Movie Review: **** Cars 2 (2011)

 The sequel leaves Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and McQueen (Owen Wilson) in place but adds a spy movie; Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).  They are up against a cabal of lemons who want to destroy race car driving.  Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) heads the bad guys as a double.  He has made a fake fuel which is suppose to be bad because he is shooting lasers at it.  He hopes to take advantage of the oil field he has discovered.  

Entertaining but not as good as the original.   

At the Movies: I Can Only Imagine 2 (2026)

 This movie focuses on a couple of families, and a couple of songs.  It is about the musical group Mercy Me.  The families are first Tim and Hilary Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia and Arielle Kibbel), Tim is the opening act for the band Mercy Me, and he has cancer.  He wants to write a song that makes a difference.  The second family is Bart and Shannon Millard (John Michael Finley and Sophie Skelton).  Bart is lead singer for Mercy Me.  His son Sam (Sammy Dell) has diabetes.  He comes on the trip with his dad, and starts performing with Tim.  Sam doesn't take care of his sugar numbers and has a relapse, and does Tim with his cancer.  Bart starts taking seriously Tim's desire to write a song and asking Bart to finish it.  

The two songs are very similar and both based on the hymn "It Is Well with my Soul."  The first song is "Make it Well."  The second song is the new song written by Tim and Bart, which they sing for the first time at a concert.  Sam sings, and Tim is in the audience having gotten out of the hospital.  "Even If" proclaims you will be my God even if things do not go right.  

I enjoyed this show of faith.  The music is great as is the message.  Tim does not succumb to his cancer and he and his wife now have four kids.  Sam and Bart continued their careers and sometimes sing together.  

John Wayne Movie Review: El Dorado

 Cole Thornton (John Wayne) is a gun slinger.  He is recruited by Bart Jason (Ed Asner) to help him run off the McDonald ranching family.  John Wayne decides to refuse as he would be going against the sheriff, and old friend, J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum.)  However even so he ends up killing the son of the ranchers, (as a reaction to being shot at) and the sister, Joey McDonald (Michele Carey) puts a bullet in him.  The bullet is against his spine and needs a better doctor for removal. 

John Wayne leaves, and hooks up with Minnesota (James Caan) who is good with a knife and not so good with a gun.  The hear that Jason has hired a different gun slinger, Nelse McLeod (Christopher George) and that Harrah has gone to drink over girl issues.  Minnesota and Thornton decide to go back and help.  They helpp rehabilitate Harrah, and take on the Jason men.  Thornton is bothered by the bullet which causes paralysis attacks.  Harrah is shot in the leg.  They are joined by the deputy, Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt.). Jason has kidnapped a McDonald and forcing the father to sign over his water rights.  And our heroes are set for the final confrontation.

Very fun movie.  Similar to Rio Bravo where the deputy is the drunk and Wayne is the sheriff,  In this the sheriff is the drunk and Wayne the deputy.  Maudie (Charlene Holt) provides the female love interest and does a good job.

Omaha Symphony: Stravinsky's Firebird

The guest conductor for this concert was Christopher Allen and the guest violinist was Francisco Fullana. The orchestra first play the overture for Die Fledermaus.  Fullana only played for the first half of the concert, until intermission.  He played with the orchestra Samuel Barber Concerto for violin and orchestra, Op 14.  The violin was bouncing all over the place so it was very fun.  Just before intermission Fullana and the first chair violinist performed a duet which was also very good.  

After intermission the orchestra layed a short piece,  Starburst.  They then played Stravinsky's Firebird.  I really enjoyed firebird.  I guess Stravinky is Russian.  This music told the story of a dark wizard who was holding many people captive as statues.  It was only with the help of the Firebird that they were set free.  A counter charm forced the dark knight to do whatever the hero wanted until he relented to set the people free.  He never relented but eventually he died as did his minions and the people were free.  

This concert was very enjoyable.  The only boring piece, almost put me to sleep, was Starburst which only lasted a couple minutes.  

