The future is here and it does not look pretty. Apocalyptic and eerily familiar to, both, the film classic, Blade Runner and The Island of Dr. Moreau, Ex Machina, is set in a remote area in a secret valley in the loneliness of Antarctica where nobody can help you. Starring Alicia Vikander and Domnhall Gleason, Ex Machina is the greatest science fiction film nightmare for this millennium.
Written and directed by Alex Garland(28 Days Later and Sunshine), Ex Machina is a mind-blowing reality check on mankind's intentions and progress in science that delves into robotics, ego, love, technology and human selfishness that lays out a horrifying vision for the future of humanity.
In this sci-fi thriller, a young coder(Domnhall Gleason) is brought into the world of an AI genius and his corrupting power. The young hero is selected as the winner of a corporation-wide contest based on his coding skills to take part in a secret program with the top of the company's ranks. What he encounters is amazing but the plot soon thickens like a deep, red and mysterious cabernet into a futuristic shocker that is both captivating and disturbing. Here, one must wonder, "how much science is too much science?" ....and how close are we?
Disregarding any concerns for ethics, we dive, headlong, into reality and what AI means, today. We get that it can be very bad for humanity but does Garland have to rub it in the way he does? Every prototype that our mad scientist created is hot....and alluring.....and seductive....it gets very troublesome. These women are beautiful....but, wait.....they are robots. Check yourself.
At this juncture I'm not going to go too much more into the plot of this film. I don't want to give any more away. If you are a sci-fi buff then put down your pop tarts and lock your dog in the car - this is very good science fiction.
As creeped-out as this wonderful film - Ex Machina left me, I can only point to a very special wine from a remote, secret valley much like that in the setting of the film. Far down below the equator is the Valle Secreto and their 2011 Vintage Cabernet is one of the very good Cabs of the world that hovers around $20. Deep with hints of mocha and blueberry on the front with a luxurious journey into concentrated blackberry and dark cherry fruit, a glass of this wine will help calm your nerves when you return home from this fantastic horror flick.
Showing posts with label Film and Wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film and Wine. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2015
Sunday, July 27, 2014
A MOST WANTED MAN - FILM REVIEW AND WINE PAIRING
What really goes down in the underworld of modern-day spying? How are spies made, traitors turned, and how do powerful hands of dark and influential government agencies recruit, flip, and procure members to their team to fight in wars of espionage? A Most Wanted Man, directed by Anton Corbijn and starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, and Willem Dafoe, delves deep into the nuance of spying and covert actions and all the immorality in the sordid efforts it takes to develop a mole.
As Seymour Hoffman just recently and tragically died so early in his career, I felt so lucky to have the opportunity to watch his incredibly convincing acting just one more time. Hoffman's work was impeccable. His ability to mimic all the movement and anxiety through gestures that anyone in this dark world would be experiencing is genuine and unique. Adjusting his pants, wiping sweat from his forehead, and the way he walks hunched in melancholy, all, while so deadly serious, Hoffman delivers an uncanny nervousness that makes you feel just exactly how uncomfortable a worried, chain-smoking agent would feel. Be uncomfortable - he makes you this way and he exudes anxiety. It is his acting that really pulls the film along into something worth watching.
An extra pull is my one criticism I have of A Most Wanted Man as it comes out of the gate a little slow. I found Hoffman's acting to be the saving grace to the softened pace of the start of the film as I kept waiting for something to really move me....to draw me into its' depths. To build the plot of this story, there had to be a lot of groundwork - information sharing....spying....logistics....ya know, boring real-world spy stuff that had me yawning an hour into the film. However, I sat patiently and patience paid off. Hoffman delivers and is the films hero.
No spoiler alerts, here. The ending is a killer. The summation of all the turning coats from the Chechens to the CIA and threats and blackmail ends in a most wicked fashion with the darkest and ugliest of resolutions with that wagging finger in your face that says, "you should have known what was coming."
With a strong finish, I really enjoyed this film. I want to give it the credit of fine French Wine - a Bordeaux, nonetheless. A wine to pair that would take time to prepare just as this film did....a wine that makes you wait for it to be ready by that age-old technique, breathing.....the 2010 Chateau Seguin Pessac-Leognan. This libation will fill your glass with depth and intrigue. As a 2010, this wine will get better with age in the cellar but if you open it now- and let it breathe and give it a little while to evolve as it sits before you at the table during dinner, you will have a very pleasant experience when this under $45 Bordeaux has opened-up to you, the audience.
