The Pop Culture Addict’s Blog

Recently saw this on Broadway and was blown away by how good it was! I remembered hearing high praise from NY1 when it first opened. But it wasn’t until a fellow PCA’s bday came around that we were inspired to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. Gavin Lee is astoundingly good! His tap-dancing chimney sweep number is the centerpiece and highlight of the show aside from Mary Poppins et al’s Supercalifragilisticexpialodious performance. I consider myself a good read on other people’s tastes. In fact, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this question someone told me was asked in a company meeting: What is your secret talent? My secret talent is that I can see into your pop culture soul. And using my superpowers, I’m telling you that you will be duly impressed and entertained by this current production of Mary Poppins. The kids are good, Mary Poppins is good, Bert the chimney sweep is good. The music is wonderful. The sets are amazing. It was truly a magical theater experience.

Now, let me try to re-cap what I’ve been doing over the past month. I also saw Grease which was at the level of a strong high school musical. The singing was strong, the enthusiasm was there. If your kids were in it, you’d be proud and entertained. But gosh, that story is really kind of weak. And there was a ringing lack of originality in the production. I hate to be harsh but I know I alone do not have the power to close a show on Broadway. But I can tell you that it was pretty humdrum unless you have a strong desire to see the winners of Grease: You’re the One That I Want on stage. Then, I can see what the draw might be. And full disclosure, I was someone else’s guest so I’m trying to be gracious.

I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe. This has been criticized as a superficial look at the turbulent ’60s and a superficial use of Beatles songs which they paid something like $10 million for the rights to perform. It was so much more original than say Grease. I especially liked how the love songs were used. I agree that a few songs were a little too spot on like Revolution but it’s still a great song. I loved how Hey Jude was used at the end. The singing was very charming. The story was on the simplistic side but most musicals and even operas, strive for universal truths rather than complex moral and philosophical investigations.

Not for everyone-

Romance and Cigarettes by John Turturro, a kind of musical with Susan Sarandon and James Gandolfini, was a different kind of movie. I think people had fun making it. Who else was in it -Kate Winslet, Mandy Moore. It wasn’t fantastic but it was interesting.

Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn starring Emile Hirsch based on the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer – really intense but good. I found the original article online here: Death of an Innocent by Jon Krakauer. Now I’m reading the book.

Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg starring Viggo Mortenson and Naomi Watts. Another intense movie. I liked it. That fight scene in the sauna people keep talking about is NOT for the faint of heart but if you can stand watching it, it is impressively executed. Nothing will beat A History of Violence in its elegance. But this was a great follow up.

Shoot’em Up. Yes, I saw this. It was actually pretty good. It’s what you’d expect from the title but it wasn’t as dumb as I worried it might be. I’m a fan of John Woo’s Hard-Boiled and so is Michael Davis (although I bet he doesn’t own the movie poster of it like I do). Clive Owens does a good job in a campy role. It’s definitely an R-rated movie so leave the kids at home.

3:10 to Yuma. Did I already comment on this? Without Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, this movie would not be that interesting. But seeing as one or the other is in practically every scene, the movie was pretty darn compelling. I would say overall I liked it and would recommend it.

The Last Winter by Larry Fessenden. I admit I was motivated to see it solely because of my new obsession with Friday Night Lights. It is a horror movie starring Connie Britton (Mrs. “Coach”) and Zach Gilford (aka Matt Saracen) among others. There was a Q&A with the director afterwards and I wanted to ask FNL related questions but I didn’t want to be that person I always groan about. LOL. Seriously, it was fun to see them in a different light.

On the book tip, I finally finished reading Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala. It is amazing that he wrote it as his thesis. Also, a fellow PCA had said I should read On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan so I did. It was well-written and thought-provoking. I liked Atonement but was mad at the girl for ruining a man’s life over a lie. So I thought I didn’t like the book. But maybe I just didn’t like the character. Anyway, as I mentioned, I’m reading Into the Wild now. I’ve also been on a nostalgia trip of re-reading The Great Brain books by John D. Fitzgerald.

