What is super creepy and flies around Los Angeles at night? Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, as a crazed wannabe who inspires to become the paparazzi of death in Dan Gilroy's, Nightcrawler. Quickly learning the nuances of high-speed news reporting, Lou Bloom takes us on a hellish journey of contemporary America and the dreary realism of the media and our failing culture.
Just in time for Halloween, this fright-fest of human behavior at its' worst was released last evening. Gyllenhaal delivers in what just might be his best acting performance, yet. Lou Bloom is a lonely character - unable to procure a position of employment not matter how hard he tries. He is gaunt, ugly, introverted, and very jealous of what those in the world around him have that he does not. This serves as a both a recipe and lesson for what we can produce, here in America. Sure, it happens everywhere. It just happens a lot more, here. Happy Halloween.
Finding quick success in capturing burning fires, dying people, blood and gore, Lou Bloom quickly catches the attention of an aging newscaster of a local, LA station. Played by the gorgeous at 60, Rene Russo, they form a very interesting relationship. Lou Bloom quickly learns how to succeed in the game. Soon enough, it is not only his purple flowers in his window that represent the only beautiful thing in his life. This is where this film gets very eerie.
Nightcrawler took a while to get a hold of me but, 3/4 of the way through, it finally, did. My thoughts are that I am just too exposed to violence and realism in our country - stuff that we hear about and see, everyday - no big deal, right? As the film presented itself, I was only carried along in a mind of melancholy until the plot, really, kicked into gear. Gyllenhaal's acting is what, truly, propels this story and leaves the viewer no choice but to be absorbed into his big, brown, bulging eyes erected over the top of his unhealthy and, almost, sickly frame(I'm talking Mathew in Dallas Buyer's, skinny). At best, he has abandonment issues exude and he represents those who have been lost in the American dream and the American economy. At worst, he is one very chilling human being to watch act on the screen. I'm calling it now....he would be a great villain in the next, Batman.
My favorite selection of wine to pair with Nightcrawler? I must go with something, American - dark and from California - heavy and deep and full enough to warm the soul on this creepy Hallow's Eve. My choice is the full-bodied, deep and lush, red with hints of fall spice - the 2012 Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon Block 007 from the Dry Creek Valley. This wine is perfect for the dark....take a sip, alone on your front porch while you hand-out candy..... a small candle in the corner that lights the way just enough for kids to approach....scare the shit out of them....then, have another sip.....Outstanding film....Press Democrat's wine of the week with, perhaps, this year's film of the year?
Showing posts with label Jason Jenkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Jenkins. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Gone Girl Film Review and Wine Pairing
Amazing Amy....where do I begin with Amazing Amy? She is a very complex, determined, and intelligent character. She is the highlight of the star's (Rosamund Pike) successful children's novel in the story of the film, Gone Girl. America loves Amazing Amy, Amazing Amy is, well, amazing, and America, quickly, boils into panic when something happens to her creators's life as a hope-filled icon for housewives and children, alike, across our great land, this America.
Gone Girl tears at the audience through the horrific sequences of a husband (Ben Affleck), losing his wife in what looks to play out as a horrible family tragedy. Both, screenplay and novel - written by Jillian Flynn, are excellent works, to say the least - horrifying and wonderful. However, I was genuinely hesitant in taking myself to see the film after reading the book. For as it is, the film never captures the substance of the literature. But, this film wraps this novel in a nice, tight net and it is well-worth feeling the squeeze at the theater.
It is fair to mention that Gone Girl ranks in the upper eschelons of psychological thrillers. I have no problem filing it into the genre of Hitchcock, feeling it leaning towards Silence of the Lambs, creepy , and finding myself horrified in some similar way as I was as a child when i snuck into the Stepford Wives at far too young of an age.
What brings great dimension and a whirlwind of enthusiasm to this sordid tale is the hype and drama that come once the media and local townspeople - especially the neighbors get wind of what has transpired in their tiny, little world. The drama that can exude from person to person, in word of mouth and speculation, provides us with a diagnosis of some of the very sickness that plagues our society.
Gone Girl is a complexity of thoughts and exchanges based within the framework of intriguing lies and deception. Gone Girl makes you happy and hopeful, it makes you sick to your stomach, Gone Girl makes you frightened and sad. Jillian Flynn makes a strong case for one of the darkest and most thoughtful writers of our day and, to her, a toast-
My choice of wine to pair with such a profound psychological "who done it" thriller is the Fleurie Beaujolais Moilliard Grivet 2013. This is a dimensional wine made from a very old estate that dates back to 1850. Complex, with rich, berry fruit, this wines' intricacies mirror the depth that Jillian Flynn procures in this zesty, horrifying, brainy thriller. Earthy but juicy, dark but light enough to pair lighter meats and an array of dishes from pasta to Moroccan chicken, this wine, like the mind of the creator of Amazing Amy, knows how to handle any situation that she finds herself in......even one where her husband is trying to kill her (and, no, that is not a spoiler).....hint hint......this film goes deep......bring a warm sweater....
Gone Girl tears at the audience through the horrific sequences of a husband (Ben Affleck), losing his wife in what looks to play out as a horrible family tragedy. Both, screenplay and novel - written by Jillian Flynn, are excellent works, to say the least - horrifying and wonderful. However, I was genuinely hesitant in taking myself to see the film after reading the book. For as it is, the film never captures the substance of the literature. But, this film wraps this novel in a nice, tight net and it is well-worth feeling the squeeze at the theater.
It is fair to mention that Gone Girl ranks in the upper eschelons of psychological thrillers. I have no problem filing it into the genre of Hitchcock, feeling it leaning towards Silence of the Lambs, creepy , and finding myself horrified in some similar way as I was as a child when i snuck into the Stepford Wives at far too young of an age.
What brings great dimension and a whirlwind of enthusiasm to this sordid tale is the hype and drama that come once the media and local townspeople - especially the neighbors get wind of what has transpired in their tiny, little world. The drama that can exude from person to person, in word of mouth and speculation, provides us with a diagnosis of some of the very sickness that plagues our society.
Gone Girl is a complexity of thoughts and exchanges based within the framework of intriguing lies and deception. Gone Girl makes you happy and hopeful, it makes you sick to your stomach, Gone Girl makes you frightened and sad. Jillian Flynn makes a strong case for one of the darkest and most thoughtful writers of our day and, to her, a toast-
My choice of wine to pair with such a profound psychological "who done it" thriller is the Fleurie Beaujolais Moilliard Grivet 2013. This is a dimensional wine made from a very old estate that dates back to 1850. Complex, with rich, berry fruit, this wines' intricacies mirror the depth that Jillian Flynn procures in this zesty, horrifying, brainy thriller. Earthy but juicy, dark but light enough to pair lighter meats and an array of dishes from pasta to Moroccan chicken, this wine, like the mind of the creator of Amazing Amy, knows how to handle any situation that she finds herself in......even one where her husband is trying to kill her (and, no, that is not a spoiler).....hint hint......this film goes deep......bring a warm sweater....
