Movie Review: Ironman 3 - finally something to see at the theater

Blockbuster season started early - Go See Ironman 3. Huge numbers in Europe and now the USA - all for good reason. This is a really fun number three. Ironman 1 was really good. Ironman 2 was a bit heavyhanded and bulky. Number 3 is just thrilling, clever, and crazy good fun. Get the family, buy the tub of popcorn and the gallon of soda - this kicks off spring/summer and it's our American duty to overindulge.
Robert Downey, Jr. couldn't be better. He's light on his toes, quips galore, and he expresses a vulnerability necessary in our superheroes. He is the whole package. Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper shows guts and dons the Ironman gear briefly. Ironman needs her and she needs him. It's a love story. Don Cheadle is the best buddy and he's so darn good - Rah!!!

Guy Pearce is sleazy evil and I mean that as a compliment. He's always good and this is a role he deserves. He's smart, good looking, and unfortunately he chose the wrong side to exploit. His genius is there for Ironman to destroy. Ooops.

Can't forget Jon Favreau - the hapless sidekick who's mostly in a coma for the film. As a security person, he stinks.

Ben Kingsley is The Mandarin - evil incarnate......or is he?? OMG. What transpires here is too funny and the comment about King Lear is to die for. You have to be a Ben fan and know his work. (Insider jokes galore).
So - plenty of Marvel Superhero jokes - hope you have seen the movies to enjoy the humor. Otherwise, stuff blows up. We're saving the world. Ironman has many backup plans. And this is just so much FUN. Go See It.

Classical Culture on a Sunday

The Old Bedford School presents their Van Cliburn Concert Series, and it is a great way to appreciate classical music. I need to expand my knowledge, and this series has been a joy.

For my third foray into classical music, I heard Mariangela Vacatello this past Sunday, May 5th. She was a Van Cliburn finalist in 2009 and has enjoyed worldwide success. She performed:

Ravel - Ondine from Gaspard de la nuit  I found this to be light and airy. Keep in mind I do not have a professional music vocabulary, but it struck me as vivacious.

Beethoven - Piano Sonata op. 53 and Waldstein (the Dawn) -  with Beethoven I often feel like I know the music. It must show up in movie themes or something. Anyway, this was fairly bright and cheery music.

Chopin - Nocturnes in D flat and Major Borealis     She went from light to dark. This was brooding and the Nocturnes proved to be my favorite. Again it sounded familiar.

Rachmaninov - Piano Sonata n.2 in B flat minor     So dramatic. Russian piano creation at its best

Her fingers flew and she played with feeling and expression. Vacatello is a tiny thing with long dark hair. Her English with the Italian accent was charming and musical as she explained her choices.

This proved to be a delightful afternoon. I'm grateful for culture in my own backyard (truly - just fifteen minutes from my house - not a flight to La Scala).

Book Review: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer is a panoramic novel about what becomes of early talent, and the roles that art, money, and envy can play even in close friendships. (book cover blurb). It is 1974 and six teens at summer camp embark on a journey of lifelong friendship. Julie (now Jules) Jacobson feels at home with this artsy group of misfits. They declare themselves "interesting" and at fifteen, while self-indulgent, they see a bright future ahead for all of them.

Here are the opening lines of Chapter One - On a warm night in early July of that long evaporated year, the Interestings gathered for the first time. ...Julie Jacobson, an outsider and possibly even a freak, had been invited for obscure reasons, and now she sat in a corner on the unswept floor and attempted to position herself so she would appear unobtrusive yet not pathetic, which was a difficult balance.

Oh, that SO sums up being fifteen or sixteen.

But, as we read and learn more about their lives, the group has its winners and losers. Jules becomes a therapist, not the comic actress she had hoped for. Jonah, a gifted guitarist, becomes a mechanical engineer, after an offshoot time with the Moonies. Ethan, ugly and brilliant, achieves success with a hit animated TV show and franchise. His wife, the lovely Ash, is also successful as a director. They are the perfect pair, and yet despair as a child measures on the autism scale. Cathy and Goodman (Ash's bohemian brother) change their lives forever when she accuses him of rape in college. Lines are drawn, and the perfect friendships fracture.

A lot happens from teen angst, hopes, and dreams to adult maturity, love, marriage, children, family deaths, and illnesses. The Interestings is complex and wide-ranging in scope, yet intimate page-by-page. Jules is our main focus and our flawed heroine. Meg Wolitzer is a solid writer and truly delves deep into her characters and life. The reader will recognize these people, and in turn can judge decisions made or ignored. Life evolves and so does this book. The reader will enjoy the good times, be frustrated at times, and root for this group of friends to just live, laugh, and love.

