Bullet Train

Despite getting some negative reviews I thought Bullet Train looked like a lot of fun so I went to see it at the Broadway last night (whenever a big release is shown at the Broadway I always try to see it there instead of a multiplex because I like supporting Salt Lake Film Society).  It was exactly what I expected it to be and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  A group of assassins, including Ladybug (Brad Pitt) and his handler Maria (Sandra Bullock), Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), The Prince (Joey King), The Father (Andrew Koji), The Wolf (Benito "Bad Bunny" Antonio Martinez Ocasio), The Hornet (Zazie Beetz), and the Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada), are all searching, unbeknownst to each other, for a briefcase containing $10 million on a high-speed train traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto.  Mayhem ensues!  The plot also involves a Russian leader of a crime syndicate named White Death (Michael Shannon) and his kidnapped son (Logan Lerman) which leads to a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the explosive (literally) conclusion.  I loved the on-screen introductions and elaborate flashbacks for each of the assassins as well as the witty back and forth banter between them as they fight each other.  The action sequences are over the top, incredibly violent, and often implausible but they are certainly fun to watch, especially a long drawn out fight in the quiet car of the train.  Some of the accents are a bit suspect but I think the campy performances work really well and Pitt looks like he is having a ball.  This is nothing we haven't seen before (think Tarantino and Ritchie) and there is a cringe-worthy cameo at the end but I definitely found it to be wildly entertaining!  I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun night out and nothing more.

Hadestown at the Eccles

The Broadway musicals Hadestown, Jagged Little Pill, SIX, and Moulin Rouge have been at the top of my must-see list for years.  I get to see ALL OF THEM this year (I'm so excited) and I started with Hadestown last night at the Eccles Theatre.  It was even better than I was expecting!  With the name Phaedra I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology so I loved this retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice (even though it is very tragic).  I also really loved how the story includes commentary on climate change, poverty, capitalism, exploitation of workers, nationalism (I think the song "Why We Build the Wall" perfectly encapsulates everything that is wrong in the world today and it is an incredibly powerful moment in the show), fatalism, and, ultimately, the power of music to show how the world ought to be rather than how it is!  The music, which is a mix of folk, jazz, and Cajun, is absolutely amazing and I loved every single song but my favorites were "Any Way the Wind Blows," "Livin' It Up On Top," "Way Down Hadestown," "When the Chips Are Down," "Wait For Me," "Flowers," and "Doubt Comes In."  The stage, which is reminiscent of an old New Orleans neighborhood, is really simple but the use of a turn table and atmospheric lighting is breathtaking, especially in the numbers "Chant," Wait For Me," and "Doubt Comes In."  The man cast, including Levi Kreis as Hermes, Kevyn Morrow as Hades, Kimberly Marable as Persephone, Chibueze Ihuoma as Orpheus, and Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice, is brilliant and I loved every performance.  I was particularly blown away by Morrow's rendition of "Hey, Little Songbird" because he is so sleazy and Green's version of "Flowers" (it brought a tear to my eye).  I also really liked how the Fates (Belen Moyano, Bex Odorisio, and Shea Renne) are integrated into the story and how the choreography of the Workers (Jordan Bollwerk, Lindsey Hailes, Courtney Lauster, Eddie Noel Rodriguez, and Marquis Wood) mimics an assembly line in a factory.  I loved this musical!  I loved it so much (it is second only to Hamilton in my affections and that is high praise if you know me) and I definitely recommend getting a ticket if you have the opportunity!  It runs at the Eccles through August 7 (go here for tickets).

Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 at St. Mary's Church

Last night I went back to St. Mary's Church in Park City for another wonderful Utah Symphony concert.  I always love hearing music performed in this church (it is an amazing venue) and last night was no exception because it was a lovely evening!  The orchestra began with Concerto Grosso by Ralph Vaughan Williams and I really enjoyed this piece.  Vaughan Williams composed it for students of various abilities and I thought it was very deep and sonorous in tone.  I especially loved the stirring beginning.  Next came Concerto No. 5 for Violin and Orchestra by my favorite composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Geneva Lewis, in her Utah Symphony debut, as the soloist.  As with much of Mozart's work, this piece is light and airy and very accessible to the listener.  I loved the violin solo in the second movement because Lewis performed it with such delicacy and I loved the percussive sound created by the cellos and basses striking the strings with the wood of their bows in the third movement because it was so dramatic.  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn (composed when he was just fifteen years old).  This is very lively and energetic and I especially loved the melody played by the clarinets and bassoons in the third movement and the fiery ending complete with timpani!  I really enjoyed watching guest conductor Stephanie Childress because it was exciting to see a young woman on the podium and she was incredibly dynamic.  Unfortunately, last night was the final concert at St. Mary's this summer but there are two more concerts at Deer Valley (go here for tickets) this weekend before the orchestra returns to Abravanel Hall for the 2022-2023 season (for which I am so excited).

