"Sunday morning, I'm waking up. Can't even focus on a coffee cup. Don't even know who's bed I'm in. Where do I start? Where do I begin?" ~the chemical brothers
Although it's spring and not generally the best time for new movies, there are some new ones out now that are quite good. Here are five that I've seen in the past few months that I've enjoyed:
Hanna
Saoirse Ronan is amazing in this visually beautiful thriller. In fact, all the performances are strong; Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett are also great as usual. The score (by The Chemical Brothers) is gorgeous, the cinematography is very impressive, and I enjoyed this modern fairy tale very, very much.
Win Win
I can't say enough good things about this film. Oh, Thomas McCarthy, how I love you. This charming movie won me over with some great performances (Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Alex Shaffer, and Melanie Lynskey make up the talented cast) and a perfect mix of humor and heart. Just go see this movie.
Source Code
Jake Gyllenhaal makes this worth seeing. It's like Groundhog Day turned into a thriller. It's well-paced and entertaining. The ending didn't make sense to me, and that took away from my enjoyment. Other than that, it's a well-made film.
The Lincoln Lawyer
I love Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei, so I was excited about this one. It didn't disappoint. It was a good, solid thriller with a strong screenplay and a talented cast. It was nice to see McConaughey in a serious role again; it made me want to go home and watch A Time to Kill to see more of that side of him.
Jane Eyre
This is a solid adaptation of the classic novel. Mia Wasikowska is one of my favorite young actresses, and she makes a great Jane. It's a beautiful movie.
I'll be back soon with new Broadway show reviews.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
"New York, you're perfect, don't please don't change a thing. Your mild billionaire mayor's now convinced he's a king. So the boring collect - I mean all disrespect - in the neighborhood bars I'd once dreamt I would drink." ~lcd soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem played what is supposed to be their last concert ever last night. I'm hoping they come back. The show was at MSG, and I really wanted to go, but I couldn't get tickets. The lead singer of LCD Soundsystem tried for tickets when they went on sale out of curiosity, and he couldn't even get them. He was pretty pissed. So was I, because it would have been amazing to be there. I couldn't even get tickets to one of the added Terminal 5 shows. I've loved the band for awhile. "All My Friends" is one of my absolute favorite songs. They played it last night. It killed me to read about the show this morning. They unsurprisingly ended the show with "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" (posted above). Yeah, it kills me to think about it.
Wow, I haven't written in awhile. Now I don't even know where to start. I think show reviews is as good a place as any, so here goes. I've seen a few Broadway shows recently, so I'll talk about those.
The first was Catch Me If You Can. It was a fun night of theater. I think the show was a bit long and could use some trimming. Some cuts might help add some excitement to it; for a show all about a chase, I didn't really feel the sense of thrill that I was expecting. The score is fine but nothing all that special. The sets and costumes are atrocious. What stood out to me was the acting. As Frank Abagnale, Jr. (the Leo DiCaprio role), Aaron Tveit is wonderful. He's incredibly charming and he's perfectly cast. I've loved him since Next to Normal (he was the original Gabe on Broadway), and I'm so glad to see he's moved on to something else that showcases his talent. I won't be surprised if he wins the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical this year. Norbert Leo Butz plays Carl Hanratty (the Tom Hanks role), and he does a great job, too. He sounds like Tom Hanks. He has one big number and it sounds a whole lot like "Great Big Stuff" (one of his songs in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, for which he won a Tony). Kerry Butler doesn't have much to do, which is too bad because I love her. She's one of my favorite musical theater actresses. She knocks the park out of "Fly, Fly Away," her big number.
(Sidebar: I'm very glad that the original siblings from Broadway's Next to Normal are currently working on Broadway. Seeing Aaron in Catch Me If You Can and seeing his N2N sister, Jenn Damiano, in Spider-Man recently made me really miss N2N. It also made me feel bad that Jenn Damiano ended up in the criminally underused role of Mary Jane in a disaster of a musical. I'm sure it will be difficult for both of them to find shows as good as N2N, but I'm glad that Aaron has at least found this great role.)
