A few random thoughts about the Oscars last night:
• TiVo+Oscars=Genius: Seriously, I don't think I'll ever watch again without the ability to skip the boring stuff.
• New format: In general, I liked it. The whole program seemed snappier and more to the point. The idea of going through the awards in the Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production categories worked pretty well for me.
• The actors/actresses giving laudatory blurbs about the actor/actress nominees: Touching at best, awkward at worst, in general worked well except for being a little bit long. The actors certainly seemed to appreciate it, although lord knows they don't need their egos stroked any more.
• Funniest parts: Steve Martin/Tina Fey. The cinematographer telling someone to suck it (or something similar) and then apologizing immediately.
• Hugh Jackman: At first I was like, "why?" But he ended up being pretty good and generally did what the host should do- stay out of the way. He was funnier then I expected him to be, and his opening number was good. If you're not going to have a John Stewart or a Letterman do the hosting, someone like Jackman is fine.
• Hotness: Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Frieda Pinto (woman from Slumdog Millionaire), and (surprisingly, for me) Natalie Portman.
• Notness: Goldie Hawn, Jack Black, Tilda Swinton, Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslett (I know everyone else loves her)
• Slumdog Millionaire: Good. Glad it won. I haven't seen all of the movies, but Slumdog was easily my favorite of the ones I have seen.
• Benjamin Button: Not particularly good. In fact, pretty mediocre. Glad it didn't win much.
• Milk/Sean Penn: Great movie. Excellent performance- he really nailed Harvey's characteristics. Oops, didn't thank the wife and kids...
• WallE/Pixar: Won the well deserved Animation Oscar. I touched the Oscar today at Pixar. Awesome. We lost the Post categories which is unfortunate but predictable- few people understand how much work/talent it takes to create an entire soundtrack (and in this case an entire cast of characters) from scratch.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pot Roast
On Saturday, I made a Beer Braised Pot Roast with some friends. Currently, slow cooking is my favorite way to prepare meat. Really leads to unparalleled tenderness and delicious flavors. The problem is that you often need a whole day to do it. We used a recipe from the Food Network, without any real additions. Actually, we threw the bacon back into the sauce while the meat was braising because the recipe doesn't specify what to do with it and we figured it certainly couldn't hurt. We didn't use the mushrooms because a couple of us don't eat mushrooms.
The meat paired REALLY well with the polenta described in the same recipe. The creaminess of the polenta complimented the braising liquid nicely and also created a nice surface to hold the shredded meat and sauce. I'd like to try this again with a darker beer- we used High Life because that's what we had on hand. I might also try it without the tomato- just to see if more of the meat/beer flavors come out when there's less acid.
All in all, a hearty meal that's pretty easy to prepare aside from the long roasting time. I'd make it again for sure.
The meat paired REALLY well with the polenta described in the same recipe. The creaminess of the polenta complimented the braising liquid nicely and also created a nice surface to hold the shredded meat and sauce. I'd like to try this again with a darker beer- we used High Life because that's what we had on hand. I might also try it without the tomato- just to see if more of the meat/beer flavors come out when there's less acid.
All in all, a hearty meal that's pretty easy to prepare aside from the long roasting time. I'd make it again for sure.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Let me give you the elevator pitch of a movie premise:
A shy dude buys a sex doll on the internet but doesn't use it for sex. Instead, he talks to the doll ("Bianca") as if it was real and somehow gets his whole small town to play along. And, oh yeah, its not a comedy. It's totally serious. Bam.
There you have it, the plot of Lars and the Real Girl in a nutshell. Somehow, the movie still got made. Maybe they had a better pitch. For the movie to really work, the filmmakers need you (the viewer) to buy it. To buy that this poor shy man (Lars) in a small town somewhere in the north orders a doll online and really believes its a real person. To buy that the whole town cares so much about Lars that they play along with his "delusion" and incorporate Bianca (aka the doll) into their lives.
