Casablanca

The first time I saw Casablanca was when I was living with my Aunt June in Canada.  She loved classic movies and was appalled when she learned that I had reached the ripe old age of eighteen without having seen what she considered to be the greatest movie of all time.  She made me watch it forthwith (I watched a lot of classic movies with her that summer) and, of course, I loved it because it is all about sacrificing love for a higher purpose and that really appealed to my idealistic younger self.  It was interesting to have the opportunity to see it on the big screen yesterday as someone older and a little more cynical (this time I think Rick should have chosen love but I understand that his choice made him a more noble character).  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-drinking club owner who is only out for himself in Casablanca, a haven for European refugees desperate for exit visas to escape the Nazis during World War II.  He ably navigates the world of black marketeers, corrupt officials, and German officers until Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a hero of the resistance who is in need of safe passage.  Ilsa was once Rick's lover in Paris but she abandoned him and, even though he has documents that will ensure safe passage for them, he is bitter and refuses to help.  Ilsa loves Rick but admires and respects Victor and will do anything to help him continue his work with the resistance.  Even though I knew the outcome, I still found the final scene to be filled with intrigue and suspense.  In fact, I found some of the scenes to be even more poignant the second time around.  When Ilsa sees Rick for the first time in his club, the expression on her face was even more heartbreaking to me because I knew her past with Rick and I knew the outcome.  My favorite scene is when Victor has the crowd sing the "Marseillaise" to drown out the German officers singing a drinking song.  It is so incredibly powerful and it made me understand Victor's appeal for Ilsa despite her love for Rick.  I really loved anticipating all of those famous lines, and there are a lot of them, but I think my favorite one is said by the corrupt prefect of police (Claude Rains):  "I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here."  I laughed out loud!  Seeing this movie reminded me that today's actors don't have anything on the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains.  Bogart is so handsome and debonair in a dinner jacket and I was captivated by the way Rains smoked a cigarette.  Definitely try to see this brilliant movie on the big screen on Nov. 15 (go here for tickets).

Sean Requested a Jazz Game!

My nephew got a smartphone at the beginning of the school year because he is going to a charter school instead of his home school and it is a bit further away from home.  Sometimes he randomly calls me during the day and I have to admit that I really love it when he does.  One day he called me to ask me to help him organize his school work and I made arrangements to meet him one day and go through his backpack.  We talked about various other things and, as we were finishing our conversation, he casually mentioned that we hadn't been to a Jazz game for a long time.  It was at that moment when I understood the purpose of his phone call.  I told him we would have to look at the schedule to see when the next Saturday home game was and he said it was against the Brooklyn Nets!  You have to admire his preparation!  We went last night and had so much fun!  I usually buy him a shirt (I only take him to one or two games a year and, besides, spoiling is the first article in the aunt by-laws) and he picked the cool shirt he is wearing in the picture.  It conveniently did not have a price tag on it and when it was scanned at the register we found out that it was $55.  What?  It is actually an NBA limited edition shirt for Veteran's Day and the Jazz players were wearing them during warm-ups so I guess it is worth it (said in a sarcastic voice). The Vivint Arena has undergone a really cool renovation so there are lots of great restaurants inside now.  We ate at Hire's which was fantastic but expensive!  Then we always have to get ice cream at half-time.  Ka-ching!  He is an expensive date but I love him so much (either that or I have the word “sucker” on my forehead!).  The Jazz played really well, leading the Nets for most of the game.  Donovan Mitchell had a great game, leading the team with 26 points, and Rodney Hood electrified the crowd with five three-pointers!  The Jazz ended up winning 114-106!  Sean thought he was the good luck charm!  I had so much fun with him and he is already planning our annual winter break Jazz game!

Note:  Ladies and gentlemen I am pleased to announce that my new Jazz crush is Ricky Rubio!  He has great hair!

