I recently got around to seeing "Drive", a movie I had been reading about for months. People really got into this movie, which I thought was strange. The trailer makes the movie out to be nothing more than a standard car thriller; a few car chases, a fight or two, some revenge gets enacted so on and so forth. But there really is a lot more than what the trailer shows, or maybe less?
I only say less because the movie is surprisingly light on vehicular mayhem. There's no obnoxious POV shots of nitrous oxide pumping through the souped up injectors of some glued together foreign car. In fact, if you're a guy and expect some bad ass car action, you may be slightly disappointed. Also, you may be curious about the pink opening titles and 80's synth soundtrack of the movie.
But for people who could care less about the 0-60 speeds of every car in existence, you're going to love this movie.
Ryan Gosling plays the Driver, a man with no name, who barely furnishes his apartment, barely speaks, but can always be identified by the scorpion embroidered on the back of his racing jacket. He lives two lives, one as a mechanic and stunt driver working for Shannon (Bryan Cranston); the other is as a getaway driver. He has rules as a wheelman, from the time his clients walk in their destination they have 5 minutes to return. After that, he will take care of the rest. He doesn't want to know the details of the clients work, he is only concerned with finishing the job and getting paid.
While we've seen this character done before, most recently in the insanely preposterous "Transporter" series, the opening scene of the Driver on the getaway is one of the most tense and well-done scenes I've seen in a long time. It's a scene without a loud car chase through LA streets, but a quiet cat and mouse game between LAPD squad cars and helicopters. The pacing of the scene sucks you into the movie, and it's done without showing a lot of action. This is true throughout the whole movie; there's an overall tenseness and feeling of dread that hangs over the movie. I think it must be the minimalist approach by director Nicholas Winding Refn ("Bronson"), the viewer is always guessing and is always on the edge. A great example of this is an elevator scene later in the movie. Half of it is elegant, and feels very much like an old classic. But it is soon cut with a brutal fight scene that hits with sudden Tarantino-like precision.
Soon, the Driver begins a relationship with a neighbor played by Carey Mulligan. Her husband is recently arrived from a prison stint, and it is later revealed that he is in trouble with the local mob. They want him to pull a robbery at a pawn shop, and if he doesn't they will hurt him and his family. In order to protect Carey Mulligan and her son, the Driver agrees to help the husband with the pawn shop job. Things go awry during the robbery, and the Driver ends up in trouble with a local mob duo.
The plot is routine, but is lifted by the sharp dialog and the performances of its entire cast. Gosling barely says anything in the film, but his performance isn't dull at all. He exudes this Steve McQueen-like vibe, he says little and when he does speak his words pack a punch. He's the man with no name, and a great example of the existential hero. He exists only to drive.
The rest of the cast is also brilliant, especially Albert Brooks who plays his mob boss like a classic heavy. He is scary and brutal, and he gives probably the best performance of this kind since Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas". Bryan Cranston is also very good as Shannon, the father-figure to the Driver. Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman also have small roles and are both very good. Perlman especially chews up his scenes, and he gets several of the movies best lines.
The 80's-ish soundtrack is quite different for a movie of this type, but it is catchy and really adds tension to the film in a strange way.
Overall, "Drive" is a macho-action movie for Hipsters. It features a catchy 80's soundtrack, sharp dialog, minimal action and a lead character that will surely be imitated in years to come for Halloween.
Also, it's one of the best crime movies to come out in years. Highly recommended.
"Haywire" is the newest film from filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, a director used to having a bevy of talented actors at his disposal. In this film, he recruits Gina Carano, an ex-Woman's MMA fighter to be a superheroine who disposes all the A-list actors in his new spy vehicle. This is a bit of a departure for Soderbergh, who's career has ranged from small indie films like "Sex, Lies and Videotape" and "The Girlfriend Experience" to big budget films like the "Ocean's 11" series and most recently "Contagion".
First off, the action is tightly edited and shot in a brutal fashion. Carano has the chops to be the next big action star. She exudes beauty and brawn all at once. What I like is how the action scenes are shot in almost a complete opposite manner from films like "The Bourne" series. Whereas the Bourne movies were always shot with a kinetic pace, the fights often shot very close to the actors faces, Soderbergh pulls the camera back a bit and lets the action happen from a distance. There is one rooftop chase scene in particular in which Carano, deftly named Mallory Kane (awesome name, btw), navigates various rooftops and buildings and rather then take the Bourne approach, in which everything is solved by some kind of gadget or appropriately timed jump off something in a wide open area, Soderbergh constricts the action by giving Carano plenty of fences and barbed-wire to jump through and by doing so creates a more engaging chase.
