No One Dies in Lily Dale - not easily convinced

No One Dies In Lily Dale
Directed by: Steven Cantor
Documentary - HBO

Do I believe in Ghosts and or Spirits? Yes. Do I believe energies and spirits surround us? Of course. Do I think that there are certain gifted people that can see, feel and communicate with people that have passed and are now ghosts aka spirits? No.

I must say - when I read the title of this film and read its plot I was quite intrigued. I consider myself an open minded person when it comes to issues of spirituality and the super natural - HOWEVER I am quite the cynic when it comes to "certain people" being the only gifted ones able to "see" in these situations.

Lily Dale is a small town in upstate New York - that has the largest number of "registered" mediums recorded. They consider themselves a Spiritual Community. People travel there for readings, tourists go to feed their deepest curiosities and the inhabitants are there to "Answer questions" and of course, profit.

The documentary follows a select group of mediums - follows their daily life and does a bit of background on how they found their "gifts". They have these big open events - kind of like they did on John Edwards shows - you pay a fee, they spurt out a situation that has to get close to someone out of the 100 people there...you know the rest.

This movie had the POTENTIAL to be awesomely intriguing and interesting. Instead it was predictable and almost cheesy. At one point they showed a group of mediums - who said they get together and have a round table reading together so that they can read for each other! They all had their eyes closed and were talking in their soft whispery NPR voices and kept saying things like "Joe, you know your brother has been hanging around..." and then Joe says "Yes I have felt that, thank you Katherine for confirming that for me...". There are even 3 sisters who talk openly about seeing their dead parents in every day life. "You know Joan, mother is waving some hot brownies at you and giggling!" I am not trivializing this - this is the kind of things they were saying to each other. It was too cheesy to be real.

Am I am cynic? In some ways yes! Do i "believe"? Yes I do. I don't think ANYONE should have to pay for such spiritual and sensitive information and that if we all try and hone our skills - we all would be able to have these types of abilities at some level. As babies and children I feel we have these raw abilities and they are slowly suppressed as we grow and mature - to help fit what is "normal".

Almost every Medium in this movie told a customer at some point that their crossed over loved one, "Is at peace and doesn't want you to worry, know that they are fine...". Is that really what all ghosts and spirits think? I know there are angry spirits, and worrisome spirits, and sad and happy spirits. Show me a mad one! I want to see that! Don't just show me the happy stuff - how fake is that!

My rating for this movie is a 3 out of 5 stars. For such an amazing topic - it needed more depth and imagination. I would have liked to hear more into the background of the mediums and heard what death turned on or off their abilities.

My opinion - skip the flick and work on your own skills.

The Stoning of Soraya M. - Simply Stunning

The Stoning of Soraya M.
Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh
2008

Staring: Shohreh Aghdashloo, James Caviezel

My first thoughts after seeing this movie. Amazing, moving and utterly horrible. From the producer of the Passion of the Christ - this movie transports you to this tragic moment.

In Southwestern Iran, roughly thirty-five miles outside of the city of Kerman, lies the small village of Kupayeh. In 1986, French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam (played by James Caviezel) found himself stranded in this small mountain town. After walking a ways he finds an old man and basically forces him to fix his car. Everyone seems to be doing everything they can do get him, this foreigner that looks unlike them, to leave as quickly as he came.

Zahra, (Played flawlessly by Shohreh Aghdashloo) who feverishly relates a terrifying village conspiracy involving blackmail, misogyny, and murder. Zahra tells the journalist that she, as a woman in Iran, no longer has a voice and she pleads with him to "take her voice" and tell the world her story.

Zahra is the aunt of Soraya - a young beautiful iranian wife and mother of 4. We find Soraya struggling with a cheating and abusive husband - however because of the religious laws and culture, she was in trouble with the local mullas for not 'LAYING" with her husband.

Mozhan Marno plays Soraya. She portrays such an amazing balance of strength, silence and forced obedience. Mozhan was Soraya and made her so believable. Her horribly evil and decietful husband, Ali was played by Navid Negahban. His performance was chilling. I was scared of him. Honestly I was almost afraid of every man in this film.

The fact that this movie was a TRUE STORY and a COMMON PRACTICE made it that much more heartbreaking. I found myself weeping but not being able to tear my eyes away from the screen.


However, the women in this movie truly were its strength. The powerhouses that were the women during this era in Iran - but at the same time how submissive they had to be. It was a strange dichotomy to watch unfold but also such an admiring thing to witness. These women had their local faith leaders, their husbands, the laws of the land and every other man in their village, against them. "Here a woman must prove her innocence and a man must prove his guilt". That pretty much outlined the entire movie plot. The strength in their eyes, in their tears and in their jaws was mesmerizing. Shohreh was paralyzing in some scenes where she was reprimanding local men for their action, knowing full well her actions were punishable.

