Musicians and magicians will entertain from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
There is no charge for this event and all ages are welcome.
Sign up to perform at Cafe Victoria, 301 Main St., Lakeport, or call the event's host, Phil Mathewson, at 263-3391.
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While we are waiting around for Harrison Ford to return as Indiana Jones, it’s not so bad to watch an imitator about half his age taking on the role of a globe-trotting adventurer in search of treasure.
Nicolas Cage is no low-rent Indy, considering that he established himself nicely as treasure hunter Ben Gates in “National Treasure,” which had the salutary effect of making American history a lot more fun than one would ever imagine possible when measured against the average high school history textbook.
However, while the “National Treasure” films have no real educational value as history lessons, it is probably an article of faith for unwary filmgoers that the Masons have buried treasure maps within many of our most treasured national monuments. After all, it’s more fun to think some mysterious group holds the keys to deeply concealed secrets.
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is more than willing to push heavy doses of fictional history in service of advancing an interesting story. In its efforts to make history alive and vital, this sequel expands the story into a global adventure, but not before opening up with a flashback to the assassination of Abe Lincoln.
Nicolas Cage returns as Ben Gates, assisted by his father, university professor Patrick Gates (Jon Voight), and the mission is much more personal.
The father and son team are shaken by the discovery of one of the long-lost pages from the diary of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. The diary was found on Booth’s body when he was killed, but several pages that had been torn from the diary had never been found until now.
Surprisingly, the information on a recovered page seems to implicate their ancestor Thomas Gates as a conspirator in the plot to kill Lincoln.
Of course, we know this is bogus right from the start, since the evidence has been brought forward by highly suspect Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), whose efforts to uncover his family history oddly seem to require the services of menacing henchmen.
Meanwhile, Ben has to reassemble his crack team of history investigators, which is complicated by the fact that he’s now estranged from his old flame, American history archivist Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger). Ben’s tech-wiz partner Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) is game for the mission, considering that his Ferrari has just been impounded for unpaid taxes.
For reasons not to be fully explained here, the story takes Ben and his crew to foreign locales, starting with a quick trip to Paris where a replica of the Statue of Liberty provides a coded message in one of its inscriptions. Then the gang is off to England where the mission becomes much more daunting, particularly when Ben has to sneak into the Queen’s private quarters at Buckingham Palace. A dazzling street chase occurs in London, which is hard to believe because gridlock is a constant in this capital city.
Having retrieved a clue from Queen Elizabeth’s desk, Ben takes the action back to Washington, D.C., where the objective becomes the need to find another clue from a matching desk that is only found in the White House.
At some point, it becomes necessary for Ben to call for help from his mother, linguistics professor Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren), as only she can translate the clues written in an obscure Native American dialect. Before heading off on an archaeological hunt in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore, there’s also the small matter of the abduction of the president of the United States (Bruce Greenwood).
By the way, the presidential kidnapping brings into focus what the “Book of Secrets” is all about. Tapping into the conspiracy theory mindset, this supposed secret book is for the eyes only of the president, and it turns out to be some sort of historical scrapbook that holds top secret letters and documents. Naturally, Ben needs something that’s in the secret book, if only because the story is so improbable that it serves the plot to have him chasing after something that should be absolutely unattainable.
Notwithstanding its essential silliness, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” has a surprisingly large number of high-caliber cast members, certainly more than the plot warrants. The film also benefits from plenty of humor that helps to distract from the thin plot. Action sequences kick in with enough punch to keep everything lively.
Simply put, “National Treasure” may not shine as bright the second time around, but there’s plenty of adventure and fun to keep audiences flocking to this sequel.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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A Broadway musical is adapted for the big screen, and you’re probably thinking it could be something fitting for the holidays, maybe happy and uplifting, like “The Sound of Music.”
Well, brace yourself for the antithesis of Christmas cheer, because the 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” was a descent into the macabre world of a serial killer who used his tonsorial skills to slit throats of his unsuspecting customers.
Sondheim’s musical, a bloody tale of serial murder, madness and cannibalism, was definitely out of the mainstream for the Broadway stage, but it gathered a slew of awards and critical acclaim.
Taking the challenge of realizing this unique musical into a full-blown movie falls to director Tim Burton, who by all accounts has a deft hand at creating highly imaginative fantasy worlds. His take on the dark world of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is as if he were bringing his animated “Corpse Bride” to life.
Indeed, the stars of this film look very much like reanimated characters from “Corpse Bride.” Johnny Depp, starring in the titular role, and Helena Bonham Carter, as his accomplice Mrs. Lovett, are dressed in black with dark circles around their eyes, resembling Goth partygoers getting ready for a Halloween bash.
The tale of macabre begins when Depp’s Sweeney Todd is arriving back in London after escaping from 15 years of false imprisonment in Australia. His real name is Benjamin Barker, but he has adopted the alias of Todd so that he can seek revenge against the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and his nefarious henchman Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall), who shipped him off to the other side of the world on a trumped-up charge in order to steal his pretty wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), and his baby daughter.
