What Lies in the Woods

My January Book of the Month selection was What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (the other options were Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor, Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen, Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh, Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, The Reunion by Kayla Olson, and Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni). I already pre-ordered Hell Bent, the long-awaited sequel to Ninth House, months ago so I decided to go with the thriller and I'm glad that I did because I couldn't put it down! Twenty-two years ago in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, three eleven-year-old girls with vivid imaginations spend the summer in the woods role-playing their favorite stories from mythology in secret. Later that summer Naomi is brutally attacked by a serial killer and barely survives but, when he is caught, she and her friends Olivia and Cassidy provide the evidence that convicts Allan Michael Stahl. In the present, Naomi learns that Stahl has died in prison and, rather than providing a sense of relief, this bring up long repressed memories of the attack. She travels back to her hometown to reconnect with her friends and Olivia is distraught over the fact that the three of them have not been entirely honest and may have sent an innocent man to prison. Olivia wants to tell the truth but, when she disappears, it turns out that all three women have been keeping even more secrets about that day in the woods. This novel is incredibly suspenseful and the tension never lets up until the dramatic conclusion back in the woods. Even though I guessed one of the big reveals pretty early on, I was completely blindsided on several occasions with all of the twists and turns. I really enjoyed the structure because the narrative uses flashbacks to provide incremental details about the central mystery and this is very effective because I had to keep reading well into the night to find out what happened. I also really liked Naomi as the main protagonist and I think her character is very well-developed, particularly in regards to how the trauma she suffered as a child has informed the person she has become and the decisions, which are not always rational, she makes. My only complaint is that some of the secondary characters are not as well-developed and I sometimes lost track of them but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. Ultimately, this is a riveting psychological thriller and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Note:  This is the first foray into adult fiction by this author but, as a fan of YA fiction, I might try to find some of her earlier works because I like her style.

Utah Opera's The Daughter of the Regiment

I had never seen The Daughter of the Regiment by Gaetano Donizetti before so I was really excited for Utah Opera's production last night.  I usually prefer the tragedies but I loved this delightful performance!  The Twenty-First Regiment of the French army is stationed in the Tyrolean region during the Napoleonic Wars.  Sergeant Sulpice (Matt Burns) is concerned because Marie (Madison Leonard), a canteen girl who has been raised by the regiment since they found her abandoned as a baby, has fallen in love with a Tyrolean named Tonio (Jack Swanson).  Since she has pledged to marry a member of the regiment, Tonio enlists but it is all for naught when Marie discovers that she is the long lost niece of the Marquise of Berkenfield (Elise Quagliata) who insists that she accompany her to learn to be a proper lady.  Tonio, distraught at losing Marie, puts himself in harm's way and is promoted for bravery.  He formally asks the Marquise for Marie's hand in marriage but complications ensue when he learns that she has been betrothed to a Duke.  Leonard is outstanding in the role because not only is her voice beautiful but she has really great comedic timing and wonderful chemistry with Swanson.  I loved the duet between Marie and Tonio, "Depuis l'instant où, dans mes bras," because it is both tender and really playful.  I also loved the hilarious scene where the Marquise has Marie practice being a lady by singing an aria but she breaks out into the regimental song instead (after singing very badly).  I was also really impressed with Swanson's brilliant vocal performance in "Ah! Mes amis," where he tells the regiment that he loves Marie, because he gave me goosebumps every time he hit those high notes!  There is a lot of comedy in this opera, especially a recurring bit whenever Sulpice tells the story of finding Marie (it is even funnier when Marie does it).  I also enjoyed Kevin Nakatni's performances as Hortensius, the Marquise's butler, because his facial expressions are hilarious and Anne Cullimore Decker steals every scene she is in as the venerable Duchess of Krackenthorp because she is so disapproving!  The costumes, which were all made by the Utah Opera costume department, are fabulous!  I loved the attention to detail on the uniforms worn by the regiment and on the gowns worn by Marie, the Marquise, and the Duchess.  The staging is very clever because Act I features a backdrop of forests and mountains and then when the action shifts to the Marquise's chateau in Act II there are windows placed in front of the same backdrop to show the view.  I had so much fun watching this production, often laughing out loud, and I think everyone, even those not familiar with opera, would enjoy it.  There are two more productions with lots of tickets available (go here).

