Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Yesterday afternoon I went to see Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe at the Broadway and I loved this subdued but incredibly sweet coming of age story.  Aristotle "Ari" Mendoza (Max Pelayo) is a lonely teen living in El Paso who feels alienated from his peers at school because he feels so different and from his parents (Eugenio Derbez and Veronica Falcon) because they are incredibly closed off and full of secrets.  Dante Quintana (Reese Gonzales) offers to teach Ari how to swim when they meet at the local pool and they bond over their unusual names.  Soon they become inseparable as Dante continues to teach Ari about art, literature, and star gazing.  When Dante movies to Chicago with his family (Kevin Alejandro and Eva Longoria) for a year, Ari misses him and struggles with his own identity.  Their friendship is tested when Dante comes out to Ari in a letter and then declares his love for him when he returns to El Paso.  The themes about identity, masculinity, friendship, sexuality, and love are powerful but they are explored in a gentle and languid way with many beautiful shots in the desert during the golden hour.  The narrative takes place during the 1980s (it features a fantastic soundtrack) and I can't imagine what this movie would have meant to countless teens struggling with their identity and sexuality during this era and I especially love that both sets of parents are supportive of Ari and Dante's relationship without ignoring the challenges they might face.  Gonzales gives a moving performance filled with vulnerability and charm and Pelayo is very handsome and appealing but I sometimes found his performance to be a bit too restrained (I haven't read the book by Benjamin Alire Saenz upon which the movie is based so I'm not sure if his characterization is intentional) because I wanted more emotion during an important turning point.  Their chemistry, however, is palpable and there is a tension about the outcome of their relationship that makes the story compelling.  I highly recommend this tender love story, especially for teens.

Note:  Every year I make a goal to see 100 new releases in the theater and I reached it with this movie (it is the earliest I have ever done so).

Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano in Las Vegas

I have always thought that Lady Gaga is an amazing performer with a flamboyant persona that is fun to watch but I began to respect her as a singer when she sang a medley of songs from The Sound of Music as a tribute to Julie Andrews at the Oscars.  I was absolutely blown away by her performance and since then I have really wanted to see her live.  When I found out that she was doing another residency in Las Vegas this fall featuring her Jazz & Piano Show I spontaneously bought a ticket and, even though I have spent way too much money on concert tickets this year, I am so glad that I did because it was an unbelievable experience!  The concert was last night in the Dolby Live Theatre at the Park MGM Resort and it is an incredible venue!  Lady Gaga had an insanely talented band backing her (like the big band singers in the glory days of Las Vegas) and the setlist included selections from the Great American Songbook as well as jazz and piano arrangements of some of her most popular hits.  The show was divided into five sets and each featured a different costume (and sometimes an elaborate headdress).  For the first set she sang an acoustic version of "Orange Colored Sky" while walking out on stage and then "Luck Be a Lady," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "The Best Is Yet to Come," and "Call Me Irresponsible" with some hilarious interactions with a couple sitting at a table on stage.  She ended this set with a naughty (naughtier?) version of "Poker Face" on piano (she joked that she hoped no one was foolish enough to bring their children to a Lady Gaga show).  The second set featured "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "If I Had You," "Do I Love You" (one of my favorite moments in the show), an incredibly powerful rendition of "Born This Way" on piano, and a jazz version of "Stupid Love" with extended solos from Brian Newman on trumpet and Steve Kortyka on saxophone.  Next came "Sway," "Rags to Riches," "Mambo Italiano," and an impressive vocal performance of "'O sole mio."  This set concluded with a jazz arrangement of "Paparazzi" which was another favorite moment for me.  The fourth set included "La vie en rose," "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," and a piano version of "Bad Romance."  For the final set she sang "Lush Life" and then spoke about her friendship with Tony Bennett before giving an emotional performance of "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)."  As an encore she sang "New York, New York."  I loved all of her interpretations of these standards because, not only does she have the vocal chops to sing them, she also really respects these songs and all of the all of the singers who performed them before her (there is an ode to the songs and singers in the playbill).  Lady Gaga was also hilarious in her interactions with the crowd.  She is almost larger than life and there were several times when I wanted to pinch myself because I couldn't believe that I was actually in the same room with her!  This was definitely a bucket list moment for me and I loved it so much!  There are eight more concerts in this residency (although she hinted that she would be back with a new setlist) and I highly recommend this show!

The Equalizer 3

Last night I finally got around to seeing The Equalizer 3 (I had a very chill Labor Day weekend) and, as a fan of this franchise, I liked the conclusion to the trilogy.  Tormented former operative Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) finds himself at a winery in Sicily, for reasons, and executes members of a cell who have been smuggling amphetamines purchased from a terrorist organization.  He is inadvertently shot but makes it to the Amalfi Coast where he is rescued by the local carabiniere Gio Bunucci (Eugenio Mastrandrea) and taken to a doctor named Enzo Arisio (Remo Girone) who cares for him in the small town of Altamonte.  He makes a slow recovery but calls in a tip about the smuggling operation to CIA agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) who begins an investigation.  McCall feels peace for the first time in years and comes to love the village and its people, especially a waitress he sees every day named Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro), but notices that the Camorra crime family, led by Vincent and Marco Quaranto (Andrea Scarduzio and Andrea Dodero, respectively), is harassing villagers to coerce them to leave to make way for their business ventures.  When Collins discovers that the Camorra family is also responsible for the drug smuggling operation, McCall must get vengeance in order to get back to the quiet life he longs for.  The story is formulaic, the script is a bit messy (the subplot with Fanning's character is really shoehorned in and doesn't really add anything), and there are definitely some pacing issues (McCall sits around drinking tea a lot) but the action sequences are tense and visceral and Washington is captivating as he silently dispatches some thoroughly bad guys in some intriguing, and incredibly brutal, ways.  I really liked the use of light and shadow in the cinematography as well as the many shots of rain drenched cobblestones as a portent of the violence to come.  I also liked the atmospheric score because it really adds to the tension.  In my opinion, this is a satisfying resolution for the character and fans of the franchise will enjoy it.