I didn't buy it. Maybe I'm a cynic. There was some great acting- Ryan Gosling was really good at expressing his character's inner turmoils non-verbally. Emily Mortimer's character exuded concern for Lars. The movie was enjoyable simply because I could watch Ryan Gosling's acting. However, I couldn't fully buy the town's complicity. I couldn't believe a doctor/therapist would tell everyone to play along with Lars' delusions and they would actually do it. It was just a little extreme- the townsfolk went beyond simply supporting Lars in his weirdness- they actually spent time and money on the sex doll themselves. Why? Ostensibly because they care so much about Lars.
In the end, it didn't ring true to me that a large group of people (we're talking a whole TOWN here) would make that kind of strange sacrifice for one, maladjusted (and definitely mentally troubled) introvert. I mean sure, I care about Lars too- I want him to be normal and happy. But I wouldn't take his doll with me to work or get her haircut. So I guess I'm a cynic and a terrible, heartless person. But then again, sex dolls don't have hearts either.
A shy dude buys a sex doll on the internet but doesn't use it for sex. Instead, he talks to the doll ("Bianca") as if it was real and somehow gets his whole small town to play along. And, oh yeah, its not a comedy. It's totally serious. Bam.
There you have it, the plot of Lars and the Real Girl in a nutshell. Somehow, the movie still got made. Maybe they had a better pitch. For the movie to really work, the filmmakers need you (the viewer) to buy it. To buy that this poor shy man (Lars) in a small town somewhere in the north orders a doll online and really believes its a real person. To buy that the whole town cares so much about Lars that they play along with his "delusion" and incorporate Bianca (aka the doll) into their lives.
I didn't buy it. Maybe I'm a cynic. There was some great acting- Ryan Gosling was really good at expressing his character's inner turmoils non-verbally. Emily Mortimer's character exuded concern for Lars. The movie was enjoyable simply because I could watch Ryan Gosling's acting. However, I couldn't fully buy the town's complicity. I couldn't believe a doctor/therapist would tell everyone to play along with Lars' delusions and they would actually do it. It was just a little extreme- the townsfolk went beyond simply supporting Lars in his weirdness- they actually spent time and money on the sex doll themselves. Why? Ostensibly because they care so much about Lars.
In the end, it didn't ring true to me that a large group of people (we're talking a whole TOWN here) would make that kind of strange sacrifice for one, maladjusted (and definitely mentally troubled) introvert. I mean sure, I care about Lars too- I want him to be normal and happy. But I wouldn't take his doll with me to work or get her haircut. So I guess I'm a cynic and a terrible, heartless person. But then again, sex dolls don't have hearts either.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Trilogy Meter
Someone posted this at work today, and since I haven't watched any movies to talk about, I think I'll comment on this.
The first glaring problem I see is under Indiana Jones. Temple of Doom (#2, for those who don't know) should really not be included on any lists ever. It just sucks. But since you need three movies to make a trilogy, and lord knows Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is even worse than Temple of Doom, I'm willing to reconcile with its existence at all on this chart. That said, it is certainly significantly worse than Last Crusade. Like maybe all the way down ala Godfather 3.
Next big problem I have is with the Lord of the Rings rankings. I think all three rankings should be a little higher, with Return of the King being the highest by a small margin. This is probably the best trilogy on this list by a pretty decent margin and I would like to see that reflected.
I agree that The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) was the best of the three. I think I like Mad Max (the original) more than Beyond Thunderdome. Or at least the same.
Back to the Future 2 is clearly better than Back to the Future 3. I mean, hover skateboards. 'nuff said. Terminator 1 is a lot closer to Terminator 2. Terminator 2 did have cool metal-melting-man action, but Terminator 1 was scarier in some ways cause it didn't rely on FX as heavily. I always like that.
Finally, there's the Alien Trilogy. Really, its tremendously difficult to put Alien and Aliens on the same list. They're completely different genres with little in common aside from some crossover characters. Alien is a horror movie- an old fashioned monster-based horror movie that's scary because you don't see the monster too much and never know when its going to strike. Its dark, wet, full of flashing lights, and relatively light on the gun play. Its paced more slowly so tension builds and you never know when the monster will pop out. Its probably among the scariest movies I've ever seen, especially on the big screen [NOTE: The scariest movie I've ever seen is probably Event Horizon, but that's a story for a different time]. Aliens, while still retaining some horror elements, is really an action movie. Its shooting, gore, tanks, and wow factor visuals. It's fast paced, non-stop action. It ends with a fight between an alien and a person in an exoskeleton robot suit.
