Moon is a classy sci-fi flick closer to the 2001 vein than the increasingly popular sci-fi action hybrid (Star Trek, Avatar, etc). In fact, at first I was a little concerned that Moon was going to be too similar to 2001. Fortunately, at pretty much every step of the way, Moon defied expectations by taking the road less traveled by at every turn.
I don't want to say too much about the plot, since the movie is better if you don't know much going into it. I will say that the tone is strong throughout, and everything is well supported by the visuals. Sam Rockwell turns in an excellent performance and Duncan Jones did a great job in what I believe is his first time directing.
While I love some good old sci-fi action, I'm also a huge fan of movies that can tell stories without super-complex action sequences, and this one does it quite well. Go check it out!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
An Education
Had a chance to see another of the Best Picture contenders. An Education is a school girl in 1960s England who jumps at the chance to escape from her relatively humdrum existence to live a bohemian lifestyle with an older man. It's well written (Nick Hornby, adapted from someone's memoirs), well acted (especially the young Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina), and generally well put together.
Structurally, I had a few problems. The big "problem" or hurdle that the main character has to overcome doesn't actually occur until towards the very end of the movie. This is problematic, in that the beginning of the film drags a bit without much tension. Throughout, there's the obvious discomfort that most viewers will experience with the youth of the main character and her relationship with an older man. In fact, its almost unbelievable to the audience that main character is so comfortable with the relationship since she's portrayed as someone with a pretty level head and not one to take crazy risks.
When it comes down to it, the message of the film is a little muddled as well. Choose the boring life? There are no shortcuts? Don't trust anyone?
In reading what I've written, I feel I may have been a little harsh. The movie was actually pretty good and I wasn't bothered by many of these things while watching. It's just after thinking about it for a little bit that some of the structural issues jumped out at me... I'd still recommend this one, if for nothing else than Mulligan's sensitive and ranged performance. Best picture? I'd say no. But they nominated ten films in a so-so year. What can you expect?
Structurally, I had a few problems. The big "problem" or hurdle that the main character has to overcome doesn't actually occur until towards the very end of the movie. This is problematic, in that the beginning of the film drags a bit without much tension. Throughout, there's the obvious discomfort that most viewers will experience with the youth of the main character and her relationship with an older man. In fact, its almost unbelievable to the audience that main character is so comfortable with the relationship since she's portrayed as someone with a pretty level head and not one to take crazy risks.
When it comes down to it, the message of the film is a little muddled as well. Choose the boring life? There are no shortcuts? Don't trust anyone?
In reading what I've written, I feel I may have been a little harsh. The movie was actually pretty good and I wasn't bothered by many of these things while watching. It's just after thinking about it for a little bit that some of the structural issues jumped out at me... I'd still recommend this one, if for nothing else than Mulligan's sensitive and ranged performance. Best picture? I'd say no. But they nominated ten films in a so-so year. What can you expect?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Risotto
On a whim (ok, that's a lie, it was basically because the only things we had in the house was Arborio Rice, half an onion, and some parmesan) I decided to take my first stab at making a Risotto last night. I didn't want to go to the store, so I ended up using what we had lying around and combining two Marcella Hazan recipes (from this fantastic book). I combined a recipe for Sausage Risotto (that's why I keep those frozen sausages) and your standard "white risotto." In a move that I'm sure would make Marcella cringe, I used beef broth instead of chicken (didn't have beef broth on hand).
For those who haven't made it, Risotto is a little tricky because its easy to mis-cook. It involves regularly adding cooking liquid (broth and/or water) to a pot of rice that must be stirred constantly. The recipe instructs you to add water when the cooking liquid in the pot "runs out." Unfortunately, "runs out" isn't the most descriptive of terms. So it's a bit of a guessing game, although I imagine it doesn't matter all that much. Either way, you keep adding liquid and stirring until the rice is "done," another vague and possibly subjective description. It's relatively easy to either undercook the rice or have a finished product that ends up a little too soupy.
