New York. It's a place to be seen. It's a place to be found.
Yeah, I just watched the latest COVERGIRL ad with the fat Top Model (hater!), and that's what she said. I figure she probably didn't write the lines herself, but they do ring true for New York, as they would for any big city...or any location (A shopping cart...it's a place to be seen; it's a place to be found!). But the point is that pop culture and Hollywood are hooked on the City of Apples like a chubby pre-teen on Twinkies. Maybe it's the glamour created by Sex and the City. Maybe it's the tax cuts.
GHOST TOWN is the latest flicka using this particular place to be seen and found as its backdrop, and though it doesn't focus on the fashion fiesta that is Fifth Avenue, it does give ample credence to the lovely places and colorful individuals that make New York unique. Unique New York. Unique New York. Say that five times fast.
GHOST TOWN stars Ricky Gervais, the boss in the original British version of "The Office." I regret to admit that I've never seen the original "Office," but as far as I can tell from its American spin-off, Ricky Gervais (Steve Carrell's muse) plays a nerdy, nebbish, awkward guy. I guess it's his specialty, because that is also his character in GHOST TOWN--albeit here, he's probably more awkward than his TV self, and his character also bears the weight of a palpable sadness that begins to push this goofy comedy towards sentimental...dramedy.
The film has a silly premise: a dentist (Gervais) dies for a few instants during surgery, awakens and can see and speak to the dead of NYC who harbor unfinished business with the living. That actually sounds like the start of a horror film (I see dead people!). But frightening, GHOST TOWN is not. Its superficial delivery actually masks the meat of the film's message, i.e., the same meat our Covergirl was chewing on while applying her mascara: life--and the after-life--is about being seen and being found...and ultimately about finding yourself (awww). In his quest to handle the undead, our anti-social DDS starts to do just that.
My greatest qualm, as I intimated, is all in the delivery. At times GHOST TOWN feels British, with its...British lead, and its racial humor and its pessimism and bad weather (I love London, I do). But other times, the humor is decidedly American. I can't really explain it...but it's kind of the difference between making fun of fat people (American) and making fun of fat foreigners (British). This movie made fun of fat foreigners and then didn't...and then did and then didn't. Plus, there was a lot of stuttering; sometimes funny, sometimes annoying. Watch RUN FATBOY RUN, written half by a Brit (Simon Pegg) and half by an American (Michael Ian Black), and you might begin to understand. Unfortunately, an American delivering British humor, or vice versa, can sometimes be hard to swallow.
THE PLOT: I see and hate people.
THE THOUGHT: Cheer up, everybody dies eventually.
IN FIVE: 2.5/5 (I think it half works)
GET BY: http://www.ghosttownmovie.com/#/home
mercredi 24 septembre 2008
Five reasons why HBO's "Entourage" is still worth your time
1. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
2. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
3. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
4. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
5. ...those other four guys.
There's a reason the man has won three Emmy's. I know Season 5 started off slow, but get thee back to thine On Demand and watch the latest, episode 3. Season 5's balls have dropped, and it's all thanks to a bitch slap from Ari Gold. Boom!
live it: http://www.hbo.com/entourage/
2. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
3. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
4. JEREMY PIVEN AS ARI GOLD
5. ...those other four guys.
There's a reason the man has won three Emmy's. I know Season 5 started off slow, but get thee back to thine On Demand and watch the latest, episode 3. Season 5's balls have dropped, and it's all thanks to a bitch slap from Ari Gold. Boom!
live it: http://www.hbo.com/entourage/
mardi 16 septembre 2008
IMDB is my hero and my drug
I don't understand how this is happening...but dear heavens, please never take it away.
In addition to their fabulous supply of trailers, IMDB now offers free screenings of select classic and new TV shows, short films and--gasp!--feature-length movies.
AMAZING!
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/
In addition to their fabulous supply of trailers, IMDB now offers free screenings of select classic and new TV shows, short films and--gasp!--feature-length movies.
