Theater-The Little Mermaid

In the last decade or so, it seems as if Disney has taken over Broadway, coming out with a new show every few years with various degrees of success. With the exception of the Elton John misfire Aida, all of them have been adaptations from their extensive canon of films (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins). They've gone back to the well again, this time with The Little Mermaid, from the 1989 smash hit that led off Disney's impressive animation renaissance during the 90's. For the 4 of you out there who don't know, Mermaid tells the story of Ariel (Sierra Boggess), the sweet-singing but rebellious mermaid daughter of King Triton (Norm Lewis) who longs to be human so she can be with Prince Eric (Sean Palmer). She makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula (Sherie Rene Scott) who can turn her human, but in return she must give up her voice. With the help of her friends Flounder (J.J. Singleton) and Sebastian (Tituss Burgess), she has three days to get Eric to kiss her or she becomes Ursula's prisoner forever.

The Little Mermaid boasts an impressive pedigree, including multi-Olivier Award-winning director Francesca Zambello, Pulitzer and Tony-Award winning writer Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, Grey Gardens), and retaining the Oscar-winning songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Yet somehow, it all manages to come up short. There are things to like, such as the impressive underwater sets and costumes. The actors give the illusion of swimming using a variation of those roller skate/sneaker combinations that seem to be so popular with the kids these days in a creative piece of staging. I was actually pretty entertained during the first act when the best songs like "Under the Sea" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" take place. Unfortunately the new songs added for the production (by Menken and Glenn Slater) aren't anywhere near as good as the original film's compositions. And the second act suffers due to the fact that the ending of the film is too action-oriented and difficult to stage, resulting in a re-imagining of the climax that is clumsy, awkward, and rushed (a similar problem in the stage version of Beauty and the Beast). The performances range from mediocre (Burgess' Sebastian) to above average, with Scott giving the best performance in the show as Ursula. Boggess makes for a serviceably perky Ariel, delivering a lovely rendition of the signature song, "Part of Your World." The nostalgia factor is a big key in enjoying this show (it's still The Little Mermaid after all), but objectively it leaves a lot to be desired. Overall I would say The Little Mermaid makes for a pleasant night at the theater, about the level of Beauty and the Beast but nowhere near the heights of The Lion King.

Freakonomics

In Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s book, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, I learned that basic economic theory could be applied to not just what traditional economists talk about, but to everything showing that people, in general, are motivated by incentives. Freakonomics is a translation of University of Chicago economist Levitt’s published academic articles that dealt with a variety of topics from Sumo wrestling and child name-picking to the Ku Klux Klan and abortion into layman terms by New York Times journalist Dubner. The book provides a new perspective on things one would not normally think about, like why do drug dealers live with their moms? The authors propose that crack dealers live with their moms because of their surprising low earnings and miserable working conditions. Several other unique ideas are presented in the book, as well, including the concept that legalized abortion has lead to a decrease in crime rate and that the effects of good parenting on education are negligible. It presents convincing arguments while not being overbearing. To each situation, Levitt provides both sides to each scenario while successfully eliminating all doubt. The book has inspired lots of conversations since its publication in 2005 leading to a revised edition and ongoing conversation on a Freakonomics blog. I enjoyed this book, as a casual read, because it gave me things to think about that I had never thought about before.

Cormac McCarthy's The Road

With issues such as the Iraq War and terrorism constantly on the mind, it’s no wonder that some Americans fear the end of the world. The blame for this fear cannot alone be put on the governments and news media, but also on the entertainment industry that has been shoving stories about the apocalypse down our throats. With films like, “I Am Legend” and “Cloverfeild,” and shows like “Jericho” and “Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles,” we can’t escape the idea that our days may be numbered. Long before these, we’ve been reading apocalyptic fictional novels. I remember being assigned “Alas, Babylon” in 9th grade English. Also, the “Left Behind,” book series based on the biblical book of revelation has been widely popular amongst Christians.