Mine turned out fairly well- perhaps could have cooked a little longer with a little more liquid. But the texture was close to what I was going for if not a tiny tiny bit underdone. I was happy I added the (real) parmesan cheese as that added some nice flavor to the sausage base, although next time I think I'll add more to make it even cheesier. I like that the rich flavor of the starches in the rice come through so well in this dish. The constant stirring is a bit of a pain, but the limited number of ingredients make this a relatively easy dish to prepare otherwise. I'll do it again for sure, maybe with some tips from my father who is a bit of a risotto specialist.
For those who haven't made it, Risotto is a little tricky because its easy to mis-cook. It involves regularly adding cooking liquid (broth and/or water) to a pot of rice that must be stirred constantly. The recipe instructs you to add water when the cooking liquid in the pot "runs out." Unfortunately, "runs out" isn't the most descriptive of terms. So it's a bit of a guessing game, although I imagine it doesn't matter all that much. Either way, you keep adding liquid and stirring until the rice is "done," another vague and possibly subjective description. It's relatively easy to either undercook the rice or have a finished product that ends up a little too soupy.
Mine turned out fairly well- perhaps could have cooked a little longer with a little more liquid. But the texture was close to what I was going for if not a tiny tiny bit underdone. I was happy I added the (real) parmesan cheese as that added some nice flavor to the sausage base, although next time I think I'll add more to make it even cheesier. I like that the rich flavor of the starches in the rice come through so well in this dish. The constant stirring is a bit of a pain, but the limited number of ingredients make this a relatively easy dish to prepare otherwise. I'll do it again for sure, maybe with some tips from my father who is a bit of a risotto specialist.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Lahore Karahi
Revisited what is considered to be one of the best Indian/Pakistani restaurants in San Francisco last night. As with most of the best Indian places, Lahore Karahi is a little divey. It's in the Tenderloin (one of the less nice parts of San Francisco) but it's worth the trip. Prices are reasonable verging on cheap for Indian food.
The thing that sets this place apart from your standard Indian spot, is that the food has much deeper more complex flavors and also feels less greasy. I tried a bunch of stuff including Tikka Masala and Vindaloo (standards), a few types of Naan, and a vegeterian spinach dish. The Vindaloo was my favorite dish of the evening with an earthy spiciness that maintained a lot of flavor with a lot of spice. The biryanis were also quite good and spicier than I'm used to- which, of course, I love.
Definitely going back here next time I want good Indian food and don't mind goiing out of my way to get it.
The thing that sets this place apart from your standard Indian spot, is that the food has much deeper more complex flavors and also feels less greasy. I tried a bunch of stuff including Tikka Masala and Vindaloo (standards), a few types of Naan, and a vegeterian spinach dish. The Vindaloo was my favorite dish of the evening with an earthy spiciness that maintained a lot of flavor with a lot of spice. The biryanis were also quite good and spicier than I'm used to- which, of course, I love.
Definitely going back here next time I want good Indian food and don't mind goiing out of my way to get it.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Adventures in Crock-Potting #2
The recipe for my second crock pot adventure came as a recommendation from a co-worker. It could not have come at a more opportune moment, as I found myself relishing some good, spicy, southern cooking. I used this recipe to make crock-pot Jambalaya with relatively successful results.
I didn't go shopping specifically for this dish, which meant I had to improvise a little bit with a couple ingredients. Most notably, I left out the celery (didn't have any, none at my little crummy corner store). Celery is generally used as an aromatic- a way to add a little flavor to stocks, broths, stews, etc. So I figured this dish would survive without it. I also didn't really like the idea of chunks of celery in my Jambalaya. Just didn't seem right to me. So that was out.
I also didn't have any pre-mixed Cajun/Creole Seasoning, but that was easily overcome by mixing up a batch of my own with spices I already had around (mostly Cayenne, Salt, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes). In fact, this ended up working out better for me in a lot of ways, as I was able to add a little extra spice to suit my need for heat.
