Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 488

April 20, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Daredevil!

What dat stink?  Cheese?  Crap?  Oh, right.  Me just watched Daredevil, so it be both.

Movie begin wit young Matt Murdock whose father be a bum.  We get cloying, painfully obvious shots of him cleaning up dad’s beer bottles. When he visit dad at work at de dockyards, he told father doesn’t work dere.  He about to leave when he just happen to coinsidentally (!) walk by alley where pops be ruffing up some guy.  Oooooh.  His father DOES work dere!  Just not doing legitimate work. Young Matt so upset dat he turn and leave, dropping his straight A report card in a puddle. Camera linger on dis shot.  Hoo boy.  Subtle dis movie aint.  Me surprised it not include voice-over narration telling any troglodytes in de audience what, exaktly, be going on.

Oh.  Monster stand corrected.  Dere IS voice-over narration for troglodytes.  But not until later.

Cue Hoobaskank

Anyhoo, young Matt leaving dockyard get blinded by chemikals.  BUT he also granted special powers: superhearing, agility.  He show off dese skills in fight sekwence to Hoobaskank song.  No.  Really.

If monster may, me want to take a moment to comment on choice of musik for dis movie.  It suck. Tanks.  Back to review.

Father very sad and make it up to his son by not trowing fight – and getting murdered by gangster he double-crossed.  Way to go, dad.  His killer leave calling card on his corpse: single red rose.  Why?  So movie can offer contrived revenge ending of course!

Fast-forward.  Matt an adult now.  We see him wake up in special sealed chamber dat protekt his super sensitive hearing.  Den we see him put on Nickelback and listen to it FULL BLAST!  Take DAT super-sensitive hearing.  And good taste.

And Ben Affleck’s girlfriend as Elektra.

Movie unfurl its tapestry of cliches.  Matt offer his gravelly-voice voice-over (for some reason, his voice NOT gravelly otherwise).  We introduced to snickering, one-dimensional bad guys who kill innocent people just becuz, oooh, dey so bad.  We treated to rent-a-monkey dialogue: “What do you want?”  ”Justice!”  ”Time to give the devil his due.”  Audience also treated to irritating romantik sub-plot as blind Matt Murdock hit on sexy girl, Elektra, in coffee shop.  He follow her to park where dey take part in stoopidest sparring sekwence in movie history. Den, dey end up on a rooftop kissing in de rain while sappy musik plays.  Monster not seen chemistry like dis since Gigli.

Most annoying fight sekewence ever.

Bad guy Kingpin hire bad guy Bullseye to kill Elektra’s dad.  She tink Daredevil responsible and go after him.  She stab him, pull off his mask and realize…he really Matt.  And, suddenly, she all sad.  Uh, two minutes ago, you believed dis guy killed your dad, no?  Bullseye appear, do a little stabby-stabby, and trow Elektra off roof.

Oh, you’ll watch Colin Farrell. And you’ll like him. LIKE HIM!!!

Daredevil hunts down Bullseye and trow him out window. “Bullseye!”he say when he land on car.  Damn, how much dey pay dose monkey writers?

Daredevil hunt down Kingpin but, instead of killing him (becuz, oh yeah, he somehow responsible for killing his daddy), he stop himself. Why?  Becuz, he say, “I’m not de bad guy.”  Huh?  You just trew Bullseye out a window.  And earlier in movie, you trew gangster onto subway tracks.   NOW you not a bad guy??? Daredevil inform Kingpin: “Justice is served.”  Boy, dat’s gold.  Write, monkey, write!

He leave a single red rose at scene of everyone he kill. To make it easier for police to connect him to murders eventually.

Movie end wit reporter Ben Urich writing an article about Daredevil dat reveal his true identity, den deleting it.  What kind of idiot write out an entire article only to delete it de second dey finish?  Oh, yeah.  Monster forget.  De kind of writer dat be a charakter in very contrived movie.

