While driving through Watertown earlier today, I saw this sign. Anyone know which two ways you can drive on Pleasant Street? Is it really up and down?
The Joy of Cooking
5 Aug
A word of warning: Do not go to see Julie & Julia on an empty stomach. By the time the movie’s over, you’ll feel downright famished. (That’s meant as a compliment, just in case it isn’t clear.) And that’s not just because there’s a lot of food in this movie, and it’s not just because the food looks really good. It’s because the movie is such a treat that you’ll just want to eat it up.
Julie & Julia is based on the book of the same name by the real-life Julie Powell (played here by Amy Adams), who decided to kick-start her life in 2002 by spending a year cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and blogging about it (before blog was a household word). The movie doesn’t just make Julia Child an inspiration, it also makes her a character, by weaving in the story of Child’s own life in Paris during the 1950s (this part is based on My Life in France, Child’s autobiography). The movie shows how these two women found more than a hobby in food, and how their passion for cooking transformed their lives.
As Child, Meryl Streep is nothing short of a total pleasure to watch. She plays this woman with so much joie de vivre that it’s no wonder Child had so many fans. Nailing the chef’s sing-songy accent and walking around with a perpetual smile on her face, Streep is goofy, great fun, and just delightful. You almost wish the entire movie was about her (and it probably could have been). Thankfully, Adams and the other members of the cast (including Streep’s Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci) are all enjoyable as well, and the jumping back and forth between the two stories is handled smoothly.
If anything, the meal is a bit over-cooked; writer/director Nora Ephron could probably have trimmed about 10 minutes and it would have been fine. But like Child herself would probably say, it’s alright to make a mistake or two when the end result is so tasty. I’m giving Julie & Julia a B+ and wishing you a hearty bon appetit!
Sad Clowns
3 Aug
They’re two of those unfortunate truisms about show business: funny people always want to be taken seriously, and when the cameras are off and the crowds have gone home, those same people who make us laugh are often very unhappy people.
Trying to understand the off-stage life of stand-up comics has been a longtime fascination of movies and television, and with the exception of Seinfeld, I can’t think of too many other movies or TV shows that have been as funny when the comic wasn’t performing. (Punchline, anyone?)
The latest such portrait, Funny People, continues this idea. Continue reading
Sing Us Some Songs, You’re the Piano Men
20 JulPardon the cheese, but it was a pretty good crowd for a Saturday over at Gillette Stadium this weekend. We were all in the mood for some melodies, and Elton John and Billy Joel had us feeling all right.
Captain Fantastic and the Piano Man were there to play another of their joint shows, and despite any mockery I may have encountered for going, it was definitely worth it. Continue reading
Oh, the Places I’ll Go
19 Jul
There was an article recently in GQ about how we’ve all lost our ability to get lost, thanks to GPS and other tools that show us where we want to go.
Well, ironically enough, in the month or so that I’ve had an iPhone, I think I’ve gotten more lost than I ever have, because rather than just rely on directions I’d printed out, now I check and re-check the Google Maps app, re-calculating my route when I think I’ve made a wrong turn, over and over — which, of course, only makes it worse. Continue reading
In or Aus?
13 Jul
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat was so over-the-top good that his next film was bound to pale by comparison.
Which is not to say that Bruno isn’t funny or worth seeing; on both counts it is.
But there’s something about it that feels very “been there, done that,” and most of the movie is maybe even a little too over the top to be believable in the same way that Borat was.
And that’s why I was a bit disappointed. Continue reading
It Never Lets Me Down
8 Jul
I say it every time I go there, but it’s true: Chicago is my kind of town.
And my trip over the past few days was definitely one of the best yet.
Sure, I do some of the same things whenever I’m in the Windy City (hello, Bean), but I haven’t had the same agenda twice.
There’s always something new and different to do. Continue reading
The Coolest Month of the Year
6 JulIf you didn’t already know, July is National Ice Cream Month. According to the International Dairy Foods Association and the International Ice Cream Association, we can thank Ronald Reagan for the distinction. (Seriously.) And, if you’re marking your calendar, July 19 (the third Sunday of July) is National Ice Cream Day. So go out and get yourself a cone of your favorite flavor. And before you do, check out this classic NSFW Eddie Murphy skit.
Ain’t Nothing Like the Fourth
4 Jul
I don’t know where you are right now when you’re reading this, but in Boston, it’s hard to believe it’s July 4 already.
Maybe you’ve heard how awful the weather has been. Rain, chilly temperatures, very little sun. It’s enough to make a person flee the city.
Judging by the weather, we should probably only be in April, or early May. Definitely not halfway through the summer.
But let’s forget all that for a day, shall we?
After all, good weather or not, it’s July 4th.
The Fourth of July.
Independence Day. One of my favorite days of the year (after my birthday and Christmas, probably number three). Continue reading
What’s Good?
3 Jul
Because I see a lot of movies, people often ask me what they should see. Well, it’s now halfway through 2009, and so far I’ve only seen 19 films. (By comparison, last year at this time I had seen 23.) Of those 19, there are four that I’ve given a grade of A or A– to: Two Lovers, The Girlfriend Experience, Star Trek, and Up. (Last year there were none.) So, next time you’re looking for a good rental or trying to decide what to see in the theater, pick one of those four titles.
Martin's Musings 