Come Back To Me.....

That is the recurring "mantra" of Keira Knightley's character Cecilia Tallis in the movie Atonement. Her character says this several times to Robbie Turner played by the wonderful James MacAvoy.......gives you a reminder of Daniel Day-Lewis' "I will find you" in Last of the Mohicans.

Atonement is a story of class, love, desire, war, suffering but most of all perception. Directed by Joe Wright, it is based on the book by Ian McEwan. Having read 2 of his books and seen them as movies (Asylum starring Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen and Young Adam starring Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton), I knew that this one would also be (*** Spoilers) tragic. Robbie, the son of a housekeeper is in love with the daughter of his mother's employer, Cecilia. It just takes one spark for this relationship to ignite.........But the movie's conflict starts when young Briony Tallis (a very good Saoirse Ronan) a girl with an overactive imagination witnesses something that she doesn't trully understand and thus changes the course of the lives of several people. She accuses Robbie of a crime he did not commit and for that he and Cecilia, although declaring their enduring love for each other.......become separated......he goes to war and she becomes a nurse in London. Both long for a time when they can be together again. In the meantime, Briony matures and realizes the consequences of her actions and spends the rest of her life seeking forgiveness.

From the previews, it's been built up as a sweeping epic love story in the likes of The English Patient but I think if you watch closely it's really a story of perception for it is Briony's story. As the movie unfolds, scenes of the fateful night and the resulting events in each of the character's lives are seen. As an audience member, I found myself thinking....Oh this is what happened.....then another scene of the same event is shown and you realize that THIS is what really happened. Only towards the end of the movie that you piece together that the the scenes that are first presented to you are actually the events as told in Briony's book.....how she saw things or would like to see things. You get a jolt when you see "WHAT" actually happened. It's good cinema when scenes a juxtaposed like this because the audience never knows where the movie is taking them.....well, at least that was my experience.

I must point out one other element that really impressed me so much during the movie.....no it's not the cinematography or the acting (although they were good) or the scenery.....it was the score! The theme music by Dario Marianelli is brilliant! Throughout the movie, when scenes showing conflict with the characters would arise, this symphonic music plays. The tempo gets faster and the music crescendos as the scenes get intense BUT interspersed with this music is a rhythmic clacking/typing of a typewriter which gets faster too. It really keeps the audience engaged in the story. Click the Atonement link above to hear and see what I mean.

(photo above fr RottenTomatoes.com)

For you, a thousand times over

That overly sentimental line was uttered by both major characters at different times in the film adaptation of "The Kite Runner". I never read the book, but it has been on my must-watch-list of movies. The New York Times' Manohla Dargis totally trashed it. Other people have criticized it for not being picturesque enough, not being political enough, even for being too faithful to the book.

I loved it! It's not supposed to be about the Russians or the Taliban or the Americans' role in arming the Taliban. It is the story of two boyhood friends in Kabul. Amir is a wealthy Pashtun who is friends with their servant's son, Hassan, a Hazara. Amir betrays his loyal friend because his outspoken and hard to please father (played by Homayoun Ershadi, probably the film's other outstanding performance) appears to favor Hassan. Amir grows up to be guilt-ridden Khalid Abdalla (the hijacker who was going to bring down United 93) and the story then follows his attempt to find redemption for his hidden shame. The sexual assault scene, which Ms. Dargis called unnecessary, stems from the ethnic conflict. (The boys even had to be relocated to the United Arab Emirates for fear of reprisals before the movie's worldwide release.)


The performances by the unknown child actors, especially Ahmad Khan who played Hassan, are so engaging and authentic I hated leaving Afghanistan for America. The movie gives us a rare peek into the Afghani culture, even though China was the stand-in for Afghanistan. It was nice to see their customs, hear their language, see how they can derive pleasure from simple pastimes like kite-flying, instead of just hearing how bad things are over there. Some of the plot twists were contrived but all in all I enjoyed this film. Although Amir was never a sympathetic character for me, you do hope that he finds "a way to be good again".

New York City: Center of the Universe?

Here's a New York Times article questioning why filmmakers have this urge to destroy New York City. (Readers' comments are even more interesting and funny.) Former Mayor Ed Koch said this was due to "edifice envy".

“They want to see our skyscrapers destroyed because they are envious of them,” Mr. Koch said in a phone interview. Asked whom he was referring to, he said, “‘They’ is the rest of the country.” LOL!!!

Attention Fanadus!

Now that we have new converts with Mike and Tom, who saw the show last Saturday December 22--and soon I hope we'd have Ate too. I just wanted to show you this sneak peek into the New Xanadu Commercial which will come up in 2008. Check it out from Broadway.com.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2008 to all!