So the end of the movie isnt a secret -- its in the title. You know its coming and that it will happen. So I am not ruining anything. What was shocking was HOW it happened and how they played out the moments before and after - that will not ruin. It is done in a way that takes your breath away and may be too visceral for some. You spend half the movie learning Soraya's story and know the moment is coming - however knowing the injustice makes the moment that much more horrible to experience.

For me the REASON she was stoned was so hard to swallow. The injustices against women in that part of the world - even to this day - are hard to believe when you live in America.

I am one of those liberal women who still think women have far to go to be equal in America - but when I see a movie like this, it really gives me some perspective and even if just for a few moments, makes me appreciative of our government, our laws and our freedom.

I have many Persian friends, and the one part of the movie I enjoyed was the Farsi and subtitled and then the small amounts of English that were thrown in. The translation from Farsi to English is humorous at times - words and phrases that are horrible in Farsi arent so horrible in English ("poison of snake") etc.

This movie is a must see for all adults - no children under 15 should see this, in my opinion - the stoning scene is very graphic and emotionally difficult.

Rating: *****

Available on Netflixs instant play now

Ghetto Ballet - a touching story that still shows the brutal side of the dance world

GHETTO BALLET
Directed by: Jeremy Simmons
HBO Documentary

The movie takes place in a small township outside of Capetown, South Africa. Labeled as one of the poorest townships in the area - the movie focuses on a handful of youth, trying to break out of township.

A program called DANCE FOR ALL - was started in Cape Town (a bus ride away) and these teens saw it as their ticket out. Dance for All was created in 1991 by white ballet dancer and teacher, Philip Boyd. Boyd wanted to bring change to the segregated ballet culture and to this day teaches 1000 youth from the townships that would not otherwise be able to have the opportunity to take a dance class.
Now you can imagine this program would be overrun with kids if it was just open classes. Once a year they have auditions, to find youth that have rare and raw talent that they can work with. After one year of training, they will have exams and have a chance to be invited to the Youth Company connected to the school and is the stepping stone to a professional company.



This story spotlights on Simbalke, Vuyelwa, Tusili, and Fiona. The film touchingly follows their daily life, where ballet, dancing and a dream of being a ballerina, is the farthest from reality, but that somehow this dream helps them get through their days. We watch their training process and their diet control, which was an interesting part of the story-line. Many of the families don't have a healthy diet because of money - watching the kids try to become healthy eaters with the little they have, it difficult but inspiring.

Without ruining the story - I can tell you the anticipation of the exams and results is almost maddening! A few kids almost become sick - just lamenting, explaining that if they doesn't happen for them, they don't know what they will do. Then I realized that the "cut throat" ballet world was still existent in this movie, and it made me sad. The odds for the average youth in dance to "make it big" is slim to none. The odds for these kids are even less.

At this point the movie started to make me feel a bit sick. I just didn't think it was fair giving the kids a false hope that had little to no benefit for their future.

Then there was the exam scene. I watched Vuyelwa dance and heard her explain how she felt when she danced and realized - anything is possible. Surprisingly during the movie, one of the youth gets pulled out and offered a job with the Cape Town ballet, then BAM, professional career. On the other hand, another one of the youths parents don't like how much time she is spending dancing, they need her help at home, so she quits. One is accepted into the youth ballet, and one is rejected. The rejection was so hard to watch.

The dancing scenes and interviews were done beautifully. Overall the story is touching and inspiring. A great movie for anyone in the dance world or with appreciation for it.

Rating: ****

The Sailfish Bar and Grill - Good when its open...

Sailfish Grill
104 N Lewis St
Monroe, WA 98272

(360) 794-4056

This small, exclusive, upscale eatery has been a fixture in Monroe for atleast the 9 years we have been here. Its a bit pricey but the quality of the food is worth it.

Its a hit or miss finding them open. They have hours posted, but I swear we have been there a few times at a "normal" restaurant hour, and they have been shut up for the night.

We arrived late and there were a few people in the bar. The kitchen is lovely and open so you can see the chef's creating. The staff was sitting at a booth relaxing when we came in. A sweet boy in no noticeable uniform sat us with a smile. For a restaurant that has the kind of food and prices they have, I was surprised to see him in street clothes. I mean literally like pants and a flannel. I guess we ARE in Monroe still, ha.


The menu is small but there are choices - because their specialty is seafood - we opted for the Crab Cakes. They were light and very savory - lots of herbs and the sauce was a great complement.