Vengeance

Last night I finally got myself to the Broadway to see Vengeance and I think it is incredibly thought-provoking.  Ben Manalowitz (B.J. Novak) is a writer for the New Yorker who aspires to have a podcast to use as a platform for expressing his opinion on the cultural divide in America.  One night he receives a phone call from Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook) informing him that his sister Abilene (Lio Tipton) has died of a drug overdose while at a wild party.  Ben only hooked up with Abilene a couple of times but Ty is under the impression that they were much closer and insists that he come to her funeral in West Texas.  He reluctantly agrees and meets Abilene's family, including her mother Sharon (J. Smith-Cameron), sisters Paris (Isabella Amara) and Kansas City (Dove Cameron), brother Mason (Elli Abrams Beckel), and grandmother Carole (Louanne Stephens), who all think he is Abilene's boyfriend.  Ty asks Ben to help him get vengeance against Sancholo (Zach Villa), the man he believes is responsible for Abilene's death, but Ben thinks that Ty is creating a conspiracy because the family can't bear to accept that Abilene turned to drugs because of the hopelessness of her life.  He thinks this might be a great subject for a podcast and his producer Eloise (Issa Rae) agrees.  He stays in West Texas investigating Abilene's death and recording content for the podcast but he ends up discovering more than he bargained for.  This is a compelling murder mystery, with a resolution that I did not see coming, but it is also a razor sharp bit of social commentary.  Writer and director Novak explores quite a few thought-provoking ideas, such as the cultural divide between the red and blue states, exploitation for the sake of content, and the opioid crisis, but sometimes these ideas become a bit unwieldy.  The dialogue is highly amusing, especially in an opening scene featuring a cameo by John Mayer (who is essentially playing himself), and I laughed out loud during an extended joke at a rodeo.  Novak is great, even if he doesn't quite sell the idea that he is a player, and Ashton Kutcher gives one of the best performances I've seen from him as a record producer.  This dark comedy is very entertaining and I definitely recommend it.

A Murder is Announced at CPT

I had never been to Leishman Hall (the black box theatre at CPT) before but I can't resist an Agatha Christie murder mystery so I went to a production of A Murder is Announced last night. I really enjoyed the intimate theatre space but this particular show was a bit disappointing. An advertisement in a newspaper announces that a murder will be committed at a boarding house owned by Letitia "Letty" Blacklock (Marina Maxfield) on October 13 at 6:30 pm. Her guests, including Dora "Bunny" Bunner (Hillary McChesney), Patrick Simmons (Blake London), Julia Simmons (Katie Plott), Phillipa Haymes (Laryn Welch), Mrs. Swettenham (Kiersten Honaker), and Edmund Swettenham (Trevor Elmer), conclude that it must be a joke but her Russian cook Mitzi (Kryslin McBride) believes that she will be the victim for political reasons. At the appointed time the lights go out and a mysterious man ends up dead. Inspector Craddock (James Boley) and Sergeant Mellors (Chad N. Wilburn) investigate and learn that everyone involved is hiding something but, after another murder, it takes Miss Marple (Wanda Copier) to find the killer. Even though I have read the book (I read all of Agatha Christie's books when I was a teenager), I found the story to be really complicated because most of the characters have alternate identities and many pertinent events have already happened and require a lot of exposition. In addition, there are a lot of pacing issues that make it hard to pay as much attention as you need to in order to pick up on all of the clues. The action gets really bogged down, especially during the interrogation of all of the suspects, and even the revelation of the murderer is a bit anticlimactic. The performances are fine but McBride was my favorite because she steals every scene she is in with her dramatic and over the top gestures. I laughed out loud every time she entered the room! I absolutely loved the set featuring heavy Victorian furniture and lots of the fussy details that you would find in an English drawing room and I was very impressed with the sheer number of period costumes (I loved Miss Marple's hats). I usually love seeing stage adaptations of Agatha Christie's books (go here and here) but this felt off to me. I will, however, be back to see another production at Leishman Hall!  This show runs until August 20 (go here for tickets).