Short Film Movie Review: **** Aningaaq (2013)

 This short films shows the other side of a radio call made in the movie Gravity.  Dr. Stone (Sandra Bullock) places a call for help from space.  She connects with an Inuit fisherman, Aningaaq (Orto Ignatiussen).  They do not speak the same language, but they make a a human connection.  Stone is sure her situation is hopeless and she is going to die today.  The other astronauts with have all died.  They connect over the sounds of the dogs, who don't bark but howl.  They also connect over the cry of a baby.  Aningaaq is preoccupied with having to put his old, sick dog down, and Stone with her own death.  They both benefit from support, but the connection doesn't last, and the last we hear is the report of the rifle as it takes the life of the dog.

Very well done.  Film is by Jonás Cuarón, the son of the director Alfonso Cuarón of Gravity.  Jonás helped write the movie Gravity with his father.  

Movie Review: **^ Hancock (2008)

 Hancock (Will Smith) is a super hero, at least he has super powers, but it seems everything turns out wrong for him and he causes lots of damage when he does his heroing.  However he finds a friend, Ray (Jason Bateman) who takes him on as a case of reconditioning.  But it is his wife that is Hancock's mate.  

Hancock woke up at the doctor some years ago not knowing who he was, just that he has special powers.  However he is drawn to Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron).  Only Mary also has powers.  Mary was with Hancock, but left him because if they are together they start to lose their powers.  And that happens again.  They lose their powers and are vulnerable to attack.   

Hancock thwarted Red's (Eddie Marsan) bank robbery.  He is brewing for revenge.  He recruits some thugs and where their powers are weakened they are in real danger.

This is in the lower teir of super hero movies, but in the end it turns out.

Movie Review: *** The Lady in the Van (2015)

 The Lady in the Van has Maggie Smith portraying, Mary or Margaret who is on the run from the law, and goes off grid and parks her van in a driveway, for 15 years.  She lives in the van and takes advantage of the restroom in the home of Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) who is torn between empathy and taking advantage by writing her story.  He is a playwright.  He often does one person shows talking about his mother.  He is wanting to add a new show about the homeless lady.  Jennings actually plays this character twice, the generous man and the take advantage man.  We often see him talking to himself.  Smith does a great job of portraying the cantankerous old lady who lives in the van, and often grumbles.  But then there is Mr. Bennett who actually cares for her.  She has a brother (Jim Broadbent) who visits on occasion.  It isn't until after she has died that we learn why she is living in the van and she has changed her name.  She is actually a pianist who has played with the symphony.   

Movie Review: **** Men In Black II (2002)

 Men in Black are back with more of the same; but of course with some twists.  Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) has been looking for the Light of Zartha, thinking it will give her power to destroy the Zarthians.  She has been looking for it for 25 years, and finally decides it is on earth.  Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) was involved in hiding it.  Jay (Will Smith) realizes that they need Kay's memories, and so they retrieve him and Jeebs (Tony Shalhoub) help them with this, and gets his head blown off for his troubles (it grows back).  Jay meets and falls for Laura Vasquez (Rosario Dawson).  He witnessed a murder of her boss, who in fact is an alien and helped keep the light safe.  In the end they take her with them to keep her safe.  Serleena takes over the agency with her many tentacles, and Kay and Jay escape to fight another day.  

It takes both of them to overcome Serleena, which they barely do.  Turns out Laura is the light, and she has to leave to avoid blowing up the planet.  She returns to her own kind.  Kay had something for her mother who was murdered by Serleena.  Could she be Kay's daughter?

Fun ride again

Music Review: LeAnn Rimes: Greatest Hits

LeAnn Rimes: Greatest Hits, Curb Records, 2003.

LeAnn Rimes can sure sing.  This C.D. is mostly of music written by others.  Only two songs where Rimes was listed as a writer, "This Love" and "Life Goes On."  She is really good at covers.  She sings "O Holy Night" and "Unchained Melody" which would fit in this category.  She sings "Written in the Stars" with Elton John.  She sings another duet, "Last Thing on my Mind" with Ronan Keating.  There are no show stopper songs, except for "Unchained Melody."  She does a very good job her.  She also does well with "O Holy Night" which was a promo for her upcoming Christmas album.  

