Spectre

I am a huge fan of the James Bond franchise!  I've seen all of the movies (multiple times) but my very favorite is Skyfall, directed by the brilliant Sam Mendes.  When I heard that the next installment, Spectre, was also being directed by Mendes I got really excited.  It seems like I have been waiting forever for this movie to come out but it finally did this weekend and I got to see it last night.  James Bond (Daniel Craig, in what is rumored to be his last outing as 007) learns of the existence of a global crime syndicate called SPECTRE which is led by someone from his past while M (Ralph Fiennes) must contend with C (Andrew Scott), the new director of the Joint Intelligence Service who wants to shut down the 00 section in favor of a global surveillance system.  The head of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), turns out to be the son of the man who adopted Bond after his parents died (a story line hinted at in Skyfall) with a grudge against Bond for replacing him in his father's affections.  Blofeld claims to have controlled the villains Le Chiffre (from Casino Royale), Greene (from Quantam of Solace), and Silva (from Skyfall) and to be responsible for the deaths of Vesper Lynd and the previous M.  While this story line connects all of Craig's movies in one arc, I found it to be convoluted and a bit implausible but it really didn't matter!  The action sequences are awesome!  From the fight on an out of control helicopter above a crowded square in Mexico City, to a high speed chase through the streets of Rome, a fight on the fuselage of a plane through the Austrian Alps, and a fight on a train through Morocco, this movie had me on the edge of my seat.  The long tracking shot in the opening sequence where Bond walks through a crowded Day of the Dead parade, through a hotel lobby, onto an elevator, into a hotel room, out a window onto the ledge of the hotel, and across the rooftops of several buildings is nothing short of spectacular!  I enjoyed Craig's performance as the spy and I liked the return of the gadgets, the cars (can we talk about how amazing the Aston Martin DB10 is for a moment?), the women, and the martinis, all of which make the Bond movies so much fun to watch!  I love Fiennes as M, especially when he has a fight scene with C, and Ben Whishaw is absolutely perfect as Q.  Waltz is always a menacing villain but I found Lea Seydoux to be a bit bland as the love interest (I much preferred Monica Bellucci as the widow of an assassin killed by Bond and then seduced by him).  Scott does a good job as the arrogant C (but I kept envisioning him as Moriarty in Sherlock) and, as I mentioned, I loved his confrontation with M!  While I think I still prefer Skyfall, I really enjoyed this movie and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the franchise.

Note: I'm not really a fan of Sam Smith's theme song, "Writing's on the Wall."

Mahler's Symphony No. 5

I knew I was in for an exciting evening when I saw a myriad of percussion instruments (including not one, but three, gongs!) on the Abravanel Hall stage last night!  The concert began with the premiere of a piece by Andrew Norman called Switch which was commissioned by the Utah Symphony.  Norman was in attendance and spoke to the audience about the unique structure of the piece.  He mentioned that the various percussion instruments acted as a "switch" to activate and control different instruments in the orchestra.  I loved it!  The soloist on percussion was Colin Currie, whom I've seen perform with the Utah Symphony several times before, and he is always incredibly entertaining.  I loved watching him run in between all of the percussion instruments (he literally leaped onto the stage from the audience).  I thought the piece was incredibly dynamic and interesting.  After the intermission, the orchestra played Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler.  This piece is a tremendous affirmation of life and I found it especially appropriate after such an incredible week at school (more on that later).  I particularly loved the theme played by the solo trumpet during the first movement and I also loved the call of the trumpet and the response of the clarinet in the third movement.  There is a section in the third movement where the stringed instruments are plucked (I am sure there is a technical term for that) and I thought it was very beautiful.  The fourth movement is absolutely sublime, written as a love letter to Mahler's wife Alma, and it brought tears to my eyes.  The fifth movement is triumphant with a fanfare by the brass which is incredibly stirring.  I had never heard this piece before and I really enjoyed it.  Do yourself a favor and go here for tickets to tonight's performance of this concert.