Speshul mention should be made of performances. Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell overact so badly dey cross into parody territory.  By de way, little known fakt about Colin Farrell – he be acting equivalent of broccoli.  You may not like him but Hollywood will keep shoving him down your throat so F U.  Worst performance go to Ben Affleck who, easily, de most annoying ting about a movie full of annoyances.  Truly, Ben Affleck be embodiment of de Hollywood Dream.  Every kid watching at home can look at Ben Affleck and say: “If dat guy can be considered a serious aktor, den dere’s hope for anyone!”.

Me have seen lots of bad movies for dis movie club but Daredevil be one dat aktually make monster angry.  Why?  Becuz it be a giant turd for only one of two possible reasons.  Either: a) producers too stoopid to realize dey be making a garbage film or b) producers realize and don’t care becuz dey figure WE’RE too stoopid and will watch anyting.

Dis movie be de worst possible example of what Hollywood TINK a superhero movie should be wit a lazy skript, embarrassing direktion, and performances dat range from inept to laughably over de top.

Verdikt: If dis movie was a guy, monster would kick him in de grapes. Repeatedly.

Rating: 1 chocolate chippee cookie.

Today’s blog entry be dedikated to Deni!

Tagged: Comic Books, Comics, Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster film reviews, Cookie Monster movie reviews, Cookie Monster reviews Daredevil, Daredevil, superhero movies, superheroes, SuperMovie of the Week Club

August 19, 2012: Book Haul! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Ark!

I know, I know.  What, you are no doubt wondering, am I doing STILL buying books – or, to quote an editor friend of mine, dabbling in “dead tree media”?  Well, truth be told, I do own a kindle which I find very convenient…whenever I travel.  But, the rest of the time, nothing beats the looks and feel of a good old-fashioned real book.  And nothing beats perusing a bookstore and picking up a title that just happens to catch my eye, something far less likely to happen when shopping online. In fact, four out of the five titles pictured above were impulse buys. The fifth was the reason I’d made the trip to Chapters in the first place, a book whose release I’d been anxiously looking forward to for months.

Crackpot Palace is the latest collection of short fiction by one of my favorite authors, Jeffrey Ford, whose work ranges from delightfully curious to mind-blowingly inventive.  I plan to ration these stories out, two a night, because this is a book I fully intend to savor.

If you’d like to check out Jeffrey Ford’s amazing work, might I suggest you start with The Empire of Ice Cream or The Girl in the Glass : A Novel or The Shadow Year: A Novel.

Hey, speaking of upcoming releases, look at what’s scheduled to hit the shelves just in time for my birthday month celebrations:

October 23rd!  Circle the date.  No one writes epic fantasy like Joe Abercrombie, delivering dark humor, colorful characters, and visceral action in novels that upend the staid genre in enormously entertaining fashion.  If you’re interested in checking out Joe’s work, might I suggest starting with The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One).

Resuming our trip down Stargate Atlantis memory lane…

THE ARK (316)

As much as I find great satisfaction in arc-driven episodes, I love these truly SF stand-alone stories simply because they’re so hard to do. Shep and co. discover a deserted space station hidden within a moon.  Their subsequent investigation leads to a surprising discovery, a shocking double-cross, and a seat-of-your pants ride down from a rapidly deteriorating planetary orbit.  Great performances all around.

An inadvertent bit of product placement occurs in one scene, the result of  someone leaving a water bottle and Snickers bar in the shot. Nobody noticed – until AFTER the episode aired.  It has since been fixed by the VFX department.  I think.

The notes session on this script gave rise to one of the most memorable executive utterances.  Just as the conference call got underway, Brad was asked to clarify something: “So, just to be clear…is this Earth’s moon?”.  Earth’s moon?  This series takes place in the Pegasus Galaxy.  Welcome to Stargate: Atlantis, season 3.

Tagged: Atlantis, Crackpot Palace, Jeffrey Ford, Joe Abercrombie, Red Country, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, The Ark

August 18, 2012: Dinner with Remi! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Game!

