OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES

The last few French comedies I've seen have left me hot & cold. I really liked "The Dinner Game", but I didn't care much for "My Best Friend" or "The Valet". This spy spoof, however, is very amusing if not exactly hilarious. The charm is mainly in the retro-ambience and Jean Dujardin's mannerisms.

My rating: 7.5/10

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THE FALL

Apparently, this director also made "The Cell". I didn't like "The Cell" but, apart from an emphasis on visual artistry, I wouldn't have guessed it was the same filmmaker. This has a 'story within a story' device similar to "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", "The Princess Bride", and "Big Fish", alternating between the fantastical and the mundane. While the fantasy segments are sumptuous, it's the 'real' hospital scenes that mesmerized me the most, and that's due to the relationship between the two main characters: an injured stuntman and a five-year-old girl. There is a good dose of humor, but things get heavy towards the end where the subjects of despair, death, and suicide are most prominent. Beautiful and emotive.

My Rating: 9/10

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INDIANA JONES & THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

Only partially entertaining, unfortunately. There are a couple of fun and outlandish chase scenes, but the story gets too ridiculous, at times. The scene where ants drag a Nazi officer down their anthill taking the cake.

My Rating: 5/10

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QUARANTINE

Regardless of technicalities, this is - for all intents and purposes - a zombie movie. And it's a pretty suspenseful one. This film uses 'shaky-cam' and, for me, excessively so. Of course, the hysterical screaming and 'zombies' jumping out from every corner during one sequence added to the silliness towards the end. Still, I enjoyed it enough to make me want to see the original Spanish film "[Rec]".

My Rating: 7/10

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[REC]

This is the movie "Quarantine" was based on. They are nearly identical in most places, though some small story elements were changed. "[Rec]", however, is a little more effective and a little more frightening.

My Rating: 7.5/10

(Sung to the tune of "My eyes are fully open")


Frodo:
My eyes are fully open to my awful situation
I must take the ring to Mordor - origin of its creation
There’s a psycho here to guide me, and a friend to keep me steady
But to give up ownership... well, I'm not positively ready
I must get the thing to Mount Doom and discard it in its fire
I don’t know if I can do it, but I'll try to for the Shire
Even if I get it done we’ll be in quite a pickle, rather
As I’m bound to die tomorrow it just doesn’t really matter!

Gollum:
It just doesn’t really matter -

Samwise:
It just doesn’t really matter -

All:
It just doesn’t really matter, matter, matter, matter, matter!

Samwise:
Looks like Gollum’s goin’ schizo – I’ll be keepin' an eye open
If he tries anythin' sneaky, it’ll be an Elven ropin’
I'm sorely missin' Bagshot Row as we’ve no tea for brewin’
Cheer up Mister Frodo and check out the view of Orodruin
Even with the odd stewed rabbit he’s not growin' any fatter
If I have to, I can tote him; he ain’t heavy – he’s my master
Luggin' cookware through the Black Land may make me a ninnyhammer
I, for one, don’t think we’ll die, but my opinion doesn’t matter!

Gollum:
His opinion doesn’t matter -

Frodo:
His opinion doesn’t matter -

All:
His opinion doesn’t matter, matter, matter, matter, matter!

Gollum:
If we were not a Smeagol/Gollum or a Slinker/Stinker
We might truly aid these Hobbitses and not be a rat-finker
We might never stab 'em in the back and dish ‘em upon “Her” plate
Still the precious has a hold on us and leaves no room for new mates
Kindly Master’s not too bad, but it’s the other who’s a terror
If the nasssty one would take a hike - leave us with the ringbearer
We could have our hands on Master’s neck – our pledge we would then shatter
As we’re sure to die tomorrow, why in the world would it matter?

Frodo:
Why in the world would it matter -

Samwise:
Why in the world would it matter -

All:
Why in the world would it matter, matter, matter, matter, matter!


petiteflower - 3/19/02 (revised in 2008)

Winter Bells
Bugs
A Daily Cup Of Tea
High Delivery
Wake Up Calls
Floats
Rainmaker
These Little Pigs
Hydrophobia
Chicken Wings Are NOT For Flying

Blue Island Sushi (Federal Way, WA)
This is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant. One thing I wondered about was the seemingly inconsistent use of covers - some plates had them, others didn't. I assume they are for sanitation purposes, like individual 'sneezeguards'. That didn't stop me from grabbing anything - covered or not - that caught my fancy: shrimp, octopus, mussels on-the-shell, salmon, California roll... and as soon as I saw the gyoza coming around I was practically bouncing in my seat. I was glad it was one of the least expensive items as I must have had three or four plates of gyoza alone.

Everything was good, and the bar was set up well with gari (pickled ginger), wasabi, and both regular and low-sodium soy sauces. It would be nice if all meals were like this - seeing the items before making a commitment, being able to try lots of things in small portions, and pigging out on potstickers. I wish I could eat at Blue Island every day!

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Applebee's (Puyallup, WA)
A late dinner at Applebee's truly hit the spot the other night. The Queso Dip & Chips appetizer was tasty. "Flavorful cheeses and freshly-made pico de gallo is served with a side of salsa and tortilla chips." The problem was its runniness. Mixing the side of salsa into it thickened it up, though. Unfortunately, there was too little chips for the dip. Seriously, even loading up the chips, we'd gone through less than half the dip. Thankfully, our server brought us more on request.

I chose the California Shrimp Salad: "Succulent grilled shrimp, avocado, crispy bacon, black olives, hard-boiled eggs and grape tomatoes all on Bibb lettuce. Tossed with a creamy avocado dressing for a great finish.". It was pretty great, too. I enjoyed every bite and was even tempted to lick the plate. Thank goodness I didn't ask for the half-size! What would make it better? Serving some toasty, buttery bread on the side.

Due to an order mix-up, I had a Strawberry Cheesecake Shooter instead of a Strawberry Sundae. This was actually a good thing since I wasn't really in the mood for ice cream (I'd ordered it because our server had said they didn't have cake). Its small size was enough for several delicious bites, but not so much as to make you work to finish it off.

Although I ended up mixing water into my Strawberry Lemonade (or was it Limeade?) as it was overly strong in both sweetness and tartness, it was a very good meal.

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Branks BBQ (Sumner, WA)
It was a delicious and filling dinner, here. I had the "Hen" (half chicken) with sides of beans, potato salad, slaw, and cornbread. I was very pleased with the chicken, which was served as two pieces: thigh/leg and breast/wing. I don't know what sort of seasonings were used but I happily picked it to the bone. I'm not a big fan of bbq-joint beans, but the Branks' version was yummy and - as I wasn't expecting to find meat in it - a pleasant surprise. Cornbread is another non-fave, but Branks' was different - fluffier and smelling of vanilla. I liked it, but I thought they were being a tad stingy with the butter. Both the potato salad and slaw were good, but not particularly special. I liked the homemade chunkiness of the potato salad. It was quite mustardy, which is fine with me, but next time I'll go for the baked potato. And I liked the slaw's taste, but not its liquidity. The mousse-like dessert, included with the meal, was nice and light.

So, except for bones and slaw juice, I left nothing on my plate.

The ambience is where I'd like to see improvement. Lower level lighting and some music (I may be mistaken, but I don't recall any) would be appreciated. That, and maybe some pre-meal bread & butter, to distract one from noticing the less-than-inspired decor.