Nicole, Deipnosophist.

on 27 October 2007

in Performance Reviews and Reviews

. 2 Comments

Last time the Mummies were in town, I was carrying an extra human around with me, so I didn’t attend the show. I wasn’t going to miss this one! If you’ve never heard of the Mummies, they are a dynamic funk band with fantastic live shows. They are the height of kitsch: they not only sing every single song as a double entendre, they perform in full costume every time. I wouldn’t recognize them if they were out of their mummy garb! I never thought I’d like funk, but these musicians are great fun to watch and they are very talented as well.

So we dressed up, found a babysitter, and headed to the Vogue. Our usual ticket connection guy was MIA. We called him on our way, only to find he wasn’t able to attend the show…for the first time in years. As we arrived at the Vogue, I saw a sad little sign that read “Mummies- tonight- Sold Out :).” Oh no! We didn’t even think of that! So we hung around outside hoping someone would have tickets. We weren’t the only ones. This guy and his I Dream of Jeannie date had elaborate costumes but no tickets. Groups of us loitered, hoping for the best.

As we waited, some people in zombie costumes wandered past the Vogue. They were playing the zombie part very creepily. A minute later, a guy dressed as Michael Jackson (pre-plastic surgery and skin bleaching) wandered past. We joked he might break into Thriller. Then, about 20 yards past the Vogue, a car pulled up, opened its windows, and out blasted Thriller! The zombies and “Michael” broke into the Thriller dance. It was hilarious and well done. Even some of the Vogue staff stopped by to cheer and clap. After the dancing finished, “Michael” announced that he had extra tickets! We cheered, rushed over, and bought two. A crowd clamored for the tickets and we all congratulated each other on our good fortune.

We ran to the Vogue entrance as an entourage of ecstatic fans. The drumbeats of Do You Believe had just begun. We didn’t miss a thing! The performance rocked as always. The crowd sang every word, and fans who’d never met were singing to each other and the band. The costumes were wild (Michael and gang were just the beginning) and everyone was having a great time.

It wasn’t their best show to date, but it delivered energetic funk in a great atmosphere. I’m glad to see that this band that used to play at the tiny, now defunct Patio is now packing the Vogue full. They announced that they’ll be rocking the Vogue on New Year’s too- a first- they usually play in Tennessee that night. Oh, and TiVo Big Shots this week- they have a song on the soundtrack!

New Year’s Eve, here come the Mummies fans!

Fauxtoberfest 2007 Update

Published

on 14 October 2007

in Brewing, Life in General, Restaurant Reviews and Reviews

. 2 Comments

This is apparently a busy weekend for most people I know! We only had a crew of three to attend the Fauxtoberfest for Tuxedo Park Brewers.

We all expected it to be in a park somewhere in Fountain Square, but it was actually in someone’s yard! I felt like I was crashing a private party. We ordered beers and chilis and ate and drank in the cool, crisp weather. They offered free two ounce tastings, so I indulged my palate.

Blackout Stout- This was my last beer of the evening. I love stouts and this one was delicious. The person pouring had likened it to a Young’s Double Chocolate, but I thought it was less overly sweet and offered a roastier flavor, with notes of coffee and toasted marshmallow. I’d drink this as dessert.

Dog Days Cream Ale- This had been named “Cream Corn,” but the brewers decided that evoked a rather unpalatable dish served by lunch ladies. Carlton suggested “Corn Dog” was a better name yet. The beer was smooth and creamy, with a mouthfeel similar to Boddington’s. Made with Indiana sweet corn, it was a great ale for a Hoosier brewer. Delicious and mild with a candy-like aftertaste.

Flat Tire Amber- I was expecting something like Fat Tire. This beer was nothing like Fat Tire. It was crisp and a little too boozy, with none of the buscuit character I expected. It was a perfectly good Amber, but not my favorite beer of the night. Midwest Supplies markets a Fat Tire kit called Flat Tire already, so maybe this one’s up for a name change also.

Big Buck Oatmeal Stout- Chewy and hearty, this was my favorite beer of the night. It was a great beer for a fall afternoon. Nutty and delicious, the stout delivered big flavor in a beer best sippe, not chugged. Best drunk while socializing around a quiet fire.

Wrecking Ball Robust Porter- At least I think it was Wrecking Ball. I couldn’t read the small print on the tap handle. It was a porter, in any case. I didn’t think this was a special beer; just drinkable and easygoing for a porter.

