Award Season Films

I rarely watch movies in the theaters, but I was able to catch up on many of the movies nominated for awards this past season over the last few weeks on my return flight from Spain and a couple of library borrowings that I had put on hold awhile ago. All of them were good in some ways, but I definitely liked a few more than others.

Favorites:
True Grit: I don't normally like Western-type movies, but this was a charming yet gritty movie where I really liked the characters, particularly Hailee Steinfield's character. I'm really impressed by her poise and style both in the movie as well as during as well as during award season. Then there's the always likeable Jeff Bridges, who plays the essentially same guy well in all his movies.

A King's Speech: I like movies that interrelate interesting personal stories within a larger historical context. The story was interesting and I liked and really rooted for all the characters.

The Kids are All Right: I just watched this last night and I thought it was an interestingly awkward yet empathetic character-driven film. Plus, I like all movies set in Los Angeles; I think a good portion of the film was filmed in nearby Venice / Mar Vista as well as Silverlake / Echo Park.

Not so favorites:
Black Swan: On the plus side, I liked the dancing and costumes in the movie. I just didn't like the characters, I wasn't really rooting for anyone. I like movies where I actually like and can empathize with the characters; Natalie Portman's character was a little too annoying, pathetic and crazy for me.

The Town: I thought the movie was ok but not great. It was entertaining, but I thought there were some holes and weaknesses in both the plotlines and the characters. Plus though her role was small, I find Blake Lively irritating (or at least I have difficultly separating her from her annoying character on Gossip Girl).

Tangled: Ok, so best song doesn't really count as an award winner, but nevertheless I watched Tangled because I love Disney. It was rather forgettable and formulaic; definitely not destined to be a Disney classic.

The September Issue - Inside Look at Vogue

I missed this documentary in the theaters, but finally watched it on DVD last week.  The September Issue is a documentary about the making of Vogue's September 2007 issue.  Vogue has been my favorite magazine forever; I remember reading every issue starting from age 10.  There is no other fashion magazine that even comes close, in terms of its influence on the fashion industry and consumers.  I thought the documentary was really interesting; like most people, I am both frightened of and reverent of Anna Wintour: she has amazing taste, but is so incredibly intimidating.  This documentary was the first that I've ever seen of her talking and interacting with others in depth.  It didn't make her any less scary, but I definitely found it insightful.  It was great to see how Vogue works behind the scenes and the effort that goes into producing a single issue, as well as to meet some of the other cast of characters, including Grace Coddington, whom I previously only knew by their byline, but now really admire.  Since watching the documentary, I especially look out for all the editorial spreads by Grace; she produced the most beautiful work.  This documentary probably won't appeal to anyone not interested in fashion, but a definite must-watch for fashion addicts like me.

Bon Appetit!

Whenever I think of beef bourguinon, I think of Julia Child, thanks in large part to Julie and Julia.  Based on a tip from JK, I followed Ina Garten's recipe, which was decidedly simpler than Julia Child's recipe.  It really was delicious and I will be making this recipe lots this winter.  The stew broth had depth and complexity and was really well-balanced; you could taste the deep meatiness of the perfectly cooked beef and pancetta with the red wine and sweetness from the vegetables and aromatics, including carrots, pearl onions, garlic, thyme and crimini mushrooms.  I basically followed Ina's recipe exactly, except I used pancetta that I already had in the fridge instead of bacon, about 2.75 lbs of beef after trimming off as much fat as possible, and 1/2 cup more of beef stock.  In the future, I would probably use a little bit more stock and wine, since the stew broth was so delicious, I would have cut everything a little smaller, and I would have cooked the carrots and pearl onions just a little longer.  I used choice chuck ribeye from Costco, which was reasonably priced, and cheap Trader Joe's 2 Buck Chuck Merlot (I don't think it makes a difference) and Trader Joe's beef broth.  I can't recommend this recipe enough!  We had the perfect wine with this meal as well (also thanks to JK, who recommended Miner Families on our first Napa trip back in 2005): 2002 Miner Family Oracle (a bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc).  It was beautiful; still very lively and lush with a big nose, lots of fruit and very drinkable.  We followed it with a 2007 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawara Shiraz (our old go-to relatively inexpensive wine at steakhouses), but it was a little too dark, peppery and jammy, particularly relative to the vivacious Miner Family Oracle.