Next up was The Book of Mormon. Where do I even start? This is the show of the season. It will clean house at the Tonys this year. It's gotten fabulous reviews all over the place, from The New York Times (Ben Brantley loved it) to Josh Schwartz (who tweeted: "Book of Mormon may be the best thing I've seen on Broadway... not to overhype..."). I respect Josh Schwartz's opinion immensely, so it was cool to see that. Anyway, this show is brilliant. First of all, it's from the creators of South Park, and it's hilarious. It's not as crude as I expected it to be, though. It's actually full of heart. It's smart and moving and I can't say enough good things about it. It's just wonderful. Go see it. I did standing room, and it was totally worth the two-hour wait (and the view from standing room is great).
Finally, I saw the play High, starring Kathleen Turner. I wasn't crazy about the play. It was too formulaic and yet also inconsistent in terms of character. I enjoyed seeing Kathleen Turner onstage, and Evan Jonigkeit is an incredibly talented young actor giving a fantastic performance, but I wouldn't recommend this one.
LCD Soundsystem played what is supposed to be their last concert ever last night. I'm hoping they come back. The show was at MSG, and I really wanted to go, but I couldn't get tickets. The lead singer of LCD Soundsystem tried for tickets when they went on sale out of curiosity, and he couldn't even get them. He was pretty pissed. So was I, because it would have been amazing to be there. I couldn't even get tickets to one of the added Terminal 5 shows. I've loved the band for awhile. "All My Friends" is one of my absolute favorite songs. They played it last night. It killed me to read about the show this morning. They unsurprisingly ended the show with "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" (posted above). Yeah, it kills me to think about it.
Wow, I haven't written in awhile. Now I don't even know where to start. I think show reviews is as good a place as any, so here goes. I've seen a few Broadway shows recently, so I'll talk about those.
The first was Catch Me If You Can. It was a fun night of theater. I think the show was a bit long and could use some trimming. Some cuts might help add some excitement to it; for a show all about a chase, I didn't really feel the sense of thrill that I was expecting. The score is fine but nothing all that special. The sets and costumes are atrocious. What stood out to me was the acting. As Frank Abagnale, Jr. (the Leo DiCaprio role), Aaron Tveit is wonderful. He's incredibly charming and he's perfectly cast. I've loved him since Next to Normal (he was the original Gabe on Broadway), and I'm so glad to see he's moved on to something else that showcases his talent. I won't be surprised if he wins the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical this year. Norbert Leo Butz plays Carl Hanratty (the Tom Hanks role), and he does a great job, too. He sounds like Tom Hanks. He has one big number and it sounds a whole lot like "Great Big Stuff" (one of his songs in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, for which he won a Tony). Kerry Butler doesn't have much to do, which is too bad because I love her. She's one of my favorite musical theater actresses. She knocks the park out of "Fly, Fly Away," her big number.
(Sidebar: I'm very glad that the original siblings from Broadway's Next to Normal are currently working on Broadway. Seeing Aaron in Catch Me If You Can and seeing his N2N sister, Jenn Damiano, in Spider-Man recently made me really miss N2N. It also made me feel bad that Jenn Damiano ended up in the criminally underused role of Mary Jane in a disaster of a musical. I'm sure it will be difficult for both of them to find shows as good as N2N, but I'm glad that Aaron has at least found this great role.)
Next up was The Book of Mormon. Where do I even start? This is the show of the season. It will clean house at the Tonys this year. It's gotten fabulous reviews all over the place, from The New York Times (Ben Brantley loved it) to Josh Schwartz (who tweeted: "Book of Mormon may be the best thing I've seen on Broadway... not to overhype..."). I respect Josh Schwartz's opinion immensely, so it was cool to see that. Anyway, this show is brilliant. First of all, it's from the creators of South Park, and it's hilarious. It's not as crude as I expected it to be, though. It's actually full of heart. It's smart and moving and I can't say enough good things about it. It's just wonderful. Go see it. I did standing room, and it was totally worth the two-hour wait (and the view from standing room is great).
Finally, I saw the play High, starring Kathleen Turner. I wasn't crazy about the play. It was too formulaic and yet also inconsistent in terms of character. I enjoyed seeing Kathleen Turner onstage, and Evan Jonigkeit is an incredibly talented young actor giving a fantastic performance, but I wouldn't recommend this one.
Friday, March 18, 2011
"Honest words are like August thirds; they just both come maybe once in a year." ~david garza
This song played at the end of the Veronica Mars pilot, and it's one of the reasons I fell in love with the show in that first episode.
