A wonderful trip back to the 60's with absolutely great music from the Rolling Stones, Bo Diddley, Mother Earth (killer song - Down so Low), Beatles, Procol Harem; just to name a few.
I thought the film was going to be about the formation and tribulations and trials of a rock n' roll band started by high school friends and it was - but only in part. It was mainly a nostalgic ride to the decade of free love and hippies and Martin Luther King, Jr. and freedom marches and LSD and long hair and rebellion against all forms of authority and guru's and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. But also about the fractious and very often unpleasant relationship between parents and their children; the struggle between one generation and a totally different one without identification points for the mom and dad. and of course, this split and lack of understanding was exemplified and highlighted by the emergence of rock n' roll.
I gave it a 7 and Bill gave it an 8. Its a shame that no publicity preceded this movie because a lot of people will miss out on an entertaining film.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
KILLER JOE
This movie was deliciously darkly comic, sadistic, violent, quirky, mesmerizing and thoroughly enjoyable. It is the pinnacle of cinematic pulp fiction.
The acting was phenomenal by everyone and it was non-stop action and suspense and tension. Even Bill who is quite good at figuring out endings did not know where this one was going and the final plot twist and ending was superb.
Matthew McConaughey is Joe, a cop who moonlights by contract killing. He is approached by Chris (Emile Hersch) who owes a lot of money to drug dealers. He talks to his dad Ansel, played so well by Thomas Haden Church as a befuddled, alcoholic, simple-minded man, about the insurance policy they could have if Ansel's ex-wife and Chris's mother was killed. Dottie is the beneficiary who is Chris's sister and Ansel's daughter and she will share the money with Chris so he can pay off his drug debt. Dottie is played with just the right combination of grown-up sexpot, temptress and young innocent freespirited teenager by Juno Temple.
So the movie proceeds at breakneck speed with McConaughey's gracious and ever so polite and softly rolling conversation overlying projectile evil and madness. This is one of his best roles. It was a wonderful parody of Southern dysfunction complete with barking pitbulls on chains, and trailers with refrigerators near the front door. There is a scene involving Joe and Ansel's current wife (Gina Gershon) involving a chicken leg that reached the heights of sexual depravity and comic astonishment.
The movie got an NC-17 rating but it should have been an NC-99 rating. You'll either turn it off within 5 minutes or want it to be longer. Bill and i rated it a 9.
The acting was phenomenal by everyone and it was non-stop action and suspense and tension. Even Bill who is quite good at figuring out endings did not know where this one was going and the final plot twist and ending was superb.
Matthew McConaughey is Joe, a cop who moonlights by contract killing. He is approached by Chris (Emile Hersch) who owes a lot of money to drug dealers. He talks to his dad Ansel, played so well by Thomas Haden Church as a befuddled, alcoholic, simple-minded man, about the insurance policy they could have if Ansel's ex-wife and Chris's mother was killed. Dottie is the beneficiary who is Chris's sister and Ansel's daughter and she will share the money with Chris so he can pay off his drug debt. Dottie is played with just the right combination of grown-up sexpot, temptress and young innocent freespirited teenager by Juno Temple.
So the movie proceeds at breakneck speed with McConaughey's gracious and ever so polite and softly rolling conversation overlying projectile evil and madness. This is one of his best roles. It was a wonderful parody of Southern dysfunction complete with barking pitbulls on chains, and trailers with refrigerators near the front door. There is a scene involving Joe and Ansel's current wife (Gina Gershon) involving a chicken leg that reached the heights of sexual depravity and comic astonishment.
The movie got an NC-17 rating but it should have been an NC-99 rating. You'll either turn it off within 5 minutes or want it to be longer. Bill and i rated it a 9.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
CAFE FRANCAIS PATISSERIE - TUCSON, AZ
Cosmo and I were very disappointed in this restaurant. It is owned by the same couple who ran Cafe Delice on the far East side and which recently closed. Nicole, the wife, does all the pastries.
The space is inviting and large and roomy and the windows look out onto the courtyard of Plaza Palomino which is very attractive. They are open for breakfast and lunch and on Fridays and Saturdays they also serve dinner.
I ordered a croque monsieur which is ham and cheese and bechamel sauce on bread. This was served with a small green salad with a tart creamy dressing. The sandwich was very very dry. The bread, though fresh, was way too thick for the skimpy insides plus the ham tasted and looked more like a pressed ham loaf. I could not taste the bechamel sauce at all. When i asked for mayo to add some moisture, i was told by the waitress (who was efficient but hovered speechlessly by the side of our table for endless minutes one too many times) that they have NO mayo!!
So she brought dijon mustard but it still needed some wetness. I think the fact that the bread was toasted added to the dryness. I then got a side of the salad dressing and lathered that on the sandwich. and that made it fairly pleasantly edible.
Cosmo got a Monte Cristo which was also lacking in filling quantity, breading, classic shape and the accompaniment of what was advertised as being strawberry preserves.
We shared an apricot galette which was the best of our lunch repast. However, even this wasn't outstanding and the pastry could have been flakier and more luxuriously buttery. Isn't this the hallmark of French pastry?
Oh, and one last thing. the owners wanted all the black padded chairs to be on one side of the room and the dark green ones to be on the other. These are metal tipped chairs on a tile floor and this task was done with much interruption and clangor for about 15 minutes straight including the changing of the chairs at the table we were sitting at. This was very disruptive.
I won't be back.
The space is inviting and large and roomy and the windows look out onto the courtyard of Plaza Palomino which is very attractive. They are open for breakfast and lunch and on Fridays and Saturdays they also serve dinner.
I ordered a croque monsieur which is ham and cheese and bechamel sauce on bread. This was served with a small green salad with a tart creamy dressing. The sandwich was very very dry. The bread, though fresh, was way too thick for the skimpy insides plus the ham tasted and looked more like a pressed ham loaf. I could not taste the bechamel sauce at all. When i asked for mayo to add some moisture, i was told by the waitress (who was efficient but hovered speechlessly by the side of our table for endless minutes one too many times) that they have NO mayo!!
So she brought dijon mustard but it still needed some wetness. I think the fact that the bread was toasted added to the dryness. I then got a side of the salad dressing and lathered that on the sandwich. and that made it fairly pleasantly edible.
Cosmo got a Monte Cristo which was also lacking in filling quantity, breading, classic shape and the accompaniment of what was advertised as being strawberry preserves.
We shared an apricot galette which was the best of our lunch repast. However, even this wasn't outstanding and the pastry could have been flakier and more luxuriously buttery. Isn't this the hallmark of French pastry?
Oh, and one last thing. the owners wanted all the black padded chairs to be on one side of the room and the dark green ones to be on the other. These are metal tipped chairs on a tile floor and this task was done with much interruption and clangor for about 15 minutes straight including the changing of the chairs at the table we were sitting at. This was very disruptive.
I won't be back.
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