Under his new identity, Sweeney sets himself up in his old barbershop above the pie-making premises of Mrs. Nellie Lovett, who tells him that his wife poisoned herself after Judge Turpin took advantage of her. Sweeney also learns that Turpin has his now teenaged daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener), as his ward, where she is imprisoned in his house.
Oddly enough, Johanna is one day noticed by Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), a young sailor who rescued Sweeney from the sea and brought the barber back to London. Hopelessly in love, Anthony vows to rescue Johanna and marry her, but the sleazy judge has his own amorous intentions for the girl.
Sweeney’s murder spree begins when a rival barber, Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), a flamboyant Italian hiding his own secrets, threatens to expose Sweeney’s real identity. After cutting Pirelli’s throat, Sweeney doesn’t know what to do with the body, until Mrs. Lovett hits upon the solution of using human remains to fill her meat pies. While Sweeney’s homicidal rage centers on the evil Judge Turpin, he becomes obsessed with taking the life of every customer, after putting a trap door in his barber shop so that the bodies are dumped into a cellar where Mrs. Lovett operates her meat grinder.
Strangely enough, Mrs. Lovett’s pies become the talk of London, and as business booms, she fantasizes about respectability and a life at the seaside with Sweeney as her husband and her young charge, Pirelli’s former assistant Toby (Edward Sanders), alongside as her adopted son.
These dream sequences are about the only time this dark movie shows brightness and color. For the most part, “Sweeney Todd” is filmed in dark hues, where the only bright color is the gushing red blood from the throat of each hapless victim.
Interestingly, this being a Stephen Sondheim musical, “Sweeney Todd” has limited dialogue, as most of the story is advanced and conveyed by songs, and surprisingly, Depp and Bonham Carter, neither known for doing vocals, manage quite well to handle their singing roles. Of course, it is the Sondheim music that celebrates the macabre, and the lyrics are sufficiently bold, brash and twisted.
In its own scathing way, “Sweeney Todd” is a bloody good musical, though hardly designed for all tastes.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
If we are going to keep up with bad taste during the holidays, the “American Pie” franchise is delivering its next installment in raunchy humor, direct to video in “American Pie Presents Beta House.”
The same members of the Stifler clan who appeared in “The Naked Mile” return for more outrageous hijinks in the collegiate scene, where the parties are in full swing along fraternity row.
Hilarity ensues at the infamous Beta Delta Xi house, where everyone gets swept up in the pranks and unpredictable sexual situations.
There’s enough tasteless bathroom humor and raunchy sex gags to rival what the creators of “South Park” would offer if they were doing a similar film.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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Blue Wing and Tallman Hotel owner Bernard Butcher reported that the saloon and hotel will soon be hosting a variety of acts in different musical genres.
In January, the Blue Wing's “Monday Blues” lineup will include Twice As Good with Paul and Rich Steward on Jan. 7 and 14; Memphis Exchange with Jeff Eades, Randy McGowen and Steven Guererro on Jan. 21; and the Mark Weston Band with Walt Rangel and Scott Slagle on Jan. 28.
From January through May, the Tallman Hotel will host its second annual "Concerts with Conversation" series on the third Thursday of each month.
The series includes Phebe Craig (harpsichord) and Michael Sand (violin) on Jan. 17; John Mattern (piano, guitar and vocals) on Feb. 21; Ragtime evening with David Reffkin (violin) and Chris Alexander (piano) on March 20; Elena Casanova (classical and Cuban piano) on April 17; and Lakeside Chamber Players with Clovice Lewis (cello), Catharine Hall (flute) and Carolyn Hawley (piano) on May 15.
For more information visit the Blue Wing Saloon online, www.bluewingsaloon.com, telephone, 707-275-2233; or the Tallman Hotel, www.tallmanhotel.com, telephone 707-275-2244.
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UPPER LAKE – The Tallman Hotel will present its second season of “Concerts with Conversation” beginning Jan. 17 and extending through May 15 with a concert each month.
Ten percent of all proceeds from the concerts will benefit the Soper-Reese Community Theater Fund which is in the process of converting the old single-screen movie theater in Lakeport into a state-of-the-art performing arts center.
As with the first, highly successful Tallman concert season in 2007, the series will bring some of Northern California’s finest musical talent to this delightful and intimate Lake County venue.
Guests will enjoy a champagne reception with the musicians in the parlor of the hotel followed by a three course dinner featuring Lake County wines. This will be followed by an informal concert and dialogue with the musicians in the charming Riffe’s Meeting House next door to the Hotel.
The 2008 season kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 17 with an evening of early baroque music featuring the husband and wife team of Phebe Craig on harpsichord and violinist Michael Sand.
Phebe has performed and recorded with many early music ensembles and is the director of the San Francisco Early Music Society’s Baroque Workshop. Michael was one of the original directors of Philharmonia, the first period instrument orchestra on the West Coast, and he has appeared as guest director with numerous chamber orchestras in this country and abroad. Both Phebe and Michael are on the music faculty at UC Davis.