Thank goodness it's Friday. My Fridays at school are awful and long and incredibly trying, but once I get home, I'm thrilled. I only have random musings tonight. I'm too exhausted to put together any truly coherent thoughts.
I recently reread The Hunger Games trilogy. I could read it over and over and over again (and I can easily read the whole trilogy in less than a week). I'm in love. So of course I've been intently following rumors and news about the making of the films. I knew that whoever was cast as Katniss would become an instant star, just as Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart experienced (with Harry Potter and Twilight, respectively). My vote was for Chloe Grace Moretz. Go see Let Me In to see why (go see that movie just because it's brilliant, actually). They went with Jennifer Lawrence, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for her amazing performance in Winter's Bone. I love her, I think she's a fabulous actress, and I'm excited to see her as Katniss. I do wonder if she's not too old for the role, though. I know she's no old maid, but how old will she be when they're shooting the last film in the trilogy? She'll be 21 when they start shooting the first film, in which Katniss is sixteen. The other two most-rumored contenders for the role were Hailee Steinfeld (also with a new Oscar nom, for True Grit) and Abigail Breslin, both of whom are fourteen. Going with someone so much older was an interesting choice. It might be because it'll be easier to cast the main male roles by casting Katniss older. I do know Jennifer Lawrence will nail the acting, and I'm not at all disappointed with her being cast. I can't wait to see the movie, although of course I'm nervous about it, as I am about any book I love being turned into a film.
Here's a random piece of a conversation I had today with two of my female students:
J: Do you live alone?
Me: Yes.
C: Do you have a cat?
Me: Yes.
J: You're just like in the American movies!
C: I knew you have a cat because you always have white hairs on your clothes.
J: Do you ever get lonely living alone?
This is just a tiny snippet of a conversation with thirteen-year-old girls in my school. I'm not sure why, but I suppose that, based on American movies, my students think all white girls in their twenties live alone and own cats. It's weird for them to think of someone living alone, though. From what I've learned, they tend to live with a lot of people. Very few of them live with what we think of as the traditional family unit (mother, father, children); many of them live with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.
If you live near a Rita's, go on Sunday! Free ices for the first day of spring! I love Rita's.
I'm tired. That's all for now.
This song played at the end of the Veronica Mars pilot, and it's one of the reasons I fell in love with the show in that first episode.
Thank goodness it's Friday. My Fridays at school are awful and long and incredibly trying, but once I get home, I'm thrilled. I only have random musings tonight. I'm too exhausted to put together any truly coherent thoughts.
I recently reread The Hunger Games trilogy. I could read it over and over and over again (and I can easily read the whole trilogy in less than a week). I'm in love. So of course I've been intently following rumors and news about the making of the films. I knew that whoever was cast as Katniss would become an instant star, just as Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart experienced (with Harry Potter and Twilight, respectively). My vote was for Chloe Grace Moretz. Go see Let Me In to see why (go see that movie just because it's brilliant, actually). They went with Jennifer Lawrence, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for her amazing performance in Winter's Bone. I love her, I think she's a fabulous actress, and I'm excited to see her as Katniss. I do wonder if she's not too old for the role, though. I know she's no old maid, but how old will she be when they're shooting the last film in the trilogy? She'll be 21 when they start shooting the first film, in which Katniss is sixteen. The other two most-rumored contenders for the role were Hailee Steinfeld (also with a new Oscar nom, for True Grit) and Abigail Breslin, both of whom are fourteen. Going with someone so much older was an interesting choice. It might be because it'll be easier to cast the main male roles by casting Katniss older. I do know Jennifer Lawrence will nail the acting, and I'm not at all disappointed with her being cast. I can't wait to see the movie, although of course I'm nervous about it, as I am about any book I love being turned into a film.
Here's a random piece of a conversation I had today with two of my female students:
J: Do you live alone?
Me: Yes.
C: Do you have a cat?
Me: Yes.
J: You're just like in the American movies!
C: I knew you have a cat because you always have white hairs on your clothes.
J: Do you ever get lonely living alone?