Sandra Bullock Movie Review: **** Gravity (2013)

 When everything goes wrong that possible can go wrong on a space mission, this is the movie.  This movie is very intense, as the space craft is subject to a massive space debris collision.  The ship is torn apart, and so our two surviving astronauts must space walk to a space station, with depleting oxygen.  One (George Clooney) gives himself up to get the other (Sandra Bullock) to the station.  It is not in much better shape.  She boards a vehicle to get away, but it gets caught on wires and a chute.  She finally gets free, but discovers no gas.  When things are desperate she reaches out and talks with an Inuit.  Even though she can't communicate she gets hope from a baby crying, and from the dogs howling.  She is ready to give up, but with the help of the ghost of Clooney, she burns the gas reserved for breaking to get free.  She is headed for the Chinese space station.  She gets there but the debris also gets there.  She pretty much falls to earth.

This movie is very tense as lives are in danger through out.  It does show the need for connection and the will to survive.  The special effects are great.  I do not know how they replica zero gravity and the spinning and everything.  I would recommend it to others.  

Movie Review: ***Men In Black (1997)

 Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star as the Men in Black, a team of super secret agents who fight crime amongst aliens who come to our planet from other worlds.  The bad thing is there is a bug who has come to find the galaxy which is on Orion's belt.  Turns out Orion is a cat, and the belt is his colar.  World's will kill for the galaxy.  This is a comedy action movie which has a very good premise; and who knows who might actually be an alien.  I enjoyed it.  Linda Fiorentino stars as a morgue doctor and future recruit.  Rip Torn stars as the boss.  Vincent D'onofrio stars as the bug.  Bugs are killing machines.  

Opera Review: Blue Beard's Castle.

My grand daughter and I saw the opera at the Holland Center.  Blue Beard's Castle was written by Béla Bartók with the libretto by Béla Balász, with just two singers, and the Bard who introduced the opera.  Is the story without or within?   The original was written in Hungarian.  This is probably what they were singing, or German.  The words showed up above the singers in English as they sang.  Ryan McKinney sang baritone the Duke and Michelle DeYoung soprano the wife.  Her hair reminded my of the character the Bride of Frankenstein.  The orchestra was conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya.  The light projections were provided by David Murakami.  This is a collaboration with Opera Omaha.

What a story.  The story is very macabre.  The couple, Blue Beard and Judith elope and he brings her home for the first time.  The castle is dark.  She insists on opening the house to let in more light.  She opens one room at a time.  The first is the dungeon and torture room.  You see this through the use of lighting.  Then you see the instruments of torture are covered with blood.  The second room is the armory with many weapons.  Again they are covered with blood (shown by dripping blood on the screen and red light.)  The third room is the treasury with gold and jewels.  Then again the blood.  The fourth room is the garden.  The projectionists showed this in black and white, then also going to blood.  The house is becoming lighter, but the new wife insists on opening all the doors.  The husband keeps asking her not to open them all.  

The fifth door is the husbands many kingdoms.  In this case the lights are on the audience, looking far off because his lands and kingdoms are vast.  But again everything turns red.  The sixth door is water, which are actually tears.  Then we come to the seventh door.  The husband says don't open it.  It is the room with all the former wives.  Did he kill his former lives or are they living in the room.  The husband sings of the morning, noontime and evening wives.  She is the night time wife he met at 12 a.m.  The opera ends with  darkness taking over.  

The story has me thinking.  Is the story without or within?  I think it is both.  It is without, but we interpret the story within and each come to our individual conclusions.  The lighting was  ery eerie.  As thins got darker they but a light on the conductor and her shadow flashed upon the wall.  It was. very effective.

The venue did not allow pictures, so I stole a couple from Facebook from the Omaha Symphony.

singers

conductor

Music Review: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Hymns of Faith

 The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Hymns of Faith, Bonneville Communications, 1991

This is a very nice collection of songs for a Sunday, or just a spiritual lift.  It includes gospel favorites as well as LDS favorites.  "How Great Thou Art" is very well done.  As are "The Lord Is my Shepherd," "Abide with Me" and "Abide with Me; "Tis Eventide."  Those represent some of my favorites.  However on the LDS side of music this includes more of my favorites, "Come, Come Ye Saints," "The Morning Breaks," "The Spirit of God" and "Come, Come Ye Saints." Also the popular words written by Bruce R. McConkie and set to music by John Longhurst, "I Believe in Christ."  This is great Sabbath music.