500th Blog Post - Movie Review: 42

42 - that's a magic number and it is a very educational/emotional film. Jackie Robinson wore 42 and changed baseball forever. He could blast a ball, catch impossible hits, and steal bases faster than a person could blink. And he was black. Black, African-American, Negro - back when segregation was the norm and blacks played in the Negro Baseball League.

It's quite a story and the movie, 42, handles the "issues" with dignity - no preachiness. Jackie Robinson, as played by Chadwick Boseman (superb) is a man first and a very talented baseball player second. Because he had to rise above ignorance, taunts, and teammates who weren't keen on this "new" baseball - Jackie Robinson was a pillar of strength.

Branch Rickey, who managed the Brooklyn Dodgers, wasn't setting out to create upheaval. He just saw an injustice and wanted it righted. Behind a ton of makeup, Harrison Ford chomps a cigar and sets an example for his team. He chooses Robinson because he saw a very talented player who exuded confidence, calm, and an ability to slowly rally his teammates. Fortunately, Robinson had a strong wife behind him, and the desire to play ball well.
This is a movie about strength of character. It's a movie that makes you, the audience, think about what it took to travel to towns that didn't want you in their hotels or in their ballpark. It makes you think about how much abuse can a person take and not break?

42 is an excellent movie that entertains and makes you think. It is right and cool that every year, players wear 42 on their jerseys and can only hope to live up to the standard that Jackie Robinson set - as a man and a baseball player.

David Sedaris' Latest Book

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. OMG. This critic is a huge fan of David Sedaris' humor, essays, and books. I finally got to hear him do an actual author reading and it expanded the scope of the whole Sedaris experience. David arrived on the author scene many years ago with The Santaland Diaries - his experience as a Macy's elf. It is hysterical and a must read at Christmas - not to children, please.

From there, he's written Barrel Fever, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You are Engulfed in Flames, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. Whether it is his sisters (look for Amy Sedaris - she's also crazy funny), his late mother (drinking wine, smoking a cigarette, and shaking her head at his shenanigans), or his father (who just ups and walks out of a room in the middle of a conversation) - Sedaris can turn a small situation into a comedy routine. His stories evolve and circle back on themselves a few times. It's about love, family, the public, and trying to learn Mandarin Chinese on the plane to Bejiing.

Yes, he's a middle-aged gay man in a committed relationship with Hugh (who seems to roll his eyes constantly at David's wacky ideas) and Sedaris doesn't drive. They currently live in England, they did live in France, and yes he's a US citizen who tours here constantly. He spends hours with his fans - signing books and asking/answering questions. His interest in people and their peculiar lives fascinates and becomes fodder for futher essays.

The audience at the Winspear in Dallas ranged from college aged to middle aged fans like myself. My husband is a newbie to Sedaris world, but laughed for the 1-1/2 hours that David presented his material - stories, a poem, just a random thought, and then a deep Q&A. The essays in Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls are not for teen or children reading. There is some "adult" material, and some folks might say "Whoa!". Well, turn the page to another essay and then bust a gut laughing.

Art Festival Time of Year

 Two weekends in April are a joy due to Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival and then Southlake Art in the Square. They offer a plethora of art to enjoy. Extremely talented artists share their creations with us. Huddled in booths, they await public thumbs up with purchases. I've done my share, and this year I supported Gregory Story. However, for artists I did not purchase from, I did collect their cards and hope you'll peruse their websites and look for them at art shows. Sheer joy to behold.

www.ChrisDalquist.com
www.CliffhouseStudio.com
www.GregoryStory.com

 Gorgeous colors  - I love fused glass and these were beautiful pieces.
www.theredfishstudio.com

 If we only had a monstrous backyard, Ray would support Niemi, LLC - www.bruceniemi.com
Wow!

The Found Object Robots are beyond clever and are really cool art. Quirky is key.
www.1fobot.com

I truly enjoyed the photography from www.makeshiftphotography.com    Discerning eyes and viewpoints.

Now you know what I've been doing with my time. Have to take advantage of temperatures under one hundred in Texas  - a stroll through outdoor art shows without swooning from heat stroke sums up April.

Modern Clay - Gregory Story

Enjoyed strolling the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival on Sunday. So many talented people, neat art, and too few walls in my house for the goodies I liked. However, Gregory Story's Modern Clay WallBalls caught my eye. Check out his site  Gregory Story

I perused his area and the exclamation mark called out my name. It is now hung above my desk as a reminder to stay excited about writing, but to beware of overuse of this punctuation.

It makes me smile!!!!!