Plane

After the heavy content from all of the independent films I have been watching lately, I was more than ready for the action thriller Plane yesterday.  It is the type of movie that my Dad would have absolutely loved and I enjoyed it in his memory.  Captain Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) is the pilot on Trailblazer Airlines Flight 119 from Singapore to Japan with 14 passengers, including a prisoner named Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) who is being extradited to stand trial for murder.  Torrance is worried about the weather but is told not to deviate from the flight plan to conserve fuel.  As predicted, they encounter a dangerous storm and the plane is struck by lightning which damages the electrical system and forces an emergency landing.  Unfortunately, they land on a remote island in the Philippines ruled by a group of ruthless separatists who take most of the passengers and crew hostage.  When Torrance learns of Gaspare's military background, he unshackles him and they, along with a group of mercenaries hired by the airline to rescue them, fight the separatists, rescue the hostages, and somehow get the plane back in the air.  There is very little character development (the crew members, passengers, and separatists are indistinguishable) and you must suspend your disbelief on occasion (why is Gaspare on this particular flight when he is being extradited to the US?) but it is still a lot of fun.  Butler can always be relied upon in these kind of roles and the action sequences are intense and thrilling, especially some hand-to-hand combat involving the creative use of a sledgehammer and a suspenseful shoot-out in the final act.  This is actually better than what you might expect from a January release and I recommend seeing it with your Dad with a big tub of popcorn.

Broker

My interest was really piqued by Broker when Song Kang-ho won Best Actor for his performance at the Cannes Film Festival this year so I went to see it at the Broadway last night (I have now seen every new release currently playing at the Broadway which is a challenge I often set for myself but rarely achieve).  I was incredibly moved by this heartwarming portrait of an unexpected family.  Moon So-young (Lee Ji-eun) leaves her son Woo-sung (Park Ji-yong) at a baby box located in a church where Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) works part-time and Ha Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) volunteers.  The two of them have a scheme where they periodically steal the babies left behind and sell them on the black market.  They take Woo-sung but, when So-young returns to the church to claim him, they convince her to join their scheme by offering her a portion of the money.  They travel to an orphanage to find prospective parents and then begin an odyssey across the country only to discover that one of the orphans, Hae-jin (Im Seung-soo), has stowed away in their van because he wants to be adopted too.  However, two detectives, Soo-jin (Bae Doona) and Lee (Lee Joo-young), are pursuing them but not everything is as it seems.  Every character, including the police officer, is broken and has something to hide but they all come to understand and care about each other even as they make difficult decisions about what is best for Woo-sung.  Human trafficking is clearly wrong (I don't think it is romanticized in any way) but the narrative does explore the ways in which each character's choices, or lack thereof, have brought them to this point and I really empathized with them due, in no small part, to the marvelous performances from the entire cast.  There were two scenes, in particular, that brought me to tears including when So-young tells her son and then everyone else that she is happy they were born and when So-young and Dong-soo ride on a ferris wheel and think about what it would be like to raise Woo-sung themselves.  I loved the repeated use of rain as a symbol of new beginnings and the atmospheric score is very affecting.  This is a lovely film that is definitely worth seeking out.

Skinamarink

The trailer for Skinamarink really freaked me out so of course I had to see it at the Broadway last night (the theater was packed for a late screening on a Sunday).  Two children, six-year-old Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault) and four-year-old Kevin (Lucas Paul), wake up disoriented in the middle of the night in their dark suburban house to discover that their parents seem to be missing.  They decide to go downstairs, build a fort out of blankets, eat some cereal, and watch cartoons (as one does) but strange and terrifying things begin happening in the house.  This experimental film will definitely not be for everyone because it is more concerned with evoking a feeling rather than telling a linear story.  I also think that you have to be able to commit fully to the vibe in order for it to work for you but, as someone who truly believed that there were monsters in my closet and under my bed when I was a child, this really worked for me.  It is terrifying, not for what you see, but for what you think you see.  The camera angles are low as if the images are from the perspective of a child and, even though it was shot digitally, it looks as if it was shot using grainy analog film which really makes it appear that there are things lurking in the darkness.  The lack of a score, along with the audio from the cartoons, really adds to the unease.  Seeing this with a large crowd really enhanced the experience for me because there was a lot of nervous laughter (the tension is palpable) and even a few screams (I screamed out loud for the first time since seeing  Hereditary at Sundance).  There were also lots of interesting conversations in the lobby when it was over!  I recommend this to anyone who ever let their imagination get the better of them in the middle of the night!