FRIDAY –
In sports, there’s women’s pro volleyball with the SAN DIEGO MOJO taking on Dallas at Viejas Arena. They’re giving away beach towels to fans that show up.
Not sure if you consider frisbee a sport, but it’s the Ultimate Frisbee opening day at MISSION BAY High School, with the SAN DIEGO GROWLERS taking on the Carolina Flyers.
For classical music fans that want to hear some Beethoven, the SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY will be playing at Jacobs Music Center, Saturday and Sunday.
CHEAP TRICK has an aptly named album and tour – the All Washed Up Tour. It hits Humphrey’s by the Bay in SHELTER ISLAND. They’re all original members, except for drummer Bun E. Carlos, who has been replaced by the guitarist Rick Nielsen’s son Daxx. I’ve seen them with Daxx and they’re still good.
If you’re at Humphrey’s but don’t want to spend the big bucks for Cheap Trick, at their Backstage Music Club is one of my favorite local bands – THE TIGHTEN UPS. They’ve got a great horn section, and their lead singer is a blast. She’s a great vocalist with a fun sense of humor.
And on the subject of ‘70s bands, I always wondered what happened to ZEBRA. They had a couple cool tunes (Who’s Behind the Door?, Tell Me What You Want), and disappeared. They’ll be at the Music Box DOWNTOWN.
SATURDAY –
SAN DIEGO FC has a home game at Snapdragon Stadium against Portland. You can also listen to the game on San Diego Sports 760 starting at 6pm.
The SPRING HOME GARDEN SHOW is happening at the DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS all weekend.
SAN DIEGO EARTHFEST is going on at BALBOA PARK. There’s lots of entertainment, food vendors, and more.
LADY DOTTIE & THE DIAMONDS are at the Grand Ole BBQ in EL CAJON.
SHEMEKIA COPELAND is at the California Center for the Arts in ESCONDIDO.
JASON MRAZ is doing an unplugged, benefit concert, at the Bornemann Theatre in SAN MARCOS.
The only opera I listen to is GILBERT & SULLIVAN, and I am thrilled to see their operetta “Trial by Jury” along with some other gems by G&S, like pieces from “The Pirates of Penzance” (I’ll be in the crowd yelling for “The Mikado”) will be performed by the Genesis Opera Theatre. Many members from the local San Diego operatic community will also perform. It’s all happening at the Trinity Episcopal Church in ESCONDIDO on Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon.
ON STREAMING …
Stranger Things fans take heart, there’s an animated spinoff, STRANGER THINGS: TALES FROM ’85 now on Netflix.
Oscar-nominee Kate Hudson is back as a party girl turned pro basketball team owner in season 2 of RUNNING POINT on Netflix.
Elle Fanning stars as a college dropout with a new baby who creates an OnlyFans account with advice from her pro-wrestler father (Nick Offerman) in MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES on AppleTV.
AT THE MOVIES…
MICHAEL
There’s a scene in “Michael” (about the King of Pop) where we see him getting a giraffe, llama, and Bubbles the chimp. So let’s talk about the elephant; the elephant in the room – the movie didn’t cover ANY of the negative stuff about Michael Jackson. No child molestations, etc. Even how they covered the abuse from his dad Joe Jackson, felt a bit sugar-coated. This is almost as if the filmmakers behind “Bohemian Rhapsody” had decided they should stay away from the gay stuff…or if when we saw “The Doors” movie, it didn’t have any drinking (although it’s odd that Oliver Stone seemed to only want to focus on Morrison’s alcoholism, but I digress). The movie is not only too safe, it tells us nothing we didn’t already know about Michael Jackson. It just wanted to show concert footage, with songs that went on way too long. They wanted to show Jackson as a musical genius, who was basically a saint. Even when he had his scalp burned making a Pepsi commercial, we’d see him visiting children in the burn unit (this was the only way they wanted to show Jackson with little boys…or the scene of him signing autographs and talking to them in toy stores). It’s a shame they didn’t make a better movie because the kid who played the young Michael Jackson (Juliano Valdi) was terrific. The older version was played by Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, and he was terrific. He captured the mannerisms, dance moves, and effeminate nature. And Colman Domingo…well, my wife and I both would be happy just watching him on screen reading the phone book. He’d get an Oscar nomination for this performance if it were a better movie (which is the same reason Val Kilmer didn’t get a nomination for playing Jim Morrison). Janet Jackson was nowhere to be found in this, and if your favorite Jackson 5 member was Tito, you also might be disappointed. On that note, I did like how they showed his loving relationship with his siblings. He’d come back from the toy store with games like Twister, and they would be shooting hoops talking about where they’d be partying that night – but you could tell they all loved each other and the ribbing was good-natured. We needed a more compelling story here, instead of Jaafar lip-synching, and doing extended concert scenes. But it’s the perfect fan service if you’re a big fan. 1 ½ stars out of 5.