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.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Film Review and Wine Pairing
By far, the most intelligent and well-produced Planet of the Apes - Matt Reeves', Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - was just released on Thursday night and what a well-thought piece of science fiction it was. Fired-up from all the action and warring that coursed through the film, it was the film's message and implications that led me dreaming of theory and sitting in introspection by its' end.
They try - lord knows, they try to get along, those humans and apes. But, no matter what their insights and efforts amount to, there is always one bad seed among us that can send a perfectly good-natured peace process spiraling down the sheer walls of a skyscraper.
I am compelled to mention, this newest version of the Apes is a much cleaner, more realistic one than the last. I was bugged in the previews because there they are, again, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge but it, actually, transitioned quite well from the last segment.
Andy Serk stars as the brilliant, Caesar - the anti-hero who genuinely presents to the audience the most mindful and compassionate character in the film. Not only do humans surviving an apocalypse find they aren't the only animals in power on the earth, they are also not the only ones who are intelligent and speak.
What follows are trials and tribulations - angry battlefront war speeches and threats with promises to exterminate each others' existence and, then, war. Battling through the depths of Muir Woods, bullets are flying and necks are being snapped, the dark, oceanic, misty dew falling from the giant, ancient redwoods.
What does this say about human beings - hominids, if you will? What message can we extract from nature and, more importantly, what does it say about our future as lawmakers on capitol hill are now suing each other like berserk children instead of taking care of our elderly and sick? Are we no more than wild barbarians that have evolved from swinging in the trees to, only, erecting bigger high rises that we now climb? Fundamentally, do we really amount to so much more than the rest of the animal kingdom and nature(represented by the apes in this film)? No, we do not. We kill.
My wine pairing for this film is a blend - a meritage - of mostly Cabernet with four other Bordeaux varietals mixed into its' creation. I thought of The 2011 Mariner from the Dry Creek Vineyards as the entire setting for the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place in around one of the most famous seafaring ports in the world - the San Francisco Bay. Further, a perfect blend of five varietals and deep, luscious fruits backed with cocoa notes makes for a lovely menagerie - much like that which the humans and apes were trying to create, together, living side by side in peace. Unfortunately, this synthesis never found its' apex. However, the wine, definitely does. Enjoy a bottle out to dinner after you see the film - they are, both, outstanding!
They try - lord knows, they try to get along, those humans and apes. But, no matter what their insights and efforts amount to, there is always one bad seed among us that can send a perfectly good-natured peace process spiraling down the sheer walls of a skyscraper.
I am compelled to mention, this newest version of the Apes is a much cleaner, more realistic one than the last. I was bugged in the previews because there they are, again, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge but it, actually, transitioned quite well from the last segment.
Andy Serk stars as the brilliant, Caesar - the anti-hero who genuinely presents to the audience the most mindful and compassionate character in the film. Not only do humans surviving an apocalypse find they aren't the only animals in power on the earth, they are also not the only ones who are intelligent and speak.
What follows are trials and tribulations - angry battlefront war speeches and threats with promises to exterminate each others' existence and, then, war. Battling through the depths of Muir Woods, bullets are flying and necks are being snapped, the dark, oceanic, misty dew falling from the giant, ancient redwoods.
What does this say about human beings - hominids, if you will? What message can we extract from nature and, more importantly, what does it say about our future as lawmakers on capitol hill are now suing each other like berserk children instead of taking care of our elderly and sick? Are we no more than wild barbarians that have evolved from swinging in the trees to, only, erecting bigger high rises that we now climb? Fundamentally, do we really amount to so much more than the rest of the animal kingdom and nature(represented by the apes in this film)? No, we do not. We kill.
My wine pairing for this film is a blend - a meritage - of mostly Cabernet with four other Bordeaux varietals mixed into its' creation. I thought of The 2011 Mariner from the Dry Creek Vineyards as the entire setting for the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place in around one of the most famous seafaring ports in the world - the San Francisco Bay. Further, a perfect blend of five varietals and deep, luscious fruits backed with cocoa notes makes for a lovely menagerie - much like that which the humans and apes were trying to create, together, living side by side in peace. Unfortunately, this synthesis never found its' apex. However, the wine, definitely does. Enjoy a bottle out to dinner after you see the film - they are, both, outstanding!
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-
Sunday, June 15, 2014
THE SIGNAL FILM REVIEW AND WINE PAIRING
What do you get when you cross The Blair Witch Project, District 9, Boxing Helena, and Area 51? The Signal. The Signal is a sci-fi horror sensation directed by William Eubank and starring Laurence Fishburne. It is nothing shy of a creepy freakshow that crawls and stretches into several different genres of horror.....and crawl and stretch it does, well.
Everything unfolds for a team of young MIT students as their personal computers get hacked and what seems to begin as technological trouble turns into scientific hell. Without going into the plot too much, bold and adventurous youth wind up so much over their heads that there could not possibly be a happy ending to this film.
The Signal is a case study in the possibility of alien life, advances in technology, and some cold, hard truths about the government and the future of humanity. At the beginning, I wasn't so sold on the plot and how the story was designed. By the end, I felt quite differently. Google this film and watch the trailer. It is very dark. Dark is good.
Fishburne stands out so magnificently in is acting as the lead doctor of the secret medical facility that he makes you crawl in your own skin. He's not saving Keanu in this sci fi plot. There is no love to lose, here. Rather, he is instrumental to the plot in making patrons in the theater feel very, very uncomfortable.
Hand in hand with all that creeped me out in this film, the imagination that designed and built the technology that is unveiled - once things, really, begin to go south, is absolutely wicked good. Insightful, inventive, and diabolical, whereas in the beginning I felt this film was taking me into another silly sci fi horror, I was dropped into a nightmare that had me asking my two buddies who saw it with me, many questions about applications for the future, discussing possibilities, challenging reality, and sharing in the general uneasiness we were all feeling.
The Signal could only be paired with a very complex and deep, red wine. I choose a varietal blend of great character and depth - something founded on several plots with the introduction of several different grapes that mixes a little of each of its' greatness into a wonder of winemaking science:- The 2010 Mariner is a perfect pairing for this super-geeky, existential, science horror experience. It is composed of 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and the rest Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Soft tannins as well as plenty of black currant, cedar and plum characteristics. Enjoy....and hope you don't receive the signal.
Everything unfolds for a team of young MIT students as their personal computers get hacked and what seems to begin as technological trouble turns into scientific hell. Without going into the plot too much, bold and adventurous youth wind up so much over their heads that there could not possibly be a happy ending to this film.
The Signal is a case study in the possibility of alien life, advances in technology, and some cold, hard truths about the government and the future of humanity. At the beginning, I wasn't so sold on the plot and how the story was designed. By the end, I felt quite differently. Google this film and watch the trailer. It is very dark. Dark is good.