Musically, I’m staying pretty pop these days aside from a good dose of Arctic Monkeys. I’m digging Rihanna, Sean Kingston and listening to some Aesop Rock for good measure. Oh, and despite what naysayers have said, I’m still into KT Tunstall and her sophomore album Drastic Fantastic.

Next up is a whirlwind tour of the offerings of the 2007 New York Film Festival. And of course the fall tv shows have started their new seasons. So far I’m happy with Heroes, have hope for Chuck and look forward to Pushing Daisies and Samantha Who?. And tonight is the season premiere of House! I admit I’ve already watched the season premiere of Friday Night Lights. You can too. Let me find that link… watch Friday Night Lights Season 2 Premiere at Yahoo. I’m so smitten with this show!

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I went to see Arctic Monkeys at Rumsey Playfield at Central Park last night (9/5/07).

That fresh, brash enthusiasm on their albums is 10 fold live. They were everything I imagined they would be live. They couldn’t be more adorable. They are totally into the music and show, engaging with the audience with every word and action. Visibility was variable. It was practically nil for the first half for me but I expected that when I chose not to stand in the thick of things. But gradually I saw one of them (Alex Turner), then another (Jamie Cook), then 2 (Alex and Jamie) at once, 3 (Alex, Jamie and Nick O’Malley ), at once and finally I got a good gander at the drummer (Matt Helders), who is amazing! He is so integral to the sound. All of them are fantastic! I never got a look at all 4 of them at once but the acoustics were very decent for a park.

The Coral had to cancel. Dk why. Heard they are good tho. But Voxtrot from TX put on a good show. I had great visibility of all of them all at once bc ppl were still trickling in and sitting, etc. I was impressed with the caliber of their music. And they are psyched to be supporting AM for the next 3 wks! Great exposure.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (more like End of Summer wrap up)
Went to Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park a couple of weeks ago to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was really good! I always give Shakespeare in the Park productions some props for just existing but I’m not always wowed through and through. But this time, I liked the flow, the acting, the setting (of course). It was fun to see Mireille Enos from Big Love in it. She plays Joey’s other wife (to be). A fellow PCA had to point that out to me though because I couldn’t quite place her.

Got to see the latest revival of A Chorus Line and thoroughly enjoyed the music, dancing and story, in that order. Spring Awakening had its moments. It wasn’t mind-blowing but it had a freshness to it because the cast is still on a high from the Tony nods and wins and very young or youthful at the very least. I give 33 to Nothing, an Off-Broadway musical (play with music is how it is advertised) which started as an off-off Broadway show, Best Drama School Thesis (I just made that title up) because it seemed like it was a good idea that doesn’t quite reach it’s full potential but still entertains. The premise was cool – a band practicing in front the audience and then interacting with each other in between songs – like if you went to see a band and their interstitial banter was constantly bordering on or actually in the realm of TMI. Never the less, I appreciate the effort of artists to keep creating and expressing in experimental manners.

I must comment on High School Musical 2, right? HSM2 was cute with cute songs and a sweet, uplifting story with appealing young actors singing and dancing their hearts out. HSM, which I re-watched the same day as watching HSM2, held up to the memory of it being the same – cute, sweet featuring numerous catchy tunes and likeable actors. Around the same time-frame, I started watching Camp on cable and found myself fast-forwarding through the talking and stopping for the musical performances (mind you, I actually have this on dvd so I didn’t need to do this but isn’t that what always happens?). Then I caught a good portion of Umbrellas of Cherbourg on TCM which is an amazing movie in so many ways including how every line is sung. I suppose this is what makes it so unique. I saw it in a theater a while back and couldn’t believe how young Catherine Deneuve was and this time I was struck by how her character is supposed to be 16 – the same age as the HSM characters. Quite a darker storyline though than either of the High School Musicals. Back to HSM2, I loved Sharpay’s songs – Fabulous, her version of You Are the Music In Me and the cut HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA’A. Hats off to Ashley Tisdale for a delish performance. Also, this time around with this cast, I was really taken by Ryan/Lucas Grabeel’s voice. He has a very charming singing voice and is a decent dancer at that. I loved the baseball number. So all in all, I can’t deny that I’m on the HSM, 1 and 2, bandwagon.

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