MOTHER MARY
It’s funny, Anne Hathaway is going to be on screen soon in the next “Devil Wears Prada” and this deals with her trying to have a specific dress made, although it’s more like a literal Devil, as there are some scenes with a ghost. Although the ghost is just a huge red garment, making me think this could’ve been titled “The Phantom Thread.” Hathaway plays a famous singer who had a bizarre incident on stage. She’s now making a comeback, and wants her old friend and dressmaker to design the perfect outfit. She’s played by Michaela Coel, a British writer, director, and actress, who has a very interesting presence on screen. It’s a shame there couldn’t have been a better movie for these two to be in. Hathaway does her own singing, with songs written by Charli XCX and FKA twigs. I’ll give you this warning, though. You’ll hate this movie. It’s a boring, pretentious mess. It’s going on my “worst of the year” list. 0 stars.
I SWEAR
I’m going to be the only critic on the planet who felt this way about the movie – I loved it, but at the same time, had very little sympathy for the main character. Here’s why. He supposedly has Tourette’s Syndrome. That affects only 1% of the population, and his form of it is called “coprolali” which only effects 10% of that 1% (meaning 1 in 1,000). That causes him to curse. That, I could have sympathy with. But when he decided to show up at the BAFTA film awards (the UK version of the Oscars) – he yelled the n-word at cast members from Sinners. He yelled an f-word at the gay show host. Well, if he does this, why did he attend that awards show, making it uncomfortable for so many? And why is this a condition doctors don’t even understand? I did a deep dive about it, and it made even less sense. People with this will say entire sentences about somebody, with the most vile language. In the movie, which is a very enjoyable and sad picture, we see him bringing tea to his boss. And he spits in it. He also tells the boss he used a certain bodily fluid for the milk in the tea. Yeah, that’s apparently another part of this condition. Oh, and he punches a dog and an older lady in the face. Why? Well, again, the blame goes to his rare form of Tourette’s. When he finds out his friend’s mom has cancer, he meets her and immediately blurts out, “You’re gonna die from cancer!”
When he eats a meal, he is compelled to spit his food in the face of anybody sitting near him. Oh, and he also flips random people off. See why it’s hard for me to have sympathy for a “condition” like this? You should be in an asylum if this is how you function in life – punching women in the face, calling random women “sluts,” hitting dogs, etc. And as my wife and I both point out – he should be doing a better job with his apologies or explanations to the random people that are victims of his assaults (whether verbal or physical), instead of him merely saying “sorry, I have Tourette’s” and shuffling off with a slight smile on his face. And I have all the sympathy in the world for someone that stutters, or has the form of Tourette’s that causes tics or guttural sounds or yelps…but all the things he does in life – get out of here! British filmmaker Kirk Jones made one of my favorite movies of 1998 (Waking Ned Devine), and with the casting of Shirley Henderson as the worn-out mom dealing with her son, the son’s being played brilliantly by two different actors (one as a kid, one as an adult), it’s an enjoyable watch. It’s so touching to see his friend’s mom really help John Davidson with his struggles, as well as a man that ends up employing him. It’s also rather touching to see how he’s helping others and became an activist (hence his meeting with the Queen; any guesses on what he says to her?). As I said, it’s a great movie, and I think everyone will enjoy it. 3 ½ stars out of 5.