Posted on

An Intelligent Movie….

Amour .  A tough movie that tackles the subject of aging.  It’s French.  It’s about a loving elderly couple faced with what happens when one suffers a stroke and the downward decline that ensues.  It’s as much about the person who’s failing as it is about the caretaker.  After all, no one ever thinks about what the caretaker goes through.  This movie handles it.  It’s an intelligent, thoughtful, heartbreaking piece of work worthy of the awards it has already received.  The leading actress, Emmanuelle Riva, nominated for an Oscar (and deserving of it), was in the famous movie Hiroshima, Mon Amour and the actor Jean-Louis Trintignant was in another famous French movie, A Man and a Woman.  Isabelle Huppert plays their emotionally barely there and hardly interested daughter.

Why aren’t there any movies about the subject of aging?  There are lots of us baby boomers out there dealing with our own mortality or dealing with aging parents.  There are movies about being 40, action hero movies, lots of stupid movies for 13 year olds, but no intelligent movies that deal with the subject of aging and the end of life.  Granted it’s not an easy subject and I suppose people don’t want to face it or be reminded that it will happen, especially when the reason they’re going to the movies is to be entertained.

Do yourself a favor, go see Amour before it leaves; and then, go see a stupid movie!

After the movie we needed wine and some good food.  So with our friends G and B we headed over to Abigail’s.  I’ve reviewed Abigail’s in the past.  It’s on Third Street in Cambridge where there’s a lot going on.  We immediately ordered wine, which we desperately needed and  took a look at the menu.  We had so much on the table we couldn’t fit anything else on it if we tried.  As with our last visit, we loved the restaurant.

See you at the bar…..

 

 

 

Posted on

Christmas Eve 2012

A movie and dinner.  A perfect way to spend Christmas Eve with L and M.

The movie – Rust and Bone.  A Belgian-French film.  It’s a complex love story, tough but riveting.  It left us sitting in our seats for a few minutes because we had to digest what we’d just seen.  It’s not a kid’s movie.  Marion Cotillard plays a woman who trains killer whales and is involved in an accident at a marineland in Antibes, France in which she loses both legs. She has to learn how to deal with her new reality. Enter  a man she has previously met in a bar who’s a kick-boxer and struggling to find work and support a son.  Together they seem to find a common ground and  without giving anything away, this is the basic story.  It is directed by  Jacques Audiard  who also directed The Prophet, another complex movie that if you haven’t seen, you should. Continue reading “Christmas Eve 2012”

Posted on

Two Reviews for the Price of One!

Before I get to the restaurant review, I’m going to give you a movie review.  Go see Searching for Sugar Man.  It’s a documentary about a musician from Detroit in the early ’70’s  whose name is Rodriguez, poised to be the next big thing a la Bob Dylan, putting out beautiful music but he never did become the next big thing.  Instead, he disappeared and became the biggest rock ‘n roll star in South Africa without his even knowing it.  A lot of legend surrounded him and I won’t give anything away but can tell you, that you’ll be applauding at the end of the movie, I promise.  Two thumbs up from 2 at the bar!

East by Northeast is a tiny storefront restaurant in the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, MA.  It’s got all the hype, it’s on everyone’s “Best Of” list and it was noted in the New York Times “36 hours in Cambridge” article.  All for good reason. It’s putting out big flavors.  It’s Chinese fusion; everything is locally sourced.  And, there’s no white rice so don’t ask for it!  It’s tapas-like, small plates meant to be shared.  Everything is made from scratch and that includes the most delicious noodles.  On our table were:

  • scallion pancake, roasted garlic chili sauce, pickled onions
  • smoked pork confit, mantou bread,cucumber,  plum sauce
  • crispy pork belly, mantou bread, pickled melon rinds, sweet bean paste
  • stuffed littleneck clams, bacon, black bean, herb relish
  • pork and zucchini shaomai, carrot puree, black vinegar reduction
  • Summer stew with marinated chicken, corn, squash, zucchini, xo sauce, house-made togarashi and the most beautiful hand-rolled short rice noodles that were like gnocchi
  • homemade thick cut noodle with pork ragout, napa cabbage, marinated radish, corn, chili vinegar

Does that sound good?  It was!  The food is delicious, the sauces are rich and it’s not terribly expensive.  But be prepared, if the restaurant is crowded, it’s really, really loud.  At the table with us our pals B and G and the four of us loved the restaurant (and the movie!)

We topped the evening off  with a walk down the street for ice cream from Christina’s which has some of the best ice cream around and that’s saying a lot for a city that takes it’s ice cream seriously.  We begged for them to please let us in because they were just closing up.  Lucky us, they did open their doors and we finished off the evening in ice cream heaven!