AMAZING!
http://www.imdb.com/features/video/
dimanche 14 septembre 2008
TOWELHEAD
It's pretty late, and I wanted to turn in, but I wanted to write this movie out of my mind more. TOWELHEAD was a tough view. I cringed through the entire thing, right from the opening scene of an adult male offering to help a thirteen year old girl shave her bikini line--and the tuft of pubic hair that followed--to the closing scenes of painful, sweaty childbirth. Whose child, I'll let readers wonder--but you probably shouldn't see the movie just to figure that out. If the pubic hair didn't scare you off, maybe Aaron Eckhart creepily seducing a child will do the trick.
TOWELHEAD boasts a lovely lead actress, the formerly unseen Summer Bishil who plays the part of Jasira, a thirteen-yr-old girl attempting to invisibly navigate the hot beginnings of teenage sexuality under her strict Lebanese father's watch. And for Jasira, sexuality is white hot. What with nudey mags to excite her, a good-looking American Man of a neighbor (Eckhart) to bait her and a boy at school with lusty eyes (newcomer deux, Eugene Jones) to date her, what do you expect? But everything goes south just when Jasira thinks she's figured out this crazy little thing called sex. Because of course what we find--as we always do in movies like this, from THIRTEEN to L.I.E. to even JUNO and SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING CRAP--is that despite their bodies, these protagonists are just kids.
My annoyance with TOWELHEAD is that it seems to have no other motive than to show that. And I don't know if a film like this needs a lesson to be good, but it did seem to suffer from said lesson's absence. I just felt painfully uneasy for a couple hours, wasn't told why and then was ushered from the theatre. It felt like I had cringed and felt awkward for nothing. In fact, it felt like I had just watched THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, and that amount of negative was not what I had been expecting. Maybe it's my fault for not knowing that I was walking into a sex...not romp...not farce...not 'capade...what would you call this, a sex drama?--well, maybe it's my fault for not knowing that I was walking into a sex drama instead of a mere multi-ethnic "slice of life" film, but maybe it was also the fault of the the film's marketing team.
So if you want to watch two hours of awkward sexual moments, go watch TOWELHEAD. If you want to watch two hours of awkward sexual moments and laugh...go rent AMERICAN PIE.
PLOT: A small slice of...sexual abuse.
THOUGHT: Too ripe for my taste.
IN FIVE: 2/5
PAT DRY: http://wip.warnerbros.com/towelhead/
(For the record, as confirmed by IMDB, Summer Bishil is twenty years old as of this July. Meaning she probably got the part at like what, age 18? Why, Parents, why?)
TOWELHEAD boasts a lovely lead actress, the formerly unseen Summer Bishil who plays the part of Jasira, a thirteen-yr-old girl attempting to invisibly navigate the hot beginnings of teenage sexuality under her strict Lebanese father's watch. And for Jasira, sexuality is white hot. What with nudey mags to excite her, a good-looking American Man of a neighbor (Eckhart) to bait her and a boy at school with lusty eyes (newcomer deux, Eugene Jones) to date her, what do you expect? But everything goes south just when Jasira thinks she's figured out this crazy little thing called sex. Because of course what we find--as we always do in movies like this, from THIRTEEN to L.I.E. to even JUNO and SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING CRAP--is that despite their bodies, these protagonists are just kids.
My annoyance with TOWELHEAD is that it seems to have no other motive than to show that. And I don't know if a film like this needs a lesson to be good, but it did seem to suffer from said lesson's absence. I just felt painfully uneasy for a couple hours, wasn't told why and then was ushered from the theatre. It felt like I had cringed and felt awkward for nothing. In fact, it felt like I had just watched THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, and that amount of negative was not what I had been expecting. Maybe it's my fault for not knowing that I was walking into a sex...not romp...not farce...not 'capade...what would you call this, a sex drama?--well, maybe it's my fault for not knowing that I was walking into a sex drama instead of a mere multi-ethnic "slice of life" film, but maybe it was also the fault of the the film's marketing team.
So if you want to watch two hours of awkward sexual moments, go watch TOWELHEAD. If you want to watch two hours of awkward sexual moments and laugh...go rent AMERICAN PIE.
PLOT: A small slice of...sexual abuse.
THOUGHT: Too ripe for my taste.