Fishburne stands out so magnificently in is acting as the lead doctor of the secret medical facility that he makes you crawl in your own skin. He's not saving Keanu in this sci fi plot. There is no love to lose, here. Rather, he is instrumental to the plot in making patrons in the theater feel very, very uncomfortable.
Hand in hand with all that creeped me out in this film, the imagination that designed and built the technology that is unveiled - once things, really, begin to go south, is absolutely wicked good. Insightful, inventive, and diabolical, whereas in the beginning I felt this film was taking me into another silly sci fi horror, I was dropped into a nightmare that had me asking my two buddies who saw it with me, many questions about applications for the future, discussing possibilities, challenging reality, and sharing in the general uneasiness we were all feeling.
The Signal could only be paired with a very complex and deep, red wine. I choose a varietal blend of great character and depth - something founded on several plots with the introduction of several different grapes that mixes a little of each of its' greatness into a wonder of winemaking science:- The 2010 Mariner is a perfect pairing for this super-geeky, existential, science horror experience. It is composed of 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and the rest Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Soft tannins as well as plenty of black currant, cedar and plum characteristics. Enjoy....and hope you don't receive the signal.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
GODZILLA FILM REVIEW AND WINE PAIRING
Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, was a film I was very tentative in going to see. Nothing I hate more than giving a theater $10 plus the cost of my popcorn to sit for two unpleasant hours of sucky film. The previews for Godzilla, however, showed an evil Godzilla - and won me over. They unveiled a massive, hulking, slant-eyed beast that glared down with doom in his eyes from above. There looked to be destruction on a grand-scale and, as a lifelong Godzilla fan, I took a chance and I could not be more happy with my decision.
Godzilla was exactly what it should be - silly, Japanese, science fiction just as it was when i, first, started watching it in the early 1970's. It was part ridiculous, partly scary, but super fun. Godzilla took me straight back to my childhood when i was, first, shaken by thundering footsteps of a giant monster that shook the buildings, both, to my left and to my right.
What really moved me were the monsters, themselves. Godzilla, himself, was the most brutal brute of a monster that I have ever seen created for this role, Godzilla. He is a cross between a T-rex and a very angry polar bear with hard, dark scales and a little vicious pit bull mixed in. He roars with volume and wind that makes you shake in your chair, crushing everything below him when he steps. His opponents - no spoiler,here - kick some serious tail, as well. This film is so Transformer/earth-shattering/destructive fun!
All the beasts in this film come from an long-standing Godzilla movie theme - the original story - that they were released from the ground by nukes and feed off of nuclear radiation. This, a good message for all the world to listen to and adhere, is lined with many scenes reminiscent of the just recent Fukushima disaster the world just faced. The timing could not be more perfect. The film hits hard at the nuclear industry and its' potential for destruction on a scale that is out of human control.
I pair Godzilla with a big beast of a wine - Pietra Santa, Sassolino red blend from the Cienega Valley, California. East of the Monterey Bay, this wine gets plenty of warm sunshine and is a blend made with ripe sangiovese and merlot fruits. It runs at 14.5% alcohol which brings a white pepper note in the mouth feel but has great balance, just as did Godzilla in his knock-down fights with his foes as San Francisco and Las Vegas are crushed down below. Best Godzilla I've ever seen......a toast to this film with a wonderful wine!
Godzilla was exactly what it should be - silly, Japanese, science fiction just as it was when i, first, started watching it in the early 1970's. It was part ridiculous, partly scary, but super fun. Godzilla took me straight back to my childhood when i was, first, shaken by thundering footsteps of a giant monster that shook the buildings, both, to my left and to my right.
What really moved me were the monsters, themselves. Godzilla, himself, was the most brutal brute of a monster that I have ever seen created for this role, Godzilla. He is a cross between a T-rex and a very angry polar bear with hard, dark scales and a little vicious pit bull mixed in. He roars with volume and wind that makes you shake in your chair, crushing everything below him when he steps. His opponents - no spoiler,here - kick some serious tail, as well. This film is so Transformer/earth-shattering/destructive fun!
All the beasts in this film come from an long-standing Godzilla movie theme - the original story - that they were released from the ground by nukes and feed off of nuclear radiation. This, a good message for all the world to listen to and adhere, is lined with many scenes reminiscent of the just recent Fukushima disaster the world just faced. The timing could not be more perfect. The film hits hard at the nuclear industry and its' potential for destruction on a scale that is out of human control.
I pair Godzilla with a big beast of a wine - Pietra Santa, Sassolino red blend from the Cienega Valley, California. East of the Monterey Bay, this wine gets plenty of warm sunshine and is a blend made with ripe sangiovese and merlot fruits. It runs at 14.5% alcohol which brings a white pepper note in the mouth feel but has great balance, just as did Godzilla in his knock-down fights with his foes as San Francisco and Las Vegas are crushed down below. Best Godzilla I've ever seen......a toast to this film with a wonderful wine!
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.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
ONLY GOD FORGIVES FILM REVIEW AND WINE PAIRING
Only God Forgives, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, is a brutal tale of drug dealing, murder, and retribution in the seedy underworld of Bangkok, Thailand. Starring, Ryan Gosling, this film envelopes its' audience in sordid and grotesque violence and betrayal as hit after hit is called in the brutal world of drugs, Muy Thai Boxing, prostitution, and revenge.
Only God Forgives is not for the faint at heart. Where the plot is, as in so many films, the good guy versus the bad guy, in this story it is a very corrupt and egotistical cop caught between his own machismo and how he imagines himself as the hero fighting evil. Here, he is pitted against foreign drug dealers - two brothers who are ruled by their evil, American mother who seems to have a "far too warm" relationship with her own children.....yes, it goes deep.
This film is sickening. It may, very well be, the most brutal film I have ever seen. There are rib cages sawed right down the middle, wrists cut-off, beheadings, slashings and gore at a level I am not able to reach back and find anything more disturbing in my memory.
Yet, Only God Forgives is a good film. i enjoyed it, thoroughly. I was raised on slashers and Michael Meyers and love good shoot outs and, so I have to write, this movie kicks ass. It is some brutal violence but is so insightful and realistic in all its' horror that it reminded me how good life can be. Life in this movie is dark and horrible. I recommend it for any graduating class of high school students around the country for it is a good, thick taste of what can go down when you step away from walking the path of good.
Long takes in the cinematography and very dark brothels with close ups of the stars in long, shadowy halls, seemingly staring into voids of nothingness between each shift in the storyline, aid in presenting the eeriness in the lifestyle that these characters chosen to live. Once the gates are open, the blood starts flowing and the film delves into the hellish dark and that which is morbid at every turn until its' horrendous ending. Again, this film is not for the meek.
