TAKE SHELTER

This is not so much a review as a public service announcement in an attempt to save you from squandering 2 hours of your life.

Bill and I rated this a 1. We did think of zero but then we remembered the zero film; a  sub-titled Swedish movie about a family gathering during which the patriarch was revealed to be a pedophile. That film was a zero in any language.

This movie was about a man who became obsessed with protecting his family from a coming storm. His obsession led to some crazy and irrational behavior and because mental illness ran in his family he and his wife and friends felt he was going insane.  but - lo and behold - after almost 2 painful glacially slow hours, the big storm DOES come. that's it!!

The lead actor was Michael Shannon who is excellent and most recently appeared as the FBI director in charge of investigating liquor dealings in the time of Prohibition in that excellent series - Boardwalk Empire. But Shannon's talent was wasted in this maelstrom of drek.

JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME

A simple and short (1 hour 23 minute) film about the different ways people try to find a meaning to their lives. The movie is packed with humor and the acting is superb. The characters are jeff, the 30 year old son of Susan Sarandon who lives in the basement, smokes pot and is obsessed with the movie Signs. So naturally he pays attention to 'signs' that might point the way to the answer to his question about his life purpose. He receives a sign about the name Kevin early in the film and this is the framework the action is built around.

Ed Helms, as Jeff's older married brother is hilarious. Listening to him explain to his wife over breakfast why it was ok to buy a Porsche without telling her was side-splitting and then to see what happens to the car is even better. The movie is fast paced with great dialogue.

However, i was disappointed at how neatly it ended and i felt the story took an implausible  turn though it was a totally unexpected turn. Because of this, though, i rated it a 7; it didn't bother bill as much so he gave this movie an 8.

PIAZZA GAVI - TUCSON, AZ

I ate breakfast with my friend Carol and we sat outside on their patio. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful outside; the feeling is that of being in an Italian villa. Lots of iron work and wrought iron and loads and loads of plants and hanging flower baskets and vines. The patio is huge too and wraps around 3/4's of the building. Besides the tables and chairs there is also an area with couches and pillows. This is a big restaurant and when i went inside to (you guessed it!) to use the bathroom i was amazed at the amount of space that was just packed with tables. I imagine that on a busy weekend night this place is as noisy as the Roman Coliseum.

I was less than impressed with the food. Our waitress seemed pot-hazed. We had to ask for a lot of things like jelly like silverware like a refill for our water. She mixed up Carol's potato order and our bread order and when she was refilling the water she overflowed the glass and besides the floor - it went in Carol's purse. So the service certainly impacted on my food experience.

I ordered a California omelette. It was large and filled adequately with avocado, bacon, tomatoes, spinach and swiss cheese but it was too puffy and airy tasting. Can't quite describe the taste; sort of like egg substitutes were used and they were put through an aerator. The crispy home fries were like tater tots so i passed on those and asked for a second pc. of toast. The toast and potatoes and omelette was $9.

I'd like to come back for lunch, however, before deleting this restaurant from my list.

LERUA'S - TUCSON, AZ

We finally tried this Mexican restaurant and what a treat. right by the front door are massive bougainvillea in neon red. The restaurant itself is fairly small with tables only. and the bathroom is located way at the back and side of the kitchen. I always avert my eyes when i'm going to the bathroom and have to pass by the food prep areas. I'm afraid of seeing cockroaches and other insects and/or a chef's sweat landing on top of an enchilada.

The food is very reasonably priced and the menu is large. The chips are excellent and the salsa was  chunky with lots of tomatoes and  slightly spicy. I had a green corn tamale and a beef taco with rice and beans. The tamale was wonderful and stuffed with green chiles. The masa was very light. and the beef in the taco was flavorful. The rice was quite plain so i doused it with the salsa and i don't think i would get the beans again; totally mashed refried and again very plain; no cheese.

bill got a beef tamale and was just as satisfied as i was. so we will be back.