Back when I was in San Diego for Comic Con, I ran into former Stargate: Universe writer-consulting producer Remi Aubuchon who was in town promoting Falling Skies, a scifi series he is showrunning for Dreamworks Television and TNT.  He informed me that he would be back in Vancouver to start production on the show’s third season sometime in August and that we should definitely get together.

Well, the other day I received an email from Remi informing me that he was Vancouver, prepping production, and had a window of dinner opportunity before crunch time.  The last time he was in town, we went to Ki, an overall underwhelming dining experience.  I sought to rectify that misstep by suggesting we head on over to one of my favorite local restaurants, Miku.

So we got together, caught up, talked shop, and enjoyed a great meal…

Special Guest Diner Remi Aubuchon

The soft shell crab karage.

The aburi (flame-seared) nigiri selection.  Highly recommended.

The Crunchy Scallop Roll.  Scallop, flying fish roe, and aonori tempura bits.

The Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi – my favorite dish on the menu which, not surprisingly, turned out being Remi’s favorite.  It packs a delightful jalapeno/cracked black pepper kick.

The Aburi Ebi Oshi Sushi.  Here, it’s more sweet and sour than spicy, with a combination of ume and lime zest doing the honors.

A much more successful Japanese dinner this time out.

Rather than order dessert, we walked the block down to Bella Gelateria for a couple of double scoops of gelato.

Continuing our trip down Atlantis memory lane…

THE GAME (315)

Great premise.

Hmmm.  For some reason I’m unable to approve comments.  I approve ‘em and then they magically unapprove.  Was ist los?

Today’s entry is dedicated to long-time blog regular Anne Teldy.  Wishing you a speedy recovery!

 

Tagged: Atlantis, Bella Gelateria, Miku, Miku Restaurant, Stargate, The Game

August 17, 2012: Vancouver Olive Oil Company! The Weird Food Purchase of the Week returns! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Tao of Rodney!

Akemi and I were out and about today, running errands, when we happened across The Vancouver Olive Oil Company, a delightful little shop on West Broadway (2571 W. Broadway to be exact).  Having recently read an article on the poor quality of the olive oil sold in most supermarkets (ranging from old stock to adulterated crap), I was intrigued and decided to check the place out.

Opened in January of this year, Vancouver Olive Oil Company offers up a variety of high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars from a number of different countries: Italian Favolosa, Spanish Manzanillo, olive oils perfumed with Persian Lime or Mushroom & Sage, Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic, and Espresso Dark Balsamic – to name just a few.

Don’t know what you’re looking for?  Well, you’re free to try any and all they have available because Vancouver Olive Oil Company is a shop AND tasting bar.  Each of the 50 or so product selections are available for sampling and the friendly staff is more than happy to give you the rundown on the different offerings.

We started with the medium to robust olive oils and were surprised by the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, distinctions between them. We were each offered samples in a small, paper cup and instructed to warm the oil by placing it between our cupped hands for thirty seconds to release the scent and flavors.

Akemi warming her oil.

We ended up tasting about seven different olive oil varieties, noting their distinctive appearances, scents, and flavor profiles.  Yes, in many ways, it was reminiscent of a chocolate tasting.

What did you think I was going to compare it to?  Wine?

Akemi very much enjoyed the California Arbequina for its pronounced herbaciousness while I preferred the Spanish Picual for its peppery finish.  I also liked the lighter Leccino which makes use of Tuscan olives.

We then moved on to the Balsamics lining the walls, 12 year aged whites and 18 year aged darks.  We ended up going with the Grapefruit White Balsamic, Fig Dark Balsamic, and a Red Apple Dark Balsamic.

Akemi and I capped off our visit with a chat with owner Michaelanne Buckley, a woman who is clearly passionate about (and knows) her olive oil.

It’s fascinating stuff.  Along with the glorious oils and balsamics, I also picked up a book, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, by Tom Mueller.  Should make for some very interesting reading.