I pair this film with one of my favorite Rhones I have sampled, this year - 2010 La Tarasque Cotes Du Rhone from the Rhone Valley, France. This blend is, mostly, grenache with some of what, tastes like to me, syrah blended in. It is blood-red much like that of what would come out of your chest when you are sprayed with a sub-machine gun. The name, Tarasque, comes from a monster in medieval times that ravaged the rhone valley with brutality and heartlessness. This is a perfect fit for watching, Only God Forgives....available, now, on DVD or Pay Per View.
Only God Forgives is not for the faint at heart. Where the plot is, as in so many films, the good guy versus the bad guy, in this story it is a very corrupt and egotistical cop caught between his own machismo and how he imagines himself as the hero fighting evil. Here, he is pitted against foreign drug dealers - two brothers who are ruled by their evil, American mother who seems to have a "far too warm" relationship with her own children.....yes, it goes deep.
This film is sickening. It may, very well be, the most brutal film I have ever seen. There are rib cages sawed right down the middle, wrists cut-off, beheadings, slashings and gore at a level I am not able to reach back and find anything more disturbing in my memory.
Yet, Only God Forgives is a good film. i enjoyed it, thoroughly. I was raised on slashers and Michael Meyers and love good shoot outs and, so I have to write, this movie kicks ass. It is some brutal violence but is so insightful and realistic in all its' horror that it reminded me how good life can be. Life in this movie is dark and horrible. I recommend it for any graduating class of high school students around the country for it is a good, thick taste of what can go down when you step away from walking the path of good.
Long takes in the cinematography and very dark brothels with close ups of the stars in long, shadowy halls, seemingly staring into voids of nothingness between each shift in the storyline, aid in presenting the eeriness in the lifestyle that these characters chosen to live. Once the gates are open, the blood starts flowing and the film delves into the hellish dark and that which is morbid at every turn until its' horrendous ending. Again, this film is not for the meek.
I pair this film with one of my favorite Rhones I have sampled, this year - 2010 La Tarasque Cotes Du Rhone from the Rhone Valley, France. This blend is, mostly, grenache with some of what, tastes like to me, syrah blended in. It is blood-red much like that of what would come out of your chest when you are sprayed with a sub-machine gun. The name, Tarasque, comes from a monster in medieval times that ravaged the rhone valley with brutality and heartlessness. This is a perfect fit for watching, Only God Forgives....available, now, on DVD or Pay Per View.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Gravity Movie Review And Wine Pairing
Gravity, starring Sandra bullock and George Clooney, is a space-age thriller set in the realms of science labs and space stations orbiting the earth. Gravity is an incredible introduction into the workings of humans reaching out beyond our own planet, stretching ourselves in expansion into outer space, and the perils that can come with our dreams of worlds beyond our own.
What is so interesting to me is the, very, first three people that came into my wine bar and spoke with me about this film told me, essentially, that it was boring. They presented the film to me as an outer space love story that was slow and not very good, in general. So much for listening to the public. For the past few weeks I have heard from so many other folks how good it was that i just had to give it a try.
Gravity is far from boring. In fact, it kicks-ass and as much as i am not overwhelmed by anything Sandra Bullock has done, she plays her part just fine in this high speed disaster alongside George Clooney. Disaster is a word that, only, describes what transpires in this film, in the most mild of terms. There is prelude and hint of things to go wrong, right from the beginning - perhaps, even, some foreshadowing......and when the bells and whistles blow....the dramatic does stop coming rendering this film nothing short of a nail-biter.
Yet, as we are glued to edge of our seat, there is an ominous beauty in the cinematography....the shots from above looking down on the planet are, simply, dreamy. It gives the audience some perspective on just how small we are.....an angle from God's perspective, perhaps. However, with the deep hues and wide angle there is something horrible lurking in the background when you hear George Clooney exalt, "the Ganges looks so beautiful in the sunrise," as they spin round and round the planet at high speeds.
How is it they we learned to float this these craft....these ships....so high above the earth? Was it not just 50 something years ago and many people were, essentially, laughing at the guy who said we could land on the moon? Just 50 something years ago? Amazing. Amazing, yes, but with peril. As we are so new to this age of space, Gravity, presents us with a, both, a world and the outer space around it, fraught with danger.....and I will let you discover why and how and enjoy the ride from here.
For my wine pairing, I was, at first, thinking explosive, powerful....perhaps, a big zinfandel. But, after the first explosion, there came so much more that made me love this film. It is intense and nothing short. Did i say that, already? Good. My wine of choice for pairing is the Manzanita Creek 2007 Petite Sirah, Handal Vineyard, Alexander Valley, California. This wine has incredible structure with delicious, dark berry fruit and is inky, inky, inky......and intense....just like Gravity. Enjoy!
What is so interesting to me is the, very, first three people that came into my wine bar and spoke with me about this film told me, essentially, that it was boring. They presented the film to me as an outer space love story that was slow and not very good, in general. So much for listening to the public. For the past few weeks I have heard from so many other folks how good it was that i just had to give it a try.
Gravity is far from boring. In fact, it kicks-ass and as much as i am not overwhelmed by anything Sandra Bullock has done, she plays her part just fine in this high speed disaster alongside George Clooney. Disaster is a word that, only, describes what transpires in this film, in the most mild of terms. There is prelude and hint of things to go wrong, right from the beginning - perhaps, even, some foreshadowing......and when the bells and whistles blow....the dramatic does stop coming rendering this film nothing short of a nail-biter.
Yet, as we are glued to edge of our seat, there is an ominous beauty in the cinematography....the shots from above looking down on the planet are, simply, dreamy. It gives the audience some perspective on just how small we are.....an angle from God's perspective, perhaps. However, with the deep hues and wide angle there is something horrible lurking in the background when you hear George Clooney exalt, "the Ganges looks so beautiful in the sunrise," as they spin round and round the planet at high speeds.
How is it they we learned to float this these craft....these ships....so high above the earth? Was it not just 50 something years ago and many people were, essentially, laughing at the guy who said we could land on the moon? Just 50 something years ago? Amazing. Amazing, yes, but with peril. As we are so new to this age of space, Gravity, presents us with a, both, a world and the outer space around it, fraught with danger.....and I will let you discover why and how and enjoy the ride from here.
For my wine pairing, I was, at first, thinking explosive, powerful....perhaps, a big zinfandel. But, after the first explosion, there came so much more that made me love this film. It is intense and nothing short. Did i say that, already? Good. My wine of choice for pairing is the Manzanita Creek 2007 Petite Sirah, Handal Vineyard, Alexander Valley, California. This wine has incredible structure with delicious, dark berry fruit and is inky, inky, inky......and intense....just like Gravity. Enjoy!
Friday, August 23, 2013
MUD Movie Review and Wine Pairing
What is MUD? MUD is what churns up from the bottom of a hard-flowing river. MUD sticks to the bottom of your boots. It lay, deep down, packed full of dirt and silt and is the remains of a devastating flood, full of waste, debris. MUD, directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Mathew McConaughey, is a tragic tale set in the deep south that is based on the life and character of a human being who came from nothing - from dirt, or, mud - the very place he was born.