Sandra Bullock Movie Review: ****Miss Congeniality (2000)

This is a very funny movie with enough action to keep it very interesting.  Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent who goes undercover at the Miss USA pageant as a bomb threat has been made.  Her partner is running the operation, agent Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). Victor Melling (Michael Caine) is brought in to make Gracie seem plausible as a contestant.  The pageant hosts are Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen) and Stan Fields (William Shatner).   Miss Rhode Island (Heather Burns) plays prominently as Gracie's friend and is very funny.  What would be your ideal date?  "April 25th because its not too cold and not too hot."  That really cracks me up.  I like the personalities of the characters.  Bullock is very fun, as are the contestants.  I very much recommend this movie.  The fight over the crown at the end is pretty funny as well.

Sandra Bullock Movies

Sandra Bullock has been in movies for sometime.  I really enjoy seeing her in the movies.  This list contains her movies that are not rated "R".  Some years she was in three or four movies, a testament to her maketability as an actress and the characters she builds.  

Love Potion #9 (1992)

The Thing Called Love (1993)

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)

Speed (1994)

**** The Net (1995) When your identiy is stolen by the internet

**** While You were Sleeping. (1995). Love story

Love and War (1996)

Speed 2 (1997)

 ***^ Hope Floats (1998)

**** Pratical Magic (1998). A good Halloween movie about siblings who are witches

The Prince of Egypt (1998). Animated story of Moses

Forces of Nature (1999)

28 Days (2000)

**** The Lakehouse (2000) Love story with Keanu Reeves and a time shift of two years, and a dog.

**** Miss Congeniality (2000)

Lisa Picard Is Famous (2000)

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood (2002)

2 Weeks Notice (2002)

Miss Congeniality 2 (2005)

Premonition (2007)

The Proposal (2009)

All About Steve (2009)

***^ Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011). 9/11 movie

**** Gravity (2013)

Aningaaq (2013)

****^ The Blind Side (2014) Very good football movie

*^ Minions (2015) Animated feature I didn't care for

*** Bird in a Cage (2018). Netflix scifi movie

Oceans's 8 (2018)

The Lost City (2022)

Movie Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007)

 The gang is back with another adventure, but this time they also have to disprove that their ancestor was involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  So Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) involves his ex (Diane Kruger), his parents (Jon Voight and Helen Mirren) and his partner (Justin Bartha).  Their rival (Ed Harris) is using the groups knowledge to get what he wants.  The clues lead them to Europe, France and London, and then back to the White House.  It even leads to their kidnapping the president to get to the book; the book of government secrets passed down from president to president.  There are two people going for this treasure, the big lost city of gold.  They get there at the same time.  They eventually find it under Mount Rushmore.  

Fun ride.  

In Theaters: **** Project Hail Mary (2026)

This movie is based on the book of the same name.  The book was written by Andy Weir.  It is about a high school science teacher (Ryan Gosling) who is sent to space.  He is the only survivor of the three man crew.  His sleep condition has caused amnesia, but he is much further into space than he realizes on a desperate journey to see if they can figure out why the sun is dying and how to fix it.  

The movie starts very cerebral, and I felt very slow.  However when he meets an alien things pick up greatly.  This is Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz).  Turns out the movie is more about the relationship between the teacher and the alien than it is about the sun.  Sandra Hüller plays the project leader who forced the school teacher to go on the journey.

Very intriguing plot after it got going.  The theme of living with others who are different was also very good.  There is an interesting twist in the end which I won't give away.

Movie Review: ***^ The Great Escaper (2023)

 This movie is a portrayal of an older couple, Bernard and Irene Jordan (Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson), who live in a nursing home together.  The story is based on the true story of Bernard Jackson, 90 years old, leaving the nursing home to attend the 70 year anniversary of D-day in France in June 2014.  The telling of the story brings back many memories, good ones and traumatic ones.  It is also about growing old together.  

I think the movie told its story well.  Especially good was the relationship of the old couple.

In Theaters: ***^ The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

 This is a movie more enjoyable to kids than adults.  It is very much like playing the game, at least in terms of the music and some of the graphics.  However it does add a plot.  Rosalina, Prince of the Star land (Brie Larsen) is captured by Bowser's son (Benny Safdie).  His goal is to free his father so they can rule the universe together.  She appeals to her long forgotten younger sister, Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy for help, and she turns to Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day).  They want to use Rosalina's star power to power their doomsday weapon.  This movie is about sisterly love, as well as brotherly love.  And finally father an son love.  However it is when Bowser (Jack Black) realizes his circle includes his friends too that things begin to change.