Raspberry Wheat- I only had a small taste (still not eating wheat). This wasn’t on the menu but was very good. I dislike fruit beers as a general guideline. I always wonder- how bad/boring is the beer that it had to be hidden behind fruit? This was bursting with raspberry and apple notes, but wasn’t stickily sweet. The beer was straw colored. That’s usually a sign that the fruit flavor came from an extract instead of the actual fruit. As a beer purist, I should (and usually do) dislike the use of flavorings; however, this was the perfect way to have berry flavor without adding sugar or making the beer pink.

The Tuxedo Park crew had outdoor games, tables, a free cream soda tap, a fire pit, and a CD mix that brought back my college days. In fact, the whole party had the feel of a college house party…but with better beer. The brewers I met were really nice and we talked homebrewing for a long time. They offered to let me watch an all-grain brewing session so I could see what it’s like.

Where can Tuxedo Park beer be purchased? Uh, I don’t know. I forgot to ask that one!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind directed by Michel Gondry

Published

on 11 October 2007

. 2 Comments

Have you ever wished you could redo an event in your life? I’ve often lamented that I didn’t study more in college. I a lifetime of boneheaded decisions painfully clearly. In high school, I said mean things about my friends when I was feeling insecure; in college, I was more interested in socializing than studying, eating, or sleeping; after college…well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have dated a stalker by choice.

Eternal Sunshine provides me with the “what if” fantasy of erasing those memories from my brain as though they never happened. Joel and Clementine both decide that they hated their relationship so much that it was better off erased. Clem’s erasure is completed with no remarkable effects; however, the technician in charge of Joel’s is more interested in in beer and the opposite sex than in ensuring his job is done well (sounds like me in college). As the memories are pulled from Joel’s head, he relives each of them one last time. Joel begins to wonder why he embarked on this at all. His memories of Clem are often as sad as they are sweet, but he realizes he wants to keep them and starts fighting the erasing machine.

What follows is a captivating view into one director’s idea of how our synapses fire and misfire as they trigger memory. Reality bends and some scenes feel like cartoons or dreams. Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Joel is very good, despite the fact that a few scenes are obviously Carrey as Carrey, mugging more than acting. I even liked Kate Winslet as Clem and thought she somehow looked prettier with crazy red hair than she ever did in her other films.

Spoiler ahead!

In the end, the erasure negatively impacts everyone: those who do it as well as those surrounding the erased. While the movie had a few times when it swirled around like a madman, it drew the conclusion I always have: my experiences and mistakes, however grave or embarrassing, have made me who I am today. Maybe the cruelty of other kids- and my resulting lashing out- led to my compassion for people and animals. Maybe I’m such a diligent employee now to make up for earlier follies. Maybe if my GPA were 4.0 I would have had a different career path and wouldn’t have met my husband. Maybe all the desperately wrong people I dated helped me to see what I didn’t want in a spouse…and, regarding my bad relationship behaviors, didn’t want myself to be.

Regret is wasteful, and this film shows how our efforts to deny our selves do not end up bettering us. I didn’t expect to like this movie but I find myself wanting to see it again to reexplore each layer of plot and theme.

3:10 to Yuma directed by James Mangold

Published

on 08 October 2007

. 3 Comments

Strike one: Russel Crowe’s in it. Strike two: I dislike Westerns, even everyone’s favorite, Unforgiven. I used to hate Westerns (and still kind of do) because of the fact that women are almost never portrayed in strong roles. I was irritated by the fact that every woman was a meek wife, a waitress/server type, or a whore. I’ve made my peace with the fact that this genre is not going to change and that it is about male bonding and man versus man/himself.

Being that this movie was already made once, I expected no different; it was true to genre. However, it was one of the better films I’ve seen this year. The pacing was spot-on: like a good symphony, it had balanced highs and lows instead of simple, full-on adrenaline. Dan Evans is a rancher who is struggling to make payments on his property. He has only been consistent at failure and is keenly aware of that fact. He backs away from his first confrontation with Ben Wade; however, as the film progresses, their relationship is that of equals. In fact, I would assert that Ben Wade feels that Evans is the better man, as evidenced in the film’s last scenes. The dialogue is complex without being stuffy. I would say the costuming is excellent, except the oddly fitted white leather jacket and fancy studded chaps on Charlie Prince. It was a strange touch that I feel will date the movie if watched in 20 years.

Critics had panned the ending as odd or wrong or, as Roeper said, “weird.” But I thought the ending perfectly befit the themes carried throughout. It showed the kind of man that Evans was and the kind of man that Wade respected (even if his show of respect was “weird”). I can’t say much more without spoiling.