Nichol's ability to show us the deep turmoil in MUD that can fester in human relationships and the dynamics of their evolution in this film is uncanny, unique, clever. The story goes from past to present, present to past, the history, the future, the new - the old. He ties MUD together so well in these relationships with his sordid tone it almost felt like a fable or a tragedy, the likes of Shakespeare.
As the film delivers a depth of sadness to its' audience, Nichols is able to portray to us that in all dark, there is light. One just knows, from the very beginning, this story is going to be a tough one to swallow. But, in it, relationships are fostered between McConaughey and two young boys that do provide a glimmer of light. It is through this relationship with these two new friends he seeks to find redemption from past atrocities he has committed. The bad guy learns something new about himself and the world and he, somewhat, evolves. All the while, the mud they are stuck in, thickens.
Set in poverty, this struggle of the human condition is laden with human error in bad decisions, all, festering in the dirty world of poverty along the brown and churning Mississippi River. There is lies, there is deceit, trickery, heartbreak, and there is murder.
But, what does shine in this film are the two little boys who aid this conman in his quest to find his lifelong love who, once, saved his life. What they, first, begin to do to help him in his dilemma to be with his long lost love evolves into something quite different by the end of film. They teach him about love, himself, and the bigger picture of life. We are taken from dark to light and all the while the audience swims in the mud.
Somehow, though, we learn to love our bad guy by the end of the film. Hell, it's Mathew Mconaughey....chicks dig him. As this superstar gone bad isn't quite as tough to swallow as Ryan Gosling heading south in, A Place Beyond The Pines, it does end, somewhat tragically.
For our pain and sorrows, i recommend a profound libation - something deep, heavy, and powerful. For this, i suggest sipping DOW'S 20 Year Old Tawny Port. With a light aroma of caramel and a hint of vanilla swirling in deep cherry fruit, this dessert wine is a perfect pairing.
Nichol's ability to show us the deep turmoil in MUD that can fester in human relationships and the dynamics of their evolution in this film is uncanny, unique, clever. The story goes from past to present, present to past, the history, the future, the new - the old. He ties MUD together so well in these relationships with his sordid tone it almost felt like a fable or a tragedy, the likes of Shakespeare.
As the film delivers a depth of sadness to its' audience, Nichols is able to portray to us that in all dark, there is light. One just knows, from the very beginning, this story is going to be a tough one to swallow. But, in it, relationships are fostered between McConaughey and two young boys that do provide a glimmer of light. It is through this relationship with these two new friends he seeks to find redemption from past atrocities he has committed. The bad guy learns something new about himself and the world and he, somewhat, evolves. All the while, the mud they are stuck in, thickens.
Set in poverty, this struggle of the human condition is laden with human error in bad decisions, all, festering in the dirty world of poverty along the brown and churning Mississippi River. There is lies, there is deceit, trickery, heartbreak, and there is murder.
But, what does shine in this film are the two little boys who aid this conman in his quest to find his lifelong love who, once, saved his life. What they, first, begin to do to help him in his dilemma to be with his long lost love evolves into something quite different by the end of film. They teach him about love, himself, and the bigger picture of life. We are taken from dark to light and all the while the audience swims in the mud.
Somehow, though, we learn to love our bad guy by the end of the film. Hell, it's Mathew Mconaughey....chicks dig him. As this superstar gone bad isn't quite as tough to swallow as Ryan Gosling heading south in, A Place Beyond The Pines, it does end, somewhat tragically.
For our pain and sorrows, i recommend a profound libation - something deep, heavy, and powerful. For this, i suggest sipping DOW'S 20 Year Old Tawny Port. With a light aroma of caramel and a hint of vanilla swirling in deep cherry fruit, this dessert wine is a perfect pairing.
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Conjuring Movie Review and Wine Pairing
The Conjuring, directed by James Wan, has hit the big screens and if you haven't had the opportunity to get out and see it, I highly suggest you do. This, of course, if you like the crap scared out of you. It has been some time since I have spent $9 on something that really pleased me in this horrific fashion. A lot of jumping, gasping, and fidgeting around in the audience between moments of silence and suspense. If you are a horror buff - I.E....The Shining, Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist, John Carpenter's, The Thing (My four favorites).....you will be moved to have both hands locked on to each arm of your theater chair.
As there is a great history that lays a foundation for this demonic tale, the time of the movie is set in the late 60's, early 70's. It is, really, cool to watch an entire production not try and capture a time or age but, actually, present it in a way that is so well-done and convincing that you are there, caught in the period. The characters and the choice of actors who play them is committed in splendid fashion and accuracy. Some of them silly, some of them serious. All of them about to face unimaginable horror.
Two of these characters, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. In tandem, they work with the Catholic church performing exorcisms and eradicating lost spirits from possessed people or homes. Most of their investigations lead to the discovery of old pipes in the attic that, when pressurized, bump against wood and make a haunting noise. That is not the case in this farmhouse.
On the grounds of this farm, unspeakable tragedy has dug itself in, deeply, from a time long ago. Through what looks to be a very sweet deal with the bank, this young, hard-working couple has found what they see as their paradise of the future, a beautiful, old farmhouse on a pond in the secluded countryside. Here, they can raise their five girls and their sweet collie and live out the their dreams. When the audience hears the first clap of two hands....you will know that what is coming is far from good.
If I have a criticism, I will say that some of this has been done before - gimmicks and scenarios used in other horror films of past. However, James Wan ties these tricks of the trade in to his plot so very fluidly that there is no time to sit and make criticism because something else is just about to scare the crap out the audience, again, at every turn. With this, I say, "ok, James - go ahead and use them again because you have allowed me to find joy, once more, in horror film."
For a wine pairing I will present something powerful and deep - a wine that means business and is built to make an impression on the memory. My suggestion is the 2007 Two Hands Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, down under. This wine is deep and dark with serious expression of black and ripe fruit. Two hands to help you grip your chair in the theater....one glass of Two Hands Shiraz when you return home to calm your nerves. Flat-out, a really well-done ghost story of high-horror caliber.
As there is a great history that lays a foundation for this demonic tale, the time of the movie is set in the late 60's, early 70's. It is, really, cool to watch an entire production not try and capture a time or age but, actually, present it in a way that is so well-done and convincing that you are there, caught in the period. The characters and the choice of actors who play them is committed in splendid fashion and accuracy. Some of them silly, some of them serious. All of them about to face unimaginable horror.
Two of these characters, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. In tandem, they work with the Catholic church performing exorcisms and eradicating lost spirits from possessed people or homes. Most of their investigations lead to the discovery of old pipes in the attic that, when pressurized, bump against wood and make a haunting noise. That is not the case in this farmhouse.