Both are good movies in their respective genres, but Alien is more special and unique, and therefore should be rated higher in a side by side comparison.
Finally, there are a few of these that I haven't seen all three of. Most of them, I probably won't:
Star Trek, Superman, Jurassic Park (there's a third one?), Spiderman, Jaws (see Jurassic Park comment), Planet of the Apes, Rambo (I might see the third one some day).
And yes, I am quite upset that the American Pie trilogy is not on this list.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Last Picture Show (1971)
One of Peter Bogdanovich's first films, The Last Picture Show had been on my list of movies I should see for quite a while. A rainy Sunday evening with the movie streaming straight to my TiVo from Netflix proved a perfect excuse to check it off.
An interesting film, in general, although my initial feeling was that it was a little bit slow. After thinking about it a little more, I've come to appreciate some of the more subtle elements of the film. The movie was made in the early 70s, but generally reads as if it was shot in the 50s- contemporary to the action in the plot. Without getting too meta, the semi-old fashioned style of the movie helps highlight the themes of a changing America. The small town in Texas (can't remember the name, but it's like Abilene) is slowly dying as more of its population go to the larger cities for work. Bogdanovich uses a dying (or at least aging) filmic style to capture the slow decay of small town, 50s style America. And its all encapsulated nicely in the metaphor of the closing of the town's "picture house" - how meta can you get.
I liked the way that the main characters coming of age stories mirror the coming of age of the small town and in many ways the coming of age of America. I liked the way Bogdanovich referred to film history to support the theme of the film, and place the audience in the right frame.
This movie lost out to The French Connection for best picture that year. I understand why- The French Connection was certainly flashier and probably more innovative cinematically, and probably felt more timely to the early 70s audience. The Last Picture Show, however, is successful as a "period piece" of sorts, doing a solid job of capturing the America of the 50s.
An interesting film, in general, although my initial feeling was that it was a little bit slow. After thinking about it a little more, I've come to appreciate some of the more subtle elements of the film. The movie was made in the early 70s, but generally reads as if it was shot in the 50s- contemporary to the action in the plot. Without getting too meta, the semi-old fashioned style of the movie helps highlight the themes of a changing America. The small town in Texas (can't remember the name, but it's like Abilene) is slowly dying as more of its population go to the larger cities for work. Bogdanovich uses a dying (or at least aging) filmic style to capture the slow decay of small town, 50s style America. And its all encapsulated nicely in the metaphor of the closing of the town's "picture house" - how meta can you get.
I liked the way that the main characters coming of age stories mirror the coming of age of the small town and in many ways the coming of age of America. I liked the way Bogdanovich referred to film history to support the theme of the film, and place the audience in the right frame.
This movie lost out to The French Connection for best picture that year. I understand why- The French Connection was certainly flashier and probably more innovative cinematically, and probably felt more timely to the early 70s audience. The Last Picture Show, however, is successful as a "period piece" of sorts, doing a solid job of capturing the America of the 50s.
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Let me start this by saying that I'm not traditionally a fan of Romantic Comedies, Rom-Coms, or chick flicks. There are some that I've liked, but if I had to make a generalization about Romantic Comedies and Me, it would be that I hate them. Ok, hate is a strong word. But if I had to choose a category of movie that I would least like to watch, it would be French New Wave (yes, I know, film major blasphemy), followed closely by Romantic Comedies.
Julia, however, loves them. With that as the major deciding factor, combined with the facts that this movie appeared to mimic the only recent romantic comedy I actually enjoyed (Love Actually), it was Valentine's Day, and it was rainy-ish, we headed over to the theater-formerly-known-as-the-Kabuki (ok, its still called the Kabuki but it bares little resemblance to the original theater since Sundance took it over).
As I mentioned, there were things about this movie that made me think it might be similar to Love Actually, which I liked. The structure of Love Actually, with its ensemble cast and interlocking narrativevs worked really well for me- especially because it supported the theme that we are all connected by love. Cheesy? Certainly. But in Love Actually it was done well. Plus, everyone had British accents, which certainly didn't hurt the movie.