The plot is purely preposterous, in true spy movie fashion. There is an initial job, which is clouded in mystery, followed by a double-cross followed by a globe-trotting chase to find out who was involved in our heroine's set-up. Rather then show all the motivations and in thorough detail who the secret black-ops agents are and why they do what they do, Soderbergh keeps all the focus on Mallory Kane. This is a tricky formula however. James Bond always finds out what his villains motives are, even if their motivations are pure fluff, designed just to appease the audience (after all, people want to know why we are watching the film). Soderbergh and screenwriter Lem Dobbs build a simple, yet vague conspiracy to push the plot forward. It lacks any substance, and most viewers may be turned off by the lack of large chunks of exposition. I happened to actually enjoy how vagrantly opposed the movie is to fulfill all the cliche exposition and gadgetry found in these kind of movies.
The supporting cast is heavy, but because of the restrictive nature of the plot, we see and care little for them. Ewan MacGregor and Michael Douglas ham it up as Mallory's boss and a shadowy government official, respectively. Bill Paxton appears briefly as Mallory's father, and is bland and almost unnecessary to the overall plot. Michael Fassbender plays an M:I6 agent who accompanies Mallory on a mission. The chemistry between the two is strong, and their scenes are easily the best in the film. Lastly, Channing Tatum shows up as a fellow agent and love interest for Mallory, but their chemistry is dry and seems forced into the script.
Rather than worry about the plot, of which there is little, "Haywire" is a pure action film meant to only display the unique talent of Gina Carano. Nothing more and nothing less.
Since the last post, there have been some updates to the Flyer/Ranger beating outside of Geno's Steaks. The police have arrested a man who turned himself in for the beating. Apparently, the police were onto him and his friends for a little while. The guy who turned himself in is a NJ man with a shady past. So no, this wasn't a fan from Philadelphia, but he is a Philly fan, and most of South Jersey follows Philadelphia sports.
So far, Detroit is easily taking the lead for worse sports fans. It's hard to see how Philly can get such a bad rap from the press and from out of state fans when there have been much worse sports riots and fights in other cities.
Los Angeles
2000-Lakers def. Pacers. Cars were flipped and set on fire, then fans began to throw rocks at riot police. Bad idea. The riot was soon broken up and 12 people were injured but no arrests were made.
2010-Lakers def. Celtics. After the game-7 victory, fans rallied outside the Staples Center. Bonfires were lit, cars were set on fire, then riot police showed up once again. This time, after fans threw stones and beer cans at the police, the police retaliated with tear gas and pellets. 38 people were arrested.
2011-After a San Francisco Giants/ LA Dodgers game early in the MLB season, San Fran fan, Bryan Stow, was beaten to a pulp by a Dodgers fan. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was in Critical Condition. He suffered traumatic brain injuries. Two men have been charged with the assault (one of whom recently died due to apparent food allergies).
This past Saturday we were having my family over for dinner, and originally we were going to make a roast chicken with various sides. Deciding that would be too much work in too little time, we searched for other options. I remember seeing Robert Rodriguez's "10 Minute Cooking School" on the DVD for Once Upon a Time in Mexico. If you haven't seen the movie, Johnny Depp plays this corrupt CIA agent and part of his schtick is that in half the scenes he is in he is eating "his favorite dish" puerco pibil. After re-watching the DVD we decided we could get this recipe done in the time we needed. It came out extremely good and my family loved it, so I just wanted to throw some pics up and also give you the recipe as follows; I also made a simple guacamole and salsa that I will follow the pibil recipe.
Puerco Pibil:
5 pounds of pork butt (really cheap cut, at the market near us 5 lbs came to only 11 bucks)
2 tsp ground annatto or achiote seed (can find it in the Latin specialty section)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp salt
2 habanero chiles, could also use scotch bonnets, or even serrano or jalapeno if you don't like too much heat, chopped roughly
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
8 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
5 lemons, juiced
1 shot of tequila (I used silver, but you could probably try whatever you like)
1.In a blender, add all liquid ingredients then all your spices. Blend until you have a smooth puree.