This is just a tiny snippet of a conversation with thirteen-year-old girls in my school. I'm not sure why, but I suppose that, based on American movies, my students think all white girls in their twenties live alone and own cats. It's weird for them to think of someone living alone, though. From what I've learned, they tend to live with a lot of people. Very few of them live with what we think of as the traditional family unit (mother, father, children); many of them live with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.
If you live near a Rita's, go on Sunday! Free ices for the first day of spring! I love Rita's.
I'm tired. That's all for now.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
"I’d be myself if I knew who I’d become. You fly too high and get too close to the sun." ~bono & the edge
This is a Broadway post. I've seen two Broadway shows in the past few days, and I'm here to report back.
First was Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. I was really excited about this musical when I heard about it for the first time years ago. Bono and The Edge, two of my favorite musicians in the world, were writing the music. That made it pretty intriguing to me. I followed the show's creation with excitement, anxiety, and finally frustration as it descended into the trainwreck that it is now. The opening has been postponed numerous times, people have been seriously hurt, and it's turned into a joke, which I don't think is good for Broadway. It's a bad show and it's still getting tons of attention, which bothers me. The script doesn't make any sense. When I saw it, they stopped the show during the Act 1 finale. After awhile they announced that they couldn't complete the flying sequence in that scene so they were skipping it. At one point a prop went flying off the stage and landed in the lap of an audience member in the front row. An empty harness, which was supposed to be holding an actor, flew across the stage. Why are they still having these problems when the show has been playing for four months?? I think that's unacceptable. Now Julie Taymor has been fired and they're trying to rework the show, but I don't know if that's possible or even worthwhile. I refused to pay to see it (Nic got us comps so I went for free) and I can't believe how many people are paying a lot of money to see such a disaster. Maybe someone new can fix it. I don't know. It all just seems like such a waste to me. A huge waste of money, a waste of talent, a waste of time. Read Ben Brantley's New York Times review for a laugh. It's more entertaining than the actual show. Here are some highlights:
On a much brighter note, last night I saw a wonderful new Broadway play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. It was written by Rajiv Joseph, a young playwright who's been getting a lot of attention lately (his play Gruesome Playground Injuries played off-Broadway this winter, and it was good, though not as good as Bengal Tiger). Robin Williams stars in it, and he gives a fabulous performance as the tiger. He's best known for comedy, but he handles drama really, really well. The play (obviously set in Baghdad) takes an interesting look at the relationship between Iraqis and Americans. It's a drama, but it does have comic moments. It makes you think. It haunts you. I'm so glad I got to see it. I was in the front row, which was awesome. I love seeing dramas from the front row.
This is a Broadway post. I've seen two Broadway shows in the past few days, and I'm here to report back.
First was Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. I was really excited about this musical when I heard about it for the first time years ago. Bono and The Edge, two of my favorite musicians in the world, were writing the music. That made it pretty intriguing to me. I followed the show's creation with excitement, anxiety, and finally frustration as it descended into the trainwreck that it is now. The opening has been postponed numerous times, people have been seriously hurt, and it's turned into a joke, which I don't think is good for Broadway. It's a bad show and it's still getting tons of attention, which bothers me. The script doesn't make any sense. When I saw it, they stopped the show during the Act 1 finale. After awhile they announced that they couldn't complete the flying sequence in that scene so they were skipping it. At one point a prop went flying off the stage and landed in the lap of an audience member in the front row. An empty harness, which was supposed to be holding an actor, flew across the stage. Why are they still having these problems when the show has been playing for four months?? I think that's unacceptable. Now Julie Taymor has been fired and they're trying to rework the show, but I don't know if that's possible or even worthwhile. I refused to pay to see it (Nic got us comps so I went for free) and I can't believe how many people are paying a lot of money to see such a disaster. Maybe someone new can fix it. I don't know. It all just seems like such a waste to me. A huge waste of money, a waste of talent, a waste of time. Read Ben Brantley's New York Times review for a laugh. It's more entertaining than the actual show. Here are some highlights:
"Spider-Man is so grievously broken in every respect that it is beyond repair....Anyway, the whole thing disappoints me. Oh, I have to post this, though. It's funny. I love Kristen Wiig.
The sheer ineptitude of this show, inspired by the Spider-Man comic books, loses its shock value early. After 15 or 20 minutes, the central question you keep asking yourself is likely to change from How can $65 million look so cheap? to How long before I’m out of here?....