R & R BARBEQUE - TUCSON, AZ

I have a love-hate relationship with this restaurant. The beef brisket (this is the only place where i eat this cut of meat due to its excellence) is wonderful; very very tender and flavorful without any fat ribbons or gristle. The meat is served on a fresh hoagie roll with a side of tasty and slightly spicy BBQ sauce. and for a $1 extra you get a side. I got french fries which were good and Bill always gets coleslaw which to me is pretty bland with hardly any dressing. They also have mac n' cheese (i had this once and i'm sure some of the gluey cheese is still sticking to tiny diverticuli pockets), potato salad (ho-hum) and beans which i've never tried because they don't give samples.

And this is one of several 'hate' aspects of my feeling about this place. The owner is a grossly overweight dour gruff person who never smiles and who is not welcoming at all. I always feel apologetic and also like i'm ready to be scolded. When i asked for a taste of the beans, he announced that he doesn't allow that and plus in umpteen years of him making beans, every customer has loved them. Well, that puts me in a competition with all those other customers which i'm not ready to join.

I don't see the sign anymore but he was on a rant one day about the cost of groceries and people wasting food and proclaimed that from now on if you wanted more than the small plastic cup of BBQ sauce you had to pay $2.50.

The restaurant is also grim looking. very plain and very bright. Unlike most BBQ places there are not napkins or paper towels at the table; instead you've got to go up to the counter under Mr. BBQ-Nazi's watchful eye and take some very thin and small napkins. I'm always ready to be sternly 'cut off'.

But ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the beef brisket so far comes out ahead of the atmosphere and persona of the owner so i'll be back.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Very disturbing but excellently done movie starring Rachel Weisz. She is hired by Demcra a private firm that the government has contracted with to serve as 'peace officers' in Bosnia. She gradually uncovers a lot of evidence that these peace officers including a lot of Americans are running a sex slave operation. They promise girls in the Ukraine or Russia that for 4 months work in a hotel or restaurant they will be paid lots of money. when they cross the border, however, their passports are taken from them and they service whomever wants them. They also are beaten and tortured regularly; sometimes just to keep their fear level high and other times as part of group sex scenarios.

Rachel Weisz goes to her superiors with this information and finds out everyone knows about it and no action will be taken. Some very tense scenes follow her awareness of this as she tries to gather actual testimony from some of the girls and opens files on all of them. Eventually she is fired. She goes to the U.K. to publicly expose this. And all that is done is a few of the Americans are sent home but no criminal charges are brought against any of them or against Demcra.

A postscript to the film notes that Rachel (this movie is based on a true story) lives in the Netherlands and cannot find work in the international community. also that many private contracting firms including the one that was portrayed in the film are alive and well - operating in Iraq and Afghanistan keeping 'peace'.

Bill and i both could not get this movie out of our heads. very powerful. I rated it an 8.5 and Bill gave it a 9.

POLISH COTTAGE - TUCSON, AZ

This was our second visit and i'm not sure if I'll be back. The food wasn't as good as i remembered it. and the menu is really limited to several entrees and 4 varieties of pierogi.

The atmosphere is wonderfully cozy though with pictures and curtains and windows and bright turquoise blue walls and a spotlessly gleaming bathroom that resembles the inside of a sauna. The service is good also.

Bill and I shared a chicken cutlet and 8 pierogi (beef, mushroom and farmer's cheese and a potato and sauerkraut variety.) We also ordered a side of sour cream which was 50 cents extra and which was a fairly small amount. The pierogi wasn't as tasty as before; plus they seemed awfully doughy. I have 5 of them left for lunch.

The chicken was tender but plain with no sauce or gravy. The fried potatoes were breakfast time home fries and were not crispy or flavorful. We also got a "side" of cucumber salad which was delicious; wafer thin slices of cukes with a slightly creamy sweet and sour dressing. Unfortunately, our helping was about 1 heaping tablespoon.

The food quality and quantity did not justify the $10 price for the chicken entree.
So we had to assuage our still craving tongues and appetite which led to a short drive to a new gelato place - Tazzina di Gelato. excellent gelato - as good as Frost's. I had chocolate hazelnut and Mexican coffee and bill had a berry mix and mint chocolate. We certainly will be back when we need to satisfy a sweet tooth or rather a sweet mouth.