He's Just Not That Into You (HJNTIY) struck me as a feeble attempt to bottle the same kind of emotion. Except they kind of missed the memo about the interlocking narratives working well because they shared an overarching and universal theme. The result was a bunch of vignettes featuring characters that I didn't really care about, connected less through universal shared experiences than through chance and happenstance. The filmmakers tried to tie things together with semi-random "true life" pieces where they "interviewed" people on the street about various semi-love related topics. Sort of When Harry Met Sally but less charming and even more random.
There were a couple laughs- the only one I remember is at the very beginning of the movie when a little boy shoves a little girl on the playground and tells her she smells like poo. THAT was funny.
Julia, however, loves them. With that as the major deciding factor, combined with the facts that this movie appeared to mimic the only recent romantic comedy I actually enjoyed (Love Actually), it was Valentine's Day, and it was rainy-ish, we headed over to the theater-formerly-known-as-the-Kabuki (ok, its still called the Kabuki but it bares little resemblance to the original theater since Sundance took it over).
As I mentioned, there were things about this movie that made me think it might be similar to Love Actually, which I liked. The structure of Love Actually, with its ensemble cast and interlocking narrativevs worked really well for me- especially because it supported the theme that we are all connected by love. Cheesy? Certainly. But in Love Actually it was done well. Plus, everyone had British accents, which certainly didn't hurt the movie.
He's Just Not That Into You (HJNTIY) struck me as a feeble attempt to bottle the same kind of emotion. Except they kind of missed the memo about the interlocking narratives working well because they shared an overarching and universal theme. The result was a bunch of vignettes featuring characters that I didn't really care about, connected less through universal shared experiences than through chance and happenstance. The filmmakers tried to tie things together with semi-random "true life" pieces where they "interviewed" people on the street about various semi-love related topics. Sort of When Harry Met Sally but less charming and even more random.
There were a couple laughs- the only one I remember is at the very beginning of the movie when a little boy shoves a little girl on the playground and tells her she smells like poo. THAT was funny.
Valentine's Day Dining Part 2
What's says romance more than Valentine's Day dinner at a greasy neighborhood Chinese restaurant? Like earlier in the morning, we found ourselves hungry and without dinner plans following out less-than-stellar movie going experience (post to follow). Many restaurants get all crazy around Valentine's Day, so we were thinking somewhere decidedly un-fancy and somewhere close to home.
San Tung, our favorite Chinese restaurant was the first thing that popped into our heads. In retrospect, I wonder if it had something to do with Chinese food being a natural choice for holidays that I don't really celebrate (see: Christmas). At the time, it just sounded so good, and we hadn't been in a while. In fact, paralleling our breakfast experience the only real problem with San Tung is that it usually has a sizable wait, made even more stressful by the fact that the waiting list is a patron-maintained white board. That means that you have to be a little vigilant or names magically start appearing above yours...
At any rate, the fact that we keep going back and waiting should attest to the fact that the food is generally quite good. Or to the fact that they put crack in their chicken. Ok, not really. But Julia has taken to calling our favorite dish, "Crack Chicken." On the menu, however, you'll find it under "Dry Fried Chicken," with the options to have it served diced or on the bone, and dry or wet. We always go dry friend chicken diced dry. Even ordered dry, its quite saucy. I think we ordered it wet once, and it was just REALLY saucy. Most people, especially the Asian patrons, seem to order it on the bone, so maybe we're doing something wrong. But that just seems like a recipe for sticky fingers. So I'm sticking with diced.
Unfortunately, there was something (maybe the crack?) missing from the dish on Saturday night. It wasn't quite as spicy/sweet/smoky as usual. We both noticed. It was still GOOD, but not irresistably so.
Other things we order regularly and like:
Steamed dumplings
Garlic String Beans
Hot and Sour Soup
Chow Mein with homemade noodles
Spicy Chili Pork (can't remember exactly what it's called)
San Tung, our favorite Chinese restaurant was the first thing that popped into our heads. In retrospect, I wonder if it had something to do with Chinese food being a natural choice for holidays that I don't really celebrate (see: Christmas). At the time, it just sounded so good, and we hadn't been in a while. In fact, paralleling our breakfast experience the only real problem with San Tung is that it usually has a sizable wait, made even more stressful by the fact that the waiting list is a patron-maintained white board. That means that you have to be a little vigilant or names magically start appearing above yours...