Little Miss Juno

Thank goodness for Bethel Cinema and Upstate Films. I wouldn't be able to watch films like Juno at the local multiplexes. It's Napoleon Dynamite, Waitress, Knocked Up and Little Miss Sunshine all in one. Written by an ex-stripper named Diablo Cody and directed by Thank you for not smoking director Jason Reitman, it's funny, clever, irreverent and yes, quirky. Juno's sarcastic quips come flying at you. She talks like the Dawson's Creek or Gilmore girls teens, but edgier and hipper. She called herself the "cautionary whale" as the pregnancy progressed. It's heartwarming and charming, but not sickeningly so.

Ellen Page (now Golden Globe nominee) plays Juno, the self-assured and sassy 16 year old who got pregnant by her geeky bestfriend Paulie, Arrested Development and Superbad's Michael Cera. Only knowing her from X-Men, Ms. Page is terrific here. Her supportive parents, as played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, have some of the best lines in the film. Jennifer Garner (Vanessa) and Jason Bateman (Mark) are the seemingly perfect, would-be adoptive parents. When they first meet, Vanessa tells Juno that pregnancy is beautiful, to which Juno unthinkingly replies that she should be glad it's not happening to her. Your heart just goes out to Vanessa who looks successful in everything except motherhood.

I only wondered how an intelligent girl like Juno would allow herself to get pregnant in the first place, and how her parents didn't have a fit when they found out and were so understanding. This is 2007's little movie that could. Like the goddess, Juno, is strong and beautiful.

And I am telling you she's not going

Filipina Youtube sensation Charice Pempengco on The Ellen Degeneres show today. She also sang Whitney Houston's "I will always love you" at the end of the show. Amazing performance by this 14 (or is it 15?)year old.

Open Your Eyes and See

I just wanted to point out Paul Wontorek's blog in Broadway.com about the new photo ad for the musical Xanadu. The new ad and TV commercial will be out this new year. Check out his blog for there are lots of pics of the shoot. Isn't Kerry Butler's hair very Olivia Newton-John-esque?

My preciousss

There in Middle Earth and back again...looks like "The Hobbit" could be in theatres by December 2010! Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have finally reached an agreement after years of litigation. The New York Times reports that although he would not be directing, he and his wife Fran Walsh will be executive producers and have the right to approve all creative elements. An untitled sequel that bridges the gap between "The Hobbit" and the start of the LOTR trilogy is also planned.
In the meantime, the LOTR producing and writing team have been working on the film adaptation of "The Lovely Bones". It was also recently announced that Mr. Jackson will be directing "Tintin" for Steven Spielberg. This will reunite him with Gollum himself, Andy Serkis. No, Andy will NOT be playing Tintin.

In Retrospect....

Ok....How do you keep a straight face and sing exquisite harmony singing this song? It's amazing!!! Sutton Foster (Young Frankenstein), Christian Borle (Legally Blonde) and Megan McGinnis(Les Miserables) sing entitled "That Wicky Wacky Hula Hula Honka Wonka Honolulu Hawaiian Honey of Mine" written by Mike Craver from Radio Gals. This was at Sutton's "June In January" concert at Joe's Pub, January 16, 2006.

Darthmatic Chipmunk

I saw the Dramatic chipmunk (actually a prairie dog) on VH1's Best Year Ever. In case you missed it, here's one of the many variations. Youtube rules!

Mamma Meryl!

Darcy meets Bond meets Dakin meets Mrs. Weasley meets Joanna Kramer/Sarah/Sophie/Miranda/Sister Aloysius!

[Title of Show]

Title of Show was an Off-Broadway musical in 2006 created by Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen. It's a show about 2 guys writing a musical and the trials and laughs they go through along the way. I have the cd and have enjoyed it a lot. The show is quite witty and has an ingenius way of presenting things. [TOS]....yes that is the abbreviation....has developed a huge cult like following last year.....it was the little show that could.....Off-Broadway. Now with this following, the show's creators have hopes to bring it to Broadway. They have started a [TOS] video blog on youtube (of the TOS show trying to get to Broadway) and it's become very popular! I've followed their episodes and now I'm sharing my favorite one.....check it out!

He is not dead yet

At his New York City "Making Money" book-signing, British author Terry Pratchett told us how he had a brain scan and doctors found out he had suffered a stroke. The doctor asked him if he suffered from any memory loss. His answer? "Not that I can recall."

It pains me to think that we may not be privy to his wit and wisdom in a couple of years. My sister told me today that Mr. Pratchett, the second most popular British writer (after JK Rowling), has Alzheimer's. He made the announcement on Discworld series' illustrator Paul Kidby's site, calling it an "embuggerance". He also said 'I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else'. but don't count him out yet. I hope he gives us many more Discworld books. It is devastating news because the man is a genius. For this man who uses words so skillfully, Alzheimer's is doubly tragic. Let's all wish him well.

