Archive for December, 2024
Flicks
Since she grew up in Russia, writer-director Julia Loktev (Moment of Impact, Night Day Night) can recall how her family and friends regarded the neighboring region of Georgia as a hot vacation spot. So where better to set The L...
Beer
I like Rye beers. When used appropriately, it can add significant body and complexity that can really help accentuate a good beer. But I must admit, I have sampled a few disappointing Rye efforts. Since Bear Republic makes o...
Q&A
You’d be hard pressed to find a more popular band north of the border than Canadian rockers The Tragically Hip, who started topping the charts shortly after forming in 1983. The band has just issued Now for Plan A, its first st...
Beer
Each year I anxiously await the return of pumpkin beers. When I see this one on the shelf, I know the time has come. Like many pumpkin beers, this one starts out as a full-bodied brown ale with a mild hop and bitterness signatu...
Movie
Maverick’s, the big wave surfing spot in Northern California, is the stuff of legend. Many a surfer has been injured or even killed trying to tackle the 25-plus-foot swells for which the spot is known. The place was originally ...
Flicks
Director Barry Levinson initially won acclaim for 1982’s Diner, a period piece about a group of old high school pals who reunite at a Baltimore diner for a friend’s wedding. Since then, he’s built quite a resume working in both...
Movie
There’s no need to recount the plot of Paranormal Activity 4, the latest sequel in the horror film franchise that launched in 2007. Nothing really happens in the slow-moving film. The movie is such a bore, it suggests the serie...
Movie
Based on the James Patterson novel Cross, Alex Cross is a shoddily made, half-assed attempt to bring back the fictional character that Morgan Freeman portrayed in two previous films. After bad dialogue, the real problem is the ...
Q&A
If you’ve seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers play lately, you’ve seen singer Anthony Kiedis wearing a hat emblazoned with the logo Off!. The name refers to the fine punk band headed up by Keith Morris. We recently called Morris, wh...
Movie
The true story behind Argo, the new Ben Affleck film about six hostages who somehow manage to escape Iran in the midst of the U.S. hostage crisis, is almost unbelievable. A larger-than-life CIA-driven extrication plan that invo...
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