The remainder of the 2008 season features an eclectic group of accomplished musicians:
Feb. 21 – Ukiah resident John Mattern is one of the most artistic and innovative musicians in Northern California. With John on saxophone, the John Mattern Jazz Quartet has recently released a popular CD called Alfonsano. He is now launching the next step in his performing career as a singer songwriter, playing piano and guitar while performing original music influenced by his roots in jazz, folk, bluegrass and progressive contemporary styles.
March 20 – Joined by Chris Alexander on piano, violinist David Reffkin will present a lighthearted and upbeat evening of turn-of-the-last-century ragtime music. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, David is the dean of the San Francisco ragtime scene. He appears on numerous recordings either as soloist or ensemble member and was a founder and co-director of the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival. Since 1981, David has been the host of “The Ragtime Machine,” a weekly radio program on KUSF-FM in San Francisco.
April 17 – Pianist Elena Casanova has been a featured soloist with the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra and has performed widely throughout Northern California. An exciting and expressive performer, Elena will present a variety of classical and contemporary pieces plus some of the passionate music from her native Cuba. She has recently released a haunting CD of classical and modern Cuban music called Recordando.
May 15 – Ever popular in Lake County and beyond, the Lakeside Chamber Players will again conclude the Tallman Concert Series. The incomparable cellist and composer Clovice Lewis will be joined by flutist Catharine Hall and pianist Carolyn Hawley. The group will perform a variety of classical chamber pieces plus original compositions that Clovice calls “Jazzical,” a name that well sums up the blend of styles that makes his music so unique.
Tickets to any or all of these events can be obtained by calling the Tallman Hotel reception desk at (707) 275-2244.
The cost for individual concerts with dinner is $80, or $350 for the entire series. Tickets for the concerts only can be obtained for $35. The Hotel also has a special package of hotel room plus two concert and dinner tickets for $275.
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I think if any actor is going to carry a film single-handedly, then there’s probably not a better man for the job than Will Smith. “I Am Legend” seems like an appropriate title for what he is supposed to do, which in essence is to bring to life the quintessential story of one man against the world.
At least, that’s the task for the story’s hero in Richard Matheson’s timeless science fiction novel of the same title, written in 1954 and adapted several times already into films, from Vincent Price’s turn in “The Last Man on Earth” to Charlton Heston’s “The Omega Man.”
Matheson envisioned a post-apocalyptic world in which one man is surviving cut off and alone in a modern urban environment, where life is harsh because of the physical, emotional and spiritual lengths to which he must go in order to keep living, in the face of constant threat from horrible vampire predator creatures.
In the near future, Will Smith’s Robert Neville is a military virologist based in Manhattan. The end of civilization arrives in the form of the cure for cancer, but the virus used to combat this deadly disease mutates into a plague that wipes out mankind. Neville is spearheading the government’s attempt to find a vaccine to fight the pandemic. But in spite of their efforts, the virus went airborne and New York City is subsequently locked down with only the uninfected allowed to evacuate.
Committed to his work, Neville remains behind in the city as he continues his mission. Fortunately, he has an immune system that protects him from this deadly virus. Unfortunately, he’s completely alone as a human being in the deserted streets of Manhattan, except for the companionship of his beloved dog, Sam. Regrettably, some of the remaining citizens who didn’t succumb to the virus have instead had their ravaged metabolism transform them into creatures that dwell in the darkness of the city’s vast underground, emerging only at night to forage for new victims.
By day, Neville and Sam race around the deserted streets in a Shelby Mustang or a fortified SUV, mainly in search of life forms, canned goods and other supplies. Usually, there’s a stop at the local video store to pick up and return DVDs.
The imagery of an abandoned New York City is visually stunning. The streets are filled with weeds and forsaken vehicles. The desolate city is very realistic, including billboards for known Broadway shows. Being very familiar with Manhattan, I can tell you they have captured Times Square and other areas with perfect detail. It’s all very eerie and weird, but visually impressive.
By night, Neville retreats to his townhouse in Washington Square, which is heavily fortified to keep out the bad people. It’s a routine that is becoming an ordeal, especially after three years of isolation. For Neville, it’s all he can do to keep his sanity, which explains a daily regimen of exercise and broadcasting radio messages in search of fellow survivors. He also plays a dangerous game of trying to trap zombie creatures in order to perform his medical experiments to reserve the effects of the virus.
In the final chapter of his ongoing nightmare (he has dream and flashbacks to the family he lost), Neville finally connects with a young woman (Alice Braga) and a child, both of whom somehow follow his radio messages all the way from Maryland. Suddenly, there’s hope that remnants of civilization are out there somewhere beyond the city limits.
On the other hand, the zombies become even more aggressive and destructive, launching a full-scale assault on Neville’s abode. Very soon, the scene is uglier than New York was during the dreadful 1970s, when crime waves were relentless and the city was in the grip of despair.
“I Am Legend” is visually stunning for its stark vision of a blighted metropolis. It’s suitably spooky and eerie for the way in which it isolates Will Smith’s character in the classic urban jungle, creating chilling scenes for his showdowns with the vampire/zombie creatures.
The satisfaction of the film’s ending may be debatable, but Will Smith performs his extended solo turn with a nice measure of depth, compassion, fear and anger.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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