Golden Globes

The 2008 Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning by Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Reynolds and Quentin Tarantino. (Check out the picture from Getty Images: Quentin was wearing what looked like a Barong Tagalog. He was in the Philippines recently for the Cinemanila International Film Festival.)

I'm happy for Sweeney Todd (everyone got nominated), Eastern Promises(Viggo too. Wonder if he'll attend; he's so non-showbiz.), Juno, Atonement, Persepolis, The Kite Runner and Lust, Caution.

For television, 30 Rock (both Alec Baldwin AND Tina Fey this time) and Pushing Daisies (Lee Pace and Anna Friel). Other folks I was glad to see nominated: Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Nikki Blonsky, Julie Christie, James McAvoy, Steve Carell, Hugh Laurie, and Gollum himself, Andy Serkis for an HBO movie. For best song, That's how you know got a nod.

The awards show will be telecast on NBC 13 January 2008.

The Devil Wears Puritan

Well......that was the title of the picture from this article where the pic is from. It's quite fitting I must say. This is from the film Doubt. It's a story set in 1964 about this nun who suspects that their parish priest has abused a schoolboy. It's originally a play that Lani, Mike, Tom, Lynn and I saw in 2005 with Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius which won her the Best Actress Tony. It is such thrilling piece of theatre. For the film, Sister Aloysius going to be played by Meryl Streep--is another Oscar in the works?

Company's Alive on PBS

Intrigued by bachelor Bobby? Still despairing over Raul Esparza not winning the 2007 Tony? Playbill reports that the acclaimed actor-musician revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company — directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle — will be broadcast on PBS stations around the country on 20 February 2008. W00t!

30 Rock Goes to Broadway!!!

30 Rock ROCKS!!!!!! This is a Tivo alert!!!! This weeks episode (Thurs. 12/13 8:30 ET/ 7:30 CT) features Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and her mom going to see the Broadway show Jersey Boys. This scoop was featured in BroadwayWorld.com. Which originally reported that the show will be visiting Xanadu instead of Jersey Boys....now I would have REALLY wanted to see that too! Maybe in another episode they can get Jenna (Jane Krakowski) to go see Xanadu instead. Wouldn't that be great?!! A little connect the dots for those not in the know........Jane played Kira/Clio in the workshop of Xanadu they did last spring and couldn't do it because of her schedule in 30 Rock. Now the wonderful Kerry Butler plays Kira on Broadway.

** 30 Rock photo from NBC.com and Jersey Boys photo from JerseyBoysinfo.com

Truth be told

I had been eagerly awaiting "The Golden Compass" from the moment I first saw the trailer. It had me at the armored polar bear! I avoided reading the book so I could immerse myself in its new, non-Hobbit inhabited world. That might have been a mistake. The plot could be confusing, the action is frenetic, characters are introduced and disappear for long stretches of time. Definitely not enough Daniel Craig or Eva Green (gorgeous witch Serafina Pekkala). Not enough humor or heart either. But it is still worth seeing.

The CGI is amazing, and I particularly loved the daemons. They are animals that represent people's souls but live outside the body. It's like having a pet or a witch's familiar, a conscience, advisor and worrywart. The mysterious Dust links daemons with humans, and possibly other worlds. Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig sporting an un-James Bond-like beard) goes searching for this elusive Dust. He entrusts the alethiometer, the titular contraption that can tell the truth about past and future events, to Lyra Belacqua, his spunky, authority-questioning niece. Lyra is ably played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards. Freddie Highmore is the voice of Pan, Lyra Belacqua's daemon. You can also hear the voices of Kristin Scott Thomas, Ian McShane, Kathy Baker and of course Sir Ian McKellen as Iorek Byrnison, the aforementioned bear. He challenges the ice bear king in a violent Arctic throwdown. But I had the most fun watching the glam and fab Nicole Kidman as henchwoman to the evil Magisterium. From the moment she slinked onscreen as golden girl Marisa Coulter, I thought Dolores Umbridge had found a worthy opponent. Ms. Kidman is an ice princess though, compared to Tilda Swinton's ice queen in Narnia.

Unless the script was watered down by studio executives, I didn't find any overt anti-Catholic Church messages in the film. It does raise questions about truth, dogmatism and free will. I guess we'll have to wait for the sequels to find out more.

What Would Jesus Buy Movie

Morgan Spurlock strikes again!

Thank you for the music

The BBC reports that the Stockholm museum dedicated to the pop group ABBA is set to open in June 2009. Although not formally involved in the project, group members Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus will contribute musical instruments, clothing and other memorabilia. The 3-story building will feature a wardrobe room, a room where people can record their own versions of the band's hit songs and even a disco room where fans can groove to the beat of ABBA. In the meantime, you can still watch "Mamma Mia!" on Broadway and in London. The film version starring Meryl Streep is coming out 18 July 2008. The group has no plans of reuniting.