IN FIVE: 2/5
PAT DRY: http://wip.warnerbros.com/towelhead/
(For the record, as confirmed by IMDB, Summer Bishil is twenty years old as of this July. Meaning she probably got the part at like what, age 18? Why, Parents, why?)
WE EAT THE CITY II (Taste of Santa Monica)
Let's say you lived in a city that had tons of great restaurants. Like tons. Let's say you wanted to eat at all of them, but they were all fairly expensive, and you had both a shortage of time, money and patience, but a surplus of hunger. Let's say this city heard about you and decided to have a yearly, day-long, reasonably-priced food festival that featured the dishes of forty of said city's great restaurants, all for your immediate and repeated consumption. Oh, what a wonderful city that would be.
Welcome to Santa Monica.
I know I usually nickname places and people, but Santa Monica--previously and soon-again-to-be "Beach City"--deserves her props, because Taste of Santa Monica is not just a novel idea, but also a delectably delicious one.
Taste of Santa Monica, in its seventh session this year, features the notable offerings of the best of Beach City's eateries for one entrance fee that lets you try them all. Drinks are on you, but if you bring your own water, order your tickets in advance from my fabulous friend Goldstar and then park on Main Street instead of closer to the pier, the whole day costs you twenty-five bucks. $25! For samples from FORTY restaurants that are ALL GOOD and leave you STUFFED and HAPPY?!?! In the words of Cartoon SaMo: "This must be what heaven is like."
The event lasted from 12-4pm, but we didn't need the whole time. Starting off at about 12.30, it took us two hours to visit every booth, and even though not everyone in our foodie group of five tried every booth, we all departed with our stomachs full and our feet a little tired, but we felt very proud of our progress. It's definitely going to be a 2009 must-do.
Top Five Tastes, Savory:
1. EL CHOLO MEXICAN RESTAURANT - Green corn tamales (sweet tamale filled with aged cheddar, cheese and ortega chili): Not only was the texture spot on--not at all overcooked, despite the hurried festival delivery--but the portion was a whole tamale (!), and it came paired with a crunchy almond & brown-sugar cookie that almost pushed El Cholo to be one of our top sweet picks. [Website]
2. FAIRMONT MIRAMAR HOTEL - Wild mushroom tartine with an apple frisee salad: One of our first good finds. The mushrooms, served chilled atop a tuffled fromage blanc, were perfectly seasoned, and the salad beside them light and delicious. [Website]
3. LA VECCHIA CUCINA - Penne zingram (pasta served with sundried tomatoes, leeks, zucchini, fresh tomatoes tossed in an olive oil and garlic sauce): Usually I say "pasta is pasta," I'm hardly ever that interested in noodly carbs, but this pasta took the cake with its light, aromatic sauce and two types of tomatoes. Yummy! [Website]
4. OCEAN & VINEAT LOEWS SANTA MONICA BEACH HOTEL - Lobster/shitake ravioli lobster reduction: We ate it too late to truly appreciate it while ingesting, but in post, we were all talking about it! Apparently, hotel food is better than airport food--by a lot. [Website]
5. WOKCANO - Tuna tartare...served on a Dorito: Years of Doritos early in my pre-pubescent youth has made me hate Doritos. So when I saw this, I wanted to groan, "What the f, you lazy fools, can't you give us some real crostini?!" but after deciding to calm down and give it a try, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I've never really liked Wokcano, but this uncooked tuna was the best of the day (it's California; there was a lot of tuna sushi around), and the Dorito...reluctant to say it, but it added a pleasant kick. [Website]
Runner Up, THE ORGANIC PANIFICIO - Fresh bruschetta with crostini and truffle cheese sacchetti: Three cheers for three cheese pasta! [Website]
Top Five Tastes, Sweet:
1. ACADIE HAND CRAFTED FRENCH CREPES - Nutella crepe: What's not to love? And it was fun to watch the crepe makers flips their wrists so expertly. Crepe-making is truly an art, meaning crepes are edible art. Thank you, France. [Website]
2. EVERGREEN TEA HOUSE - Iced matcha green tea: So refreshing and just barely sweet. I went back for seconds. [No website]
3. HOTCAKES BAKES - Red velvet cupcake: Served in a one-bit size with a healthy (or unhealthy) dollop of cream cheese frosting, this cake just may be Sprinkles' rival. Guess I'll have to go back and do a cupcake bake-off. [Website]
4. SPN FOR MAHATMA RICE - Basmati Bombay dream rice pudding: Very dreamy. The rice was a smidge undercooked, but I'll forgive them for the smart addition of bitty almonds they decided to sprinkle on top. [Website]
5. IL FORNAIO - Assorted yummy cookies (though they also had bruschetta al pomodoro and prusciutto melone): I skipped on the savory and took a cookie to go--a buttery number with strawberry jam baked into its soft middle. Delicious, and a wonderful pair to the iced matcha. [Website]
So full, so happy, hooray for heavenly food.