Spider-Man is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst....
There are lots of flat, cardboardish sets, which could easily be recycled for high school productions of Grease and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying....
Some wear grotesque masks that bring to mind hucksters on sidewalks handing out promotional material for fantasy-theme restaurants....
I get the impression that Arachne, as the ultimate all-controlling artist, is the only character who much interests Ms. Taymor, but that doesn’t mean that she makes sense....
On a much brighter note, last night I saw a wonderful new Broadway play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. It was written by Rajiv Joseph, a young playwright who's been getting a lot of attention lately (his play Gruesome Playground Injuries played off-Broadway this winter, and it was good, though not as good as Bengal Tiger). Robin Williams stars in it, and he gives a fabulous performance as the tiger. He's best known for comedy, but he handles drama really, really well. The play (obviously set in Baghdad) takes an interesting look at the relationship between Iraqis and Americans. It's a drama, but it does have comic moments. It makes you think. It haunts you. I'm so glad I got to see it. I was in the front row, which was awesome. I love seeing dramas from the front row.
Friday, March 11, 2011
"Wait, dear, a white horse is walking down my street here. Your words are creeping at my feet, I fear sunrise will come too soon and you'll disappear into the haze of this city and go south." ~augustana
I know I haven't posted for awhile, but I'm making up for it today. Sorry if you have a slow connection and it takes forever to all the images to load.
I've been so busy this past week that I don't even know where to start. I have two concerts and a Broadway show to write about (from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). This post will be about the two concerts. I'll post about the Broadway show (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) later this weekend in a separate post.
On Tuesday I went to see The Low Anthem at the Bowery Ballroom. I've seen them as an opening band before, but it was great to see them headline a show. They were absolutely wonderful. They all play a bunch of different instruments, including some that I would never expect to make music (like a saw or a pair of cell phones). I admire musicians who are that versatile. Here are some photos so you can see:
I filmed the last song, "Oh My God Charlie Darwin." I was in the front row so I didn't have the best angle, but it was such a gorgeous performance that I have to share it.
There's a nice review of the concert here.
The next concert was Augustana. I've seen them live a few times before, but it was really cool to see them at this incredibly tiny venue. There were tables, and we were at a table directly against the stage. I was a foot away from Dan (the lead singer). It was surreal. I filmed the whole show. Again, the angle made it difficult, and I was watching the concert rather than looking at the screen of my recorder, so video-wise it's not perfect. It is, however, great for audio. They only played a couple old songs, and I was thrilled that one of them was "All the Stars and Boulevards." The rest of the songs were from their new album coming out in April. I can't wait to hear it, because I loved the songs they played last night. My favorite was "Hurricane."
Here are my videos (you should really check them out and listen to these gorgeous songs, especially "Hurricane"):
I know I haven't posted for awhile, but I'm making up for it today. Sorry if you have a slow connection and it takes forever to all the images to load.
I've been so busy this past week that I don't even know where to start. I have two concerts and a Broadway show to write about (from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). This post will be about the two concerts. I'll post about the Broadway show (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) later this weekend in a separate post.
On Tuesday I went to see The Low Anthem at the Bowery Ballroom. I've seen them as an opening band before, but it was great to see them headline a show. They were absolutely wonderful. They all play a bunch of different instruments, including some that I would never expect to make music (like a saw or a pair of cell phones). I admire musicians who are that versatile. Here are some photos so you can see:
I filmed the last song, "Oh My God Charlie Darwin." I was in the front row so I didn't have the best angle, but it was such a gorgeous performance that I have to share it.
There's a nice review of the concert here.
The next concert was Augustana. I've seen them live a few times before, but it was really cool to see them at this incredibly tiny venue. There were tables, and we were at a table directly against the stage. I was a foot away from Dan (the lead singer). It was surreal. I filmed the whole show. Again, the angle made it difficult, and I was watching the concert rather than looking at the screen of my recorder, so video-wise it's not perfect. It is, however, great for audio. They only played a couple old songs, and I was thrilled that one of them was "All the Stars and Boulevards." The rest of the songs were from their new album coming out in April. I can't wait to hear it, because I loved the songs they played last night. My favorite was "Hurricane."
Here are my videos (you should really check them out and listen to these gorgeous songs, especially "Hurricane"):
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