Good solid acting and witty tongue-in-cheek dialogue in fascinating settings – this is entertainment at its very best. The colourful, engaging characters elevates the forgettable, almost unimportant story. Mae West shines throughout and a young Cary Grant is full of surprises.
Stays in my pre-code book.Aileen – The selling of a serial killer (1992)
Gegen die Wand (2003)
Short, tragic farce of abusement and rebellion on several levels. Sometimes whimsically playful, sometimes terrifyingly razor-sharp in mixing childish mischief and adult misconduct. Eternal symbolism of oppressive society and threatening anarchy with school as the microcosm backdrop. Surreal and sublime, almost silent. Unusually frank storytelling and experimental execution.
Pleasant surprises like this is reason enough to continue the race towards 1001. Stays in my book, and very much so.Legendary depiction of unsuspicious love and dark treachery among the artists of a travelling freak show. A conventional plot is elevated by the touching depiction of the outcasts and a ferociously vengeful ending.
On my »not-for-the-squeamish« list.Long before Tony Montana there was Tony Camonte. Equally ruthless and determined, just as doomed by destiny. Control is everything In mob life. Deal with competing gangs, your own organization, family, society and hardest of all, yourself.
On my list.A recent post-Sunday football meal: cherrystone clams steamed in a cherry tomato, white wine and garlic sauce
Bar Milano rebranded itself as another 'inoteca few months ago so DG and I had to go back to see how it measured up. Design-wise the place is the same: marble-paneled walls, formal dining room, casual lounge/bar area (where we ate), etc. The menu, however, is a closer cousin to the original 'inoteca located in the Lower East Side, with an assortment of affordable plates. The rebrand seems to be working well so far as evidenced by the steady crowd of patrons, both diners and drinkers.
Our meal consisted of three shared dishes: pasta with pork ragu, a panini with bresaola (air-cured salted beef), arugula, grana (like parmigiano-regiano) and lemon oil and roasted chicken with bread stew. Each dish was delicious in its own right - the pork ragu had large, tender chunks of pork, the bresaola was flavorful with a hint of lemon and the chicken carried a warm punch of flavor (perfect for the rainy night). Our only complaint was that all three dishes were served at once, making the meal feel rushed.
For dessert we had a velvety chocolate mousse topped with cream.
Add on a bottle of wine and our total bill came out to around $110, much more palatable than what we would have gotten at Bar Milano.