On the grounds of this farm, unspeakable tragedy has dug itself in, deeply, from a time long ago. Through what looks to be a very sweet deal with the bank, this young, hard-working couple has found what they see as their paradise of the future, a beautiful, old farmhouse on a pond in the secluded countryside. Here, they can raise their five girls and their sweet collie and live out the their dreams. When the audience hears the first clap of two hands....you will know that what is coming is far from good.
If I have a criticism, I will say that some of this has been done before - gimmicks and scenarios used in other horror films of past. However, James Wan ties these tricks of the trade in to his plot so very fluidly that there is no time to sit and make criticism because something else is just about to scare the crap out the audience, again, at every turn. With this, I say, "ok, James - go ahead and use them again because you have allowed me to find joy, once more, in horror film."
For a wine pairing I will present something powerful and deep - a wine that means business and is built to make an impression on the memory. My suggestion is the 2007 Two Hands Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, down under. This wine is deep and dark with serious expression of black and ripe fruit. Two hands to help you grip your chair in the theater....one glass of Two Hands Shiraz when you return home to calm your nerves. Flat-out, a really well-done ghost story of high-horror caliber.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Pacific Rim Film Review And Wine Pairing
Pacific Rim, worked into magic by director, Guillermo Del Torro, is a fantastic piece of science fiction set in the deeper future. A crack has opened - a portal in the ocean's floor - that serves as a wormhole where giant, alien-engineered creatures (Kaiju) are sent through to destroy humankind.
For any kid or any adult that is feeling that she/he is, still a kid, this movie is a blast. A full-blown rush of warfare between our own, human capacity to adjust to that age-old battle of (man) vs. nature as we are pitted against an alien force from another world. This film is fun, scary, and hits on all notes of excitability.
I heard critics of the scenery conveying that it looked phony. I read critics complaining that the acting was terrible. None of this is, at all, accurate. This joy ride was spot-on. The scenery was amazing....the actors were perfect.....and Guillermo Del Torro adds just enough film-magic and raw horror to put this film in a class of its' own.
How can a movie, you may ask, be so much fun with all this bad criticism? Del Torro has taken the original, Japanese genre of giant monsters in monster movies and lifted them to the next level - a modern, up to date, current pinnacle that kicks (excuse my French) Godzilla-ass all over the screen.
Sure, this has been done so many times before. But, I found myself eating popcorn much faster than I normally do. Crunching and munching, I had a mess of a sweatshirt by the end of the film - for, as this has been done before, there has been plenty of time since the last Godzilla for us to see some more. It brought me straight back to my childhood, sitting too close to the television, immersed in an episode of Ultraman and loving it.
The monsters that our heroes face were very original. Of course, there was the awful, deep footstep sound - much reminiscent of Jurassic Park when the T Rex is approaching and the room vibrates and the items in the room wiggle a little more as each massive, approaching footprint is planted into the pliable earth. There is bloodshed, there is violence....and it gets scary.
However, both conceptually and visually, it is the Jaegers(our massive human-run robots built to fight the beasts) that are even more impressive. Think giant Terminators driven by nuclear reactors that know Kung Fu. They fly, they have blasting lasers, raging fire weapons, switchblade swords.....they come to the rescue and brawl, hard with these evil beasts. What a blast!
There is one wine and one wine, only, that I can pair with this film. Very appropriately, I recommend the Zinzilla Zinfandel from Mendocino County. On the label, a huge caricature of Godzilla to represent this wonderful genre of monster movies. On the palate, the best zinfandel on the market that is under $10! Deep and full of dark, berry fruit and spice notes with a touch of forest floor and perfect acidity, this wine stands up to plenty of 'em that are priced much higher! Enjoy-
For any kid or any adult that is feeling that she/he is, still a kid, this movie is a blast. A full-blown rush of warfare between our own, human capacity to adjust to that age-old battle of (man) vs. nature as we are pitted against an alien force from another world. This film is fun, scary, and hits on all notes of excitability.
I heard critics of the scenery conveying that it looked phony. I read critics complaining that the acting was terrible. None of this is, at all, accurate. This joy ride was spot-on. The scenery was amazing....the actors were perfect.....and Guillermo Del Torro adds just enough film-magic and raw horror to put this film in a class of its' own.
How can a movie, you may ask, be so much fun with all this bad criticism? Del Torro has taken the original, Japanese genre of giant monsters in monster movies and lifted them to the next level - a modern, up to date, current pinnacle that kicks (excuse my French) Godzilla-ass all over the screen.
Sure, this has been done so many times before. But, I found myself eating popcorn much faster than I normally do. Crunching and munching, I had a mess of a sweatshirt by the end of the film - for, as this has been done before, there has been plenty of time since the last Godzilla for us to see some more. It brought me straight back to my childhood, sitting too close to the television, immersed in an episode of Ultraman and loving it.
The monsters that our heroes face were very original. Of course, there was the awful, deep footstep sound - much reminiscent of Jurassic Park when the T Rex is approaching and the room vibrates and the items in the room wiggle a little more as each massive, approaching footprint is planted into the pliable earth. There is bloodshed, there is violence....and it gets scary.
However, both conceptually and visually, it is the Jaegers(our massive human-run robots built to fight the beasts) that are even more impressive. Think giant Terminators driven by nuclear reactors that know Kung Fu. They fly, they have blasting lasers, raging fire weapons, switchblade swords.....they come to the rescue and brawl, hard with these evil beasts. What a blast!
There is one wine and one wine, only, that I can pair with this film. Very appropriately, I recommend the Zinzilla Zinfandel from Mendocino County. On the label, a huge caricature of Godzilla to represent this wonderful genre of monster movies. On the palate, the best zinfandel on the market that is under $10! Deep and full of dark, berry fruit and spice notes with a touch of forest floor and perfect acidity, this wine stands up to plenty of 'em that are priced much higher! Enjoy-
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The East Movie Review
The East, (Sundance Film selection) directed by Zal Batmanglij, is a provocative thriller focused on an anarchist collective/commune that points its' efforts at major corporations that lay waste and ruin to, both, the environment and people's lives. This movie takes a hard swing at major oil companies that spill and kill, pharmaceuticals that profit on drugs that kill or mame humans, and dumpers who ruin rivers and land as they sit, fat, in their gated communities while people develop cancer downstream.
I love this film. Watching it, I was comforted with a sense of hope that there is, still in this corrupt world in which we live, a fighter, some resolve, an underdog that stands up to all that is the antithesis of life and living - corrupt corporations. It drives hard, is scary, and is very, very intense. It reminded of a day in 1991 when i lay in bed, shocked, reading an article in the San Francisco Chronicle revealing that a geologic survey team inspecting the ocean floor just outside the Farallon Islands(our fishery) had discovered two fields(40,000 barrels, each) of the highest radioactive waste ever made. They had found the waste product of the bombs that we made in WW2 and dropped on Japan. The oil drums they used were rusted and rotting and there was mass leakage and no way to clean it up. It made me very upset. I had dreamed of joining some group like Greenpeace that, actually, gave a shit about the world. Unfortunately, I never became that success. So very refreshing to see that spirit I once had in this film - even if they do kill people. Those barrels, still, lay leaking in the heart of our fishing industry.....bet you didn't know that.....