If you’re in the area, check them out.  Or head on over to their website for information on their company philosophy, products, and the 411 on oleic acid, free fatty acids, and polyphenol counts.

Vancouver Olive Oil Company

2571 West Broadway

Vancouver, BC

Closed Sundays and Mondays

http://vooc.ca/

The Weird Food Purchase of the Day video series returns with guest sampler, Akemi, who tries North American grape soda for the first time.  And loves it!

TRANSCRIPT

Me: Thank you (to waitress)

Akemi takes a sip, makes a face like she just swallowed a hairball.

Me: Do you like it? (in my best smart-ass tone)

Akemi: I don’t like it.

Me: Why not?

Akemi: Tastes like for kids.  I’m not kids.  (beat)  Like…this one is Fanta.  Fanta Grape.

Me: Yup.

Akemi: But you didn’t say that (taking another sip).

Me: Well, I said grape.  I said grape soda.  I said purple -

Akemi: You said grape.  You said purple color, but I thought like a fresh grape…

Me: What fresh grape is purple?

Akemi: I don’t know.  Like a wine.  (takes another sip – and makes another face)

Me: If you don’t like it, why are you drinking it?

She shoves the glass toward me.

Akemi: I will give to you.  Eat ice cream because I want to eat -

Me: You want to try my ice cream?

Akemi: No, I want to eat cone.

The video ends there, but shortly after I stopped recording, she ate both my ice cream AND cone.

Continuing our trip down SGA memory lane…

 TAO OF RODNEY (313)

I was never a big fan of any of the ascension-themed stories but this one has little to do with actual ascension and everything to do with Rodney and the relationships he’s formed over the course of his time on Atlantis.  More than all the talk about ascension or even the danger McKay faces, what stands out for me in this episode are the small acts of kindness that Rodney performs in the face of his imminent death. Meditating with Sheppard, hugging Ronon, writing up a list of the great things Weir has done as Commander, keeping Teyla company during an Athosian ceremony, giving Radek a pep talk – these are all actions that come, not as a result of a change he has undergone, but from the heart of a guy who realizes he may never again have the opportunity to do these things with his friends.  Great.

 

Tagged: Atlantis, balsamic vinegar, food, grape soda, olive oil, scifi television, SF, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, Vancouver Olive Oil Company, Weird Food Purchase of the Day

August 16, 2012: Blue! Green! Fists of Fury! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Irresponsible!

“Blue!”announces Akemi the second the traffic light turns green.

“Green!”I correct her.

“Blue!”she chimes as if she didn’t hear.

“What color is that?”I ask, pointing up at the traffic light.

“Green,”she concedes.

“But they’re blue in Japan?”

“No, they’re green in Japan.”  Beat.  ”But they call it blue.”

“Why do they call it blue if it isn’t blue?”

“I don’t know.  Why do they call them blueberries?”

I hesitate, wondering if this is some sort of trick question.  Eventually, I go with the obvious: “Because they’re blue.”

Outrage.  ”No they’re not! They’re purple!”

I was going to argue the point but then remembered a Food Network piece on the famed blue plate special that revealed blueberries are, in fact, closer to purple.  Hey, they look blue to me but who am I to argue with science?

“Why do they call them strawberries?”wonders Akemi aloud.  ”They’re not straw.”

“Why do they call them goose berries?”

She starts as if I suddenly showed her the remnants of a spider I’d squashed in the bathroom.  ”That’s so gross,”she says.

She then proceeds to tell me that, according to one of her teachers at the English school she attends, the Japanese refer to green as blue because, back in the day (samurai times?) green and blue were effectively considered the same color.

Really?

“What do you call a red light?”I ask.  ”Orange?”

“No,”she says, seemingly weighing my sanity with a dubious sideways look.  ”Red.”  She makes a face, then brightens.  ”In Japan, when you say something is blue, it means the thing is immature or not ripe.”