Welcome to Santa Monica.
I know I usually nickname places and people, but Santa Monica--previously and soon-again-to-be "Beach City"--deserves her props, because Taste of Santa Monica is not just a novel idea, but also a delectably delicious one.
Taste of Santa Monica, in its seventh session this year, features the notable offerings of the best of Beach City's eateries for one entrance fee that lets you try them all. Drinks are on you, but if you bring your own water, order your tickets in advance from my fabulous friend Goldstar and then park on Main Street instead of closer to the pier, the whole day costs you twenty-five bucks. $25! For samples from FORTY restaurants that are ALL GOOD and leave you STUFFED and HAPPY?!?! In the words of Cartoon SaMo: "This must be what heaven is like."
The event lasted from 12-4pm, but we didn't need the whole time. Starting off at about 12.30, it took us two hours to visit every booth, and even though not everyone in our foodie group of five tried every booth, we all departed with our stomachs full and our feet a little tired, but we felt very proud of our progress. It's definitely going to be a 2009 must-do.
Top Five Tastes, Savory:
1. EL CHOLO MEXICAN RESTAURANT - Green corn tamales (sweet tamale filled with aged cheddar, cheese and ortega chili): Not only was the texture spot on--not at all overcooked, despite the hurried festival delivery--but the portion was a whole tamale (!), and it came paired with a crunchy almond & brown-sugar cookie that almost pushed El Cholo to be one of our top sweet picks. [Website]
2. FAIRMONT MIRAMAR HOTEL - Wild mushroom tartine with an apple frisee salad: One of our first good finds. The mushrooms, served chilled atop a tuffled fromage blanc, were perfectly seasoned, and the salad beside them light and delicious. [Website]
3. LA VECCHIA CUCINA - Penne zingram (pasta served with sundried tomatoes, leeks, zucchini, fresh tomatoes tossed in an olive oil and garlic sauce): Usually I say "pasta is pasta," I'm hardly ever that interested in noodly carbs, but this pasta took the cake with its light, aromatic sauce and two types of tomatoes. Yummy! [Website]
4. OCEAN & VINEAT LOEWS SANTA MONICA BEACH HOTEL - Lobster/shitake ravioli lobster reduction: We ate it too late to truly appreciate it while ingesting, but in post, we were all talking about it! Apparently, hotel food is better than airport food--by a lot. [Website]
5. WOKCANO - Tuna tartare...served on a Dorito: Years of Doritos early in my pre-pubescent youth has made me hate Doritos. So when I saw this, I wanted to groan, "What the f, you lazy fools, can't you give us some real crostini?!" but after deciding to calm down and give it a try, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I've never really liked Wokcano, but this uncooked tuna was the best of the day (it's California; there was a lot of tuna sushi around), and the Dorito...reluctant to say it, but it added a pleasant kick. [Website]
Runner Up, THE ORGANIC PANIFICIO - Fresh bruschetta with crostini and truffle cheese sacchetti: Three cheers for three cheese pasta! [Website]
Top Five Tastes, Sweet:
1. ACADIE HAND CRAFTED FRENCH CREPES - Nutella crepe: What's not to love? And it was fun to watch the crepe makers flips their wrists so expertly. Crepe-making is truly an art, meaning crepes are edible art. Thank you, France. [Website]
2. EVERGREEN TEA HOUSE - Iced matcha green tea: So refreshing and just barely sweet. I went back for seconds. [No website]
3. HOTCAKES BAKES - Red velvet cupcake: Served in a one-bit size with a healthy (or unhealthy) dollop of cream cheese frosting, this cake just may be Sprinkles' rival. Guess I'll have to go back and do a cupcake bake-off. [Website]
4. SPN FOR MAHATMA RICE - Basmati Bombay dream rice pudding: Very dreamy. The rice was a smidge undercooked, but I'll forgive them for the smart addition of bitty almonds they decided to sprinkle on top. [Website]
5. IL FORNAIO - Assorted yummy cookies (though they also had bruschetta al pomodoro and prusciutto melone): I skipped on the savory and took a cookie to go--a buttery number with strawberry jam baked into its soft middle. Delicious, and a wonderful pair to the iced matcha. [Website]
So full, so happy, hooray for heavenly food.