The East takes us, deep, undercover with an ex-FBI agent turned into corporate spy who spies with the purpose, solely, to infiltrate underground groups seeking to expose and punish those very corporations who ruin our world. As the layers peel away, the plot thickens into blood-deep turmoil. There is betrayal, some Big Brother, raw sex and all the drama to draw you in to what equates to an "anarchists' breakfast club around a campfire. Think "V" for Vendetta crossed with a band of Anonymous/GreenPeace, underground rebels.
If I have to have a criticism(s) of this film, I will say, some acting parts were a little drab and the plot could have played out a bit more fluidly. Regardless, it succeeds in gripping and pulling you in. In its' layers, is a story within a story as the main character, played by Brit Marling, finds herself listening, learning, evolving as a human. Set in the season of fall on the East Coast of the United States, our ex-FBI agent finds herself in a metamorphosis - a butterfly amongst vigilant, intellectual, hippies that have welcomed her right into their home where the browning leaves, outside, fall from the safety of their home in the trees.
After the first "jam" they pull off - their first act of revenge - one where people die.....I found myself asking the age-old question, "do two wrongs make a right?" At first, I was looking for the right thing in my mind, the Ghandi, the pacifist, the moral. But, then, I caught on and was absorbed into the horror that this group and its' ideals rain-down upon their targets. If they kill the CEO of a company that is giving children brain tumors down river, then, it is a RIGHT to kill one bad guy to save multitudes of innocents....especially if this CEO knew....as so many of them do....that they were reaping earnings based on the sickness and demise of others that they were causing. If the law is not doing its' job, then, somebody else should. Hard swings should be taken when babies are forming brain tumors. Examples should be made and, then, what is being poured into the river will stop.
Pairing this movie with a fine wine is a no-brainer. Deep and intense, I would grab a bottle of the 2011 Rock Wall Petite Sirah from Jack's Dry Creek Vineyard. 100% estate fruit, this wine is dark and inky with layers upon layers of blackberry and dark raspberry with violet notes and a silky finish that makes it, all, balance so well. Mostly, it is the intensity and dense, dark fruit of this wine that render it a perfect pairing for such a disturbing and moving film as The East.
I love this film. Watching it, I was comforted with a sense of hope that there is, still in this corrupt world in which we live, a fighter, some resolve, an underdog that stands up to all that is the antithesis of life and living - corrupt corporations. It drives hard, is scary, and is very, very intense. It reminded of a day in 1991 when i lay in bed, shocked, reading an article in the San Francisco Chronicle revealing that a geologic survey team inspecting the ocean floor just outside the Farallon Islands(our fishery) had discovered two fields(40,000 barrels, each) of the highest radioactive waste ever made. They had found the waste product of the bombs that we made in WW2 and dropped on Japan. The oil drums they used were rusted and rotting and there was mass leakage and no way to clean it up. It made me very upset. I had dreamed of joining some group like Greenpeace that, actually, gave a shit about the world. Unfortunately, I never became that success. So very refreshing to see that spirit I once had in this film - even if they do kill people. Those barrels, still, lay leaking in the heart of our fishing industry.....bet you didn't know that.....
The East takes us, deep, undercover with an ex-FBI agent turned into corporate spy who spies with the purpose, solely, to infiltrate underground groups seeking to expose and punish those very corporations who ruin our world. As the layers peel away, the plot thickens into blood-deep turmoil. There is betrayal, some Big Brother, raw sex and all the drama to draw you in to what equates to an "anarchists' breakfast club around a campfire. Think "V" for Vendetta crossed with a band of Anonymous/GreenPeace, underground rebels.
If I have to have a criticism(s) of this film, I will say, some acting parts were a little drab and the plot could have played out a bit more fluidly. Regardless, it succeeds in gripping and pulling you in. In its' layers, is a story within a story as the main character, played by Brit Marling, finds herself listening, learning, evolving as a human. Set in the season of fall on the East Coast of the United States, our ex-FBI agent finds herself in a metamorphosis - a butterfly amongst vigilant, intellectual, hippies that have welcomed her right into their home where the browning leaves, outside, fall from the safety of their home in the trees.
After the first "jam" they pull off - their first act of revenge - one where people die.....I found myself asking the age-old question, "do two wrongs make a right?" At first, I was looking for the right thing in my mind, the Ghandi, the pacifist, the moral. But, then, I caught on and was absorbed into the horror that this group and its' ideals rain-down upon their targets. If they kill the CEO of a company that is giving children brain tumors down river, then, it is a RIGHT to kill one bad guy to save multitudes of innocents....especially if this CEO knew....as so many of them do....that they were reaping earnings based on the sickness and demise of others that they were causing. If the law is not doing its' job, then, somebody else should. Hard swings should be taken when babies are forming brain tumors. Examples should be made and, then, what is being poured into the river will stop.
Pairing this movie with a fine wine is a no-brainer. Deep and intense, I would grab a bottle of the 2011 Rock Wall Petite Sirah from Jack's Dry Creek Vineyard. 100% estate fruit, this wine is dark and inky with layers upon layers of blackberry and dark raspberry with violet notes and a silky finish that makes it, all, balance so well. Mostly, it is the intensity and dense, dark fruit of this wine that render it a perfect pairing for such a disturbing and moving film as The East.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
World War Z Review
World War Z, starring Brad Pitt is the summer zombie blockbuster that all of us Walking Dead fans were waiting for. Speeding zombies - ones that run at high speeds and are very alert as they scratch up impenetrable walls - lay the groundwork for some freaky, intense, close calls. For many, it was received with gusto. For myself, I found it very fun but lacking in any punch, which, I so very much love to see Brad Pitt throw.
When Pitt got in this ring, his arms seemed to be tied behind his back. Pitt acted just fine for his serious role in this horror film with the new and inventive concept of high-speed, super-freak, zombies. However, there was no, true, Brad Pitt that showed up to play. The on-screen champion just wasn't there. He had no accent like he did in Inglorious Basterds(yes, with an "E"). He had no insanity-mojo as in Twelve Monkeys where he threw his dirty fingers into the air as the disturbed and all-too convincing psychiatric patient. There was no fight in this, Fight Club. His role was the hero but he was just a hero with nothing more special than "he who escapes zombies."
Did i enjoy it? Yes, very much. I love zombie movies and the pile-ups and the great, narrow escapes were truly a new evolution in zombie films. No longer do we need to sit in a theater, scared but, yawning, as the evil and undead limp sluggishly along in their attack. This film was fearsome....people get munched, big-time.
