Febraury Favorites

John Wick: Chapter 2: While not quite as fresh or satisfying as the first installment of the John Wick franchise, Chapter 2 is still plenty entertaining and visually stunning. While I was quite bothered by the liberties taken with New York City geography (The Brooklyn Bridge is not involved in getting to Manhattan from New Jersey! Lincoln Center is not adjacent to the World Trade Center! The PATH train is not the subway! No train stops at both Rector Street and Broad Street!), the locations were still stunning and their unique features were well-integrated into the action. However, two of the most stunning fight sequences don't rely on iconic New York locations; instead, they are set in Rome and in a literal hall of mirrors. Keanu Reeves was reliably stoic and yet also allowed John Wick's vulnerability to show through more and more with each progressive fight scene. Wick is a man that is hurting on many levels, and Reeves never lets you forget that, even when he's kicking ass. I also appreciated Chapter 2's efforts to build out the world of the Continental and the assassins' code that goes along with it. Ultimately, this is quite a sad film, though the ending sets things up for a third installment that can go in many different directions. I can't wait to see what the John Wick team comes up with next.

Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis: This is a heart-wrenching film, and all who are featured in it deserve major kudos for being so open with their feelings. I originally got into Eagles of Death Metal because Joshua Homme is one of my very favorite musicians as well as someone who seems like a genuinely awesome human being all around. After seeing this film, I have even more respect for Josh due to his deep, articulate commentary and observations and because he truly does appear to be a fantastic human being - or at least an excellent and caring friend to Jesse Hughes. Jesse, for his part, is incredibly vulnerable and honest in this film. The Bataclan attack touched people around the world in so many ways, but hearing first hand accounts from Jesse, the rest of the band, and audience members who were there transforms the attack from a tragedy that happened far away into a truly horrific event that reshaped the lives of all who were there in highly tangible ways. I have so much respect and admiration for all those who agreed to speak on camera for this film, and in the process lay themselves bare and revisit such horror. However, one of the most touching aspects of this film is Josh and Jesse's friendship. Josh Homme is simply too cool and too caring and too amazing to adequately describe here. The way Josh was able to support Jesse despite not having been at the Bataclan that night is a portrait of selflessness and compassion.

"You Look Good", Lady Antebellum: Lady Antebellum continues to stretch the definition of 'Country music' with this new single that skews more Mardi Gras than Rodeo. Horns and a slinky rhythm make this song irresistibly catchy; whenever it comes up on my shuffle, my mood is instantly lifted, and I can't help but shimmy and strut just a bit.

Rick Astley at House of Blues Boston: I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the top five shows I've ever seen, right up there with Calvin Harris in Trafalgar Square, the Concert for Diana, Sting at The Public Theatre, and Garth Brooks at Yankee Stadium. I thought the two Rick Astley concerts I saw last year were excellent, but this one blew those out of the water. This House of Blues show was the last night of Rick's first full-scale US tour since 1989, and Rick and his band were in a very celebratory mood. Rick took the stage at 8:30 and didn't get off until 11; those two and a half hours were some of the best in my life. The end-of-tour energy and joy were off the charts, and were simply infectious. Rick's banter was top notch, with plenty of entertaining asides and his signature self-deprecation, buoyed by an even more carefree, f**k-it attitude than usual. While the core set list was quite similar to the shows I saw last year, the magic of this show was driven by a dazzling array of cover songs.

Things began to kick into high gear during the instrumental break in "Cry for Help". The band segued into a reggae beat and singer Dawn Joseph started doing a bunch of cover riffs and snippets, including "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", "Fastlove", and "Here Comes the Hotstepper", with Rick occasionally joining in. Shortly after that, a couple managed to tell Rick that they had just gotten engaged at the show, so Rick started singing "Celebration" and I knew then that all bets were off. As soon as you get into Bar Mitzvah party playlist territory, basically anything can happen, and I wanted all the fun cover songs I could get as well as the random, hilarious commentary from Rick that came along with them.

 
While the main body of the show had more delightful moments than I can count, it was during the encore that things got totally mental in the very best way possible. After a couple of 80s Rick classics, the covers came fast and furious, with the band egging Rick on to keep going. Highlights of the evening include: "Rapper's Delight" / "Good Times"; "Highway to Hell" with Rick on drums; "Just What I Needed" because The Cars are a Boston band and Rick loved them when he was a kid; "The One I Love" because they had done this R.E.M cover at their Atlanta show; "Sweet Home Alabama" for no apparent reason, and Rick's body man even had to bring him an iPhone with the lyrics pulled up so Rick could do the song; "Suspicious Minds" because that was their song for their Vegas show at the beginning of the tour; and "Everlong" because Rick really loves Foo Fighters. Mind you, there were plenty of flubs and forgotten lyrics throughout many of these songs, but that just made the whole thing that much more enjoyable and charming.

Of course the final song of the evening was "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was made even more magical than usual by the fact that an audience member passed a trench coat up to the stage for Rick to wear. Rick even did a bit of the dance from the music video, and the whole thing couldn't have been more perfect. While I hope to see Rick Astley in concert many more times, I don't expect any other show of his to top this one.

 
A Man on the Moon, Andrew Chaikin: Last year I saw the documentary The Last Man on the Moon and both saw and read Hidden Figures. All of that got me thinking about how incredible it is that the human species has been able to send people into space and send people to the Moon, so when I spotted this book about the Apollo program at a book sale in the fall, I knew I needed to get it. Even though I have tons of books stacked up in my apartment, A Man on the Moon kept calling to me despite it's heft. While the book is nearly 600 pages long, it is a quick and deeply engaging read thanks to Chaikin's writing style, which manages to be clear and easy to understand, but also conveys the amazingness of the topics at hand. The way that Chaikin explains and breaks down the lunar geological explorations of Apollo missions 14-17 is an especially absorbing aspect of the book. Not only did I learn about the individual astronauts and their missions, I learned a lot about the history of the Moon itself. The intelligence and ingenuity of those involved with the Apollo program is simply awe-inspiring. It's staggering what these people were able to do in such a short period of time. Their dedication to their individual missions and to the program as a whole is truly admirable. It saddens me that NASA and the human exploration of space have taken a back seat in the public consciousness (and in government support and funding) since Apollo was cut short. Especially in today's political climate, it is a shame that we no longer have such exciting, hopeful, future-facing projects to galvanize us as a nation.  I hope that during my lifetime the excitement for human exploration of our solar system is renewed. It seems crazy that it took only eight years to figure out how to get to the Moon, but nearly fifty years later we still haven't made it to Mars.