BURN AFTER READING
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "The Coen Brothers strike again!" a mere seven months after their Oscar for NO COUNTRY? In BURN AFTER READING, we get the powerhouse studio, Focus Features at the helm. We get George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins AND Brad Pitt. And again, dare I repeat, we've got the Coen Brothers. So naturally, we waited with baited breath for what a movie boasting an all-star cast and a pair of all-star directors could possibly deliver into a late summer plagued by the likes of THE HOUSE BUNNY and THE WOMEN. We waited, and as the credits unrolled, we began to mouth the words..."The Coen Brothers strike..." But then we saw the whole movie. And suddenly the full phrase seemed...generous.
The movie centers around accidental political hijinks which ensue after a CD loaded with potentially but unlikely classified, political material gets found by a numb-nuts gym trainer (Pitt) and his unhappily un-plastic coworker (MacDormand), who wants to leverage their find to get some cash from the Russians so she can carry through with a series of elective plastic surgeries. Other fools (Clooney, Malkovich, Swinton and Jenkins) get dragged into the foray which multiplies in scope until the CIA is involved and JK Simmons, acting as a CIA superior, polishes the cocktail off with a few body burnings.
No worries, nothing that wasn't revealed in the trailer. And the trailer was good. Really good. With banners broadcasting the main names in caps--CLOONEY, PITT, SWINTON--and a hard core musical score, we had no choice to hurry our way to the box office. But the trailer promised something the movie didn't adequately deliver: true humor. There was no shortage of laughs, that's not what I mean to say. It's just that the humor seemed to come from the...formulaics of the plot rather than its originality (give or take an interesting scene with an interesting chair...). We laughed when Brad Pitt danced. We laughed when Gorgeous George acted uncivilized. We laughed every time John Malkovich said the F-word. How typical.
To be honest, I think I would have liked the movie more if it wasn't directed by the Coens and if it wasn't so damn star-studded. Brad "I'm bored with this" Pitt's ridiculousness felt tired and...fake. Unlike Frances McDormand or even Tilda who seemed to fully become their characters (Tilda's quite good at playing the ice queen...), even George only felt half alive. And if Malkovich's claim to fame is only his ability to curse on cue and look really bad on camera...I'll pass.
I can't completely hate on the Coens, though, because the story was clever. I was just disappointed by its delivery. So yeah, they struck, all right. But down, up, again or out is still undecided.
PLOT: Junk in the wrong hands.
THOUGHT: The trailer is the highpoint.
IN FIVE: 3/5
BURN THE BODY: http://www.burnafterreading.com--live.com/#/home
The movie centers around accidental political hijinks which ensue after a CD loaded with potentially but unlikely classified, political material gets found by a numb-nuts gym trainer (Pitt) and his unhappily un-plastic coworker (MacDormand), who wants to leverage their find to get some cash from the Russians so she can carry through with a series of elective plastic surgeries. Other fools (Clooney, Malkovich, Swinton and Jenkins) get dragged into the foray which multiplies in scope until the CIA is involved and JK Simmons, acting as a CIA superior, polishes the cocktail off with a few body burnings.