Author Cormac McCarthy (All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men) has given us one of the more recent “end of the world” stories with his 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning novel “The Road,” which I was able to read over the course of two plane trips from Philly to Austin and back. “The Road” is about a journey taken by a father and his young son through a landscape that has been destroyed by some unknown cataclysm. The road they travel is through a scorched land, void of civilization and living things, where they face thieves, cannibals, poor weather and starvation.

In the novel, McCarthy gives you little when it comes to the details of the things you expect. You never learn the characters’ names or what their lives were like before the world changing events. You never know what caused the world to change in the first place. The reader never learns where they were or where they were going. What you do get are details about the landscapes, which are painted vividly in greys, blacks and whites, some poetically presented flashes of the characters memories and dreams, a wonderfully written child that somehow maintains compassion despite all he has faced and above all, you get a story full of love. The sacrifices the father makes for his boy are endearing and the way he talks and encourages him are heart warming and even at times tear jerking. After bringing you down with the horrible posthumous world he creates, McCarthy picks you up with unconditional love of a parent that inspires. I was afraid the novel would be depressing as post-apocalyptic stories can be, but instead I gained an appreciation of my parents and what they have done for me.

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

Just wanted to briefly comment on the stunning death of actor Heath Ledger. Stunning not only because he seemed like a happy person with a reasonably together life (never really a tabloid magnet), but also because he was just beginning to show the true depths of his talent. Starting out in lighter fare like 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale, Ledger recently began to display incredible range and subtlety in films like Monster's Ball, I'm Not There, and most notably in his magnificent and revelatory performance in Brokeback Mountain, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. I'm still looking forward to his performance as the Joker in this summer's The Dark Knight, but it will likely sadden me as a final reminder of what could have been. I guess we'll begin to find out in the coming weeks what actually happened to him, but either way, it's still a tragic end for an extraordinary talent that Ang Lee compared to a young Marlon Brando. A shame.

Andrew's Top 10 Movies of 2007

So here we are at the end of 2007, a very good year for movies. That is reflected in not only the number of honorable mentions I listed, but in the volume of notable films I regret that I haven't even gotten around to seeing (some likely to receive Oscar nominations). Here we go.

Notable films I missed (so far): 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; A Mighty Heart; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; I'm Not There; Into the Wild; The King of Kong; The Kite Runner; Lars and the Real Girl; La Vie en Rose; Lust, Caution; No End in Sight; Persepolis; Rescue Dawn; The Savages; Zodiac; and a few more I've probably forgotten about.

Honorable mention: 3:10 to Yuma; American Gangster; Atonement; Away from Her; Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; Charlie Wilson's War; Grindhouse; Gone Baby Gone; Hairspray; Hot Fuzz; In the Shadow of the Moon; Knocked Up; Superbad; Waitress

And now onto the top 10:

10. Juno: The film festival favorite about teen pregnancy from director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) is almost too hip for it's own good, but is redeemed by it's extremely funny and ultimately heartwarming screenplay from Diablo Cody and a star-making turn from Ellen Page as Juno. Jennifer Garner and J.K. Simmons are also standouts in a near-perfect cast.

9. The Bourne Ultimatum: Matt Damon is superb in the final chapter of the Bourne series. Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93) masterfully directs this high-octane, pulse-pounding thriller that also manages to be mature and thoughtful. The only "threequel" of 2007 worth anything.

8. Eastern Promises: Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) re-teams with Viggo Mortensen in this dark look at the Russian mafia in London. It's violent and grisly but also an excellent character study of Nikolai (Mortensen), a morally ambiguous soldier in the Russian mob, and of Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife who draws herself into the workings of the criminal underworld. A brave and spectacular performance from Mortensen.

7. Michael Clayton: George Clooney is Clayton, a fixer in a law firm who begins to uncover some of the dark secrets of his firm's client, a major pesticide company. This adult thriller from first-time director Tony Gilroy unfolds slowly and methodically, not resorting to any cheap stunts or plot twists to remain engaging. Clooney is very good in the lead role, and Tilda Swinton is fantastic in a supporting role as a very different kind of villain.