At any rate, the fact that we keep going back and waiting should attest to the fact that the food is generally quite good. Or to the fact that they put crack in their chicken. Ok, not really. But Julia has taken to calling our favorite dish, "Crack Chicken." On the menu, however, you'll find it under "Dry Fried Chicken," with the options to have it served diced or on the bone, and dry or wet. We always go dry friend chicken diced dry. Even ordered dry, its quite saucy. I think we ordered it wet once, and it was just REALLY saucy. Most people, especially the Asian patrons, seem to order it on the bone, so maybe we're doing something wrong. But that just seems like a recipe for sticky fingers. So I'm sticking with diced.
Unfortunately, there was something (maybe the crack?) missing from the dish on Saturday night. It wasn't quite as spicy/sweet/smoky as usual. We both noticed. It was still GOOD, but not irresistably so.
Other things we order regularly and like:
Steamed dumplings
Garlic String Beans
Hot and Sour Soup
Chow Mein with homemade noodles
Spicy Chili Pork (can't remember exactly what it's called)
Valentine's Day Dining Part 1
Because neither of us are into paying lots of money for fancy food on Valentine's day, we didn't make special dinner reservations. We did, however, partake in an excellent culinary combo pack.
Started the day at Ella's for breakfast. It was sort of an impromptu decision- we wanted breakfast, we wanted it quickly, and we didn't want to go to far to get it. Oh yes, the final criteria was decent fresh fruit for Miss Julia. It wasn't until we were actually in the car driving to the place we'd chosen that we did an about face and ended up heading to Ella's. That's probably because Ella's usually has a wait, and we were hungry after a late night Friday.
That said, once we got there and began our wait, I instantly knew we'd made a good decision. I hadn't been in a bit, and I had almost forgotten how much I like the Chicken Hash:
I didn't take the photo, and it's not a fabulous representation, but man, is it good. I also had the foresight to replace the toast in the photo above with one of their fresh backed biscuits. Yum Yum Yum. What made it even better is that I haven't been eating eggs that much recently, so this was a special treat.
Julia's Orange pancakes with pear sauce were pretty good too. I think she forgot about the fresh fruit requirement when she saw that option on the menu.
Delicious food, a great start to Valentine's day- worth the wait, even though our table was a little drafty. Not an every-weekend spot because of the waits and relatively high prices, but worth a visit once in a while for a treat. And by "treat," I mean chicken hash.
Started the day at Ella's for breakfast. It was sort of an impromptu decision- we wanted breakfast, we wanted it quickly, and we didn't want to go to far to get it. Oh yes, the final criteria was decent fresh fruit for Miss Julia. It wasn't until we were actually in the car driving to the place we'd chosen that we did an about face and ended up heading to Ella's. That's probably because Ella's usually has a wait, and we were hungry after a late night Friday.
That said, once we got there and began our wait, I instantly knew we'd made a good decision. I hadn't been in a bit, and I had almost forgotten how much I like the Chicken Hash:
I didn't take the photo, and it's not a fabulous representation, but man, is it good. I also had the foresight to replace the toast in the photo above with one of their fresh backed biscuits. Yum Yum Yum. What made it even better is that I haven't been eating eggs that much recently, so this was a special treat.Julia's Orange pancakes with pear sauce were pretty good too. I think she forgot about the fresh fruit requirement when she saw that option on the menu.
Delicious food, a great start to Valentine's day- worth the wait, even though our table was a little drafty. Not an every-weekend spot because of the waits and relatively high prices, but worth a visit once in a while for a treat. And by "treat," I mean chicken hash.
The Point
I started this blog mostly as a memory aid. I wanted to start a pseudo journal about some of the things I enjoy: eating (that includes eating, drinking, and cooking), reading (even though I don't do it enough), and watching movies. There are other things I enjoy in life, but these are the things that I find myself wanting to remember and refer to. So we'll give this a go and see how it turns out.
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