Leslie Odom, Jr. at Deer Valley

Last night I went to Deer Valley to see Leslie Odom, Jr. in concert and it was fabulous!  I really love seeing performances outside, especially in the mountains where the temperature is much cooler than in the city, and if the concert features the Utah Symphony and a member of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, you know it is going to be a wonderful evening.  Odom, Jr. (who played Aaron Burr) began with "Wait For It" from Hamilton and talk about goosebumps!  It gave me such a thrill because it reminded me of seeing him perform it on Broadway.  There was an enormous crowd and he joked that he didn't know there were so many fans of Law & Order: SVU (he had a small recurring role).  He told the crowd that he would perform some more songs from Hamilton but he was going to wait until the end so people wouldn't leave!  He continued with quite a few songs from his self-titled album including "Look for the Silver Lining," "Brazil," "I Know That You Know," "Joey, Joey, Joey," and "Autumn Leaves," which is my favorite song from the album.  Then he sang a medley of Nat King Cole songs which just about blew my mind: "Mona Lisa," "Straighten Up and Fly Right," and "Unforgettable."  I must say that his version of "Unforgettable" brought a tear to my eye!  He had his wife, Nicolette Robinson, come on stage to sing a song called "What Are We Waiting For?" which was beautiful.  His wife can definitely sing, as well!  I'm surprised that I didn't know this but Odom, Jr. was also in the musical RENT, which is another favorite of mine.  He said that when he was young, RENT was his Hamilton and he had every song memorized!  He auditioned without ever imagining that he would get the role!  He sang an incredible version of "Without You" which I absolutely loved.  His voice is so smooth and he makes it look so effortless!  As promised, he ended the concert with "Dear Theodosia" and "The Room Where It Happens" from Hamilton which brought the crowd to their feet!  So fun!  Odom, Jr. came back to sing "Forever Young" as an encore and I sincerely wished that he could have kept going for several more hours.  This was an amazing concert and I'm so glad that I got to go!

Summer Reading: Lily and the Octopus

I started reading Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley, the next selection on my summer reading list, early in the afternoon and I finished it in the wee hours of the next morning (even canceling my plans for that evening to continue). I couldn't put it down! I laughed and cried and I think anyone who has ever had a dog in their life will have the same reaction. Ted is a lonely, middle-aged, gay man who is suffering from writer's block and a recent heartbreak. Lily is the beloved dachshund he has had for all of her 12 years. Lily is Ted's whole life and he often eschews going out in favor of game night, movie night, or pizza night with her. Ted has actual conversations with Lily and she answers. I have to admit that one of my favorite aspects of this novel is Lily's dialogue. It is exactly what a dog would say. One day an octopus appears on Lily's head, which is how Ted views her tumor. He always refers to the tumor as an octopus, as a coping mechanism because he cannot face what it really is, and tries every way he can think of to make the octopus leave on its own. Then things take a strange turn into the realm of magical realism as Ted takes a metaphorical journey to kill the octopus. I have to admit that this part of the story didn't work as much for me but it is a small criticism. Rowley describes Lily's final hours with so much emotion and anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a pet will probably be shattered. As sad as this novel is it does end on a hopeful note. When Ted does finally acknowledge the tumor, he faces his own mortality and reevaluates his life. It is such a poignant story about the love and grief experienced as a pet owner and I highly recommend it.

Have you read Lily and the Octopus?  What did you think?

Planet of the Apes Triple Feature

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see a triple feature of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes.  It was a long afternoon and evening but I definitely enjoyed myself (and bonded with the people around me).  It is one of the best trilogies I've ever seen, one, rather unusually, in which the films get better and better.  All three of them feature compelling and thought-provoking stories, powerful performances, and dazzling special effects.  In Rise, my sympathies are entirely with the apes.  Just because we can do something doesn't mean that we should, especially regarding the ethics of animal testing.  In Dawn, the stakes are considerably higher and the heroes and villains aren't quite as black and white for me.  There are good humans and bad humans just as there are good apes and bad apes.  I was very intrigued by the difficulties involved in diplomacy, how easy it is for an extremist to undermine the work of many.  In War, after fighting for two years, Caesar (Andy Serkis) offers the humans peace if the apes can be left alone in the woods.  However, a mysterious Colonel (Woody Harrelson) arrives and kills Caesar's wife and son prompting him to vow revenge.   As the rest of the apes try to escape, Caesar goes on a journey with a few apes to locate the Colonel at his compound in the North and then learns that his apes have been taken prisoner.  The way that the prisoners are treated is extremely difficult to watch (much like the Jews in concentration camps) but the prison-break scenes provide a bit of levity.  While there is an epic show-down between the apes and humans, the titular war, in my opinion, is within Caesar himself as he battles his hatred.  Of the three, I think this film is the most complex in its storytelling because of the themes of vengeance and redemption.  Andy Serkis is, once again, brilliant in a motion-capture performance that is incredibly powerful.  I have always enjoyed Maurice (Karin Konoval) as a character but I loved his role as Caesar's conscience in this film.  Woody Harrelson is menacing as a military leader gone rogue and I enjoyed the addition of Bad Ape (Steve Zahn) for a bit of comic relief to offset the bleakness.  Finally, I was so impressed by the CGI which I thought was incredibly realistic, almost to the point that you forget that you are not watching apes but actors in motion-capture suits.  This is a very fitting end to the trilogy and I loved it.  Actually, I loved watching all three of these films together, so much so, that I spent about forty-five minutes discussing them in the parking lot with my fellow audience members!

