MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT AND PUBLIC ENEMY #1

This is a wonderfully entertaining and mesmerizing movie. It
was 4 and 1/2 hours long in total and divided into 2 parts.
Vincent Cassel played Jacques Mesrine (english subtitles), a
criminal 'extraordinaire', kidnapper, ladies' man, bank
robber and "celebrity" gangster. It was based on a true
story. Jacques was killed by the police in 1979. The movie
starts out with his death and ends that way too though
when its replayed at the end of the movie, you understand
a lot more which explains some of the actions and behavior.

Vincent Cassel was the ballet teacher in Black Swan and he is equally menacing and yet charming with a pot of violence simmering beneath his smile in this movie. Any other actor, I don't believe, could have played the part so perfectly and made this long movie so interesting.

Mesrine escaped from prison 3 times and these escapes were highly daring and suspense-filled. There was also a scene where he was wreaking revenge on a reporter who wrote an article about him and dared to call him dishonest and
someone who doesn't keep his word and whose partners always feel cheated by him and the police find it easy to get these guys to snitch and Mesrine went bonkers. He had a huge ego and was easily offended and always wanted to be thought well of which seems absolutely nuts given his "career" but it was his own 'moral' code.

anyway, the part of the movie which shows how he gets even with this reporter was excruciatingly tense.

There was a lot of innovative photography in this film and the music was great too. The ending shot of Mesrine dead was chilling.

MAYS COUNTER CHICKEN AND WAFFLES - TUCSON, AZ

For some reason, I was expecting a real taste adventure; something different by the joining of 2 foods (waffles and chicken) that are usually not served together (at least not in the culinary circles i run in). (as an aside, i know the latest wierd fusion attempt is adding bacon to everything; especially sweet things; like in a maple bacon hot fudge sundae.)

so i ordered 2 chicken tenders and a waffle and that's exactly what i got!! nothing mind - blowing or anything i'd care to repeat. The chicken was ok with one tender being more tender than the other but it was dry and the breading was absolutely uninspired and tasteless. and the waffle could have been a frozen Aunt Jemima. It was doughy without crispness or a lot of flavor. and the maple syrup was not warm.

Because the chicken was so dry i doused it in maple syrup along with the waffle which led to some interesting intestinal effects.

Bill had a chicken breast and collard greens and he praised the food so much i was almost thinking his came from a different kitchen. His meal was $7 and mine was $9- way overpriced.

I also didn't like the feeling of the restaurant; not very many booths but loads of closely set together tables and tv's on every wall surface and a long bar counter and even though the restaurant was not even 1/8th filled; it was noisy. I can imagine the din on weekends. cock-a-doodle-do.

ALL GOOD THINGS

This movie is based on a true story about the son of a wealthy real estate developer who was strongly suspected of multiple murders but who was never found guilty.

Ryan Gosling plays David, the son and he is excellent. He watched his mother commit suicide and has lived with a very critical and judgmental father and has always been compared to his high achieving brother who is quite happy to be part of the real estate business. David meets Katie who is played wonderfully by Kirsten Dunst. They fall in love and with her support and encouragement move to Vermont and open a health food store called All Good Things.

This lasts until David's father (acted imperiously well by Frank Langella) threatens to remove David from the will and to stop subsidizing their rural lifestyle. So David and Katie move back to the city and the film shows the gradual deterioration of David's mental health and his descent into violent outbursts and his withdrawal from social outlets and meaningful communication.

After Katie has an abortion because David is adamant he does not want to be a father, she wants a divorce. Then after some particularly harrowing suspensefilled tense encounters and arguments between them (with hints of some physical abuse and her discovering that he had killed their husky dog), she 'disappears'. The case has never been closed. The movie strongly suggests that David killed her.

Then years later, a friend of David's is killed just as the police are going to question her about the death of David's wife and again, the film suggests that David arranged her murder by offering a homeless man a place to live. He was never charged with that murder. and then he kills the friend and he is finally charged with a crime but the jury finds him not guilty of murder because they believed his story of self-defense.

The film ends by letting us know that he is currently living in Florida and working as a real estate developer.

Because there was no real ending or closure to the murders, i was left with an unsatisfying feeling. but the movie was excellently acted and there was mounting tension and edge of the seat scenes throughout the film.

HANNA

This was a wierd movie and oddly unsatisfying though I enjoyed it and was immersed in the action throughout the film.

It starred Saoirse Ronan as Hanna (what a beautiful ethereal actress) and Eric Bana was her father. He had raised her in isolation near the Arctic Circle to be independent and skilled in tracking and defending herself. Then Cate Blanchette enters as a government agent (murky explanation as to just who she worked for or with) who wants to kill Eric and capture his daughter.

So the whole movie is just that. It was suspenseful and exciting because there was always action and near escapes and quirky unexpected twists (one of the best parts is when Hanna hooks up with a vacationing Australian family and travels with them in their van). The music was wonderful, the acting superb and the photography and scenes of Morocco and the desert were breathtaking.

But at the end of the movie, Bill and I looked at each other and said "so what was all that about?" The plot as to why Eric and his daughter were living in the forest and why they were targets for murder was never really explained. There was no character development of anyone except Hanna. People were murdered (in highly inventive ways) that appeared to be important cogs in the chain but no reason was ever even hinted at as to their relationship to Hanna.

So all in all, it was much ado about nothing. Though the ado was engrossing as it was happening.

RABBIT HOLE

Good movie about the adjustment after the death of a 4 year old boy. The parents were played by Aaron Eckhart (howie) and Nicole Kidman (Becca). Nicole was perfectly cast in this film because there is always a veneer of iron clad tight assed control and restraint about her and the role in this movie called for exactly that.

All the scenes were really believable and there was no hollywood soap opera overly-dramatic grief; just the quiet and periodically passively aggressive expressed anger and sorrow and pain.

The best scene was Becca's mom played wondefully by Dianne Wiest talking to her daughter about the evolution of grief. Wiest's 30 year old son (Becca's brother) died about 10 years previously and Wiest was answering Becca's question: "does it ever go away?" The short answer is no but it changes and becomes manageable and even in a wierd way, comforting because the changed 'brick' of grief becomes a substitute for the dead son.

LUCKY WISHBONE - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant has several locations in Tucson and the placque on the wall said it has been in business for 35 years. There was a constant stream of customers; most of them picking up food to go.

The menu is simple; fried chicken in various amounts, fried shrimp, and burgers. With each order you get french fries and a pc. of garlic toast which was really just well buttered Wonder bread. The prices are incredibly inexpensive.

Bill had 1 chicken breast which he really enjoyed. I had the Mama's portion of shrimp (7 pieces). I was pleasantly surprised. The shrimp really tasted like shrimp and it had the correct texture of shrimp (unlike Long John Silver's "shrimp" (previously reviewed) which was more like shrump like in "you are a chump for thinking you can get a real crustacean here." and i liked the thin breading. The fries were also quite good; crispy and not greasy.

Neither of us ate the garlic toast. Oh, we also shared a container of coleslaw. I didn't like it but Bill did so we brought what was left home for his lunch.

Wonder if their burgers even come close to our favorites? I'm going to try that next.