As Seymour Hoffman just recently and tragically died so early in his career, I felt so lucky to have the opportunity to watch his incredibly convincing acting just one more time. Hoffman's work was impeccable. His ability to mimic all the movement and anxiety through gestures that anyone in this dark world would be experiencing is genuine and unique. Adjusting his pants, wiping sweat from his forehead, and the way he walks hunched in melancholy, all, while so deadly serious, Hoffman delivers an uncanny nervousness that makes you feel just exactly how uncomfortable a worried, chain-smoking agent would feel. Be uncomfortable - he makes you this way and he exudes anxiety. It is his acting that really pulls the film along into something worth watching.
An extra pull is my one criticism I have of A Most Wanted Man as it comes out of the gate a little slow. I found Hoffman's acting to be the saving grace to the softened pace of the start of the film as I kept waiting for something to really move me....to draw me into its' depths. To build the plot of this story, there had to be a lot of groundwork - information sharing....spying....logistics....ya know, boring real-world spy stuff that had me yawning an hour into the film. However, I sat patiently and patience paid off. Hoffman delivers and is the films hero.
No spoiler alerts, here. The ending is a killer. The summation of all the turning coats from the Chechens to the CIA and threats and blackmail ends in a most wicked fashion with the darkest and ugliest of resolutions with that wagging finger in your face that says, "you should have known what was coming."
With a strong finish, I really enjoyed this film. I want to give it the credit of fine French Wine - a Bordeaux, nonetheless. A wine to pair that would take time to prepare just as this film did....a wine that makes you wait for it to be ready by that age-old technique, breathing.....the 2010 Chateau Seguin Pessac-Leognan. This libation will fill your glass with depth and intrigue. As a 2010, this wine will get better with age in the cellar but if you open it now- and let it breathe and give it a little while to evolve as it sits before you at the table during dinner, you will have a very pleasant experience when this under $45 Bordeaux has opened-up to you, the audience.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Transformers Age of Extinction Film Review and Wine Pairing
After watching the last two Transformer's films, I didn't have great expectations going into this newest release of Transformers directed, in part by Steven Spielberg. The last two I enjoyed but was easily annoyed by the teeny-bop love scenes and all the time their sappy antics took away from what I wanted to be watching - sci-fi, robots, and fighting.
However, very different and trending away from the last production, Transformers Age of Extinction packs a deep punch and is, flat-out, action throughout the entire 2 hours and 40 minutes. There was a few elements of cheesy loveliness and one sappy scene between two of the star teens but this movie roared to life and is nothing short of Optimus Primo!
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Transformers Age of Extinction propels itself into summer box office glory with good, hard fighting and battle scenes. There are hot chicks, swearing, and even some gruesome death that render this, easily, the most exciting and violent(Americans love their violence) of all the Transformer films.
What really made this film work for me were the storyline and plot. In this battle of good versus evil, there is a great deal written into its' depths about ancient aliens and the producers make a clear statement to the audience of just how foolish humans are that we believe we are the center of the universe. This resonates throughout the film and should serve as a fine lesson for our youth.
With this, there is also several references and inferences mixed into the theme that point at the Inquisition, The Knights Templar, and the Holy Grail. This gives the film such great depth and renders it even, profound, despite what we all may perceive to be nothing more than plastic toys. I found this a wonderful injection into an already exhilarating experience.
What makes the movie so exhilarating? Without giving away too much, let's just say that Mark Wahlberg takes on the role of single parent raising his super-hot teenage daughter and is thrown into the hell of a massive robot war and the potential extinction of humankind. His character works fine for me as a tough guy in most of his films but, in this, the action is unprecedented as he delves into a Bourne Legacy-like roll and the near misses are so much fun throughout this works' entirety.
There is one wine that comes to my mind that is the very best pairing for this film and that is the Cline 2010 Big Break Zinfandel from Contra Costa County. This deeply colored zinfandel is named after a big damn collapse that flooded the local farmland, some, 80 years ago. Its' fruit is deep and robust with just enough cracked pepper to spice up your summer barbecue and pairs very well with the intensity and destruction on the ride that Transformers Age of Extinction takes us. Have a great summer-
However, very different and trending away from the last production, Transformers Age of Extinction packs a deep punch and is, flat-out, action throughout the entire 2 hours and 40 minutes. There was a few elements of cheesy loveliness and one sappy scene between two of the star teens but this movie roared to life and is nothing short of Optimus Primo!
