this movie I really wanted to know more about these three women.  I found out that Miss Moneypenney from the Bond movies is based, in part, on Vera Atkins. 

Friday the 13th

I wasn't allowed to see Friday the 13th on the big screen when it was first released but I had the chance last night!  It was back in theaters to celebrate its 40th Anniversary and it was a lot of fun because, for some reason, I really enjoy seeing slasher movies in October!  While at Camp Crystal Lake, a young boy named Jason Voorhees (Ari Lehman) drowns due to the negligence of the camp counselors who were supposed to be watching him.  The following year, two counselors, who are also negligent in their duties, are brutally murdered leading many to believe that the camp is cursed.  Twenty years later, the owner, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer), decides to open the camp once again and a group of counselors arrive on Friday the 13th.  One counselor named Annie (Robbi Morgan) is killed by an unseen assailant as she hitchhikes to the camp.  Steve is called away during a severe storm which cuts off the power and most of the other counselors, including Ned (Mark Nelson), Jack (Kevin Bacon), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor), Brenda (Laurie Bartram), and Bill (Harry Crosby), are killed in an incredibly gruesome manner (an ax is involved).  Alice (Adrienne King) is left alone to face the killer, who has a surprising connection to Jason, in an epic confrontation (a decapitation is involved).  This movie is pretty low-budget with abysmal acting but there are some really suspenseful sequences that are enhanced by an atmospheric score.  I actually had a great time watching this on the big screen with a rowdy crowd (someone screamed out loud during a particularly tense moment) because it is such a cult classic.  If you enjoy celebrating Halloween by seeing scary movies, go here for two more opportunities to see Friday the 13th as well as other great options during the month of October.

Million Dollar Quartet at HCT

I had a lot of trepidation when I found out that HCT was reopening after the Covid-19 lockdown. They had some safety protocols in place, such as requiring patrons to wear masks and the use of contactless ticketing, but they were still seating patrons shoulder to shoulder and that gave me pause so I requested (and received) a refund for my ticket to Mary Poppins. However, I eventually made the decision to use my ticket to Million Dollar Quartet last night and I am so glad that I did! I saw the Broadway touring production of this show several years ago so I knew that it would be a lot of fun and I think fun is something that we all need right now. On December 4, 1956, an impromptu jam session took place at the Sun Records recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, involving Jerry Lee Lewis (David Paul Smith), Carl Perkins (Bryan Matthew Hague), Johnny Cash (Benjamin D. Hale), and Elvis Presley (Michael D. Potter). Sam Phillips (Bryan Dayley), the owner of Sun Records, recorded the session and dubbed them the "Million Dollar Quartet." The show, based on this actual event, begins with Phillips recounting how each of the musicians were discovered and signed to Sun Records as they arrive at the studio. There is a loose narrative interspersed between the musical numbers about the rivalries between the musicians and future of Sun Records but what makes this show so great is the aforementioned performances of some of the best known music in rock and roll including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Real Wild Child," "Matchbox," "Who Do You Love?," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Fever," "Memories Are Made of This," "That's All Right," "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," "Down By the Riverside," "Sixteen Tons," "My Babe," "Long Tall Sally," "Peach in the Valley," "I Walk the Line," "I Hear You Knocking," "Party," and "Great Balls of Fire." The show ends with individual performances by each of the musicians:  "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley, "Ghost Riders" by Johnny Cash, "See You Later Alligator" by Carl Perkins, and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Jerry Lee Lewis. There was definitely a whole lotta shakin' goin' on in the theater as the audience danced in the aisles during these songs! It was so much fun! The cast also includes studio musicians Jay (Isaac Erickson) on bass and Fluke (Todd Mitchell, who looks like he is having the time of his life) on drums, as well as Elvis Presley's girlfriend Dyanne (Brigitta Teuscher).  In my opinion, Smith, Hague, Hale, and Potter are absolutely phenomenal because they play their own instruments and sound just like the musicians they are portraying.  I especially enjoyed Potter's swiveling hips as Elvis and Smith's exuberant piano playing (even behind his back!) as Jerry Lee Lewis. My favorite singer in this group is Johnny Cash so I absolutely loved "Folsom Prison Blues" and I may or may not have have sung along (one advantage of wearing a mask is that your neighbors don't know that you are the one singing). The minimal set depicts the real Sun Records recording studio and the costumes are informed by a photograph of the actual recording session (which is projected on the LED screens around the theater at the end of the show) so it feels very authentic, almost like being transported back to this era. It is a great production and I highly recommend it!  Million Dollar Quartet runs through October 24 on the HCT Main Stage (go here for tickets).

