MOVIE: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Nutcracker and the Four RealmsYear: 2018Rating: PGLength: 99 minutes / 1.65 hours A staple of the Christmas season, The Nutcracker is recognizable in many formats. Whether it's the ballet, the music, or just the story itself, most people have probably encountered a portion of The Nutcracker at some point in their lives. While most of these recognizable bits are classic representations of this work, these are the bare minimum used in crafting the Disney adaptation, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018). And I use "adaptation" fairly loosely here. Some things remain untouched, like a girl named Clara (Mackenzie Foy) being transported to a magical realm filled with toy soldiers, rats, and fairies. The trouble is that someone at Disney churned this familiar story through a "YA filter" that makes the whole thing feel like a generic adventure. Sure, there's some great visual storytelling in these four magical realms, but the narrative mostly follows the same "fight villain to learn about...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

by benmweilertNo Comments
Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: January 21, 2017 Halcyon Skies Daniel Kellogg Much like many of the other compositions commissioned to celebrate the anniversary of the writing of "America the Beautiful," this piece did an excellent job of capturing the size and majesty of the mountain known as Pike's Peak. It starts at sunrise, as the sun slowly illuminates the mountain in its purple pre-dawn light. As the alpenglow builds, the enormity of the mountain comes into view. The sunrise then rests on a lone hiker at the base of this prominent peak. We then follow this hiker as he climbs along the trail through the woods, occasionally taking a short break to look back on how far he's come. Continuing his climb, he arrives at the summit and is rewarded with the brilliance of the view afforded to his effort. Symphony No. 8 Ludwig van Beethoven It's interesting to me that this piece was chosen as one of the first to start off...
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