Trolls take over Filoli

They’re huge and hairy, have names like Ibbi Pip and Sofus Lotus and possibly eat humans. They’re Giant Trolls, and they’ll soon be coming to a forest near you.

On Saturday, the exhibit “Trolls: Save the Humans” opens at the historic Filoli gardens in San Mateo County to run through early November. A half-dozen humongous creatures made of recycled materials like construction wood will take up residence among the redwood groves and meadow blooms. They’re the work of Danish artist and dumpster diver Thomas Dambo, who has “hidden” his trolls in at least 17 countries including Ireland, Australia and China — there’s even one skulking around in a nature museum in Solvang, California, called Lulu Hyggelig.

According to the artist’s lore, these sometimes 15-foot abominations — sorry, magical creatures — are locked in an eternal debate on whether to save humans despite their polluting, destructive ways, or (chomp chomp!) just devour them. When you take your kids to Filoli to meet the trolls, ask them which they’d prefer.

“The outdoor exhibition will fuse fairytales, whims and monumental scale,” write the Filoli folks, “to inspire visitors to explore themes such as recycling and reusing trash, the importance of plants and gardens, art and more.”

Details: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside; general admission $36; filoli.org.

— John Metcalfe, Staff

Mumford’s the word in this tour

Mumford & Sons have their eyes set on the Bay Area.

The London folk-rock outfit — led by vocalist-guitarist Marcus Mumford and featuring bassist Ted Dwane and keyboardist Ben Lovett — is set to perform a two-night stand, Monday and Tuesday, at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.

The band is touring in support of its long-awaited fifth studio album, “Rushmere,” which is the first full-length Mumford & Sons outing since 2018’s “Delta.” (The group did, however, release the live EP, “Delta Tour,” in 2020.)

Both shows are sold out, underscoring that the band hasn’t lost any of its popularity during its time away from the studio. Yet, ducats can still be had on the secondary ticket market (think Stubhub, Ticketmaster, etc.)

Formed in 2007, Mumford & Sons wasted little time in hitting it big, as the 2009 debut “Sigh No More” reached the No. 2 spot in both the band’s native U.K. and the U.S.

The 2012 follow-up “Babel” was a chart-topper in multiple countries (including the U.S. and the U.K.) and sold millions of copies. It also won the Grammy for album of the year in 2013.

Details: 7 p.m. for both shows; apeconcerts.com.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

Classical picks: La Boheme; ‘Espana’ in San Jose

Summer’s here, and the music is lovely. These upcoming classical music events have much to offer, from the brilliance of “La Bohème,” now in performance at San Francisco Opera, to a performance of an iconic Spanish work in San Jose.

“Bohéme” bliss: Opera lovers never get over the emotional impact of “La Bohème” — Puccini’s opera based on Henri Murger’s 1851 novel, never fails to thrill. Now the opera about four young bohemians living for art in a chilly Paris apartment is back in the first of San Francisco Opera’s summer productions. Conducted by Ramón Tebar and starring Karen Chia-ling Ho, Nicole Carr, Pene Pati, and Evan LeRoy Johnson, it’s sure to warm your heart and leave you with beautiful memories. Details: Performances through June 21, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; tickets $28-up; sfopera.com.

A Spanish Salute: Symphony San Jose has a big season finale in store. Titled “España” and conducted by José Luis Gomez, the program features guitarist Rafael Aguirre in Rodrigo’s thrilling “Concierto de Aranjuez.” Works by Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov and Gabriela Lena Frank complete the program. Arrive one hour early for pre-concert festivities. Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; California Theatre, San Jose; $24-$121.50; symphonysanjose.org.

From the Left Coast: If it’s new music you crave, mark your calendars for the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble’s upcoming concert. Titled “Spring Contrasts,” the program spans music by Bartók, Roberto Sierra, Mel Bonis, Kevin Day, and Hannah Kendall. Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Piedmont Center for the Arts; 7:30 p.m. Monday at Noe Valley Ministry, San Francisco; $5-$35; leftcoastensemble.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

two ways to die (for the price of one)

It doesn’t sound like it should work, a horror film that is both a serial-killer thriller and a killer-shark movie. Credit an airtight screenplay from up-and-coming scribe Nick Lepard along with taut direction from Sean Byrne and a go-for-broke performance from Jai Courtney for making “Dangerous Animals” swim upstream and beat the odds.

Courtney is a devilish delight as nutso Aussie fisherman and tourist guide Tucker. He makes a living, and killings, by taking unsuspecting tourists out on his boat so they can see sharks up close in underwater cages. His intentions are deadlier than that. When the resourceful, street-smart surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison, imbuing her final girl status with depth) enters Tucker’s lair, it’s only a matter of time till she’ll be swimming with the fishes or becoming chum for a shark. Zephyr’s sudden disappearance seems awfully suspicious to her one-night hottie beau Moses (Josh Heuston) and he starts investigating her whereabouts.

Byrne’s efficient genre mashup doesn’t fuss around in telling its story, giving us enough wedges of character development so that we care about the two lovers while giving us good reason to want to spit at their predator, a seemingly unstoppable killing machine who fancies himself the human equivalent of a shark.

Details: Rated R (violence, gore, language, sex), one hour, 38 minutes run time; opens Friday in theaters.

— Randy Myers, Correspondent

Reality bites on television

Here are three new reality TV shows of note.

“Love Island USA”: Ariana Madix has returned to Fiji as host of a new season this show that big shoes to fill. Last season was the top-rated reality series of 2024. It also broke through the cultural zeitgeist with social media memes and water cooler conversation. Madix says she’s not worried about duplicating that success, and wants the contestants to focus on “creating their own lane by being truly themselves and bringing themselves to it, you’ll never lose by doing that.” Details: Airing six nights a week on Peacock.

Cavallari returns: As a teenager, Kristin Cavallari was a breakout of the MTV reality series “Laguna Beach” because of her unfiltered honesty. She’s carried that with her throughout other reality shows and to her podcast “Let’s Be Honest.” Cameras rolled when Cavallari took the podcast on the road in March. That will air as the docuseries “Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour.” Details: Available to stream on Peacock.

Shaq attack: Shaquille O’Neal’s “Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal” is an inside look at his efforts as president of Reebok’s basketball division. Allen Iverson is vice president. Both have a history with the brand. The series will show the two pro ballplayers work to make Reebok Basketball cool and competitive in the sneaker market. Details: Available on Netflix

— Associated Press