2.Cut your pork butt into 2X2 cubes, leaving the fat on.
3.Put all the pork into a large ziploc bag, then add the puree. Put it in the fridge for about an hour.
4.Pre-heat your oven to 325.
5.In a large roasting pan, line the bottom and sides with tin foil. Then add all the meat. Make sure you cover the top of the roasting pan tightly with more tin foil. You don't want any steam exiting the roasting pan.
6.Bake for 4 hours....that's it. It'll be fork tender, and you can serve it over some white or yellow rice or even as a taco filling.
Also, check out the original video here:
To round out your Mexican meal, you're gonna want to make some nice, easy dips. Here's a simple guacamole and salsa recipe.
Guacamole
3 Haas Avocados
1/2 red or white onion (red gives nice color, mild; use white onion for stronger flavor)
1 jalapeno
handful of cilantro
salt and pepper
1 or 2 limes
1.Remove the pits from the avocados, then scoop out the flesh. You want ripened avocados that are a little squishy feeling.
2.Dice up your onion and pepper very finely.
3.Combine all ingredients then using either a potato masher or the back of a fork, break down the clumps of avocado. When most of it is broken up add your cilantro. Mix some more, then squeeze in your lime juice. You might need 2, you'll know if after stirring with the juice of one lime and the mixture seems very chunky.
4.Season with salt and pepper then cover using plastic wrap. It's very important to push the plastic wrap onto the surface of the guacamole, leaving no spaces exposed to air. Throw it in the fridge for an hour or so, then serve.
Fire-Roasted Salsa
This is a overly fancy name for such a simple recipe. If you like spicy, you will crave this.
3 cloves of garlic, leave them unpeeled
1 or 2 jalapenos
1 15oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes
handful of cilantro
1 lime
salt and pepper
1.First you want to roast the garlic and peppers. Keep the garlic unpeeled and don't break down the jalapenos. Put them in a dry frying pan and heat through till they blacken deeply, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2.When they cool enough so you can handle them, peel the garlic and then dice that and the peppers roughly. Put them in a food processor and pulse a few times till they are finely chopped.
3.Add the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper and blend until the mixture is smooth, but not completely so. That's it!
It was almost a perfect little day. The acclaimed Winter Classic, the annual outdoor hockey game took place on Monday. It's a fun event. Even non-hockey purists can enjoy it. There was an ice "pond" open next to the hockey rink so that lucky spoiled families could skate on real ice, on Citizens Bank Park grounds, and right next to the practicing Philadelphia Flyers.
The forecast called for possible snow flurries. In a panic, the game was delayed an extra two hours from 1 PM to 3 PM. Bob Costas was commander-in-chief of pre-game analysis, and while he proclaimed that the pre-game feelings were taught and anxious for the start of the game, he also admitted there was also more opportunity for those tailgating outside the stadium more time to eat, maybe time play some backyard style hockey("cue up a photo op", says the guy in the NBC video truck), and of course time to drink more "lagers" (Yuengling).
What I know, now, having been a Philadelphia resident for over 5 years, is that a sporting event this big always ends in some kind of fight, brawl, rage, firebombing, and other sorts of mass hysteria. I should've realized this all along...even if the Flyers had won the game (which was in the end a very close and very exciting matchup), any rumbles/fits of gang rage are to be expected.
Recently a video was released showing several Flyers fans beating up on two Rangers fans outside (or in line?) at Geno's Steaks in South Philly.
Turns out, they beat up on a NJ policeman and his son, visiting Philly to catch their Rangers in action.
Also lets not forget the 2008, when the Phillies won the championship. Thousands of fans wrecked cars, lit bonfires in streets, and even climbed the light poles over Broad St.
But before I go ahead and beat this story over the head, about how Philly fans are the worst in the world, I must first call upon some other sports towns and see if they fare any worse.
Lets start east first...
Boston
Recent fan riots
2008-Boston Celtics win NBA Championship
2004-Red Sox Beat Yankees in ALCS. After "the curse" was broken, beantown citizens rioted throughout the city. A 21-year old girl was unfortunately killed when a pepper spray projectile struck her in the eye.
Plus, there's plenty of videos showing Red Sox fans fighting Yankees fans at Fenway Park, like this one...