The Exception

As a student of history I hadn't really thought much about what happened to Kaiser Wilhelm II when he exited the stage after World War I.  After seeing a preview of The Exception, I was intrigued about his post-war life and very eager to see a film about his involvement, albeit fictionalized, in events at the beginning of World War II.  I am a sucker for films about World War I and World War II!  I saw The Exception last night and I wish that it had focused more on Wilhelm (Christopher Plummer) rather than on the romance between a German officer (Jai Courtney) and a Jewish housemaid who may or may not be a British operative (Lily James).  Captain Stefan Brandt (Courtney) is sent to the Netherlands, presumably as punishment for an incident in Poland (there are lots of flashbacks), to be the head of security for the exiled Wilhelm.  In reality, he is sent there to spy on Wilhelm.  He immediately, if abruptly, begins a passionate affair with the new maid Mieke (James), who reveals to him that she is Jewish.  When Heinrich Himmler (Eddie Marsan) visits Wilhelm, who hopes for news that the Nazis want to restore the monarchy, Brandt suspects that Mieke might be a spy.  Will he choose love or duty?  I loved Christopher Plummer in this role as a mercurial king-in-exile who longs for the past (he loves showing guests his collection of military uniforms) yet rails against his generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff for losing the war.  He insists on receiving military briefings from his aide de camp (Ben Daniels) in one moment and in the next he chops wood and feeds the ducks.  I also enjoyed Janet McTier's performance as Wilhelm's wife, Hermine, who works behind the scenes to restore the monarchy so she can order new clothes and refuse her sisters entrance at court.  Their story is incredibly compelling;  Brandt and Mieke's is less so.  Lily James does a good job in the scenes where espionage is the focus but I didn't buy the romance at all.  Why on earth does she get involved with a German soldier when she wants revenge against them for killing her father and brother?  Why does she tell him that she is Jewish when she doesn't know him well enough to trust him?  There is no motivation for their affair at all (beyond lust) and I didn't really care for Courtney's stilted performance as Brandt.  There is no tension at the climax because we already know that Brandt is troubled by the brutality of the Nazis so his decision isn't that surprising.  I found Wilhelm's decision to be much more interesting.  Bottom line:  I liked this movie but it would have been better with more Plummer and less Courtney.

The Hero

Last night I went to see The Hero, a film I saw at Sundance and really enjoyed.  To be sure, it is a cliched character study about a man with regrets who must come to term with his own mortality but it has an incredible central performance by Sam Elliott which makes it worth watching, even twice.  Lee Hayden (Elliott) is a former Western film star well past his prime who who spends his days drinking, smoking marijuana, and recording ads for a barbecue sauce when he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  At the same time he meets a much younger woman (Laura Prepon) and begins a relationship with her and, after a drug-fueled speech at an awards ceremony goes viral, gets a big movie offer.  In the midst of all of this, he tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Krysten Ritter) and decide what to do about his diagnosis.  He has recurring dreams about being on the set of his most popular movie, in his current state, where he metaphorically fights his cancer.  Even though Elliott is essentially playing a version of himself, he is absolutely shines in this role (I have heard mention of a possible Academy Award nomination).  He is in almost every shot and I found him to be captivating.  He is able to convey more emotion with just a lift of a bushy eyebrow than most actors working today do with pages of dialogue.  While all of the supporting characters are pretty thinly drawn I found a scene with Nick Offerman, who plays a former cast member who is now Lee's drug dealer, to be hilarious and I enjoyed seeing Katharine Ross, Elliott's real-life wife, as Lee's ex-wife.   This film is a little gem that I recommend, especially if you are a fan of Sam Elliott.