6. Ratatouille: The latest and one of the greatest from Pixar and director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) follows Remy, a rat who uses Linguini, a janitor at one of Paris' finest restaurants to become one of the great chefs of the city. It's a masterwork that deals with issues of tolerance and daring to be great, and reinforces Pixar's position as the king of animation.

5. There Will Be Blood: Daniel Day-Lewis gives hands-down the best performance of the year as Daniel Plainview, the oil man at the center of this epic tale, a departure of sorts for writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love). Loosely based on "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair, There Will Be Blood is a searing portrayal of the economic rise but moral deterioration of Plainview. It's a tough and gritty drama without easy resolutions but involving and intelligent throughout. Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) is also wonderfully over-the-top as the less-than-holy preacher who becomes Plainview's nemesis.

4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Tim Burton brings Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece to the silver screen with impressive results. It's dark and emotional while not skimping on the bloody, glorious fun and spectacular visuals. Johnny Depp as Sweeney and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett are not the best singers, but do justice to Sondheim's wonderful score with their outstanding acting and performances.

3. No Country for Old Men: The Coen brothers' (Fargo, Raising Arizona) latest crime thriller is a thoughtful meditation on violence, greed, and morality. Josh Brolin (American Gangster) is solid as Llewelyn Moss, the welder who tries to get away with stealing drug money, and Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls, The Dancer Upstairs) creates one of the most memorable villains in film history as Anton Chigurgh, the hitman hot on Moss's trail. It's challenging and potentially frustrating, but still ends up entirely engaging and ultimately brilliant.

2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Artist-turned-director Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) adapts the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the former "Elle" editor who after suffering a stroke, lived with locked-in syndrome for the rest of his life. Fully conscious and possessing all of his mental faculties, Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) must learn to communicate with only his left eye, the only part of his body that is not completely paralyzed. Schnabel puts the viewer inside Bauby's head as he uses his imagination and memory to free himself from his body and find a reason for living. The visuals and cinematography are a wonder to behold and Amalric is excellent, much of the time having to portray all of Bauby's emotions through one eye. Diving Bell is inspiring and life-affirming without ever resorting to sentimentality.

1. Once: All of the other films on this list were much more ambitious and grander in scale, but at the end of the day, this small Irish musical was the one that really reminded me why I love going to the movies. This low-budget gem from writer-director John Carney stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as the lead characters credited only as Guy and Girl, who's growing relationship is reflected in the spare and lovely folk melodies that they write together. In a good year for musicals, Once is the best. It's charming, poignant, and genuine, and a wonderful reinvention of the genre.

Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles

Television, television, give me SOMETHING new. Damn you writer’s strike!!!

What this? Something new? A new show based upon a movie? Huh? This can’t be good can it? Terminator? Without Arnold? No Linda Hamilton? Should I even give it a look? Well, I got nothing else to watch, might as well.

Premiering last Sunday night after the NFL playoffs, on Fox, was the new action/Sci-fi drama “Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.” With quite low expectations, I tuned into the show revolving around the life of Sarah Connor (Lena Heady), and her son, John Connor (Thomas Dekker) after the events of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." In the show, in turns out that the Conner’s first attempt to destroy Skynet (the company that eventually creates the computers that take over the world) failed and it becomes the mission of the mother and son to destroy the new Skynet in hopes to prevent world Armageddon. They try to do this while not getting murdered by the terminators stalking them and while trying to remain hidden from a government agent (Richard T. Jones) that thinks they are dangerous. Luckily, they have a terminator of their own, Cameron played by the hot Summer Glau (Serenity, Firefly) to protect them.

This show was a pleasant surprise. The plot, although it sounds relatively simple, is still interesting especially now that they have created new kinds of terminators and added the element of time travel. I’ve been enjoying trying to understand the motives of the Cameron character, an unknown more human terminator model, and why she is there to protect John. The action is not quite at the level of a James Cameron production, but it’s still entertaining, nonetheless. So if you’re looking for something to watch on Monday night, while Heroes and 24 are on breaks, check this show out.

Some notes on 2007

Well it’s been a year since Andrew and I started this blog. Thanks to all of you who have supported us! Last year, I threw some comments out there of the previous year, so I thought I would do it again. Sorry if it sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m sure Andrew will do a upbeat post about his favorite movies soon.