Not too shabby Boston...let's continue
New York
1940-Rangers fans riot after Stanley Cup Victory
1996-Andrew Golota vs. Riddick Bowe at Madison Square Garden. Andrew Golota was a heavily-touted Polish heavyweight who got his first big-money fight against an aging Riddick Bowe. Despite Golota winning the bout hands down, Golota threw four obvious low-blows, prompting a disqualification. After the bell rang, a member of Bowe's corner team struck Golota in the head with a walkie-talkie. This got both corners in a fight, causing the entire arena to erupt around the ring. The subsequent rematch was also stopped via disqualification by Gulota low blows.
Earlier this year, Kansas City Chief fans beat up on a Jets fan after making derogatory remarks about 9/11.Drunk Chiefs fans hospitalize a Jets fan This week, Rangers fans got beat up in Philly. I think the problem here is that New York Sports fans need to learn to fight!
Cleveland
1974-Cleveland Indians vs. Texas Rangers, ten-cent beer night. Wonder why they haven't tried this one again? Here's a funny little breakdown of how this game went...
Pregame:Texas manager Billy Martin delivered his line-up to the umpire and was booed. In reply, he tipped his cap and blew kisses to the crowd.
Inning 1: Several smoke bombs went off in the stands.
Inning 2: A large woman jumped down from the fans into the Indians' on-deck circle, lifted her shirt, and tried to kiss the umpire, Nestor Chylak.
Inning 4: A Ranger outfielder hit his second home run of the game, but as he circled the bases, a naked man from the stands ran onto the field and slid into second base.
Inning 5: Father and son jumped into the infield and mooned the crowd.
Inning 6: Fireworks were shooting toward the Texas dugout. Cleveland fans were hurling anything and everything down onto the field: beer cups, golf balls, rocks, batteries, etc.
Inning 7: Rangers pitchers retreated from the bullpen and stayed in the dugout.
Innings 7 and 8: Fans regularly jumped down into right field where Ranger player and American League MVP Jeff Burroughs was stationed. They wanted to say hello to the MVP and shake his hand. Security people escorted these fans off the field, but there weren't really enough security forces to restrain the numbers of people jumping onto the field.
Inning 9: Cleveland was down 5-3. Despite all the projectiles and the occasional fan rushing the field, Cleveland managed to score two runs and tie the game. More fans ran onto the field in celebration. Then someone tried to steal Burroughs' glove for a souvenir. Reports vary about whether the fan was able to get the glove away from Burroughs or not. The fan punched Burroughs; Burroughs punched back.
In reply, nearby drunk and angry fans jumped onto the field, swarming around Burroughs. Some still in the stands wrenched their chairs out of their bearings and threw them onto the field, aiming for Burroughs.
Texas Rangers manager Billy Martin (known to show his temper now and then) grabbed a bat and said to his team, "Let's get 'em, boys," on his way out of the clubhouse. When Martin and his team rushed the field, thousands of fans streamed out of the stands. Courtesy of http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/8480734/8702666
Chicago
Three straight championships, three consecutive riots...
1991, 1992, and 1993 Chicago Bulls win NBA title. Over these three NBA seasons, Chicago won the title and then immediately became home to a vicious riot. Each year hundreds of arrests and injuries were reported, as well as a handful of deaths.
Detroit
1924-Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees. An early riot here. Tensions between the teams were high to begin with and it all came to the forefront when Yankees player Bob Meusel was hit by a pitch in the 9th inning. Meusel charged the mound and the benches cleared, and shortly after fans got into it as well as fight spilled out onto the field.
1984-Tigers beat San Diego Padres in World Series. Possibly the first "victory riot" in the states.
1990-Detroit Pistons defeat the Portland Trailblazers for NBA Title. This riot in Detroit is particularly scary. Hundreds of people were injured as riots escalated past the point of rubber bullets and tear gas. Seven people were killed over the course of the night from stab and gunshot wounds and over 140 arrests were made.
2004-Detroit Pistons vs. Indianapolis Pacers. With a minute left in the game, a fight broke out between the two teams. Noted nutjob Ron Artest got hit in the head with a diet coke while cooling down on the bench. Artest then leapt into the crowd and began to attack the wrong guy. The arena riot resulted in 5 player arrests as well as 5 fan arrests. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season and he racked up nearly $5 million in fines.
Looks like Detroit is going to take the early lead...check out part 2 to see how the West Coast and Canada fares.