I even (begrudgingly) admit that Russel Crowe was excellent.

If all you want is an action movie, 3:10 delivers; if you want to explore complex themes, this is still the movie for you.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest directed by Gore Verbinski

Published

on 14 September 2007

. 4 Comments

I wanted to love this movie. I really did! But I found myself groaning more than I found myself laughing.

The first movie was surprisingly fun to watch so I had equal hopes for this one. I had company at my house for the evening and was ready to enjoy an action film that was witty and had fun fantasy wardrobe stuff. “Swashbuckle” is fun to say, too, and I planned to sprinkle this review liberally with the term.

*sigh*

The costumes did not disappoint, and the actors’ performances didn’t either. But the movie did. The script was tight and the wit was intact; however, the writers of the action sequences threw in every possible cliche’ they could. I often talk about “suspension of disbelief” and the amount of it required to watch a film. Obviously a movie with an undead octopus-faced character requires it. However, action sequences should be cleverly choreographed and demand that the characters have superhero-like grace and ingenuity. I do not need to see two characters on a runaway mill wheel and think “surely that wheel would have already hit a tree.” The sequence was so long that I thought that thought over and over. It totally ruined my immersion.

Also, the movie “ended” about four times. Each time was a big, dramatic, loud action sequence with all the overtures of a denouement, but then the film just wouldn’t end. It left me begging for the real ending instead of enjoying any more of the movie.

Verdict: watchable, yes. But not as swashbucklingly swashbuckle-y as I’d hoped.

Clerks directed by Kevin Smith

Published

on 05 September 2007

. 3 Comments

Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this movie. Allow me to date myself: the first time I saw Clerks was as a poor college student; the movie was shown as part of a free movie series. It was projected onto a white sheet in an empty classroom; the start time was ten at night; admission was free. The atmosphere- complete with one-arm student desks- was addictive. The audience had an immediate bonding experience, and the fact that none of us had spent money meant that we felt free to laugh harder and quip about the movie. Watching free movies in classrooms, and two-dollar recent releases at the student union, nurtured my love of movies and is probably why I’m writing reviews now. The atmosphere does contribute to how one sees a movie; I’ve heard professional critics talk about the rest of the audience in the screening.

But I digress. I watched the movie again after over ten years, not knowing what to expect. It was fun ten years ago; would it be fun now?

Yes. The low-budget brilliance was just as funny. The pace was a bit slow in sections but the comedy played very well. Though I’ve only seen the movie twice, I could understand why it was a cult classic worthy of viewing over and over again. It is, of course, entirely implausible, but who cares? The film pushes the envelope just far enough to make the audience shocked into laughter.

All considered, I wasn’t as in love with the movie as I thought I would be. As I said, the pace was occasionally very slow; while it adequately conveyed the numbing pace of working in a convenience store, it wasn’t entertaining as an audience member. The acting is spotty in places, completely pulling me out of the experience.

This is the first three-star movie that I’m still highly recommending. It’s not the most entertaining epic of our time. But it’s part of the American pop cultural fabric, referenced repeatedly in television, print, and movies. I recommend that if you are thirty-something, you should watch Clerks and understand the brilliance of Kevin Smith.

A Cleaner Home: Cat Genie Litterbox Review

Published

on 27 August 2007

in Reviews

. 7 Comments

As you may know, I love animals. I was never very fond of cats, though, but not because of their behavior; I cannot stand cat hair nor cat litter. I have a very strong aversion to both.

After marrying a guy with a cat, I had to learn to live with the disgustingness. I’ve changed litter exactly three times in six years. It smells so awful. When I was pregnant, my aversion was even worse. The second cat’s litter box was in our walk-in closet and I was starting to lose my mind. I couldn’t even walk in our closet.

I’ve tried several different automatic litter boxes with mixed success. They delay the cleaning but the smell- though muted- is still there. Basically, there’s a big container of cat waste in the house. Gross.

So, after a month of debate over the cost, I bought a Cat Genie. I installed it in the closet. It requires fresh water hookup and drain to a commode or laundry drain; I drilled a hole in the drywall to the bathroom and inserted the hoses. Installation was really easy. I was eight months pregnant and had no problems. Well, no problems other than figuring out how to haul myself up after lying on the floor to attach the water line!

