8.31.2010

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010) - **


One big happy family.

The Kids Are All Right, apparently this summer’s feel-good triumph, has a lot going for it – uniformly sterling performances from a uniformly sterling cast, working with a rich premise supported by writing strong on character establishment and rife with genuine, well-earned laughs. But the film, the talented Lisa Cholodenko’s first in over five years, uses its breezy comic ease to mask it’s unsure handling of the juicy-yet-thorny subject matter it never quite knows how to approach holistically. There’s a lot of stuff in orbit here, but in the end what needed a Big Crunch gets a long, slow heat death.

HUGS!!!
Portrayed brilliantly by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, Nic and Jules are a Californian couple (referred to by their kids as "momses"), the first a high-string wine guzzling physician, the later a New-Agey would-be-landscaper waif, living with their two children, high-achieving Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and directionless Laser (Josh Hutcherson), each from one mother, each from the same sperm donor. That donor is Paul (Mark Ruffalo), motor-biking locally-farming restaurateur, whose discovery by the kids sucks him into the family. Little need be said beyond “hijinks ensue,” and while each character is beautifully drawn (I love, for example, that Nic and Jules watch “Locked Up Abroad;” I also love that when Joni's namesake finally comes up the sing-along isn't between who you'd think), when put into play they get less, not more, interesting as the film progresses.

You want special sauce with that?
The outcomes of Paul’s entry into the family are either ballsy and outrageous or surprisingly mundane, depending on how you want to interpret it. Yet another tale of middle-aged ennui and teenage angst/discovery - is the banality the point? Cholodenko doesn’t seem sure herself, and the film seems to drift forward without knowing which aspects of its plot are supposed to be commenting on the others. A film bursting at the seams with things to say but blurred and blunted by an unwillingness to choose which, muse on a title putting focus on the children even as most of the screen time is devoted to the adults. Dragging painfully in its final minutes even as a key character’s fate is left oddly unresolved, find a movie whose ambiguity is born not out of confidence but a lack thereof, whose assured handling of the camera and character building dissolves into air as the film goes on. Given its strengths, it feels worse than if it just plain stank. A real shame.

(Cross-posted at "The Thin Green Line")

8.28.2010

SOTD: Lissie - Please Stop Touring Europe

Recently got the recommendation to listen to a lady singer named Lissie and immediately was charmed by her kind of gravelley, kind of girly, only strong and 60s/70s tinged voice with twangy, purely rock guitar, melody driven tunes.  Here is a particularly catchy number for your Saturday enjoyment.



By the by, she will in fact be in Washington, DC on October 20th, so, see you there.

Stroga: Sun Drenched Yoga Experience

After making a quick breakfast of CSA peaches, granola and yogurt and relaxing for about an hour, I realized that I had the bug to get up and go.  Finding it impossible to imagine going to the gym, I quickly scanned the schedules of the local yoga studios to see if there were any specials and lo and behold, in 15 minutes a weekly free (donation suggested to benefit Haiti) community yoga class would take place at Adams Morgan’s very own STROGA studio.  Off I went to what proved to be a really great studio with a really great community class.

First, the studio.  It has one side for strength training and another side for yoga.  My review here is only for yoga.  Walking into the building you are greeted by a registration desk on the right and a sumptuous, leather couch, pretty rug, table and chairs lounge on the left.  Continue up the stairs and find the yoga studio with a preparation/storage room leading into the biggest, most well lit studio I’ve ever seen.  The floors were spotless hard wood and the ceiling was fitted with gorgeous ivory painted designed plaster mouldings.  The room had windows and balconies looking out over Adam’s Morgan which let light spill into the room.

Second, the class.  I was a tiny bit late, so I did not catch the teachers name, but the community class basically ran through warm up small movements, sun salutations, balancing poses, abs and lots of stretches.  Gorgeous mix of music – Indian, Fado, Samba, American Funk/Jazz  and a little 60s (Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel!). 

All and all, I can’t wait to try a regular class and maybe see the room in the evening, however, one way or another, very recommended.  Any suggestions of other studios to check out?