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Transformers Age of Extinction propels itself into summer box office glory with good, hard fighting and battle scenes. There are hot chicks, swearing, and even some gruesome death that render this, easily, the most exciting and violent(Americans love their violence) of all the Transformer films.
What really made this film work for me were the storyline and plot. In this battle of good versus evil, there is a great deal written into its' depths about ancient aliens and the producers make a clear statement to the audience of just how foolish humans are that we believe we are the center of the universe. This resonates throughout the film and should serve as a fine lesson for our youth.
With this, there is also several references and inferences mixed into the theme that point at the Inquisition, The Knights Templar, and the Holy Grail. This gives the film such great depth and renders it even, profound, despite what we all may perceive to be nothing more than plastic toys. I found this a wonderful injection into an already exhilarating experience.
What makes the movie so exhilarating? Without giving away too much, let's just say that Mark Wahlberg takes on the role of single parent raising his super-hot teenage daughter and is thrown into the hell of a massive robot war and the potential extinction of humankind. His character works fine for me as a tough guy in most of his films but, in this, the action is unprecedented as he delves into a Bourne Legacy-like roll and the near misses are so much fun throughout this works' entirety.
There is one wine that comes to my mind that is the very best pairing for this film and that is the Cline 2010 Big Break Zinfandel from Contra Costa County. This deeply colored zinfandel is named after a big damn collapse that flooded the local farmland, some, 80 years ago. Its' fruit is deep and robust with just enough cracked pepper to spice up your summer barbecue and pairs very well with the intensity and destruction on the ride that Transformers Age of Extinction takes us. Have a great summer-
Thursday, January 23, 2014
American Hustle Film Review and Wine Pairing
American Hustle is a bristling and glamorous fictional tale of deception and scam set in the underworld dealings of New Jersey before the return of the big casinos. Dead are the boardwalks and card tables that once shined. However, the underworld money is there to make a resurgence and the powerbrokers and politicians stand poised and hungry as director, David O. Russel, saddles us into the lives of a young and hungry FBI agent(Bradley Cooper) who gets his claws into a scam artist(Christian Bale) and the smooth and silky dealings begin. Like an oaky and buttery chardonnay, this film starts with some attractive green fruit and soon gets very thick on the palate.
American Hustle has, by far, the best acting of any film I've seen this year. Slick is the best word ....if I can describe it in one...that lays a runway for the walks that each of these characters struts in this cunning and glitzy film. The debauchery resonates as our team of scam artists infiltrated by FBI agents twist their way up the ladder of organized crime in one of the smoothest crime stories I've the pleasure of viewing in some time.
As to which character stood out the most for me? Jennifer Lawrence. Don't get me wrong - I was subdued by Amy Adams dancing and her deceiving British accent. I was mesmerized by Irving Rosenfeld's(Christian Bale's) genius and demure. But, Jennifer Lawrence gets my toast of fine wine for the troubled, recluse housewife that plays so very stupid and, yet, so very smart, all the while seducing you with her moves and pouty lips as she chain smokes us through her brilliant performance.
One wine and one wine, only, came to my mind while I was watching this film. Slick and sultry and considered to be the finest of buttery and oaky chardonnays, Rombauer from Carneros stands alone. All the nuance from the oak....the silky vanilla, the toasty notes behind the green subtle orchard fruit, and the creaminess left in your mouth mimic so very well the menagerie of the tale we taste in American Hustle.
American Hustle has, by far, the best acting of any film I've seen this year. Slick is the best word ....if I can describe it in one...that lays a runway for the walks that each of these characters struts in this cunning and glitzy film. The debauchery resonates as our team of scam artists infiltrated by FBI agents twist their way up the ladder of organized crime in one of the smoothest crime stories I've the pleasure of viewing in some time.
As to which character stood out the most for me? Jennifer Lawrence. Don't get me wrong - I was subdued by Amy Adams dancing and her deceiving British accent. I was mesmerized by Irving Rosenfeld's(Christian Bale's) genius and demure. But, Jennifer Lawrence gets my toast of fine wine for the troubled, recluse housewife that plays so very stupid and, yet, so very smart, all the while seducing you with her moves and pouty lips as she chain smokes us through her brilliant performance.
One wine and one wine, only, came to my mind while I was watching this film. Slick and sultry and considered to be the finest of buttery and oaky chardonnays, Rombauer from Carneros stands alone. All the nuance from the oak....the silky vanilla, the toasty notes behind the green subtle orchard fruit, and the creaminess left in your mouth mimic so very well the menagerie of the tale we taste in American Hustle.
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