Once installed, it was fussy. It had a draining issue and a rotation issue within 10 days. Both led to the cat using the floor. I was ready to give up on my investment. However, since that first few days, there have been no problems. It is set to auto-clean daily and the closet smells like clean clothes again. After just a few months of use, we decided that the other cat should have one as well. But where to install it? The cats have to be separated, so it couldn’t be in the same room. All other commodes had no room for the unwieldy thing (21 inch diameter). The laundry room is the size of a postage stamp, so no way.

But I could not have that disgusting clay litter in the house any more. So we decided to install it in our mechanical room, forgoing the simple setup provided. We cut into an existing cold water line and installed a faucet. The drain line drains to the grinder pump. No more lugging clay litter around, no more smell, and certainly less bacteria on the cat’s toes after each use. I can reorder the stuff I need- with free shipping- in about 2 minutes instead of a trip to the store. Several months’ worth of supplies fit in a small box, not a bunch of big, heavy boxes of clay. Maintenance takes 30 seconds monthly (to snap in a sanitizer cartridge), with one in-depth 30 minute cleaning annually. Compare that to 10-15 gross minutes weekly and in-depth cleanings every month or two.

The only downsides are: the sanitizing solution smells like baby powder and I am allergic to most perfumes. The little washable plastic pellets are so light that the cat tracks them much farther than regular litter. I had to buy some startlingly expensive litter mats so that the litter could be trapped and reused because the litter refills are ridiculously priced at $22. Even so, the operation cost is less than a regular self-cleaning litter box using premium clumping litter.

My last self-cleaning clay litter box was $200. For $64 more, I now have a litter box that helps me keep my sanity.

Plus soldering with a torch is fun

Wo shi shei (Jackie Chan’s Who Am I) directed by Benny Chan and Jackie Chan

Published

on 27 August 2007

. 0 Comments

Nobody watches a Jackie Chan movie for highbrow plot and award-winning acting, right? Right. So I set myself with the correct frame of reference and settled in to watch some fun martial arts choreography.

Well it’s a good thing that I wasn’t intent on any engaging plot line. This movie didn’t know where to draw the line. The plot is based upon Chan’s character suffering from amnesia and eluding the multiple agencies who are chasing him. He has no idea who he is, leading to others thinking his name is Whoami (ha, ha, get it?). He moves toward self-discovery as he engages in madcap martial arts scenarios. Think Bourne Identity but brainless.

OK, I’m not going to spend the entire review lambasting the film. It earns a little forgiveness for being almost 10 years old (but only a little). Some of the stunts are simply amazing. The martial arts fights are inventive- who thought of how to work Dutch wooden shoes into hand-to-hand combat? It was both entertaining and amusing. I did laugh out loud at some of the crazily implausible and elaborate stunts. There were several scenes where Chan seemed to defy gravity and I actually rewound them to watch them again. However, in the end, I wished that the whole movie had been cut like the credits reel: no dialogue, just action. The bloopers on the credits reel were the most fun part of the movie. They also showed how difficult it can be to have the stunt work as planned (how many times did they toss that cement bag??).

I’m all for brainless entertainment and clever martial arts stunts, but this film is like porn: not worth suffering through the lame plot and horrible, awful acting.

Rate [2]

Sin City directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez

Published

on 26 August 2007

. 0 Comments

After my recent review of 300, I realized that I’d never completed my review of Sin City. This review is based upon two viewings of the film.

I did not read the original Frank Miller ~~comics~~ graphic novels, so I entered into the movie with no expectations. There are overlapping plot lines and fantastic dramatic narration. Many of the characters are wearing makeup and prostheses to simulate their graphic novel appearance, and suspension of disbelief is a requirement for watching this film.

As each storyline evolved (or should I say degrades?), I felt a visceral reaction to many of the onscreen horrors. The movie bears the underbelly of the most disgusting parts of society but manages to do so in the most glamorous, beautiful way possible. Scenes are either completely hideous or fantastically gorgeous.

The amazing thing is that the movie manages to have five subplots but not be too confusing nor too shallow in any one plot. Character development is satisfying and I never felt that the movie went for the quick-wrap: you know, when the director is short on time so they “tell” rather than “show” the plot.

Performances by all actors are nearly flawless (though I would say that Alexis Bledel is not showing as much range as the rest of the cast). This movie is full of suspense and creates a complete world of its own. I’ve seen it twice and would be happy to see it more.

[Rate 4.5]

300 directed by Zach Snyder

Published

on 07 August 2007

in Literature Reviews, Movie Reviews and Reviews

. 3 Comments