Mozart's Great Mass

November is shaping up to be a wonderful month for Utah Symphony concerts!  Last week I got to hear the music of Rachmaninoff and last night I got to hear the music of Mozart (both of whom are favorites of mine).  The orchestra began last night's concert with Four Preludes and Serious Songs by Johannes Brahms with an arrangement by Detlev Glanert.  I really enjoyed this piece because it is a dark and mournful meditation on death which ultimately ends in triumph.  The orchestra was joined by Patrick Carfizzi who gave an incredible vocal performance and, of course, I really loved the woodwinds.  After the intermission the audience heard a magnificent performance of Mozart's "Great Mass."  I think that the Requiem Mass will always be my favorite piece by Mozart but this is definitely a close second.  The orchestra was joined by the University of Utah Chamber Choir and The Utah Symphony Chorus and soloists Celena Shafer, Sarah Shafer, Thomas Cooley, and Patrick Carfizzi.  The soloists were amazing, especially Celena Shafer who was last seen by Utah audiences as Musetta in Utah Opera's production of La Boheme.  The music in this mass is so beautiful and so powerful.  Listening to all of those voices was almost overwhelming so sometimes I just closed my eyes and let the music carry me away.  It was a beautiful concert, one that will be repeated at Abravanel Hall tonight.  I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Murder on the Orient Express

It seems like I have been waiting forever for Murder on the Orient Express to be released!  The wait was finally over last night because I went to an early Thursday preview with my family and boy did I love it!  I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie.  I have read every one of her mysteries multiple times and Murder on the Orient Express is a particular favorite because of the clever plot twist.  Kenneth Branagh's version is stylish and entertaining but it also adds a bit of poignancy that the other versions lack.  Hercule Poirot (Branagh) boards the Orient Express in Istanbul hoping for a few days of rest and relaxation.  However, one of the passengers, Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is stabbed to death just as the train is derailed during an avalanche.  Poirot is enlisted to solve the crime by his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) before the murderer can strike again while the train is stranded.  Everyone, it seems, is a suspect:  Ratchett's assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her companion Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), an American named Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), the missionary Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), a governess named Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley),  Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), Ratchett's valet Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi), Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and the Count and Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton and Sergei Polunin).  I really enjoyed the all-star cast, especially Pfeiffer who has an incredibly affecting scene and I can think of no one better to play an imperious princess than Dame Judi Dench.  They all have their moment to shine as they are interrogated one by one.  Branagh's iteration of the famous Belgian sleuth is a bit more emotional and tormented than the ones I've seen before and I actually really liked his portrayal (although his accent was a bit affected).  I also liked the claustrophobia of the sumptuous train cars juxtaposed with wide sweeping shots of the train traveling through the snow covered mountains.  Since I've read the book countless times and seen several versions, my enjoyment was not derived from trying to figure out "whodunnit" but from seeing a classic tale told in a new and surprising way.  I loved this movie and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  The ending implied that Poirot's next case would be in Egypt.  Dare we hope that Death on the Nile will be next?

LBJ

Last night I went to the Broadway once again to see LBJ and I hate to admit it but I was a bit disappointed.   The film begins on that fateful day in November when President Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) is assassinated and Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) assumes the presidency.  Then the film flashes back to when Johnson was the most powerful member of the Democratic Party as Senate Majority Leader only to lose all of his power once he becomes the Vice President.  Despite a fantastic performance by Harrelson, as well as one from Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird, my biggest problem with the film is that it really isn't about Johnson.  Rather, it is about the Kennedys.  The script takes great pains to point out that Johnson was thwarted at every turn by the Kennedys, starting with losing the 1960 presidential nomination to John Kennedy then being relegated to a bit player at the White House by Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) and finally having the first days of his presidency overshadowed by the nation's grief over President Kennedy's death.  The film ends with President Johnson giving a speech to a joint session of Congress advocating for President Kennedy's Civil Rights Act.  His one shining moment in the film is fighting for President Kennedy's legacy.  Then we see a few seconds of text on the screen outlining everything Johnson was able to accomplish during his presidency such as his Great Society legislation, Head Start, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well is his disastrous escalation of the Vietnam War.  I wish the filmmakers had focused on that.  I also felt that for being a biopic about such a bombastic character it was rather dull.  There is a lot of talking and many of the characters are difficult to distinguish from each other.  My mind definitely wandered.  The most stirring moment came during Johnson's speech when the film was practically over.   I would recommend giving this one a miss.