Note:  I wish that, like other performing arts venues around Utah, there had been more social distancing in the seating arrangement but I was happy to see that the ushers were very vigilant in making sure that masks were worn throughout the whole performance.

Transcendent Kingdom

This month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection was Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and, based on the description, I didn't think that I would like it but I ended up loving it! I really enjoy belonging to a book club because I get a chance to read books that I wouldn't necessarily choose for myself!  Gifty's family emigrated to the United States from a small village in Ghana before she was born but her father went back to Ghana, never to return, shortly thereafter. To cope with her husband's departure, Gifty's mother becomes increasingly more involved with an evangelical church in Alabama. In order to please her mother, Gifty also immerses herself in the church but her faith is tested when her brother dies of an overdose and her mother succumbs to a deep depression. She prays fervently to God for answers about why these hardships have befallen her family but God remains silent. She eventually turns her back on religion and seeks answers from science. As a doctoral student in neuroscience at Stanford University she conducts experiments on the brains of mice to study reward-seeking behavior as it relates to addiction and depression. Even though she has a breakthrough in her research, she still longs for the simple faith she had as a child and realizes that she doesn't need to understand her mother's depression in order to have a relationship with her. The narration alternates between Gifty's memories as a child in Alabama and her experiences as a student at Stanford and I think this is an effective device because her memories of the past keep intruding into the present and they keep her from finding peace. I loved Gifty as a character because, even though her experiences and losses are so heartbreaking, she finds a way to persevere. I also really enjoyed the poignant discussion about religion and how people lose and rediscover their faith.  This really resonated with me and made me confront some of my own issues with organized religion. This novel tackles some major themes such as racism, immigration, addiction, depression, grief, loss, and isolation so it is not easy to read but the prose is absolutely beautiful and the ending is, ultimately, very hopeful. My only complaint is that the ending is a bit rushed. I was hoping that the author would address this in the virtual Q&A on Facebook yesterday but no one brought it up (I need to be braver and ask a question next time). However, I found Gyasi's comments on identity to be fascinating, especially the notion that Gifty's search for answers is the same sort of reward-seeking behavior as her brother's drug use. This novel is definitely thought-provoking as well as emotionally resonant. I highly recommend it!

Note:  The next Barnes & Noble Book Club selection is Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam.  I am really excited to read this because it is a thriller!  The author will be available for a virtual Q&A via Facebook on October 27.  Go here for more information.

Celebracion Sinfonica

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Utah Symphony performed a series of concerts this weekend called Celebracion Sinfonica which were free to the public.  Guest conductor Enrico Lopez-Yanez, who was incredibly charming and entertaining, took us on a musical journey through Latin America with stops in Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico.  It was wonderful!  The orchestra began with La muerta del angel by Astor Piazzolla and I enjoyed it because it was very dramatic, especially the theme played by the piano.  Next came Danza festiva by Jose Carlos Campos and I thought it was very fiery and passionate.  Concerto para cordas e percussao by Camargo Guarnieri was my favorite piece of the night because it featured an improvisational performance by the percussion (timpani and snare) in the middle of it and, as you can imagine, it was awesome.  The concert continued with Suite Latinoamericano by Vinicio Meza, which was very seductive, and Malambo by Jose Bragato, which was incredibly stirring.  The orchestra continued with two movements from Las cuatro estaciones portenos by Astor Piazzolla.  I really liked Invierno (Winter) because it was beautiful but a little bit mournful (I'm not sure why I am always drawn to the sad pieces).  Lopez-Yanez had the audience clap along with Viva mi patria Bolivia by Apolinar Camacho and I'm not sure how the orchestra was able to keep the correct tempo because we were really off!  The concert concluded with a beautiful piece called Estrellita by the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce.  It was so tender and romantic and it received a standing ovation from the audience.  As an encore the orchestra played La Llorona which is a traditional piece arranged by Lopez-Yanez based on the legend of a woman who died of sorrow after killing her children so now she appears as a ghost.  It was very atmospheric and spooky so it was perfect for this time of year.  I had never heard any of this music before and I really enjoyed all of it!  It was such a great concert and I'm so glad that I was able to get a ticket because it was a hot item!