The one substitution that was a slight bummer was that I didn't have any andouille sausage. I thought there was some in the freezer, but I was wrong. Instead, I used spicy italian sausages. They worked fine, and had enough heat (spice-wise) to serve the function of the sausage, but definitely added a bit different spice flavor, whereas the andouille would have matched pretty well with the Cajun Seasoning. So not a huge loss, and I'd do it again if I needed to, but probably slightly less than ideal.
The other question was what to do with the rice. I didn't like the idea of serving my Jambalaya over rice. For me, the rice is an integral part of the dish and needs to spend at least some time stewing with the other ingredients and spices. I was too unsure to fully cook the rice in the crock pot with everything else, so I ended up taking the middle road and cooking the rice separately and then adding it to the crock pot for the last 20min (or so) of cooking. When I cooked the rice, I used half chicken brothe (I had extra) and half water for a little extra flavor. This ended up working out great and also helped absorb some of the extra liquid from the crock pot. Next time, I might try taking some of the liquid from the crockpot and cooking the rice in that (with some water). We'll see.
These last points highlight the main issue with this recipe- I ended up with a bit too much liquid in the crock pot. This isn't a huge deal, as I just scooped the good chunkies out with a slotted spoon. That said, if I try using some of the Jambalaya liquid to cook the rice it might help both add flavor to the rice and reduce some of the liquid in the pot.
I like this recipe and I would definitely make it again. For any of you who try this at home, if you like spice (like me) make sure you double (or more!) the amount of cajun seasoning or have some louisiana hot sauce (Crystal, Tabasco) on hand to add later.
I didn't go shopping specifically for this dish, which meant I had to improvise a little bit with a couple ingredients. Most notably, I left out the celery (didn't have any, none at my little crummy corner store). Celery is generally used as an aromatic- a way to add a little flavor to stocks, broths, stews, etc. So I figured this dish would survive without it. I also didn't really like the idea of chunks of celery in my Jambalaya. Just didn't seem right to me. So that was out.
I also didn't have any pre-mixed Cajun/Creole Seasoning, but that was easily overcome by mixing up a batch of my own with spices I already had around (mostly Cayenne, Salt, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes). In fact, this ended up working out better for me in a lot of ways, as I was able to add a little extra spice to suit my need for heat.
The one substitution that was a slight bummer was that I didn't have any andouille sausage. I thought there was some in the freezer, but I was wrong. Instead, I used spicy italian sausages. They worked fine, and had enough heat (spice-wise) to serve the function of the sausage, but definitely added a bit different spice flavor, whereas the andouille would have matched pretty well with the Cajun Seasoning. So not a huge loss, and I'd do it again if I needed to, but probably slightly less than ideal.
The other question was what to do with the rice. I didn't like the idea of serving my Jambalaya over rice. For me, the rice is an integral part of the dish and needs to spend at least some time stewing with the other ingredients and spices. I was too unsure to fully cook the rice in the crock pot with everything else, so I ended up taking the middle road and cooking the rice separately and then adding it to the crock pot for the last 20min (or so) of cooking. When I cooked the rice, I used half chicken brothe (I had extra) and half water for a little extra flavor. This ended up working out great and also helped absorb some of the extra liquid from the crock pot. Next time, I might try taking some of the liquid from the crockpot and cooking the rice in that (with some water). We'll see.
These last points highlight the main issue with this recipe- I ended up with a bit too much liquid in the crock pot. This isn't a huge deal, as I just scooped the good chunkies out with a slotted spoon. That said, if I try using some of the Jambalaya liquid to cook the rice it might help both add flavor to the rice and reduce some of the liquid in the pot.
I like this recipe and I would definitely make it again. For any of you who try this at home, if you like spice (like me) make sure you double (or more!) the amount of cajun seasoning or have some louisiana hot sauce (Crystal, Tabasco) on hand to add later.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Lovely Bones
DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. There, got that out of the way. This is the worst movie I've watched in a long time. Seriously. Don't know what they were thinking. Movie suffers from mixed (and confusing) tones, poor acting (and casting, for that matter), terrible music choices, and general cheeziness of the bad variety. It's too bad, because I've been told that the book is pretty good.