Post Thanksgiving Beer Tasting Review: Out of State Brews

After watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the Landmark Theaters in the Westside Pavilion (favorite LA movie theater) last night, Rich and his mobile 40 gallon cooler of beers, Amy, Will and Katie came over to taste some of Rich's new acquisitions.  Most of these beers cannot be purchased in California and are only released annually in their home state (exceptions being the Trader Joe's 2010 Vintage Ale of course, San Diego's Alpine Ichabod Ale, and the He'Brew Rejewvenator, the Chosen Beer, for real).  The favorite of the night was Goose Island's 2010 Bourbon County Coffee Stout from Chicago, brewed with Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso in bourbon barrels.  It was strong yet smooth, powerful and delicious.  I quite liked Alaska's Midnight Sun's Brewing Companies T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter with its pumpkin and chocolate flavors (reminds me of that delicious chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding from Gjelina) and subtle cookie spice flavors (I really like spice-y beers, like Belgian Ales).  I thought it was quite complex in the nose and the taste, and very good.  The New Glarus Brewing Company's fruit ales from Wisconsin: cherry, raspberry and apple were also quite good and unique; sweet, a little like juice / sparkling cider.  It would be hard to drink a lot of it, but the fruit flavors are really good in their own ways.  The pumpkin sour from Alpine Brewing Company (a San Diego company that makes my favorite IPA, the Duet) actually grew on me.  Sours are apparently the "it" thing in beer now.  The lingering puckering taste was off putting at first, but after trying quite a few bottles of the Russian River sours last time and a few sips of the Ichabod and knowing what to expect, I got used to it and could appreciate the other flavors in the beer.  The He'Brew Rejwvenation was just terrible.  It's the first beer we've ever poured out after a sip.  I think it might have gone bad or something, but it was undrinkable.

New Glarus' Raspberry Tart, Wisconsin Belgian Red (cherry), Unplugged (apple).  My favorite was the apple

Alpine Beer Company's Ichabod Ale, a pumpkin sour, and Alaska's Midnight Sun's Treat, brewed with pumpkin, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg

Rejewvenator He'brew, the Chosen Beer, Goose Island 2010 Bourbon County Stout, Trader Joe's 2010 Vintage Ale

Alice in Wonderland / Valentine's Day: Mixed Reviews

 

K. has been sick all week so we cooked at home and stayed in this weekend, watching two movies that I borrowed from the library: Alice in Wonderland and Valentine's Day.  Starting with the positive: we both really liked Alice in Wonderland.  I was a little surprised; I thought I wasn't going to really like it, but I found it visually stunning; just the right amount of special effects to make it delightfully magical.  I was engrossed by the story as well; I had expected it to be just a remake of the classic Disney cartoon, but it wasn't; it took the story forward from the original cartoon with an appeal to a more adult and sophisticated audience.  The movie was based more on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, rather than his original Alice in Wonderland.  I thought the relatively new actress playing Alice, Mia Wasikowska, was the perfect lovely Alice (plus I want every single dress that she wore in the movie...her dresses were absolutely aaaaaamazing...)  The movie has made me want to read Lewis Carroll's original books, as well as rewatch the cartoon version and go visit Disneyland again (of course everything makes me want to go to Disneyland).

My favorite dress; dress that I would most likely wear

Closeup of my favorite dress; I love the flower and the armband

My second favorite dress; I love ruffles. Reminds me a bit of Marc Jacobs a few seasons ago, my all-time favorite designer

I like this dress as well; very different from the others

The classic dress, very sweet, although not my style

On the other hand, Valentine's Day was pretty bad.  I wasn't expecting it to be great, but I was at least expecting it to be decent, given its huge star-studded cast, with some of my favorite actresses including Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Garner.  Unfortunately it was not believable, cheesy, cliched and predictable.  I downright disliked most of the characters (particularly Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Biel's characters).  I also have to say, not only is Taylor Swift a terrible singer and cheesy repetitive songwriter, but she's a bad actress too! I'm just not a Taylor Swift fan.  My favorite part of the whole movie was in the credits when Julia Roberts responds, "Once. Big mistake...BIG mistake" when her driver asks if she's shopped at Rodeo Drive before.  Now that was a great movie.

EAT, Pray, Love: The Movie

Last night, my mom and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love.  Both of us have read the book, so we were excited to see the movie in the theaters.  I think because we had already read the books, we enjoyed the movie more than others, since we knew more of the backstories that weren't shown in the films.  It's always challenging adapting a book into a two hour movie, particularly this book, with its three distinctive parts in Rome, India and Bali.  It's just hard to fully flesh out each section with all the characters and experiences.  I could see how people who haven't read the book would have difficulty getting into the movie, but I got into it and enjoyed actually seeing the lovely places and cultures from the book.  The book has also gotten mixed reviews, but I quite liked it.  Not so much the main character, the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, but more the adventures and experiences in the three very different places.  At times, like many others, I found the main character melodramatic, selfish and co-dependent, but for me, the book wasn't really about her personal journey of self-discovery, as it was exactly that, personal and something I didn't really relate to, but more about the wonderful places she went and the interesting people she met.  In fact, it was reading the book that inspired my trip to Rome a few months later and my trip to Bali a year later.  Rome and Bali are now two of my favorite places in the world, Bali being my favorite place in the world.  I went to Rome to eat (and see some historical sites along the way) and it did not disappoint.  I had some of the most memorable meals in my life in Rome, plus I found it quite reasonably priced.  Bali is my favorite place and I've been there twice in two years and am trying to convince K. to go again with me next month.  I love everything about it, the beauty, the spirituality, the tranquility, the people and also the delicious food.

Rome Colosseum

Rome Spanish Steps

The Vatican