Section 2 PLEASANTON WEEKLY Livingliving Summer Fun
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May 16, 2008 INSIDE Real Estate ........... 29 Open Home Guide ..... 33 Section 2 www.PleasantonWeekly.com PLEASANTON WEEKLY LivingLiving Summer fun City offers new classesis forall kids in wellness,around the arts and more by Emily Atwood 20 to Aug. 1 (no class on July 4) from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the ids are getting antsy at Veterans Memorial Building. The their school desks, the cost is $120 for residents or $132 Kweather is warmer and a for non-residents. jam-packed city activity guide Another couple of new classes has been released—summer must teach athletes how to nutrition- be around the corner. The guide ally prepare for competition. has more than 220 activities for When should you load the carbs, kids, teens, adults and seniors, or should you at all? Are energy with several new offerings. bars and sports drinks really There are many exercise and helpful? Learn the facts July 29 wellness classes, and a new one at the Tennis and Community this year is yoga for parents and Park clubroom. Athletes ages 8 children (code 43420). Instructor to 13 are invited to the 10:30 to Beth Fox will guide parents and 11:30 class (code 43445), while children (ages 5 and up) in poses ages 13 to 18 will meet from like walking the dog, balanc- noon to 1 p.m. (code 43446). ing like birds and slithering like Both classes are $20 for resi- snakes. Kids and parents must dents or $23 for non-residents, bring a yoga mat, and children plus a $5 supply fee due at the From fitness to the arts, must be with a parent or adult who beginning of class. the city of Pleasanton is at least 18 years old. The class Children wanting to have fun offers a host of summer meets on six Fridays from June activities for all ages. (continued on page 23) *i>Ã>ÌÊ7iiÞÊUÊ>ÞÊ£È]ÊÓäänÊU Page 21 Living The independence you want, the assistance you need. Now Showing Speed Racer es and rib-tickling ★ ★ ★ humor care of Rating: PG for sequences of action, Spritle and Chim some violence and language. Chim nearly make 2 hours, 15 minutes. “Speed” worth the admission price and The Wachowski brothers haven’t helmed bloated 135-minute a film since 2003’s disappointing “The Matrix runtime. Hirsch Revolutions.” The siblings seem to be a bit rusty. is tremendously Their big-screen, big-budget adaptation of the charismatic and popular “Speed Racer” anime series is like the embraces the roll, independence is all about choice. Willy Wonka of racing movies. bringing depth to Colorful, vibrant and cartoonish to a fault, an otherwise one- ■ Apartments with kitchenettes “Speed” is a visual feast that nearly warrants dimensional charac- ■ A wide array of amenities a warning for epileptics in the opening credits. ter. Fox shines as ■ On-site memory care But the picture is also incredibly faithful to the Racer X in both his source material and should thoroughly impress performance and Call Today! the show’s diverse fanbase. physicality. The best Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch of “Into the Wild”) non-racing action 925/ 461-3042 has become the wunderkind of the auto-racing scenes in the film revolve around Fox, whether www.eskaton.org world. Studying from his older brother Rex and he’s duking it out with a ninja or battling a handful managed by Eskaton miles of practice have pushed Speed to the of mobsters. Litt is a revelation as the free-spirited forefront of the sport. But the devastating loss Spritle and his dynamic with Chim Chim repre- of Rex in a tragic crash still permeates the Racer sents the film’s much-needed humor. THE PARKVIEW family. Although Speed’s parents, Mom (Susan The Wachowskis clearly did their homework— ASSISTED LIVING IN PLEASANTON License #015601283 Sarandon) and Pops (John Goodman), continue techniques used in the show are re-created ad to support his full-throttle fervor, Speed himself nauseam. Close-up, transition and visual-effect always seems to be chasing the ghost of his tricks grow tiresome, especially when foreground buried brother. and background images cross paths repeatedly. When revelations surface that most races The racing scenes—which take place on wild, are fixed and a greedy megalomaniac named winding tracks—range from thrilling to completely Royalton (Roger Allam) essentially controls the disorienting. But kids will be enamored by the sport, Speed teams with the mysterious Racer flashy set design and entertaining characters. X (Matthew Fox) to bring a sense of honor back Strong messages about integrity and family ties to racing. With the help of his devoted girlfriend rise above the roar of engines, and the compelling ELDAR IN CONCERT Trixie (Christina Ricci), his younger brother