“In North America,”I inform her, “when we you say something is green, it means the thing is immature or not ripe.  Blue usually means depressed…or ecchi (Japanese slang for naughty or dirty).”

She incensed by the assertion.  ”No!  Blue isn’t ecchi.”  And then, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world: “Purple is ecchi color.”

“It is?”

“Yes.  In Japan, when someone wears a lot of purple, it’s because they are yokyu fuman (Japanese for sexually frustrated).”

Really?

Photos of Akemi training for the big fight:

Fists of fury!

Continuing our trip down SGA memory lane…

IRRESPONSIBLE  (313)

To be honest, this one didn’t really pan out.  For several reasons.  One was the location.  The episode was supposed to shoot in a place that approximated the look of an Old West town, but it was only after the script had been written that it was decided that location we had been scouting was unusable. Director Martin Wood wasn’t happy with what it offered from a visual standpoint and there was also the fact that several of the buildings were in such a state of disrepair that the production feared they were downright dangerous.  And so, out of options, we ended up shooting our version of high noon in Fantasy Gardens, a bizarre theme park location that is mishmash of various architectural styles.

The location was one of many compromises that had to be made in prep.

In the showdown between Sheppard and Kolya, the two face-off – and the rest of the Atlantis gang is standing right behind Sheppard.  I found it odd that anyone would stand directly behind someone in a potential shoot-out, but the cast was adamant that their characters would “back Sheppard” up.  While I appreciated the sentiment, I would have argued that, in this particular instant, one would back someone up without, literally, standing behind them.

Guest stars Richard Kind and Robert Davi were, however, brilliant.

Richard Kind improvises his dialogue in the scene where Lucius walks off with Sheppard and starts pitching him ideas.  We loved it so much we ended up keeping it in the script.

After the episode was shot, Robert assured me he had come up with a way to bring his character back.  ”Hey,”I told him.  ”This is science fiction.  Nobody stays dead in scifi.” True enough.  Although the character Kolya made a reappearance in Atlantis’s fifth season (sort of), there were plans to bring him back in the real – but, alas, that story never materialized.

Tagged: Japanese, Stargate

Q&A Tonight!

See you in the comments section at 6:00 PST, 9:00 EST.  I’m feeling chatty!

I’m early.  Let’s get started!  Post your question in the comments section.  I’ll answer there as well.  Then, when we’re done (in an about an hour) I’ll post the whole as today’s blog entry.

August 14, 2012: Damnit! Sushi! Food Trucks! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past!

Damnit!  I forgot about the live chat we were supposed to do.  I’d like to give everyone a 24 hour reminder.  How’s tomorrow night for you guys?  9:00 p.m. EST, 6:00 PST? [correction]

Akemi and I went out with Rob and Hillary last night.  We discussed a lot of strategy – and ate a fair amount of sushi.  And then some.

The Jidori chicken and foie gras dumplings.  Yes.

The salmon oshi and ebi oshi – two faves.

The Pacific Roll.

Then, today, I was downtown and met up with blog regular, Maryanne, who was in town visiting.  We, of course, ended up doing the food truck tour…

First stop: Japadog for – what else? – a Japanese hot dog.  Kurobuta pork with terimayo and dried seaweed.

The surprise bite of the day = the fish taco at Tacofino.  Wow.

Akemi enjoys her tandoori chicken wrap from Soho Road.

Maryanne does her best Ivon imitation.

And then capping things off with dessert at Cadeaux Bakery.

Maryanne and Akemi ready for dessert at Cadeaux Bakery!

Dessert.  I was a big fan of the carrot cake.  Akemi loved the pistachio brownie.  The goat cheese cheesecake was good but Maryanne preferred the chocolate layer cake.

Maryanne does her best Joe imitation while Akemi just wants to eat her dessert!

Hey, Maryanne, nice meeting you – and thanks for keeping up.  Enjoy the rest of your stay in Van!

