Movie Night - Barton Fink

Barton Fink stares down the hallway of the Hotel Earle

Barton Fink is a serious writer.

He takes pride in his knowing, deep down, what the "common man" is thinking and wants in life.

When he is hired by Capitol Movie Studios to write a wresting picture starring Wallace Berry, he moves from New York to Los Angeles, taking up residence in the Hotel Earle.

After an uncomfortable meeting with his neighbor, Charlie, it becomes clear that Barton is in the throws of a bad case of writers block.

Struggling to, not only finish his movie script, but keep his sanity, Barton Fink is a movie that has been dissected and written about since its debut.

Check it out!  (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

Movie Night - American Grindhouse

In what will be the first of at least a couple/few movies I'll be watching today (thanks to the weather event I am calling "The Big Dump"), I present to you a documentary on movies to begin my cinematic day.

The claim is made that about 5 seconds after the invention of motion picture film, the first idea for an exploitation movie was thought up.

This is very believable when you watch this movie, a brief but thorough filmography with clips of movies from the late 19th century to 21st century (bound to be) classics such as Black Dynamite.

Running the gamut from sex, violence, drugs and other "taboos", American Grindhouse gives a good rundown of, not so much a genre of film, but a cinematic movement.

A movie that, as many of the taglines from the clips claim, is for ADULTS ONLY!!!

Check it out! (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

Playlist for January 28th, 2011

Jayne Mansfield...under the covers

Under the Covers

This week, after what had to have been too much celebrating this past weekend, the Lady of the Manor had taken ill with the sinus yucks.

There was lots of orange juice and chicken soup consumed and she spent most of the week in bed and under the covers.

I'm pleased to report that she is on the upswing and is up and at 'em.

This week's playlist contains a treasure trove of cover tunes from the famous to the not so famous.

A recipe for a Sazerac cocktail

Dating from around 1850, the Sazerac is known as one of the first "cocktails" known.

It was my friend, Lippy from Austin, Texas, who turned me on to this, and let me tell you, it's a good one.

Originally a mix of cognac and absinthe, the modern Sazerac has a few different recipes, but this is how I mix mine:

First, chill a rocks glass.  I usually put mine in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or you could pack it with ice for the same amount of time.

Once the glass is chilled, take a small amount of absinthe, just enough to coat the glass (I like Lucid, made in France and the first genuine absinthe to gain approval for legal distribution in the U.S.) and swirl it around the glass.  If you have any absinthe left over (and you shouldn't if you can mix good), discard it (but shame on you for throwing away such a great thing).

In a shaker, mix a sugar cube, two shots rye whiskey and 5 to 7 dashes of Peychaud Bitters.  Mix it in with the coated absinthe.  Take a lemon peel, twist and garnish.  Enjoy!

Movie Night - The Killing

Sterling Hayden (with his hand on the paper) goes
over the plan with the gang in "The Killing"

Sterling Hayden stars as Johnny Clay, a hood just released from jail, who decides to set up one last heist before leaving town with his girl, Fay.

Clay brings together a rag-tag group of guys, from a crooked cop to a sharpshooter, to help pull off a $2 million haul from a race track.

After plotting the robbery and feeling as if everything will go as planned, the theft begins to fall apart after one of the gang, a window teller at the track, begins to tell his gold-digging wife about the plan.


Other issues crop up, from a drunken money man to a racist exchange with a parking attendant, and Clay has to work hard to keep the plan together.


Stanley Kubrick, in his first major film, sets up a complicated heist film that is, while slightly non-linear, still a good story that has helped inspire other crime flicks over the years.

Check it out! (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

BONUS PLAYLIST - Playlist for January 22nd, 2011

This playlist is for the Lady of the Manor, who is celebrating her birthday today.

She has put up with my mercurial ways and my foul mouth for many years now, and these are just a couple of the many reasons I love her.  She is a blast to be around and she knows how to have fun.

Always curious and extremely patient, she has been there for me in good times and bad times and, for that, I'm very lucky.

So, if you see the Lady of the Manor (maybe tonight at Bar None for the Waco Brothers), wish her a happy birthday and buy her a drink.

The playlist consists of some very well known tunes and some obscurities as well.

Happy Birthday, Baby!!!

Playlist for January 21st, 2011

Henry Bemis, the patron saint of
the Rochester Reader

THERE ARE SOME SELECTIONS IN THIS WEEKS PLAYLIST THAT INCLUDE ADULT LANGUAGE!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This week, we celebrate the birthday of my fellow prairie blogger, the Rochester Reader.  The Reader describes himself as "an anonymous free thinker with an unhealthy addiction to the printed word."  He helps to bring a little culture to us prairie folk by reminding us of the wealth of written knowledge out there for us to enjoy.

His latest posts deal with, not only the film, but the novel "True Grit", both of which he highly recommends.

A true aficionado of the page, let's all raise a glass to the Reader this week.

The playlist includes songs about books and writing, as well as readings from some of my favorite authors.

Enjoy!

A Night on the Town - The Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers
Enjoying a pint
from the Bloodshot Records website
http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/

According to the Events Calendar, the fabulous Waco Brothers are coming to the prairie capital, playing Bar None (427 E. Monroe in Springfield; Ph: 217-523-3050).

Tom Irwin has a great write-up on the band in the Illinois Times, which includes this statement:

"The band could be considered a collective as each member performs in several different groups and participates in other outside endeavors.  The term fits as well into their revolutionary approach to life and culture, of using the sense of art as more than expression of emotion, reaching beyond to a way of being that considers living a springboard for enrichment of the soul and the betterment of the planet.  Song subjects of the Waco Brothers give away this sentiment with objects of their attention including right-wing radicals, the Bushes, commercial music radio and other favorite notions sure to delight hardcore punkers and left-leaners everywhere.  Politely they infuse this with danceable rock to make it palatable to those who care not for the lyrical content, but come to boogie-woogie."

-Tom Irwin from the January 20 - 26 edition of the Illinois Times

Go check them out this Saturday and wish the Lady of the Manor a "Happy Birthday" while you're at it.

Movie Night - Tokyo Drifter

Tetsu the Phoenix (beige gloves) vs.
Tatsu the Viper (black gloves)...
I know, it's a little confusing

Not to be confused with the movie in the "Fast and the Furious" series, this 1966 film is about a yakuza member, Tetsu the Phoenix, who, along with his boss Kurata, decides to go straight.  Another yakuza clan, led by Otsuka, is wary and do their best to bring them back into a life of crime.

When Tetsu decides to flee Tokyo until things cool down, he is tracked down by the killer, Tatsu the Viper, sent by a rival gang.

Culminating in a slapstick bar fight followed by a highly stylized final confrontation with the boss who betrayed him and his other enemies, Tokyo Drifter, despite huge plot holes, is a good movie that has influenced many other films since its release.

Check it out! (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

A recipe for a Gin & Tonic

Gin might lead to sin.  Enjoy!

First, pack a rocks glass with ice.  

Next, cut up a lemon and a lime into eighths.  Take one slice of each and squeeze the juice onto the ice.  Then, run the rinds across the rim and dump them into the glass.  

Take a shot of your favorite gin (mine is New Amsterdam 'cause it's a clean tasting gin, but I'm currently drinking Desert Juniper which is supposed to be a high end gin, but it kinda tastes like nail polish remover.....anyway) and pour it over the ice.

Fill the remainder of the glass with tonic water and enjoy.