The parts of the movie that were most successful were:
Stanley Tucci
The suspenseful parts
Things missing from this movie:
A real main character
A single compelling arch
A sense of when special effects stop being cool
Skip it.
The parts of the movie that were most successful were:
Stanley Tucci
The suspenseful parts
Things missing from this movie:
A real main character
A single compelling arch
A sense of when special effects stop being cool
Skip it.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Lots of Movies
The combination of slowness at work and the approaching Academy Awards has inspired me to watch a whole lot of movies in the last couple weeks. All told, and in no particular order, I've seen:
Serious Man (see previous post)
Julie and Julia
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Brothers
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Informant
Up in the Air
Crazy Heart
...
oh, and Bruno. Ugh. Bruno. Don't ask why. The opportunity presented itself, and I watched. It was not funny.
Somewhat surprisingly, I actually really enjoyed all of these movies (except Bruno). In fact, its possible that my LEAST favorite was Fantastic Mr. Fox. Brief commentaries about the merits (and demerits) of each:
A Serious Man: See previous post.
Julie and Julia: I went into this expecting to not really like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. THe movie is sort of split in two- half is about Julia Child's past and how she became a chef (thumbs up) and half is about a woman who writes a blog about cooking every recipe in Julia's cookbook in a year (mostly thumbs down). I like food and cooking, so all of that was interesting. I though Meryl Streep was excellent- she NAILED the weird Julia Child mannerisms. Amy Adams, who I usually like, was less good and her character was not particularly interesting or likable.
Avatar: What can I say? A feast for the eyes and a whole lot of fun. Yes we've seen the story before (Fern Gully, Dances with Wolves, etc), but we've certainly never seen that world before nor have we seen technology used this successfully. I was skeptical about this due to the crazy hype, and I still think $500 million or whatever it cost is way way way too much for a movie. But it was a ride from start to finish and I enjoyed pretty much every minute- even the super cheesy parts.
The Hurt Locker: Really enjoyed this one- super tense, well developed characters, interesting look at the "new" kind of war. Focuses on the idea of war as a drug and makes the audience complicit by pumping up the tension to draw us in and make us "addicted" to the excitement.
Brothers: Heard mixed reviews and was pleasantly surprised. Acting was solid, although for some reason I don't like Natalie Portman (in anything). Super intense movie- not a feel good flick by any stretch. Something about family and super cute kids always gets to me... I had some issues with the structure and the music, but overall thought this was decent. I would be interested to see the same movie without knowing what happened to Tobey Maguier's character in Afganistant... I think it would have been more interesting for the audience to learn what happened at the same rate as the family...
The Fantastic Mr. Fox: It was fun, but something about it just didn't quite click for me. Wes Anderson has that tendency towards smugness and I think in this case it annoyed me. There were some clever parts, and, as usual in Wes Anderson movies the writing was the star. That said, I didn't particularly enjoy the animation style and thought the film was decent but not great. IMHO, "Up" is a much stronger film as a whole.
The Informant: Funny bits, but a bit too long. Matt Damon did a pretty decent job on the whole, but nothing in this movie is really worth talking about.
Up In The Air: I really enjoyed this movie and can't think of anything bad to say about it. Well made, well acted, thematically relevant... Yep, it's a good little movie. Does it deserve some of the best picture buzz it's getting? Probably not, precisely because it's a good little movie. For me, Best Picture needs to have something great, grand, or new. Not that dazzling eye candy should always win, but doing something new and different should be rewarded, and while this is certainly a good film, there's nothing "special" about it. Also, I'm a little tired of George Clooney. Too often I feel like he plays himself.
Crazy Heart: I love Jeff Bridges. He is a talented dude and is good in almost everything he's in. He was great in this role, and probably deserving of Best Actor. The movie itself is solid, although not super original- its sort of a combination of The Wrestler meets Ray/Walk the Line/any other movie about a musician's tough life. Bridges is the driving factor and the shining light of this film. That and I find Maggie Gyllenhal weirdly attractive.