Days of Stargate: Atlantis past continues…

ECHOES (312)

Here we go again.  Carl Binder and his damn ghosts.  Or variations thereof.  While members of the Atlantis expedition start seeing (long) dead people roaming the corridors of the city, McKay’s whale-watching yields some interesting findings on Lantian whale behavior and coronal mass ejections.  Although the stakes are extremely high, the episode itself delivers a nice balance of action, humor, and memorable character moments (who’d have thunk Rodney would have a soft spot for alien marine mammals?).

Although Carl wrote the script, he received uncredited input from his brilliant daughter – and by brilliant, I do mean brilliant.  The proud owner of a Ph.D in Astronomy, she provided insights, information, and admonishments on many a story.  We always walked the line between science and science fiction on the show and having someone like Carl’s daughter to rely on invariably made that line all the more narrow.

We ended up saving the planet – and the whales in this episode.  In a later episode, the planet comes under threat again.  When we were spinning this episode, we suggested that Atlantis take flight and abandon the planet.  Exec Producer Robert Cooper hated the idea given the effort we had put in to saving the whales in this episode.  After much heated discussion, I offered a creative solution.  Since these were alien whales, we had no way of knowing what type of defense systems they possessed.  So, what if, as Atlantis is flying away, they pick up movement on their short-range sensors.  They bring the image up on screen in time to catch the winged whales sail up out of the water and fly away in search of another world.  Martin Gero dubbed them “whangels”.  Sadly, they did not make the final cut.

August 13, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club Reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Spiderman!

What de Fudgee-o?  Monster feel like he in Bizarro world where black be white, day be night, and superhero movies aktually be good!

If X-Men was superhero movie made by people not embarrassed to be making a superhero movie, den Spiderman be superhero movie made by people who love superheroes – and comic books.  It be a big, bright, beootiful love letter to comic book fans wit a sprinkling of humor, ladles of drama, generous cups of action, and dash of nutmeg.  Dat one tasty love letter!

Neeeeerd!

Movie begin wit nerdy Peter Parker who, on visit to genetic lab, get bitten by very spiteful experimental spider.  He return home feeling like monster after dat time me mistakingly ate Bert’s “special happy” brownies.  And den angry Bert break ceramic lamp over monster’s head.  VERY woozy.  Next morning, Peter wake up wit muscles and special abilities like power of jumping, strength, agility, wall climbing, web shooting and, most important of all, power of costume design and sewing.  Oh, and like all real life spiders, he possess spidey sense dat warn him of danger.

Yep, de gloves fit pretty nice. May need to take in de hem…

Peter enter amateur wrestling match to earn $300 for new second hand car but promoter rip him off.  He upset.  So upset dat when robber steals from promoter, Peter doesn’t use his superpowers to stop him. Dis be very bad decision becuz robber den carjack and kill Peter’s uncle Ben.  Peter realize “Wit great power come great responsibility (and chicks, but dat come later)” so he embark on life as crime fighter – and freelance newspaper photographer since he, coinsidentally, always able to snap great pictures of webhead.

DIS de best costume dey could come up wit?  Really?

Meanwhile, Harry Osorne, father of Peter’s best friend, Mopey McBoring, under pressure from military, tests super chemikal on himself even tho his assistant warn him dat side effects on rats include violence, aggression and eventually insanity.  Insanity?  How exaktly to tell violent, aggressive insane rats from violent, aggressive sane ones? Monster not sure but, den again, me not rat expert.

Anyway, yep, Harry go insane.  He makes his own supervillain outfit, jump on experimental glider, and go on killing spree – first military officials who pressure him, den board of his company, Oscorp, when dey try to force him out.  He get nickname…De Green Goblin!

Spiderman and Green Goblin clash.  Green Goblin want to be his friend but Spiderman say no.  Apparently, he already have enuf friends. Green Goblin upset and, after finding out Spiderman is really Peter Parker, he put Aunt May in de hospital, den kidnap Peter’s secret crush, MJ.  Big fight!  Green Goblin unmask hisself, den get impaled by his own glider.