No worries, nothing that wasn't revealed in the trailer. And the trailer was good. Really good. With banners broadcasting the main names in caps--CLOONEY, PITT, SWINTON--and a hard core musical score, we had no choice to hurry our way to the box office. But the trailer promised something the movie didn't adequately deliver: true humor. There was no shortage of laughs, that's not what I mean to say. It's just that the humor seemed to come from the...formulaics of the plot rather than its originality (give or take an interesting scene with an interesting chair...). We laughed when Brad Pitt danced. We laughed when Gorgeous George acted uncivilized. We laughed every time John Malkovich said the F-word. How typical.
To be honest, I think I would have liked the movie more if it wasn't directed by the Coens and if it wasn't so damn star-studded. Brad "I'm bored with this" Pitt's ridiculousness felt tired and...fake. Unlike Frances McDormand or even Tilda who seemed to fully become their characters (Tilda's quite good at playing the ice queen...), even George only felt half alive. And if Malkovich's claim to fame is only his ability to curse on cue and look really bad on camera...I'll pass.
I can't completely hate on the Coens, though, because the story was clever. I was just disappointed by its delivery. So yeah, they struck, all right. But down, up, again or out is still undecided.
PLOT: Junk in the wrong hands.
THOUGHT: The trailer is the highpoint.
IN FIVE: 3/5
BURN THE BODY: http://www.burnafterreading.com--live.com/#/home
vendredi 12 septembre 2008
I am my own Urban Dictionary II
Word: "food" as a verb.
Definition: the act, figurative or literal, of eating something with gusto, most usually in the presence of friends. One rarely foods alone (that would be binge eating, not fooding, which like binge drinking, is usually a sign of a problem).
Examples of usage:
1. Hey, wanna food this weekend?
2. I'm about to food this house down.
Note 1: "Food" is accompanied by a perceived element of commonness when used in the present simple tense. When modified to the present or past continuous tense ("-ing"), the word value increases in prestige. (Example: "We're going to food after happy hour, if you're interested," versus, "We'll be fooding this weekend after a day of wine tasting, if you're interested.")
Definition: the act, figurative or literal, of eating something with gusto, most usually in the presence of friends. One rarely foods alone (that would be binge eating, not fooding, which like binge drinking, is usually a sign of a problem).
Examples of usage:
1. Hey, wanna food this weekend?
2. I'm about to food this house down.
Note 1: "Food" is accompanied by a perceived element of commonness when used in the present simple tense. When modified to the present or past continuous tense ("-ing"), the word value increases in prestige. (Example: "We're going to food after happy hour, if you're interested," versus, "We'll be fooding this weekend after a day of wine tasting, if you're interested.")
Luna Park | dinner
I'm convinced I have some of the best friends in the world. Somehow, they've learned how much I love to eat--and eat well--and have accommodated my epicurean habits into their personal lives and social calendars. My friends save coupons from the market to go to IHOP and watch me salivate like a Pavlovian dog at the mention of a buttermilk short stack. They email me when they hear about places to get good cookies and every time Fire City decides to hold a Cupcake Challenge. I mean, really. I'm fast realising that my loving relationship with food is one of my defining characteristics. And why shouldn't it be?
Most recently, my friend Cartoon SaMo (he lives in Santa Monica and has the endearing loveability of a Saturday morning cartoon--look, SaMo has a double meaning!) started a tradition he's monikered Dinner Club. Weekly--and we're currently trying for Thursdays--he and his chosen list of invitees will meet at a different notable Fire City food joint to make conversation, make friends, and simultaneously food ourselves to our hearts' content. Yeah, that's right, in my world "food" is a verb. And one place that knows how to use it is Luna Park.
Luna Park was the destination, last night, of the inaugural meeting of Dinner Club. I'd been there before, to enjoy a prix fixe dinner during Fire City Restaurant Week, and at the time, I walked away saying, "Those wasabi mashed potatoes were a bad choice," but the ambiance, I remember liking, and its proximity to my workplace also earned it some points. When Cartoon SaMo suggested it for Dinner Club, I was at first a little disappointed. Still enjoying the newness of fooding in this town, I don't tend to double-hit many locations outside my fave five, but I realised if our first visit impressed SaMo that much, then we'd better go back.
