by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2010 | Home |
Will Ferrell is the voice of big-headed Megamind, the pale blue skinny super-villain who still dreams of conquering Metro City. But things aren’t quite that easy, because Metro Man — Brad Pitt’s voice in a sleek, muscle-bound package — is the darling of the populace, and also the main squeeze of TV newscaster Roxanne Ritchie (Tiny Fey). If this sounds a bit like the Superman formula, it is. In fact, one of the film’s clever intertextual references is to Jor-L (Superman’s “real” father, as played on-screen by the lisping Marlon Brando).
This animated blockbuster from DreamWorks is clever, adroit and at times disarmingly witty for a big, fat, hyper-visual 3-D feature.
Animation at its most supple, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2010 | Home |
From winemaker Ken Wornick comes this very confident red wine – Exponent – created of an intriguing blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and merlot. At $19 a bottle (@ VinoCruz) and 13.8% alcohol, it has the stuff to take on holiday ham, roast beef, raviolis and pozole (though not, I suspect, all at one sitting).
Big and beefy, even savory along the mid-section, this 2008 vintage is one of the most interesting wines to come down the local Santa Cruz Mountains pike in a long time.
Give it a shot – or give it to someone on your holiday list.
by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2010 | Home |
I’ve already been getting emails about this new place — Laili — across from Annieglass on Cooper Street in downtown Santa Cruz. Billing its menu as “silk road flavors” – I’m feasting my eyes on a menu loaded with foothill India, Pakistani and Afghan flavors.
Beef kofta, aushak dumplings with Persian chives, pumpkin boranee, lamb kebabs, pomegranate eggplant, chicken with pomegranate sauce and roasted potatoes.
Immediately after Thanksgiving, I’m there.
by Christina Waters | Nov 9, 2010 | Home |
By now you all know that Charlie Parker is leaving The Cellar Door’s exhibition kitchen to work at Daniel Patterson’s new Oakland eatery Plum. A big loss for all of us who had been pampered by Parker’s nuanced dishes at the Bonny Doon Vineyard cafe. . . . Rocco’s on Water Street is now featuring an offer few can refuse – beer and burger for $9.95. All day. Check it out. . . . Peter Kumec of Mission Hill Creamery says that he’s in discussions to move onto Pacific Avenue, which I believe would be a much better location for his outstanding artisanal, organic ice creams. Stay tuned. . . . And even though Chris LeVeque‘s new salchiceria next to Kelly’s isn’t quite finished, the tilework is in, gorgeous, and so are the front counters. . . .
by Christina Waters | Nov 9, 2010 | Home |
Before I dive into the one-man circus of insanity that is John Malkovich, let me quickly set the table.
If you don’t like Bruce Willis, you will not like Red. He’s on-screen 200% of the time, doing a variety of improvisations on the theme of John McClane two decades past Diehard. Oh he still has a few cooler than a glacier moves and his head absolutely gleams. But those pursed lips. We’ve been there.
Then there’s Helen Mirren, highly acclaimed (and thereby patronized) for “looking so sexy” for her sixtysomething age. She looks fine, but she also walks through her role as a simulation of a simulated aging great actress. And if Mirren can, from some angles, look youngish for her age, poor Morgan Freeman (trotted out to join the team of retired CIA assassins known as Retired Extremely Dangerous -“red”) looks like his own father. He must have needed the paycheck – recent divorce perhaps?
Red contains a few nice surprises. For example, the indestructible Ernest Borgnine (yes, he IS still alive) does a crafty cameo, and the RED team’s CIA nemesis is played by the very tasty Karl Urban who rivals Daniel “James Bond” Craig in the “don’t bother to wrap it” department.
Having said all of this – yes the film is diverting, but no it isn’t memorable – let me now turn to the main course — John Malkovich, (more…)