Biggest Annoyance: The Writer’s Strike
I just don’t get it. What is taking is taking the negotiations so long? Isn’t it obvious that television is failing without the writers? Nothing left but reruns and bad improv. Plus, we don’t even get normal award shows. Grrrrr.

Best Movie That Still No One Is Talking About: Once
With the award season coming and quickly going, I can’t quite figure out why this movie hasn’t gotten any recognition. It’s a charming musical masterpiece that I encourage everyone to rent. It deserves a nom for at least best song or foreign film.

Biggest Disappointment: The Threequals
Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third, and the last Pirates installment all sucked. Maybe they tried to do much. You got it right with the first two, why would you change that formula? I’m excited about the changes we’ll see in the next spiderman movies.

Album You Couldn’t Escape From: Justin’s Timberlake’s Future Sex/Love Sounds
Throughout 2007, it seemed there was always a JT single in the top 20. Funny thing is that it was recorded in ’05 and released in ’06. Well, I guess six hit singles from album will allow it to persist.

Artists You Couldn’t Escape From: Akon and Timbaland
It seems that musicians can no longer have success from simply recording tracks on their own. Every new single featured some other big name and of the “featured”, it seemed that these two were the most popular. I get featuring Akon; the Senegalese R&B singer has a high tenor voice that provides for catchy choruses, but why does Timbaland have do the haunting “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” (i.e. that One Republic song) in everything he produces?

Most Overplayed Song: “Umbrella” by Rihanna
Ok, the song was good and catchy. I’ll admit that. Everyone liked it. Entertainment weekly, Rolling Stone, and Blender all had it as a top song of 2007, but dang it, leave it to the radio stations to play it every 12 seconds and ruin it.

Best Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
If you thought I would pick any other book, YOU CRAZY!!! Plus, I had to talk about something I was excited about. It was a glorious ending to a fantastic series that inspired so many to read, imagine and create, myself included. I’m so sad it’s over.

The New Candlelight Theatre's Lend Me a Tenor

If you have never had the pleasure of dinner theatre, put it on your “must do before you croak” list now. No one does dinner theatre like the not for profit New Candlelight Theatre in Arden, Delaware. The atmosphere is cozy, the food is like the way mom makes served by the sweetest old ladies on earth, and every seat is a good one. Because they work for tips, the theater also provides the extra bonus of having the actors serve you before the show and at intermission. You’ll really feel a personal connection with everyone involved in the production. The productions are simple, but never a disappointment.

Last Friday, with some loved ones, I caught Ken Ludwig’s (Crazy For You) “Lend Me a Tenor” on its opening night at the New Candlelight. In a farce that truly defines “the show must go on!,” Lend Me tells of the chaos that ensues when the world famous Italian tenor Tito Morelli, is unable to leave his hotel room to sing as Otello in a production that will make or break the Cleveland Grand Opera House. The show is hilarious and is driven by strong performances by the male actors. Jerry Perna is excellent as Tito with his dead on accent, while Paul Goodman (playing Max) seems to have good chemistry with everyone on stage, especially with Alan Kutner, who wonderfully plays the stressed out opera house manager, Saunders. A single set (Tito’s hotel room) was used for the whole show, but it was perfectly designed to allow impeccable staging and choreography. The overall experience was enjoyable and with plenty of tickets still available, I encourage others to check this one out.

Ultra-Mini Movie Reviews

Hope your holidays were great, everyone! I've seen a boatload of movies in the last few weeks but haven't had much time to write about them during all the festivities. So here's a bunch of opinions about them for you, some major Oscar-contenders, some not (I'm sure you can figure out which ones are which). I'm working on my Top 10 of 2007 as well, but I still want to catch a few more movies first.

