by Christina Waters | Jan 20, 2010 | Food, Home |
News of Gabriella’s impending demise—promulgated by the owner himself—seems to have been premature.
The love of a good tax attorney might be just the ticket. We’ll see.
But whatever the actual status of the tiny downtown dining room, a packed house last Friday (including me and my birthday buddy) enjoyed some of the best food ever produced by wunderkind Brad Briske and his young kitchen team.
Somehow there continues to be miles of savvy and style separating what this dining room can produce and what others can manage. Not sure just how or why. But I will be back for more next week.
by Christina Waters | Jan 20, 2010 | Home, Movies |
The words on this promo poster say it all!
Proving that there are plenty of bad film ideas to go around, Denzel Washington hacks his way through post-apocalyptic America armed only with a machete, four or five semi-automatic weapons and a big, sacred book that is somehow going to salvage what remains of Mankind.
The Book of Eli, co-produced by Washington and “directed” by two guys billed as “The Hughes Brothers,” answers the burning question: “What ever happened to Jennifer ‘Fame’ Beals?” Well she turns up at the kept woman of Gary Oldman (who is so severely tic-ridden as to erase all memory of his former cinematic brilliance). Oldman is the honcho of a frontier town that resembles a cross between the cast party of Road Warrior and a Hells Angels convention.
Packs of very dirty men dressed in leather roam what’s left of the world after a nuclear something has destroyed (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 9, 2010 | Home, Movies |
Billions, schmillions—Avatar is sheer self-indulgence touted as cutting-edge sci-tech.
But that’s not my big issue with this bloat of folkloric cheesiness wrapped in day-glo and eco-blather. And I don’t care how many billions are being shelled out for this film.
My main problem with Avatar lies with the moral implications of such big budget generic commercialism: Lack of courage.
Once upon a time, filmmakers had imaginations larger than their budgets. Often they had fresh stories to tell, and fueled by their imaginations they shaped these stories with words, images and directorial vision into cinematic gems. The greatest made work that endured, enchanted and enlightened.
Given the amount of advance hype, the ten years of his life director James Cameron (The Abyss, Aliens, The Titanic) gave to the project, and the amount of money it cost, there was good reason to get excited about the Big Holiday Movie that opened less than a month ago. Alas while Cameron took his sweet time tinkering with technology and special effects, film fashion passed him by. The hackneyed graphics, the psychedelic sensibility, the embarrassing ethnic stereotypes, the recycled underwater-meets-the-rainforest imagery, the sophomoric script and most of all the shocking lack of fantasy/sci-fi vision make this the howler of the decade.
Dances with Wolves meets The Lion King
Cameron is a sucker for simple tales of worlds colliding with some sort of trans-species lovefest as a result. He’s made that film before – and better. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 8, 2010 | Home, Wine |
The beautiful 2008 chardonnay made by Sal Godinez for Vine Hill is a surprisingly tangy, tart pour that avoids the cloying oak and butterscotch of so many California chardonnays.
Laced with minerals, the new Vine Hill release clocks in at a solid 14.4% alc, begins with plenty of lemon and lime, and then finishes up with hazelnuts and an appealing hint of banana.
Spectacularly distinctive, this wine adores middle-eastern flavors, grilled chicken and oil-rich seafoods. For $27 it is a great way to get acquainted with the future of Santa Cruz Mountains white wines.
by Christina Waters | Jan 8, 2010 | Food, Home |
Tikka Masala from Seeds of Change – is serious flavor in a jar. All the labor-intensive work of grinding, roasting, mincing, and simmering has been done for you – all you need to do is get a jar of this wonderfully aromatic simmer sauce ($6 @ New Leaf) and let its heady perfume turn something ordinary into a spice trip.
Confession: I am not a mistress of Indian cuisine. I don’t have a wildly successful curry recipe up my sleeve. But I adore (adore) the extreme spices of Mother India. So I’m always grateful for high-wattage shortcuts.
We had roast chicken the other night. Chicken can always use a little extra kick, no? This tikka masala worked transformative magic. I like my Indian flavors on the hot side, so we also applied a few hefty dollops of “hot” mango chutney to the chicken, along with tons of the tikka masala.
Fabulous. (I know all of you spice purists are probably rolling your eyes. But some of us gotta work for a living and don’t have tons of leisure time to watch the Food Channel and whip up a respectable masala from scratch.)
by Christina Waters | Jan 6, 2010 | Home, Movies |
This one goes out for all you gals out there who ever lost your head over a man with long hair and a guitar. Crazy Heart.
Jeff Bridges has been nominated four times for an Oscar. But never won. In a way that’s the story of Bad Blake, a broken-down, still-defiant C&W singer who drinks, swears, smokes and drives his way through Crazy Heart, the Scott Cooper film starring Bridges.
Imagine if the Dude of Big Lebowski fame had talent and still burned for something he hadn’t quite gotten to. That would be close to the character Bridges burns into the screen in this gem of a performance.
Oh the film itself isn’t much, although it gives generously of burnished southwest scenery and foot-stompin’ country rock music. Not enough tension or plot to really give cinephiliacs something substantial to chew on. But I didn’t care. Bridges was quite enough to keep me in that seat. (more…)
