Music Review: Sarah Brightman and the London Symphony Orchestra: Time to Say Goodbye

 Sarah Brightman and the London Symphony Orchestra: Time to Say Goodbye, Angel Records, 1997.  Sarah Brightman has a beautiful high soprano voice.  Most of this CD is sung in Spanish some in Italian and some Latin and a few in English.  It is all enjoyable.  She sings the titular song with Andrea Bocelli.  It is a classic.  It is mostly in Italian with a bit of English thrown in.  She sings "Just Show Me How to Love You" and "There for Me" with José Cura.  Even though I could not make out every word, it was all beautiful.  I really like the last two numbers, "O Mio Bambino Caro" and "Alleluja."  "Naturaleza Muerta" is about the sea takijng a man because it is jealous of him, and his girl waits for him and turns to stone.  

In Theaters: ****^ Brink of War (2026)

 President Reagan (Jeff Daniels) and Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) meet in Iceland to discuss nuclear arms.  Secretary of State George Schultz (J.K. Simmons) is with him.  At one point they agree to total disarmament, but it all falls apart over the Strategic Defense Initiative.  Gorbachev has his wife (Branka Katic) there, but Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis) is home working on hospitals for children.  Reagan talks to her daily.  There are also two reporters, Cleo and Alexander (Aya Cash and Guy Burnet).  They mostly cover Gorbachev's wife as the negotiations are behind closed doors.  They do get a picture of a hand shake at the end.  So the talks on nuclear weapons fall apart, but they do negotiate the sister of a music conductor getting to see his sister as the president agrees she will be sent back.  With that small crack, the Soviet Union crumbles in just three years, the iron curtain falls, and today there are ten percent of the nuclear arms in the world there were at the time of the meeting in Reykjavik.  Reagan explains to Schultz the meeting was not for nuclear arms, but for the Soviets to see you can't just keep people locked up and be right.  

I really enjoyed this movie.  The negotiating was very intense.  Daniels portrayed Reagan with continued issues with his having been shot.  This included arm immobility and tremors as well as bad dreams.  There are also some lovely views of Iceland, tall water falls, the ocean and snowy mountains.

Music Review: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., The Fabulous Ratpack disc 2

 Disc 2 has 20 songs, eight by Frank Sinatra, eights by Dean Martin and four by Sammy Davis Jr.  Many of the songs are taken from popular musicals like "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Some Enchanted Evening" and "People Will Say We're in Love."  Some are covers of popular pop songs, "Baby Its Cold Outside," "I Only Have eyes for You," "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," "Candy Kisses," "What I've Got in Mind," "You Won't Be Satisfied Until you Break my Heart" and many others.  These three are very good crooners and the each put their own personal touch on songs.  So together the C.D. is very nice.  In addition to musicals and pop there is jazz and big band songs.  

Ewan McGregor Movie: ****^ Big Fish (2003)

 The Big Fish is fantasy, or is it?  It is a good story about tall tales and what is truth and what is not.  Ed Bloom (Perry Walston age 10, Ewan McGregor young, Albert Finney old) has quite a history.  And he tells it over and over.  His son, Will (Billy Crudup) does not believe most of what he says and is frustrated with the telling.  He talks of meeting a giant, Karl (Matthew McGrory) when he leaves town, of wandering into a town which is off the map and includes a poet, Norther Winslow (Steve Byscemi) and a witch, Jenny (Helena Bonham Carter older and younger, Hailey Anne Nelson age 8), of being forced to work for a circus to get information about the girl he saw and loves.  The ringmaster is Amos (Danny DeVito).  When he finally gets information about his love, Sandra (Jessica Lange older, Alison Lohman younger) is already engaged.  Her intended, Don Price (David Denman) beats him up, but because he told her Sandra he would not fight back, he takes the beating.  Sandra decides Price is not the guy for her, and waits for Ed to heal to marry him.  He has been drafted an goes to war.  He tells of meeting Siamese twins, Ping and Jing (Ada and Arlene Tai) and they agree to help him escape from North Korea for fame.  They become part of the circus.  Ed becomes a traveling salesman and is away from home alot.  Will decides to check out his father's stories.  He goes to the town of Spectre and meets Jenny who explains how Ed saved the town.  It was in decay and for sell and Ed bought it and restored it.  Ed was not unfaithful to his wife.  