8.25.2010

SOTD: Local Natives // Airplanes

Preparing for Bonnaroo, we tried to listen to as much music as we could from bands that we didn't know very well that were going to play at the festival.  I remember starting a long drive in downtown Washington on a cloudy day, moving zippily down Constitution or Independence and playing Local Natives.  Each song was a sort of 'aha!', 'oh!' moment.  Absolutely beautiful combination of strings, strong percussion, keys and group singing following heavy melodies.  Since then, I can't seem to stop listening.  I traveled to New York City a few weeks ago to see them on Governors Island - amazing show.   Now, I will share with you the SOTD - Airplanes.

Rhode Island Reds - Thin Crust Delicious Pizza in Arty Up and Coming Hyattsville

The steamy D.C. weather finally took a break last week and the air cooled down, we decided to take an after work jaunt to Hyattsville to visit a relatively new pizza shop, Rhode Island Reds.  Windows down, we drove for several miles through Bloomingdale and Mt. Rainier to Hyattsville watching the sun set.  We arrived at Rhode Island Reds, a white painted industrial type building at a corner on Rt. 1 and were immediately warmed by the inviting atmosphere.  The atmosphere felt like a back street or even country cafĂ© in Italy or Eastern Europe. The front portion of the restaurant is a small Italian cooking shop with cans of tomatoes, oils, vinegars, preserves, etc.  The back of the restaurant has a few booths, a few tables, some red paint and primary colored art on the walls.  The walls in the market portion of the restaurant had local fliers advertising various community happenings.  


Now, onto the food, which we loved as much as the atmosphere.  The menu consists mostly of sandwiches, salads and of course, delicious thin-crust pizza.  We ordered a vegetable salad that was bright and colorful and covered with tasty oil-red wine vinegar vinaigrette.  We also tried two different pizzas, the Gina Lolabrigida a classic tomato, mozzarella, and garlic pizza and the Broforino, a delicious garlic pesto onion sauced pizza with anchovies and fresh tomatoes.  Both pizzas were simply delicious, classic, fresh flavors and thin crisp crusts.  All of the pizzas are an eminently reasonable $10 a pop, including ‘make your own’, which we will probably try next time.  Washed down with a glass of house red wine, the dinner was delicious and in our humble opinion rivaled fancier pizza places downtown and the feeling of being in another country-side world made it worth the trip. 

8.19.2010

Mid-City Cafe - Perfect!

Sometimes you go to a place and from the moment you step into it, you know you will be back many many more times.  Thats how I felt when I walked into the Mid City Caffe in Washington, DC.  It sits perched above Miss Pixies, a 14th Street Vintage and unique furniture and trinket shop.  I opened the door and immediately smelled fresh coffee with a tinge of cardamom to the scent.  The space is made for people to come and work on their computers, have coffee meetings and relax in a serene off beat environment.  One room has booth backed seats and big pull out chairs around tables with ample plug space.  Anticipating solo coffee shoppers, there is also a bar pressed against the window lined completely with plugs to facilitate easy work. Of course, Mid-City has free wifi, which again makes you feel comfortable coming here to work a little on the computer.  A second room juts off to the side, painted in light blue/grey with all high seat bar seats and a poster on the door announcing the DC English Writers Meeting each week.  

Walking up to the coffee bar, I noticed a slew of community even fliers waiting on the counter.  One that particularly caught my eye is the "Neutral Uke Hotel" night produced by Golden Bloom on Aug. 25 that will offer a sing-a-long to Neutral Milk Hotel songs played by the Neutral Uke Hotel and opened by Twins of a Gazelle on a UKELELE.  Really sweet. Their menu is a pretty classic, coffee, tea, espresso, french press and hand brewed fresh ground coffee.  There are a few light food choices and some delicious looking muffins and cookies.

Sitting here in the sun, I get the sense that I will be back here many more times to get personal work done, to write, to think, to drink coffee and to enjoy myself.  Among the coffee shops that I've been to in DC, Tryst, BusBoys and Poets, Qualia and Big Bear, Mid-City so far is my favorite.  I still need to try Sova on H Street to complete my tour.  Any other suggestions of indie shops that I've missed?