TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

When i whisper a help request to Bill in the movie theater, pleading for some understanding of a scene or the relationship of 2 characters and he looks at me with dumb confusion in his eyes, i know there is no hope for me in the cinematic chaos.

I understood the general plot of course which was a search for the high-placed mole in the british secret service who was giving classified info to the Russians. But i got continually lost as far as names and characters and what their job was in the agency.

There was no tension in the movie and the acting though superb (Gary Oldman as the main actor was phenomenal) was plodding and so upper crust as to be stiff with dullness. Everyone was grim and the entire color tone of the movie was grey-beige-black. And i never got invested in anyone so i couldn't cheer on the few discoveries which brought the unveiling of the mole closer to reality with any emotion.

I just didn't care. Especially given the current state of our rapidly evolving Obama led police state this film's depiction of the Cold War seemed like a snooze fest of spy play-acting.

We were both very disappointed.
I gave it a 4 and Bill rated it a 3.

MAD MARIO'S ITALIAN DELI - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant has been open for 3 months. The building was empty for about 3 years and before that vacancy there was a Vietnamese deli that Bill and i ate at during Tucson #1. We went in for their sandwiches and were very disappointed so never went back. Mario's sits right in the middle of a small strip of shops; coffee, pizza and beer and I think a laundromat.

Even though the location is good - right on Speedway in the University area - there's not very good parking access and what there is is not visible as one would drive past Mario's. So that leaves the students who are walking the neighborhood or between classes but they aren't around during holidays and the summer.

All this is to explain why i'm not sure if this restaurant will make it. Mario is a very friendly guy; very talkative. he worked for many many years for Sysco food service and I'm pretty sure that's where the food comes from. I had cheese ravioli with meat sauce and roasted red pepper and smoked gouda soup and a warm artisan roll. Bill had spaghetti with 2 italian sausages, a roll and a salad with ranch dressing.

Bill liked his spaghetti more than i liked my ravioli. It didn't come close on any comparison measure to Tony's New York deli on 22nd. Mario's sauce wasn't very flavorful; there was way too much cheese on top of the ravioli, the cheese filling was bland and the pasta pockets were way too thick and doughy. Bill had the same comment about the amount of cheese on his meal. However, the soup was extraordinarily supreme; great combo of flavors with chunks of tomato and tiny bits of cheese. Oh, it was delicious..

both our meals came in microwaveable tins which is another reason why i think they came from Sysco. The roll was very good also and the salad was too.

Mario's menu is huge with many entrees - chicken, veal and beef, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, panini, 7 different kinds of lasagne and lots of desserts.

We will re-visit the deli because its conveniently located on our way back from many of our winter hikes and i'd like to try some of their sandwiches. They are open till 8pm.

RAPT

This was a subtitled French thriller which WAS very thrilling and suspenseful. Also i appreciated that the english words were in bright white letters and large type so it was very easy to read.

A chairman and majority stock-holder of a financial group who had ties to government and big businesses was kidnapped. The ransom was 50 million euros. During many discussions between his family and the police and his fellow board members it was discovered that he was a womanizer, gambler, cheat; had many hidden accounts that he would draw on for his casino trips and gifts to his many women (he of course was married with 2 teenage girls.)

and this resulted in an on-going debate over just who wanted him back enough to front all this money since the people in his life were gradually becoming aware of his 'other side' and many of them didn't particularly want him surfacing again. His wife was disgusted and talking divorce, his mother was ashamed, his partners felt he had irrevocably sullied the name of the company and added to this was the fact that 20 million euros was the most money they could come up with.

The tension over the kidnappee's continuing dishonesties was interspersed with scenes of his kidnappers and his captivity. I don't want to give away the ending because it was surprising and just perfect.

We had never seen a kidnapping movie from this perspective.
I gave it an 8.5 and Bill gave it a 8.