Ed has a stroke and is in the hospital.  Will visits him.  He is beginning to understand a bit better by his father's story telling.  He tells his father of a story of their escape, and gong to the river where when he is put in the river he becomes a big catfish.  Ed no knows his son understands and passes away.  At the funeral the people from the stories attend.  They were not as grandiose as in the stories, but they were real.  

This is a delightful story about imagination and love.

Movie Review: ***^ Transformers (2007) with Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf

 Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is into his great grandfather's history.  He purchased an old pair of glasses on Ebay which appear broken.  But the are special.  He purchases a car with his dad (Kevin Dunn).  An old Camaro picks them.  This is no regular car.  It has been sent to protect him.  He uses the car to meet a girl, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox).  She gets drawn into his adventures.  At the same time strange things are happening.  The Decepticons are on the move, and have accessed U.S. computer data at a couple points.  They are looking for the Allspark cube.  This cube makes inanimate objects come to life.  On the other side the Autobots are trying to keep them from finding the cube.  The key is the glasses on which has been implanted a map to the cube.  The special government agency invade the home of the Witwicky family.  They are all taken prisoner, including Sam, Micaela, father and mother (Julie White).  Agent Simmons (John Turturro) is in charge.  The are set up inside of Hoover Dam where they have the Allspark and Megatron (voice Hugo Weaving), leader of the Decepticons.  

 Secretary of Defense (Jon Voight) is using any resource he can to figure out what is happening and how to combat it.  This includes computer geeks, Maggie and Glen (Rachael Taylor and Anthony Anderson).  And soldiers on the ground who have battled the Decepticons, Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps (Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson).

Of course Megatron gets free, and they must hide the Allspark because Megatron will use it to change the entire world to Decepticons; the end of humans.  This leads to a major bettle in town as they try to hide the cube and keep it from the decepticons.  The Autobots fight to prevent this, including their leader Optimus Prime (voice Peter Cullen).  Sam ends up with the cube at one point with a promise to push it into Optimus Prime's heart if they are about to lose.  This would destroy it as well as Megatron.  However Sam shoves it into directly into Megatron's heart.  This ends Megatron and the Allspark (except a sliver).

Lots of action and explosions.  I have always thought Transformers are too loud and I am still of that opinion.  

Music Review: Chicago: Night and Day: Big Band (1996)

 Chicago: Night and Day: Big Band, Chicago Records, 1996.

This is Chicago in a different light.  They participated in a TV special for Duke Ellington, and the idea for a big band album was thus hatched.  They in fact sing three Ellington songs on the CD.  Other composers include Glen Miller, Cole Porter, Joe Garland and Fabian André.  I enjoyed all the songs except for the last "Take the 'A' Train."  This song descended into chaos.  However "Dream a Little Dream," "In the Mood," :Sing, Sing Sing," and "Night and Day" are all very nice.  Chicago having many parts easily covers the big band feel.  Regular Chicago members Robert Lamm, Jacob Scheff and Bill Champlin provide the vocals.  This album has many instrumental sections like most of their music.

***The Last Airbender (2010)

 The Last Air Bender (Noah Ringer) can use all four powers, air, fire, earth and wind.  He must learn how to use them efficiently before the fire power destroys all the other peoples.  They plan to do so by killing the sacred Moon Spirit.  Commander Zhao (Aasif Mandvi) is able to accomplish this.  Princess Yue (Seychelle Gabriel) sacrifices her life to restore the Moon Spirit.  Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), who spent most of the show trying to capture Ang, grows and shifts and joins forces with Ang to defeat his father (Cliff Curtis) and the fire people.  Uncle Iroh (Shaun Toob) finally gets through to him.  Katara (Nicola Peltz Beckham) is a water bender and also works with Ang to defeat the fire people.  Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) does not bend, and relies on his intellect to also be helpful.  In the end they are able to repel the fire fleet as Ang takes on the full power of the Avatar.

Movie is directed by M. Night Shyamalan.  It is mildly entertaining.