by Christina Waters | Jul 21, 2010 | Home, Movies |
Still haunted by Leonardo diCaprio’s beautiful face, taking on gravitas with time, I find it difficult to know where to start with Christopher Nolan’s hugely entertaining Inception. From the director of Memento and The Dark Knight, this dream-within-a-dream caper is everything a movie should be. Mixing up cinematic quotes from Mulholland Drive, The Matrix and many a 007 thriller, Inception offers tight script (too tight for those who don’t enjoy teasing out interlocking plot lines), mind-boggling cinematography (Paris morphed in on itself is easily one of the most thrilling uses of moving images ever devised), vertiginous editing (in the good sense), a relentless Hans Zimmer soundtrack, and a cast of ridiculously good-looking men dressed beyond Hugo Boss.
Perhaps the final race against time sequences go on ten minutes too long. Maybe there is too much verbal exposition. But I didn’t care. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jul 19, 2010 | Home, Movies |
Backlit by a throbbing, surging, overripe score from opera composer John Adams, and wandering stylishly through the mother of all Milanese mansions, Tilda Swinton & company offer much in the way of visual opulence, in the new Italian chick flick I Am Love.
Tall, attenuated and obviously, beautifully bored, Swinton’s character – a Russian blonde married into a wealthy family of spoiled Milanese textile magnates – is only one of many confined and closeted characters in this sensuous bit of fluff. With her Mannerist neck (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jul 14, 2010 | Home |
Verve fresh roasted coffee beans are electrifying our morning ritual. Pungent and toasty, yet completely free of that burnt charcoal finish that haunts many french roast beans—these are light, rich and deliver nuanced flavor.
For $10ish for 10 oz, the French Roast is our new favorite way to start the day with a well-rounded caffeine rush. Check your local market.
Or, head out to Verve Coffee Roasters at the end of 41st Avenue, pick up some beans and sip a double macchiato surrounded by the bohemian beautiful people of Opal Cliffs.
by Christina Waters | Jul 13, 2010 | Wine |
The scenic Santa Cruz Mountains viticultural region opens up its winery tasting rooms this Saturday for the July installment of the Passport tasting cycle.
Over 40 wineries, each distinctive, each showcasing handmade premium wines and the ineffable terroir of this region, will be open for visits, tastings, picnics, finger food, live music and of course purchases – this Saturday, July 17 from 11am until 5pm.
Find out all the details at SCMWA and plan to discover your new favorite wine this weekend.
by Christina Waters | Jul 12, 2010 | Home, Movies |
They’re all here again, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack)), Hamm, Bullseye, Barbie, and of course Andy the boy who loves all of these spunky toys. In the third installment, Andy has grown up and is just about to leave for college. Woody and the gang are growing anxious — will Andy store them in the attic? or will he toss them into the garbage?
If you loved the first Toy Story, easily one of the most ambitious — and successful — animated films of all time, then you’ll feast on this sequel showing once again that the folks at Pixar have no peers in the visual storytelling department.(Certainly the dummies over at Universal won’t make a dent in Pixar with the utterly clueless, sappy clunker called Despicable Me. Actually they should have simply called it Despicable and been done with it.)
What’s most delightful about the new Toy Story is that it is a tale told in every possible narrative dimension. (more…)