At the Movies: EPiC Elvis Presley in Concert

 This is a documentary of Elvis Presley with never before seen footage.  It focuses on the Las Vegas concerts but also gives insight to Elvis' youth and his music career based on recorded tapes that were found.  Elvis sings a wide range of music, including several covers of others.  The music is fantastic, the covers and the originals.  Songs include: "In the Ghetto," Can't Help Falling in Love," "That's All Right," Hound Dog," "Polk Salad Annie," "Always on my Mind," "Burning Love," "Are You Lonesome Tonight," "How Great Thou Art," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "You've Lost that Loving Feeling," "Walk a Mile in my Shoes" and "Suspicious Minds."  I really enjoyed the "Polk Salad Annie" as Elvis danced as only he can.  The conversion was also very good into the thoughts of Elvis with regards to his love of music, all kinds.  He refused to answer a question about politics saying he is an entertainer.  He also talked of how he did not enjoy his acting career feeling directors did not let him really act, but just play a caricature.  I loved this documentary.  Directed by Baz Luhrmann.  

DC Movie Review: ****^ The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

 Batman (Christian Bale) has been retired for eight years, and has become a recluse mourning the death of Rachel Dawes.  The city has been doing well, having locked up 2000 criminals based on the Dent laws.  But there is evil brewing beneath the surface.  Batman's old nemesis, the League of Shadows is returning.  Not Ta's Al Ghul, but those who think like him are filtrating the city and government.  Bane (Tom Hardy) in particular is the essence of evil.  He breaks people's necks, or rips out their trachea with his bare hands.  

Commissioner Gordon's (Gary Oldman's) wife has left him, but he continues to protect the reputation of Harvey Dent, and lets Batman take the blame for his crimes.  John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) wants to take over Wayne Enterprises and kick Bruce Wayne out.  Cat Woman/ Selina (Anne Hathaway) steals Wayne's finger prints, and sell them to Bane.  They attack a stock market bank, and using the fingerprints are able to wipe Wayne out of money, and Daggett gets his wish, but Bane ends up killing him.  Bane has bigger goals.  

Gordon is kidnapped by Bane's men, but escapes with the help of new police man, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).  However Gordon is hospitalized from the trauma.  Alfred (Michael Caine) leaves, hoping he can keep Batman from becoming involved again as Batman.  Batman is older and Bane will certainly kill him.  Batman does confront Bane, and Bane beats him in a fight, injuring Batman's back.  Bane keeps him alive but puts him in an Asian prison.  Meantime he takes over Gotham, using explosives so as to isolate it on Gotham island, trapping the police under ground, liberating all the prisoners who are set up as mob rule.  He comes upon nuclear material from Wayne Enterprises, and having kidnapped a scientist to make it into a bomb.  They hold kangaroo courts presided by Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) in which the put wealthy people to death.

Batman is in the Asian prison for five months, giving his body time to heal.  He is finally able to climb out of the prison.  He finds that a child of Ta's Al Ghoul was also in the prison and escaped.  The child was helped by a protector.  Batman assumes the child is Bane.

Batman returns to Gotham, and takes on Bane with a different result.  He is able to knock his breathing mask which causes great pain.  However just as he is on the point of victory, an ally, Miranda stabs him in the back, literally.  She worked for Wayne Enterprises but turns out to the Talia Al Ghul (Marion Cotillard), daughter of Ta's Al Ghul.  Bane is the protector.  Talia attempt to detonate the bomb but fails as the signal is blacked by Gordon at the bomb.  Thali takes off to go to the bomb.  Catwoman kills Bane with the bat cycle.  The chase Talia, and finally catch her, but the bomb is going to detonate.  Batman takes the bomb in a bat plane out into the ocean where it explodes, ending the threat and Batman.  Batman had said the remote for the plane was not working, but they later discover it was working.

This movie as very good.  I liked it better as the evil characters played their parts well and were truly evil.  Blake is set up to be Robin as he finds the bat cave. 

Movie Review: ****^ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

 This is a fun expose of the two bandits, Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford).  It includes the son, "Raindrops keep falling on my head."  I is a really good view at the relationships.  The outlaws are forced to leave because of the intense pressure placed on them by the railroad company detectives seeking their death.  They move to Bolivia with Etta Place (Katherine Ross).  They go back into the business with some success robbing banks.   Bur they hear the detective from America has come to track them down, so they stop all criminal activity.  However working as guards they have to kill more then at being criminals.  Etta returns to America, and Butch and Sundance face and army.  That is where the show ends because of all the controversy of whether they returned to America or not and are buried in Bolivia.  

I really enjoy this history and this movie is fun.