Alvin and the Chipmunks-Yeah, I saw it. Jason Lee (TV's "My Name is Earl") does his best Ross Bagdasarian impression as Dave Seville alongside computer animated chipmunks in this adaptation of the popular 80's cartoon. It's actually pretty cute at first watching them sing and dance but it gets real old, real fast. It's boring and silly and meant strictly for kids. Grade: C-

Atonement-Director Joe Wright reunites with his Pride and Prejudice star Keira Knightley in this adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel. Knightley plays the privileged Cecilia Tallis who falls in love with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland), the son of the family housekeeper. Her 13-year-old sister Briony (Saoirise Ronan) sees something between the two she doesn't quite understand, and tells a big lie about Robbie that changes all of their lives forever. The action then cuts to four years later with Robbie, as a soldier in World War II, and the girls, who are now nurses, trying to deal with the consequences of Briony's actions. Atonement is an impressive film, with the first half, taking place on the Tallis estate, featuring note-perfect directing, writing, and acting. The second half though (during the war), while still handsomely produced and impeccably acted, unfortunately just feels like it's missing a dramatic component that would have given the ending an even stronger emotional punch than it already packs. A noble effort from Wright overall though, and will still likely garner a bunch of Oscar nominations. Grade: B+

Charlie Wilson's War-Tom Hanks stars as Charlie Wilson, a fun-loving Texas congressman who, with the help of a trouble making CIA agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a connected Southern socialite (Julia Roberts), managed to covertly channel hundreds of millions of dollars to help the struggling Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets in the 1980's. Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Primary Colors, "Angels in America") directs this sharp political comedy, keeping the tone light (mostly) while portraying Charlie's wheelings and dealings and the inner workings of Washington D.C., while subtly hinting at the future consequences of his actions (the rise of the Taliban). Hanks is very good and Hoffman is excellent, and the screenplay from Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, TV's "The West Wing") is intelligent and funny, peppered with Sorkin's trademark fast-paced dialogue and one-liners. Grade: A-

I am Legend-Ped already reviewed this in detail, so I'll just say that I largely agree with his review. The first half is very good, with impressive visual effects showing the desolate New York City and an outstanding performance from Will Smith. The second part unfortunately degenerates into a run-of-the-mill vampire scare-fest that isn't all that interesting. Worth checking out for Smith's work though. Grade: B

Juno-This Telluride and Toronto Film Festival comedy sensation from stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) stars Ellen Page (Hard Candy, X-Men 3) as Juno MacGuff, a smart, unique 16-year-old girl who decides, almost out of boredom, to have sex with her best friend Paulie (Michael Cera, Superbad). The one night stand results in pregnancy, and after getting freaked out by an abortion clinic's waiting room, decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. She seeks out a nice couple, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman) for her baby who have more problems than she initially notices, and the film follows Juno as she works through her pregnancy and her relationships with Paulie and the Lorings. Juno is a gem of a film that, while risking running off the rails at the beginning with it's too-cool-for-school attitude, manages to be hysterical and ultimately, very touching. Rising star Page is fantastic as Juno in a star-making performance, and Garner deserves special mention in her moving turn as desperate-to-be-a-mother Vanessa. Grade: A-

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street-Director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Batman, Ed Wood) takes a crack at Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, considered by some to be the greatest musical of the last half-century. Johnny Depp is Sweeney, the former barber who after being wrongly sent to jail by the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and losing his family, returns to London after 15 years to exact his revenge on the judge as well as the whole of London. He rents the space above Mrs. Lovett's (Helena Bonham Carter) meat pie bakery for his barber shop, where she comes up with an original idea: he kills them, she cooks them into her pies. It's an insane premise for a musical, but it has somehow always worked with Sondheim's powerful and imaginative score and lyrics. Burton's version lives up to the show's promise, filled with spectacular visuals and bloody, glorious fun, while not skimping on the emotional heft of the story. While some songs, like "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" were cut out, the remaining musical numbers are expertly crafted and performed, notably "A Little Priest" and the reprise of "Johanna." I was skeptical about how the singing of Depp and Carter would be, especially after seeing the outstanding Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone in 2005's Broadway revival, but they are more than adequate, proving that a great performance can always overcome a somewhat thin voice. Sweeney Todd is a triumph for Tim Burton. Grade: A