This visit, no wasabi mashed potatoes. But yes to drinks at the dimly lit bar. Reservations were at 7.30, but I'd heard stories of Luna's cocktails, so I strolled over after work (hurried over, actually; SaMo beat me there) and ordered at the bar. The early-arriving boys went masculine: SaMo's friend Theme Park Parking (he works for Disney) ordered whiskey on the rocks, and SaMo downed a dirty martini. I went androgynous and ordered a gimlet: vodka and lime juice, apparently. Presentation was so-so on the beverages (the dirty got spilled all over the glass and wasn't even pat dry...which was kinda dirty), but our 'tender was smooth and friendly.
When the rest of the guests arrived, we settled in for the eats, and the night rolled along nicely. Our table started with Luna's signature fondue, a goat cheesy number that I didn't try, but that disappeared quickly. Obviously, we were pleasantly stuffed by meal's end (though I boxed up half my pizza to go--thirteen bucks actually bought me that night's dinner as well as the next day's lunch and maybe more dinner), but there was no way we were saying no to the create your own s'mores for dessert. Oh man, to be at the campfire again! But without the bears, ghost stories and too many soccer moms wearing sleeveless tops.
the food: I think I scored highest. Others raved about the mac and cheese, but my choice, El Camarone pizza, was magnificent. Shrimp on mozza with fresh arugula and this...ever so delicately spiced lime sauce drizzle...don't know what they called it, but I'm calling it fantastic sauce.
the mood: They describe themselves as "kitschy, flea market chic." Interesting. I say...they're like the lantern booth in a casbah with the daytime lights turned off and the sexy lights glowing at half-mast.
the cocktail: LA Gimlet, get it while it's there. Absolut LA vodka (the special edition blend with notes of acai berry and pomegranate) makes the gold.
in five: 3.5/5
a walk around the park: http://www.lunaparkla.com/
Most recently, my friend Cartoon SaMo (he lives in Santa Monica and has the endearing loveability of a Saturday morning cartoon--look, SaMo has a double meaning!) started a tradition he's monikered Dinner Club. Weekly--and we're currently trying for Thursdays--he and his chosen list of invitees will meet at a different notable Fire City food joint to make conversation, make friends, and simultaneously food ourselves to our hearts' content. Yeah, that's right, in my world "food" is a verb. And one place that knows how to use it is Luna Park.
Luna Park was the destination, last night, of the inaugural meeting of Dinner Club. I'd been there before, to enjoy a prix fixe dinner during Fire City Restaurant Week, and at the time, I walked away saying, "Those wasabi mashed potatoes were a bad choice," but the ambiance, I remember liking, and its proximity to my workplace also earned it some points. When Cartoon SaMo suggested it for Dinner Club, I was at first a little disappointed. Still enjoying the newness of fooding in this town, I don't tend to double-hit many locations outside my fave five, but I realised if our first visit impressed SaMo that much, then we'd better go back.
This visit, no wasabi mashed potatoes. But yes to drinks at the dimly lit bar. Reservations were at 7.30, but I'd heard stories of Luna's cocktails, so I strolled over after work (hurried over, actually; SaMo beat me there) and ordered at the bar. The early-arriving boys went masculine: SaMo's friend Theme Park Parking (he works for Disney) ordered whiskey on the rocks, and SaMo downed a dirty martini. I went androgynous and ordered a gimlet: vodka and lime juice, apparently. Presentation was so-so on the beverages (the dirty got spilled all over the glass and wasn't even pat dry...which was kinda dirty), but our 'tender was smooth and friendly.