Outside Mullingar at PTC

I am not especially adventurous when it comes to the theatre (have I ever mentioned the horrible experience I had when I saw Seussical the Musical?) and I tend to see plays I've already seen before or at least know something about.  After all, tickets are often expensive and, if I am going to spend a lot of money, I want to make sure I enjoy myself.  Sometimes, however, I take a chance on something new and it instantly becomes a favorite (like PTC's production of Next to Normal several years ago).  Such was the case last night when I saw PTC's production of Outside Mullingar.  It is simply charming and I loved it!  All I knew before the curtain rose was that it was set in Ireland and I was quite surprised to discover that it was a contemporary play.  Tony Reilly (perennial PTC favorite Max Robinson) and Aoife Muldoon (Sybil Lines) have lived on adjoining cattle and sheep farms for years and, as they are both getting older, they begin to contemplate the future of their farms and whether their children love the land as much as they do.  Since neither Anthony (Tom O'Keefe) nor Rosemary (Amy Bodnar) are married, they worry that there won't be anyone to continue their legacies.  Will Anthony and Rosemary finally realize that they are meant to be together?  It is incredibly moving, especially when Tony tells Anthony how he fell in love with Anthony's mother, and it is often very comedic, especially when Rosemary declares that she has always loved Anthony.  All four actors give wonderful performances and I thought they did a great job with the Irish accent.  I liked the farmhouse sets and I thought the costumes were a lot of fun, particularly the wellies.  This play is very understated and character-driven but I was riveted by the dialogue.  I walked out of the theatre with a smile on my face (as did everyone sitting around me) and I would highly recommend Outside Mullingar for a lovely evening out.  It runs at PTC until Nov. 14.  Go here to purchase tickets.

Let's Go Grizzlies

Last night Marilyn and I took Sean and Colton, a family friend, to a Utah Grizzlies hockey game and, oh my goodness, it was an absolute riot!  When these two boys get together they are completely out of control in the best possible way.  I can't remember when I've laughed so hard!  The Grizzlies played the Idaho Steelheads and it was a pretty good game with the Grizzlies up a goal until the last few minutes.  Then Idaho scored two quick goals to win the game 2-1.  It almost didn't matter what the score was because we had so much fun.  I don't go to very many Grizzlies games any more (I used to be obsessed with the team back in the day) because I think it is so slow and I don't like dump and chase hockey but I certainly have a lot of fun when I take Sean.

Here he is at a game in 2011.  Isn't he adorable?

Note:  We kept Sean out way past his bedtime on a school night (isn't that what aunts are for?).  He was obsessed with this fact on the drive home and kept mentioning the time from the back seat.  "It is now 10:15 but my body feels like it is 11:15!"  Both Sean and I think Daylight Saving Time is pretty stupid!

Halloween 2015

I have always really loved Halloween and this year it was so much fun!  The day started early with some pumpkin carving with Sean and Tashena.

Sean's pumpkin "Cyclops."

Tashena's pumpkin "Tinkerbell."

My pumpkin "Mr. Bonehead."

Marilyn's "Old School" pumpkin.

It has been a tradition for as long as I can remember to have chili on Halloween.  This year I made it and everyone came over to my house!

Sean was a mad scientist (although we all thought that his wig made him look like James Brown).

Since I didn't have very many trick-or-treaters, I told him he could have as much candy as he wanted!

Tashena was Tinkerbell.

Tashena and her friends came trick-or-treating to my house and it was an absolute riot!  They kind of took over my house for a little while.  They were all really nice, if exuberant, kids.  A really great day!

Note:  For several years Marilyn and I have had the tradition of going to a late movie on Halloween.  We saw The Martian in IMAX 3D (yes, I've now seen it four times).  It was really late when we drove home and we had to stop at UHP DUI checkpoint.  They asked us if we had been drinking and then simply let us go.  I thought that was hilarious.  However, there were some young teenage girls standing on the sidewalk who looked to be in a bit of trouble...