Oh ye of little faith!

(Image from Rotten Tomatoes)

Would you like a side of atheism with your popcorn? The Golden Compass is opening tomorrow. Based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials book trilogy, it has been called the antithesis of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia for supposedly anti-Christian messages. The Catholic League has called for its boycott. However, Pullman has found an unlikely supporter in the Anglican church's Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Rowan Williams has said that the series should be used in religious education because learning about other spiritual perspectives nurtures a more mature faith.

Well said.

And the nominees are...

The 50th Annual Grammy Award nominees for Best Musical Show Album are:

• A Chorus Line: David Caddick, producer (Marvin Hamlisch, composer; Edward Kleban, lyricist)
  
• Company: Tommy Krasker, producer (Stephen Sondheim, composer/lyricist)
  
• Grey Gardens: Steven Epstein, producer (Scott Frankel, composer; Michael Korie, lyricist)
  
• Spring Awakening: Duncan Sheik, producer; Duncan Sheik, composer; Steven Sater, lyricist
  
• West Side Story: Nick Patrick, producer (Leonard Bernstein, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist)

The awards show will be on 10 February 2008 in L.A. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Grammys, a special 7 CD compilation is being released. The Contemporary R& B and Contemporary Pop came out on 27 November. Ultimate GRAMMY Collection: Classic R&B, Classic Pop, Contemporary Rock, Classic Country and Contemporary Country is coming out 08 January 2008.

The Tale of Two Fosters

Hunter and Sutton Foster are two of the most talented people in musical theatre right now. They sing, dance and act. Plus they have other hidden talents too.....Sutton can paint and is good with crafts while Hunter is a playwright. He has written the book for Summer of 42 which played Off-Broadway. How can so much talent come from one family!!!! This brother and sister team have also been fated to star in different versions of "Frankenstein". Sutton is Inga in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein and Hunter is Dr. F in Frankenstein the Off-Broadway production at 37 Arts. Both have also been nominated for TONYs......Sutton actually won Best Leading Actress in Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002. So is there any sibling rivalry between the two???

Here's a really good article about them from Newsday

** warning....Lani....paragraph 8 is a confirmation......and sad, sad news :(

The (yellow brick) road less travelled

Did you catch the premiere of Sci-Fi Channel's mini-series "Tin Man"? It stars Zooey Deschanel as DG(Dorothy Gale), Alan Cumming as former genius/royal advisor Glitch and Neal McDonough as Wyatt Cain, a Tin Man (cop). Richard Dreyfuss is the Mystic Man/Wizard whose brain has been befuddled by the evil Sorceress's drugs. The Cowardly Lion has been transformed into a psychic wolverine named Raw. The Wicked Witch isn't green, favors bustiers, and has flying monkey-bats coming out of her chest. (They are more terrifying than the original ones.) The O.Z. (Outer Zone) is a nightmarish world. No singing Munchkins here. It is a grim take on L. Frank Baum's classic tale. I'm not sure it was a good idea to make it a three night event. If you want to read about Mr. Baum's true message, click here.

Oh no they didn't!

(Photos from Steamy East)

You might have heard of an Ohio highschool production of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" getting canceled after Gary Hines, president of the local NAACP branch complained that it was racist. It was originally published in 1939 under the title "Ten Little N_" but re-titled by Dame Christie for American readers as "And then there were none". Broadway actually gave it its other politically incorrect name, "Ten Little Indians" in 1944. The novel is a product of its time, in the way Huckleberry Finn/Mark Twain was also accused of racism. The N word is the British army slang for any non-white person. Other groups claim that "And then there were none" is xenophobic and espouses genocide. It is not about Native Americans or African-Americans. The plot involves ten people invited to, then trapped in an island, each guilty of a crime but never punished. They are killed one by one. Mr. Hines claimed that its original cover illustration features a black person and a noose. The picture is actually that of a golliwog, or a black doll. (OK this might not have been a good idea.) There is a noose because of a suicide and the island was originally named N_ Island (changed to Indian Island). I remember reading the book and watching a film version and not once did I think it was racist. It is a well-crafted English murder mystery, and is Dame Christie's, and the world's, bestselling mystery novel. Last I heard, the school decided that the show must go on next month with some changes. Kudos to the school officials who didn't cave to this NAACP official. This would have been political correctness gone wild, or worse, censorship. Mr. Hines runs a diversity training company and previously accused the school district of racism in 2002. His recommendation? Have the employees undergo a cultural diversity and sensitivity training such as what his company offers. People see what they wanna see.