The Stranger Upstairs

My September Book of the Month selection was The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin (the other options were The Intern by Michele Campbell, Evil Eye by Etaf Rum, You, Again by Kate Goldbeck, and The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger).  I once again defaulted to the thriller and this one is incredibly atmospheric with a huge twist and I couldn't put it down! Sarah Slade is a therapist with a best-selling self-help book and a large following on social media. She decides to buy a large Victorian mansion located in a wealthy suburb of Melbourne because the price is too good to pass up even though the house has been empty for over 40 years because it is the site of a notorious murder-suicide. According to neighbors, Bill Campbell began acting more and more erratically until he woke up one day and bashed his wife's skull with a hammer, attempted to do the same to his teenage daughter who was able to get away, and then took his own life by overdosing on tranquilizers. There are those who believe that Black Wood House drove Campbell crazy but Sarah sees her planned renovations as a great opportunity for blog content and as a distraction from her marital troubles. However, Sarah soon experiences strange and unexplained occurrences while in the house and her life spirals out of control as the many secrets she has tried to hide from her past come to light.  She begins behaving as erratically as Campbell once did but is it the house or her own demons causing her break with reality? The narrative is mostly from Sarah's POV in the present with flashbacks to her past, which definitely kept my interest piqued because I wanted to know more about the disturbing incidents between Sarah and her sister, and newspaper and web articles about events as they happen, which does much to create suspense because they imply that Sarah could be a victim or a villain. I enjoyed Sarah as a character because she is so complex and I was impressed by the fact that Matlin uses her own experiences with mental health to inform her actions and motivations (be sure to read the author's note at the end). I also really enjoyed the house itself as a character because there are some really scary sequences that will keep you feeling very unsettled (just in time for Halloween). I have to admit that I found the resolution to be a bit disappointing because it seems so mundane after all of the build up but then there is a major twist in the epilogue that made me question everything! I've heard complaints from other readers that there are too many loose ends but I liked the open-ended conclusion because it kept me thinking about it for days. This is a unique take on the haunted house genre and I highly recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers.

The Nun II

I'm not sure what possessed me (ha ha) to see The Nun II last night because the first movie was a bit of a disappointment.  I do think this one improves upon the original but I still found it to be underwhelming.  Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is now in a convent in Italy when she is summoned once again to investigate a series of unusual murders across Europe that could be attributed to the demon who appears in the guise of a nun (Bonnie Aarons).  She travels with a novitiate named Debra (Storm Reid), who is having a crisis of faith, to the site of the most recent murder and, during her investigation, she discovers that the demon is searching for an ancient relic that is located at a former monastery that is now a boarding school for girls where Jacques (Jonas Bloquet), the farmer who saved her life in Romania, works as a handyman and has a proprietary relationship with a teacher named Kate (Anna Popplewell) and her daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey).  Irene and Debra race to the school for an epic confrontation in which they must save Jacques, Kate, Sophie, and the rest of the students and send the demon back to hell.  The settings are ominous with cobblestone streets at night and dimly lit corridors, staircases, and cloisters in a crumbling Gothic church and I was genuinely scared during a few suspenseful sequences but seeing the image of the demonic nun over and over again becomes tedious (my biggest criticism of the first movie).  Even an intriguing scene featuring a magazine stand becomes boring because it goes on so long (it is a foregone conclusion that the pages will eventually form the image of the nun).  Including the students at the boarding school does create higher stakes but sometimes it seems like there are too many characters and some of them are very superfluous.  The story is both insubstantial and convoluted and not even a great performance from Farmiga could keep my mind from wandering.  I'm sure fans of the Conjuring franchise will like this more than I did but I wouldn't recommend it.

Scrapper

Yesterday I went back to the Broadway (my second home) to see Scrapper and it is so charming.  Georgie (Lola Campbell) is a twelve year old girl living alone on a council estate in a working class suburb of London after the recent death of her mother.  She evades social services by pretending that an imaginary uncle, named Winston Churchill, is looking after her and she steals bicycles, with her accomplice and best friend Ali (Alin Uzun), and sells them for parts to earn money.  When her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson) suddenly appears, she is less than pleased to see him and resists his attempts to get to know her.  However, as they spend more and more time together, they realize that they just might need each other after all.  I have seen a lot of comparisons to Aftersun but, aside from having a fragile relationship between a father and daughter in common, this movie has a more lighthearted tone.  I loved the inclusion of magical realism when we see into Georgie's imagination as she tries to process her grief, especially a scrap metal tower she is building in her mother's bedroom, and having all of the neighbors (who each have their own color) break the fourth wall to give their opinions about her situation like a Greek chorus is hilarious.  Speaking of color, the production design is so vibrant and fun and, when combined with the quirky hand-held camera work, it contributes to a playful vibe.  Dickinson gives a really nuanced performance as a bit of a cad, little more than an adolescent himself, who has been able to avoid all responsibility but suddenly realizes that he wants to be responsible for his daughter.  Campbell, in her debut, absolutely shines and I really enjoyed the back and forth between Georgie and Jason.  I was enchanted by this and highly recommend it.

Black Panther in Concert

Last night I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall for this season's first Utah Symphony concert.  The movie Black Panther was shown on the big screen while the orchestra performed the dramatic score by Ludwig Goransson.  I love this movie (it is one of my favorites from the MCU) and it was so much more immersive hearing the music performed live as I watched T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) return to Wakanda after the death of his father to become king only to have Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) challenge him for the throne in order to use vibranium-enhanced weapons to fight oppression around the world.  The score features the West African instrument known as the tama, or "talking drum," so the orchestra was joined by soloist Massamba Diop who actually played the tama on the original recording.  It was so interesting to watch Diop because the tama is an hour-glass shaped drum with two drumheads connected by leather tension cords and it was held between his arm and body which he would use to squeeze these cords to control the pitch as he hit the drumheads with his hands.  I would sometimes pay more attention to him than to the images on the screen!  The sound of the tama represents T'Challa/Black Panther and I loved hearing it in conjunction with a dramatic fanfare by the horns during key moments, such as the coronation, the car chase in Busan, the challenge, and the final battle with Killmonger.  I also loved the theme for Killmonger (one of the best villains in the MCU) which incorporates a mysterious piano melody accompanied by a harp and I was particularly moved by the variation played in the scene where Killmonger finally sees the sunset in Wakanda.  The most emotional moments are when T'Challa visits his father on the Ancestral Plane and the themes played by the strings, especially the cellos, during these scenes are beautiful and a bit mournful.  I really enjoy these films in concert and Black Panther is now my favorite because the score is one of the most exhilarating I've heard the Utah Symphony play in this series.  I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance (go here).

Note:  The other films in the series are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Frozen, and Casablanca with special performances of Love Actually and How to Train Your Dragon.  I'm looking forward to all of them (go here for more information and tickets).

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).