To spare his best friend finding out his dad really Gren Goblin, Spiderman take Harry’s body back to de Osborne home and put him in bed, presoomably so people will assume he died of natural causes. ie. Natural stab wounds.

Movie end wit MJ revealing she love Peter but Peter not want to put her in danger so he tell her he can only be her friend.

Maybe friend with benefits.

Overall, monster like dis movie a lot.  Great performances, especially by super-creepy Willem Dafoe and scene-stealing J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.  Kirsten Dunst less convincing as young MJ and monster never really buy her falling in love wit Peter at end.  If she be type of girl dat go out wit a lunkhead like Flash Thompson in beginning of movie, den she NOT de type of girl to go out wit nerd like Peter Parker at end of movie.

Visual effekts not bad but kind of dated.  Most of de time, de CG look like footage from a video game.  A very good video game, but still.

Biggest disappointment for monster was bulky Green Goblin costume dat look sillier den Grover’s Slave Princess Leia outfit.

Verdikt: Solid skript and movie.  VFX a bit dated and Green Goblin costume super lame but overall dese small complaints.

Rating: 9 out of 10 chocolate chippee cookies.

Sneak preview of next week’s Supermovie of de Week Club selection: Daredevil!

Hmmm.  It supposed to look like de ole Night Man t.v. series?

Tagged: Comic Books, Comics, Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster reviews Spiderman, film reviews, movie reviews, Spiderman, Sueprmovie of the Week Club, superhero movies, superheroes

August 12, 2012: Food Truck Fest! Earnest Ice Cream! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Return II!

Today, after hitting the Sunday farmer’s market (not to be confused with the Saturday farmer’s market which we also make a point of attending), we headed on over to the Waldorf Hotel for Food Cart Fest. The weekly event started on July 29th and is continuing, every Sunday, until September 2nd.  It’s a chance to check out a bunch of Vancouver’s best food trucks – along with a few other surprises.

We got there for kickoff, 12:00 noon, and line-ups had already started to form.

Off the Wagon and Mom’s Grilled Cheese attract some early customers.

Seating area for amateurs. Professionals like myself eat while waiting in line at the next truck.

I placed an order for a bacon-wrap at Pig on the Street. You just grab one of the pig-themed markers and they’ll call your name once the order is ready. I went with Jerry Swinefeld.

And the Piggy Blues: Bacon, greens, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and mayo on flatbread.

Did a few tacos as well.  Meh.  So far as I’m concerned, nothing beats the tongue tacos at the Tacqueria.  Yes, you read correctly.

And, for dessert, a double scoop from Earnest Ice Cream – salted caramel on the bottom and Pig on the Street (bourbon bacon brownie) on top.

Akemi and I actually discovered Earnest Ice Cream at last week’s (Sunday) farmer’s market.

I was intrigued and tried one of their ice cream sandwiches -

Dense, decadent, and delicious!

I was mightily impressed by the quality of the ice cream and ended up picking up two pints for home -

Whiskey-Hazelnut and Cinnamon Donut.

Akemi polished off the Whiskey-Hazelnut in about a day.  The Cinnamon Donut didn’t last much longer.  Today, we ended up going one better, picking up three pints: Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs, Roasted Banana, and, of course, Whiskey-Hazelnut.  Let’s hope they make it to Wednesday.

Earnest Ice Cream

Continuing our trip down SGA memory lane…

THE RETURN II (311)

Great.  The Ancients were about as successful at holding on to Atlantis as they were the first time they had it.  So now, it’s up to Sheppard and co. to retake the city from Asuran control and, oh yeah, help out a trapped O’Neill and Woolsey who are off causing all sorts of trouble of their own.  An episode with a nice mix of action, humor, character moments, mythology, twists and turns – an nice, satisfying pay-off to part one’s set-up.  And while things end happily enough as things return to normal for our gang on Atlantis, one big question lingers: Where the hell is that Ancient ship, the Tria?  Well, given the fact that we don’t hear mention of it again after this episode, take your pick: a) It was destroyed by the Asurans when they took Atlantis, b) It was hidden by the Ancients – hidden so well, in fact, that no one has been able to find it, c) It was sent off on some unknown mission (by either the Ancients or the Asurans who claimed the ship after conquering the Ancients) and was subsequently lost, d) Add it to the pile of cool technology gathering dust at Area 52 like the goa’uld healing device and the time traveling puddle jumper.