Bruno: Skip it. Seriously. I maybe laughed twice.
I feel like there were more, but then again maybe not. That's a lot. I have a few more to see (most notably Precious) and I'll update when I do.
Serious Man (see previous post)
Julie and Julia
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Brothers
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Informant
Up in the Air
Crazy Heart
...
oh, and Bruno. Ugh. Bruno. Don't ask why. The opportunity presented itself, and I watched. It was not funny.
Somewhat surprisingly, I actually really enjoyed all of these movies (except Bruno). In fact, its possible that my LEAST favorite was Fantastic Mr. Fox. Brief commentaries about the merits (and demerits) of each:
A Serious Man: See previous post.
Julie and Julia: I went into this expecting to not really like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. THe movie is sort of split in two- half is about Julia Child's past and how she became a chef (thumbs up) and half is about a woman who writes a blog about cooking every recipe in Julia's cookbook in a year (mostly thumbs down). I like food and cooking, so all of that was interesting. I though Meryl Streep was excellent- she NAILED the weird Julia Child mannerisms. Amy Adams, who I usually like, was less good and her character was not particularly interesting or likable.
Avatar: What can I say? A feast for the eyes and a whole lot of fun. Yes we've seen the story before (Fern Gully, Dances with Wolves, etc), but we've certainly never seen that world before nor have we seen technology used this successfully. I was skeptical about this due to the crazy hype, and I still think $500 million or whatever it cost is way way way too much for a movie. But it was a ride from start to finish and I enjoyed pretty much every minute- even the super cheesy parts.
The Hurt Locker: Really enjoyed this one- super tense, well developed characters, interesting look at the "new" kind of war. Focuses on the idea of war as a drug and makes the audience complicit by pumping up the tension to draw us in and make us "addicted" to the excitement.
Brothers: Heard mixed reviews and was pleasantly surprised. Acting was solid, although for some reason I don't like Natalie Portman (in anything). Super intense movie- not a feel good flick by any stretch. Something about family and super cute kids always gets to me... I had some issues with the structure and the music, but overall thought this was decent. I would be interested to see the same movie without knowing what happened to Tobey Maguier's character in Afganistant... I think it would have been more interesting for the audience to learn what happened at the same rate as the family...
The Fantastic Mr. Fox: It was fun, but something about it just didn't quite click for me. Wes Anderson has that tendency towards smugness and I think in this case it annoyed me. There were some clever parts, and, as usual in Wes Anderson movies the writing was the star. That said, I didn't particularly enjoy the animation style and thought the film was decent but not great. IMHO, "Up" is a much stronger film as a whole.
The Informant: Funny bits, but a bit too long. Matt Damon did a pretty decent job on the whole, but nothing in this movie is really worth talking about.
Up In The Air: I really enjoyed this movie and can't think of anything bad to say about it. Well made, well acted, thematically relevant... Yep, it's a good little movie. Does it deserve some of the best picture buzz it's getting? Probably not, precisely because it's a good little movie. For me, Best Picture needs to have something great, grand, or new. Not that dazzling eye candy should always win, but doing something new and different should be rewarded, and while this is certainly a good film, there's nothing "special" about it. Also, I'm a little tired of George Clooney. Too often I feel like he plays himself.
Crazy Heart: I love Jeff Bridges. He is a talented dude and is good in almost everything he's in. He was great in this role, and probably deserving of Best Actor. The movie itself is solid, although not super original- its sort of a combination of The Wrestler meets Ray/Walk the Line/any other movie about a musician's tough life. Bridges is the driving factor and the shining light of this film. That and I find Maggie Gyllenhal weirdly attractive.
Bruno: Skip it. Seriously. I maybe laughed twice.
I feel like there were more, but then again maybe not. That's a lot. I have a few more to see (most notably Precious) and I'll update when I do.
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