But for any big-time scares this movie throws at you, the end is typical and has, already, been used. They finish in an underground laboratory - much like the one in Resident Evil - a hive where the cure has to be stolen from under the noses of roomful of hungry zombies so that humanity can be saved. It has been done, before. Sorry.
As the concept behind World War Z was killer- even though Brad Pitt wasn't, I want to pair this film with a good wine - not one that is poured at a first-class gathering under a chandelier where crown roast is served but a wine that is a lot of fun for the summertime. For this, I present to you the 2010 Sobon Estates Cougar Hill(gold medalist). This gem of a zinfandel from the Shenandoah Valley in Amador County(Sierra Foothills) springs to life in your mouth with deep, blackberry fruit with hints of cranberry, mint, anise, and chocolate. Pair this wine with summer BBQ as it is perfect for any grilling you may be doing outdoors.
When Pitt got in this ring, his arms seemed to be tied behind his back. Pitt acted just fine for his serious role in this horror film with the new and inventive concept of high-speed, super-freak, zombies. However, there was no, true, Brad Pitt that showed up to play. The on-screen champion just wasn't there. He had no accent like he did in Inglorious Basterds(yes, with an "E"). He had no insanity-mojo as in Twelve Monkeys where he threw his dirty fingers into the air as the disturbed and all-too convincing psychiatric patient. There was no fight in this, Fight Club. His role was the hero but he was just a hero with nothing more special than "he who escapes zombies."
Did i enjoy it? Yes, very much. I love zombie movies and the pile-ups and the great, narrow escapes were truly a new evolution in zombie films. No longer do we need to sit in a theater, scared but, yawning, as the evil and undead limp sluggishly along in their attack. This film was fearsome....people get munched, big-time.
But for any big-time scares this movie throws at you, the end is typical and has, already, been used. They finish in an underground laboratory - much like the one in Resident Evil - a hive where the cure has to be stolen from under the noses of roomful of hungry zombies so that humanity can be saved. It has been done, before. Sorry.
As the concept behind World War Z was killer- even though Brad Pitt wasn't, I want to pair this film with a good wine - not one that is poured at a first-class gathering under a chandelier where crown roast is served but a wine that is a lot of fun for the summertime. For this, I present to you the 2010 Sobon Estates Cougar Hill(gold medalist). This gem of a zinfandel from the Shenandoah Valley in Amador County(Sierra Foothills) springs to life in your mouth with deep, blackberry fruit with hints of cranberry, mint, anise, and chocolate. Pair this wine with summer BBQ as it is perfect for any grilling you may be doing outdoors.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Iron Man 3 Movie Review and Wine Pairing
In this 3rd episode, we find our hero, Tony Stark( Robert Downey Jr.), in as deep of trouble with the bad guys as he is in sarcasm. Although slightly faded, he is, still, a smart-ass that we love to watch make fun of people - even when he picks on a young boy who lost his father. How does he do this? He is full of love - joyous and bubbling with the dark, sometimes silver tone that he exudes from his true past of sordid follies in his own life. We love him. I love him. He reeks of hero in life and on film and a toast of wine to the superhero who, really, knocked the shit out of himself and came back to produce, yet, another blockbuster that I, thoroughly, enjoyed.
Iron man 3 kicks right into gear with his flamboyant gallivanting at some fundraiser...super-hot women trying to get near him as he prances around like some feathered rock star of the 70's. Here, he meets a another genius - a super dorky one -, mind you - The Mandarin(Guy Pearce) that he doesn't pay much attention to as his priorities are in his suite, upstairs. The young scientist has this idea....but Tony Stark doesn't listen.
If you love rocket fire and big explosions, well, this one has more than the rest. Lesson-learned on listening when you didn't. Dorky guy comes back with a vengeance and down comes the kingdom. Fortunately, his beautiful savior - Gwenyth Paltrow - comes to his rescue, yet again, and saves his ass.
She saves his ass because he is an ass and, for some reason, beautiful women love confident idiots. A donkey in every respect of the word, but, it is Downey's humility that keeps him honest and keeps his fans thinking that being a cocky, jackass, is somehow, OK. After all, he is IronMan. I forgive him.
Downey's ego rolls throughout the film. I believe he sneaks in more one liners and smart ass comments than in any of the previous films. They aren't quite as sharp or quick as the last one but they are, still, very funny and the film falls nothing short of great and highly enjoyable.
Left with nothing in the middle of nowhere, Downey rebuilds, again, with all his love and technical know-how of robotics and scheming and comes back swinging. But, the plot is full of surprises and his mind at work bring out new warfare and technology that has you shaking and laughing at the same time.
Iron Man 3 is, yet another, wonderful, wild ride and deserves a full glass of well-aged, 2010 7&8 Napa Cabernet. Like Robert Downey Jr., this wine is big but balanced. It reaches out to grab with deep, berry flavor and reels you in. It does so swimmingly on the palette that you think something must be wrong with this, something is going to crash, our hero is going to fail - but Tony Stark doesn't disappoint. Nor does Robert Downey Jr. and this glass of one of Napa's stars!
Iron man 3 kicks right into gear with his flamboyant gallivanting at some fundraiser...super-hot women trying to get near him as he prances around like some feathered rock star of the 70's. Here, he meets a another genius - a super dorky one -, mind you - The Mandarin(Guy Pearce) that he doesn't pay much attention to as his priorities are in his suite, upstairs. The young scientist has this idea....but Tony Stark doesn't listen.
If you love rocket fire and big explosions, well, this one has more than the rest. Lesson-learned on listening when you didn't. Dorky guy comes back with a vengeance and down comes the kingdom. Fortunately, his beautiful savior - Gwenyth Paltrow - comes to his rescue, yet again, and saves his ass.
She saves his ass because he is an ass and, for some reason, beautiful women love confident idiots. A donkey in every respect of the word, but, it is Downey's humility that keeps him honest and keeps his fans thinking that being a cocky, jackass, is somehow, OK. After all, he is IronMan. I forgive him.
Downey's ego rolls throughout the film. I believe he sneaks in more one liners and smart ass comments than in any of the previous films. They aren't quite as sharp or quick as the last one but they are, still, very funny and the film falls nothing short of great and highly enjoyable.
Left with nothing in the middle of nowhere, Downey rebuilds, again, with all his love and technical know-how of robotics and scheming and comes back swinging. But, the plot is full of surprises and his mind at work bring out new warfare and technology that has you shaking and laughing at the same time.
Iron Man 3 is, yet another, wonderful, wild ride and deserves a full glass of well-aged, 2010 7&8 Napa Cabernet. Like Robert Downey Jr., this wine is big but balanced. It reaches out to grab with deep, berry flavor and reels you in. It does so swimmingly on the palette that you think something must be wrong with this, something is going to crash, our hero is going to fail - but Tony Stark doesn't disappoint. Nor does Robert Downey Jr. and this glass of one of Napa's stars!
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