Let’s hear your theories!

Tagged: Atlantis, Earnest Ice Cream, Food Truck Fest, food trucks, Food trucks Vancouver, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis

August 11, 2012: Bao Bei! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Return I!

The other day, our friend and fellow foodie (oh, and culinary apprentice) Simon invited Akemi and I out for dinner.  We ended up meeting him (and his friend Sean) at Bao Bei in Chinatown for inspired modern Chinese cuisine.

Simon psyches himself up for the big feast.

Sean does his best Louis Ferreira imitation.

Akemi prepares to exercise her shoveling hand.

It’s a tapas-style menu offering a plates of varying sizes, from the tiny couple-of-bites appetizers to the bigger entries – perfect for sharing. Some of the highlights included -

Bean curd skin with king oyster mushrooms and truffle vinaigrette.  Love the texture of bean curd skin.

Steamed truffled pork dumplings.  The truffle was subtle, the dumpling delicious.

Kick Ass House Fried Rice.  Yep, that’s what it says on the menu.  And it was.

Chinese Donut (Youtiao) with condensed milk caramel, ginger, and palm sugar soy milk.  Probably the most popular dish of the night.  Surprised?

We ended up doing double desserts on the night (actually, triple dessert because we also ordered some ice cream).  Simon works at Cin Cin, one of Vancouver’s premiere Italian restaurants, and the kitchen there has been producing some phenomenal  macarons and chocolates – both of which we were fortunate enough to sample.

Cin Cin chocolates.  Despite the fact that they were fruit-based, I thought they were excellent.  Akemi, a chocolate expert in her own right, agreed.

Cin Cin macarons.  A terrific assortment.  It’s too bad they don’t have a shop.

Continuing our reminiscences of Stargate: Atlantis’s third season…

THE RETURN (310)

The Ancients are back!  Hurray!  And they’re taking back Atlantis! Uh…okay.  And kicking us back to Earth!  Boo!  It’s no secret.  I’ve never been a fan of the Ancient storylines, mainly because I find them a tad esoteric.  But here we have a bunch of real, live, grounded, unascended Ancients – and they’re still not very likable.  In fact, they’re utter douchebags, thanking us for taking care of the place before patting us on the head and sending us on our way.  ”Off you go.  Don’t let the puddle demolecularize your ass on the way out.”  It’s not wonder they got their asses kicked by the wraith.

This is the first episode we really see the gate bridge in action.  It seemed like such an obvious idea, I was surprised no one had thought of it before.  Of course, coming up with the idea is one thing, finding all those stargates and putting them in position is another thing entirely. Still, the convenience of speedy intergalactic travel between Atlantis and Earth is certainly worth the effort.  For about a year until the midway station gets blown up, after which it’s really not that worthwhile in retrospect.

Ah, once again we are treated to the comedy stylings of Anderson and Picardo.  It’s real treat to watch these two veteran thespians play off each other.  They’re two naturally funny guys so it’s not at all surprising that their scenes worked so well – or that they had a blast shooting them.

So, honestly, what are your thoughts on the Ancients?  Impressive intergalactic elder statesmen?  Or entitled jerks?

A reminder that our Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes on Monday.  Cookie Monster will be dropping by to offer his review of Spiderman (2002).

Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular mysticode!

Tagged: Atlantis, Bao Bei, science fiction, scifi television, SF television, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, The Return I, Vancouver Restaurants