Spritle climax caps the film perfectly. (Paulie Litt) and Chim Chim, the family’s pet chim- Fans of the show and families in need of a A most formidable young jazz pianist panzee, Speed strives to win a dangerous cross- fun excursion should race to the theater without Young piano sensation Eldar, originally from Kyrgyztan, country rally called The Crucible and prove not all is one of the most formidable jazz musicians of his haste—all others can drop into first gear and wait generation. A sophisticated and astonishing performer drivers can be bought. for “Speed” to pull into Netflix. of well-chosen jazz standards, Eldar is also beginning to A top-notch cast, exciting action sequenc- —Tyler Hanley reveal his own emerging musical vision as a creative art- ist, with original compositions of complex structure and free-flowing expression. Friday, May 16 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets $28, $31, $36, $11 Students Ready to Rent SPENCERS THEATRE OF ILLUSION The Diving Bell and the Butterfly of daily living and Astonishing magic for the entire family Miramax DVD occasional elations One of the most elaborate and popular illusion shows 1 hour, 52 minutes of self-reflection touring today, this high-tech stage extravaganza combines Director: Julian Schnabel they cause. He is drama, comedy, romance and suspense with dazzling first taught how special effects and magnificent set design. Described as Director Julian Schnabel and his hero Jean- to communicate “Modern Day Houdini’s,” the Spencers take audiences on a Dominique Bauby employ Kafka’s sense of the through his only roller coaster ride as they propel the age-old art of magic absurd towards the beginning of the equally mas- mobile append- into the 21st century. terful and cold “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Sunday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. age—by blinking Tickets $24, $28, $31, $11 Students From Bauby’s perspective, with the camera as his his left eyelid—and and our iris, we wake to the sight of an out-of-focus sets off speaking room with cold mid-day sunlight pouring through with the aid of the CHANTICLEER the windows, while the audio track is laced with listener reciting the An orchestra of voices Bauby’s deservedly confused inner-monologue. alphabet. First his “The world’s reigning male chorus” – The New Yorker. As his senses return, he finds he cannot move, his friends visit, then Chanticleer celebrates its 30th Season of vocal inter- memory is absent, and as his eyes adjust, he real- his estranged wife pretations that range from Renaissance to jazz, gos- izes that he is in the hospital, with several doctors Celine (a very good pel to new music. With its seamless blend of twelve hovering over his likeness. One particular physician Emmanuelle Seinger) and children, all of who are male voices, from countertenor to bass, the Grammy with huge eyebrows sits beside his bed and tells Award-winning ensemble has earned international in a state of shock. What Schnabel does not do renown as “an orchestra of voices.” him that he has had a stroke, which has paralyzed with these scenes, very wisely I feel, is to give into Friday, May 23 at 8:00 p.m. his entire body sans his eyes—a “locked-in syn- a state of Capra-like sentimentalism and especially Tickets $28, $31, $36, $41, $11 Students drome.” We hear Bauby groan that this is all he with the potential the material has to offer in the “It’s needed, whose voice echoes Joseph K’s sense of a Wonderful Life” territory. PREMIERE SAXOPHONE QUARTET peculiar disorder. Not to say that there are not affecting moments, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is based upon there are many indeed. The most moving and one Del Valle Fine Arts Bauby’s own tale of his inner life after his physical of the best pieces of acting from last year are in a Four Bay Area musicians with wide-ranging experi- one. Bauby was a journalist and editor of ELLE, ence as soloists, orchestral players and teachers flashback between Bauby and his father (played formed The Premiere Saxophone Quartet in 2005. a man we’re told was at the height of his pow- with perfect regality by Max Von Sydow). It is a Together Dale Wolford (soprano), Kevin Stewart ers when his stroke set on. No wonder director scene that, especially between two men, rings (alto), David Henderson (tenor), and Aaron Lington Schnabel, whose “Basquiat” chronicled the rise so true as the two dance around each other (baritone), perform a diverse repertoire of music and fall of the New York pop artist and “Before in a discussion that involves childhood, family reflecting their varied experiences in classical music Night Falls” captured the life of writer Reinaldo and work. There is an overall chilly quality to the and jazz.