Bottoms

Last night I saw Bottoms with a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Broadway and it is the funniest movie I've seen this year!  PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edibiri) are best friends since childhood who are tired of their status as the losers of their school (not because they are lesbians but because they are untalented and ugly lesbians).  At the beginning of their senior year PJ decides that they need to be proactive in their goal to have sex with their crushes Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber) despite the fact that they are popular cheerleaders and Isabel is dating the quarterback Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine).  When their friend Hazel (Ruby Cruz) inadvertently starts a rumor that PJ and Josie spent the summer in juvenile detention and had to fight the inmates every day, they see the effect it has on their classmates, especially the cheerleaders, who often fear for their safety and they decide to start a self defense club.  They enlist their inept history teacher Mr. G (Marshawn Lynch) to be the faculty advisor and soon the so-called fight club becomes a source of female empowerment to the members but it also gets the much sought after attention of Isabel and Brittany.  Complications ensue when their real motivation for starting the club is revealed but they must all come together to save the football team from their biggest rival.  I loved the representation in this movie and that it features lots of social commentary but I also loved that it is a hilarious satire of the high school sex comedy genre! I laughed out loud at the clever script from beginning to end (there are so many jokes and I already want to see it again because I'm sure I missed some) and I was definitely not alone!  The portrayal of the football team, who are never out of uniform, is especially over the top because the entire school is invested in the forty year rivalry with another school's football team to the exclusion of everything else. Galitzine is so funny (the scene of him dancing to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" had me in hysterics) and Lynch steals every scene he is in (a joke about being an ally is another laugh out loud moment) but Sennott and Edibiri are wonderful together with a very natural chemistry that is so much fun to watch.  I absolutely loved this and I highly recommend watching it with the biggest crowd you can find with the proviso that it is violent with lots of crude humor.

Note:  Be sure to stay through the credits because there are deleted scenes and bloopers that are just as funny as the movie!

Jeremy Jordan at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre

As a huge theatre nerd I actually squealed out loud when I found out that Broadway star Jeremy Jordan was coming to the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre and I have been looking forward to the show all summer! The concert was last night and to say that it was amazing would be a understatement! He was accompanied by the Utah Valley Symphony under the baton of Blanka Bednarz and the program, much to my delight, consisted mainly of songs from the Great White Way! He began with "Something's Coming" from West Side Story and then continued with "Broadway Here I Come" from the TV show Smash (in which Jordan stars as Jimmy Collins, a composer who writes the Broadway musical Hit List). Next came a really cool arrangement of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma and one of the best renditions of "Soliloquy" from Carousel that I have ever heard. After this Jordan took the first of two breaks while the orchestra played a beautiful medley from Les Miserables. My first introduction to Jordan was in the movie The Last Five Years (which I love) so I was absolutely thrilled that he sang "Moving Too Fast" when he came back to the stage.  One of my favorite moments of the concert came next when he sang "She Used to Be Mine" from Waitress (he played Jim on Broadway but he said Jenna had all of the best songs so he wanted to sing one of hers).  I love this song so much and I've heard Jessie Mueller, who originated the role of Jenna on Broadway, and Sara Bareilles, who wrote the musical, sing it but I have to say that Jordan's rendition gave me goosebumps! He told the crowd that he was required to include a Disney song so he gave a stirring performance of "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Next came a medley of songs originally arranged by Oscar-winning composer Johnny Mandel for Andy Williams which included "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing," "Mona Lisa," "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," "All the Way," and "Moon River." He told the crowd that he included this medley because he wanted to take advantage of having an orchestra backing him and it was incredibly lush and romantic. Jordan took another short break while the orchestra performed a medley from The Phantom of the Opera and when he returned he brought me to tears with "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables and "Why God, Why?" from Miss Saigon. When I first found out about this concert, I really hoped that he would sing "Santa Fe" from Newsies. He originated the role of Jack Kelly on Broadway and I listen to the soundtrack all of the time so I was incredibly excited to hear a live version of this song and he did not disappoint! He ended his main set with an amazing version, another favorite moment of the concert, that brought the crowd to their feet! For the encore, he performed "Being Alive" from Company which, once again, received an enthusiastic standing ovation! Not only does Jordan have a beautiful voice, he is so charismatic and he had lots of funny and spontaneous interactions with the crowd. His setlist was everything I could have ever wanted as a Broadway fan and I loved every minute! It was definitely worth waiting all summer for!