We both chose pasta dishes for our main dishes. Now for someone who is VERY picky about pasta - their pasta was on the chewy side. It was almost like they tried alittle too hard to make it Aldente.

Flavor-wise both dishes were great. One was penne pasta with salmon in a light parmesean sauce, with grilled vegetables, all topped with freshly grated Parmesean. The other was Linguini with grilled shrimp in a creamy pesto sauce, with grilled vegetables on the side. Both were full of flavor and generous portions.



I have to say - dessert was almost better than dinner. I decided to have their version of Flan and my husband had chocolate chip bread pudding. Both were divine - made with rich creams and served warm.

Most definately in the top 5 best restaurants in Monroe - Sailfish is a must try when you are in the area and feeling like a nicer upscale place for dinner.

RATING" ****

All Balanchine = All Beautiful

All Balanchine
Pacific Northwest Ballet
April 15-25

"Balanchine was a choreographer of true practicality and spontaneity." said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal - in the Director's notes for this Season's All Balanchine.

I can only imagine the difficulty Peter Boal experienced in picking 3 pieces from all of Balanchine's work. The 3 he chose - while I had my favorites, were all nothing short of gorgeous, well danced and breathtaking.


Serenade was a beautiful display of the Core ballet and was very pleasing to the eye. Gorgeous white tool dresses, clean classic buns, and long limbs, all very Balanchine. It was then I realized that Mr. Boal had a classic Balanchine company on his hands, and besides Balanchine's original company (NYC Ballet) PNB was marvelously representing the art and the history of such a ground breaking Choreographer.

Serenade reminded me of the joys of spring - with lovely lines - shimmering drops of humor fell like spring rain, a flexed foot here - an off center line there. Just enough to make you cock your head and smile at the lovely risk he (Balanchine) took. The principal dancers that night showed their love for the choreography, rather effortlessly. Its as if I almost saw them SIGH as they danced, happy to be doing a style they loved and literally breathing in and out their talent.

In Serenade 2 artist stuck out the most for me - Laura Gilbreath was astounding. Her extension, her lines and her weighlessness was mesmorizing. I felt like her dancing was light and fast and simply lovely. The other was Ariana Lallone. Going on 25 years with this company - Ariana showed the depth of her understanding and experience of Balanchine. She embodied what I believe he wanted to audience to see and she truly was gorgeous to watch. All of her steps exuded depth, maturity and experience. Both dancers were such a pleasure to watch specifically - and the entire company really did wonderfully as well.


Square Dance - the second piece, was my favorite of the 3. I love the speed and preciseness that Balanchine brought to this work. Rachel Foster and Bejamin Griffiths were the principals in this piece. Not only were they perfectly paired, but I felt they were made for the parts. Benjamin showed such an amazing joy and energy, it was radiated to all around him and to the entire McCaw audience. Rachel Foster was flawless. I have seen her perform several times and have had mixed feelings, but truly this was the best performance I have ever seen her in. She was light, precise, technically superior and amazingly swift in her most difficult role. Her gorgeous smile was testiment to her performance, she knew she ruled the night and she truly earned "Diva" status.

The Four Temperaments was the last piece and honestly I found it a bit slow in parts. Looking back the reason I think is because it followed such a high action and face paced ballet. I would have felt differently, had they been switched in the line up. Still there were beautiful parts. The 3 dancers that stood out for me were Jonathan Poretta, Olivier Wevers and Lindsi Dec. Jonathan shows such amazing power and lines, he often makes me gasp as I watch, just shocking thing things his body is able to do. His intensity during this show was a pleasure to see. Olivier is such a different type of dancer - so soft, wonderful fluidity and an amazing eye for his fellow dancers. He uses his talent to weave (no pun intended) a wonderful painting with the Core that surrounds him. I find myself smiling continuously while watching him dance.

Finally - Lindsi Dec is a true star this season. She has blossomed as an upcoming soloist and has dominated all of her lead roles this year. This piece was no different. Her determination to show perfect lines and effortless choreography is principal dancer material. She is quickly joining the ranks of her fellow dancers, Korbes and Nakamura in becoming a spotlight female in the company.

I have been so impressed with the selection of pieces Peter Boal has chosen for this season - and this truly was a lovely, enchanting and breathtaking way to begin the Spring and almost end the dance season. I am literally giddy with anticipation of the final show in the season - often called The Happiest Ballet in the world - Peter Boal adds Coppelia (June 3-13th) into his wonderfully broad and colorful repertoire. With whispers of Italian designed sets and costumes and choregraphy by Balanchine once again - I have a feeling the NW is in for a ballet they will never forget and flock to see for years to come....

Rating: ***** Excellent and Lovely - go see it this weekend - the last weekend!