When the rest of the guests arrived, we settled in for the eats, and the night rolled along nicely. Our table started with Luna's signature fondue, a goat cheesy number that I didn't try, but that disappeared quickly. Obviously, we were pleasantly stuffed by meal's end (though I boxed up half my pizza to go--thirteen bucks actually bought me that night's dinner as well as the next day's lunch and maybe more dinner), but there was no way we were saying no to the create your own s'mores for dessert. Oh man, to be at the campfire again! But without the bears, ghost stories and too many soccer moms wearing sleeveless tops.
the food: I think I scored highest. Others raved about the mac and cheese, but my choice, El Camarone pizza, was magnificent. Shrimp on mozza with fresh arugula and this...ever so delicately spiced lime sauce drizzle...don't know what they called it, but I'm calling it fantastic sauce.
the mood: They describe themselves as "kitschy, flea market chic." Interesting. I say...they're like the lantern booth in a casbah with the daytime lights turned off and the sexy lights glowing at half-mast.
the cocktail: LA Gimlet, get it while it's there. Absolut LA vodka (the special edition blend with notes of acai berry and pomegranate) makes the gold.
in five: 3.5/5
a walk around the park: http://www.lunaparkla.com/
mardi 2 septembre 2008
THE HOUSE BUNNY
Haha, you're laughing, right? THE HOUSE BUNNY. Like, seriously. But it was cute. I don't mean cute, like "I want to see it again," cute, but cute, like "well...that happened." Some might not call that cute.
The reasons I saw it are twofold: one, I wanted to go to the movies with my mom while I was home for my birthday/Labor Day weekend. It's one of those things we do. Two, I heard an acquaintance of mine from high school had a brief cameo in it! Well, for starters, his cameo was brief, but not *that* brief: his character had lines and a name in the credits and everything. Woot! Go Texas. But that was probably the most fun from the whole movie, for me. That, and the dance number that brings the thing to a rollicking close. Stay for the credits, my friends!
But don't stay for the plot.
HOUSE BUNNY centers around a 27-yr-old Playmate who's kicked out of the mansion--oops, I mean The Mansion--and decides to become a house mother for a failure sorority at a university that looks a lot like (and may very well be) UCLA. She is dumb. Dumber than dumb. Like, some turtles could probably solve a few math problems quicker than her. But I guess the movie is about stereotypes: from the slutty, stupid Playmate (she offers a cop a blow job, people) to the witchy, stuck-up sorority girl to the nerdy, socially awkward virgin to the good-looking but untrustworthy frat boy (go Texas!). I guess it's also about conquering stereotypes, turning them over and redefining them. The popular girls get dissed, the misfit girls get noticed and the dumb slut falls for the smart boy who works in a geriatric facility. I see you, stereotypes. CRUSHED.
Go see it for my friend, who "stars" as TYLER. Go Texas!
plot: Bikinis...bunnies...college...funny.
thought: Blah blah, where's my popcorn?
in five: uh...really? 2/5. Or...1.5/5
HUH: http://www.thehousebunny.com/#/home
The reasons I saw it are twofold: one, I wanted to go to the movies with my mom while I was home for my birthday/Labor Day weekend. It's one of those things we do. Two, I heard an acquaintance of mine from high school had a brief cameo in it! Well, for starters, his cameo was brief, but not *that* brief: his character had lines and a name in the credits and everything. Woot! Go Texas. But that was probably the most fun from the whole movie, for me. That, and the dance number that brings the thing to a rollicking close. Stay for the credits, my friends!
But don't stay for the plot.
HOUSE BUNNY centers around a 27-yr-old Playmate who's kicked out of the mansion--oops, I mean The Mansion--and decides to become a house mother for a failure sorority at a university that looks a lot like (and may very well be) UCLA. She is dumb. Dumber than dumb. Like, some turtles could probably solve a few math problems quicker than her. But I guess the movie is about stereotypes: from the slutty, stupid Playmate (she offers a cop a blow job, people) to the witchy, stuck-up sorority girl to the nerdy, socially awkward virgin to the good-looking but untrustworthy frat boy (go Texas!). I guess it's also about conquering stereotypes, turning them over and redefining them. The popular girls get dissed, the misfit girls get noticed and the dumb slut falls for the smart boy who works in a geriatric facility. I see you, stereotypes. CRUSHED.
Go see it for my friend, who "stars" as TYLER. Go Texas!
plot: Bikinis...bunnies...college...funny.
thought: Blah blah, where's my popcorn?
in five: uh...really? 2/5. Or...1.5/5
HUH: http://www.thehousebunny.com/#/home
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