There are some yelp reviews of the new Pho place downtown on J. None of them really make me rush out and try it, everone seems to think it's just ok, but it's good to have a Vietnamese place in this area. I went to Lee's sandwiches again this weekend and got the meatball banh mi which was dynamite as always and I decided that next time I'm bringing in ketchup because that it what it really needs.
I was hoping to check out Twisted 88's late tonight for my Midtown Monthly thing, but looks like it's only open Wed thru Sat so friday night it will be. It's open until three on wednesday thru saturday(!?!?). Check out the website, this is without a doubt the weirdest and most ill-conceived food-serving venue to open in Sac since America Live (hey, remember when that was going to be the thing to revitalize Sacramento?). C-Webbs new restaurant (Center Court) comes in a close third. Maybe I will go to Mr. Perry's instead. Or Original Perrys, across the highway. They are both open 24 hours and you can't get any later than that. Any Perry fans that can recommend anything? The Armeniac likes the chicken fried steak but I refust to order that.
I watched Age Of Innocence and now that I have recently seen that and Casino I can stand even more firmly behind my assertion that The Departed is the best since Goodfellas. Scorcese failed to solve the problem of converting a book into a movie by having some chick just read long portions of the book over the scenes. I guess that's one way to do it. Daniel Day Lewis was really good in it, though.
I guess the narrator is Joanne Woodward, if it matters. Nice of Scorcese to throw her a bone.
ReplyDeleteDo not go to Crazy 88's. I'm not sure how their food is, but its a $7 cover just to get in, the drinks are weak and watching two ass-clowns ham it up on the piano isn't even funy for sarcasm's sake. The decor is non-existent. We were, however, offered free pizza, which we turned down. I'd like to start placing bets on how long this place will stay open. I give it one more month.
ReplyDeleteCDL
At Perry's (go to the Original one) get the steak sandwich, the one that comes on the cheese bread with onion rings. It's a fantastic cheap steak.
ReplyDeleteAlright, so you didn't like "Age of Innocence" the movie quite as much as I did, but few people do. I think my enamorment (not really a word) springs from the fact that it's my favorite Wharton book, and with the casting of Olenska and May I feared it would suck, which it did not, and neither did they. And yes, DDL as Newland was great. Right down to the best shot of the back of someone's head expressing more emotion than, well, I've ever seen from the back of someone's head in a movie.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting fact: for a period of years, Speilberg was going to make "Age of Innocence" and Scorsese was on the verge of directing an optioned script called "Schindler's List." In the early 1990s, for whatever big-shot reason, they traded. I often wonder ...
am i missing something here? whats all this Phenomenauts/QOTSA business?
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure you can get pizza at Twisted 88s (in the front) without paying the cover and it is currently the place that stays open the latest downtown, plus it will be paid for, so what better time to check it out?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Dave, I sometimes see hits from those sources and it's funny. I don't understand why people think I'm a man. It must be my giant man-hands.
Thanks for the tip on the steak sandwich, it's a definite contender.
Another little known fact: Scorcese was set to direct E.T. but in that version it dealt with a young alien rising through the ranks of the Brooklyn mafia and the discrimination he faced for not being Italian.
A fun game that smiller and I played at the beginning of Age of Innocence is to start narrating it as if you are Joe Pesci in Casino. Do try this at home.
How is the book of House of Mirth? What about the movie. I think I want to read the book if I ever get done climbing the Magic Mountain (not likely). The problem with that book is that you have to be convalescing in a sanitorium to have the time to read the damn thing!
Isn't Paul Newman whose been throwing Woodward a bone? "The Departed" - best Scorsese movie since "Kundun".
ReplyDeleteDB-that is a natural joke but I could not think of a way to fit it in (heh) so thanks for the assist. Also, quit making me watch crappy Scorcese movies. All right, I'll add it to my queue.
ReplyDeleteAlso, SG, I think you meant to say "Age of Innocence is enamorrific!"
ReplyDeletei've always been a fan of original perry's (the truck stop), more than mr. perry's (the coffee shop). i used to see a bunch dudes who'd hang out there after some late-night LARPing on a weekly basis. anyways, the he-man burger might be my favorite burger in sacramento. the fries, not so good though - you might wanna stick with the onion rings (nothing exceptional about them either, but it's harder to go wrong with deep-fired battered onions).
ReplyDeleteHey, that is a good game for "Age of Innocence" and the narration. And every so often you can imagine Joe throwing in "It should have been so sweet for Newland and Countess Olenska -- but he fucked it all up."
ReplyDelete"House of Mirth" book great, the movie sadly not so much. And yeah, you might have to wait until you're recovering from a torn ACL to find the time to soak it all in. The film of "Ethan Frome" is great, although like the book it's depressing as all hell.
Here's how I would rank Scorsese's post-"Goodfellas" career:
ReplyDelete1) No Direction Home
2) The Departed
3) Casino
4) The Aviator
5) The Age of Innocence
6) Kundun
7) Cape Fear
8) Bringing Out the Dead
9) Gangs of New York
Critics say that the Departed's plaot was a little convoluted. I don't really agree with that but they have a point. Did anyone else feel like it was too long?
ReplyDeleteCharles
plaot = plot
ReplyDeletebut I am sure at this point, your all used to it.
charlie
I didn't think it was so & that's coming from someone who wishes most movies were around 40 minutes long.
ReplyDeleteNow Casino, THAT was too long!
-miller
Where the heck did that "so" come from?!
ReplyDeletemiller
you old so and so!
ReplyDeletewa wa
Fair enough. Man, Casino is long. Have you ever seen Heat? I loved Casion and Heat in high school. Now, Heat is long. It also doesn't have nearly enough screen time for Rollins.
ReplyDeleteCharles
Original Perry's all the way! Ask to sit in the Log Room.
ReplyDeleteNiki
I actually thought "The Deaprted" was just long enough. "Casino" lagged, and I guess the reason I can't ever say that movie was anything other than pretty damn good is when the lights went up my first thought was "y'know, I've really gotta watch 'Goodfellas' again."
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the shout-out on "Heat." Sometimes it feels like Connie and I are the only people who appreciate the greatness of that movie; the last shot of that movie gets me all veklempt every time ...
For an action/adventure flick, "Heat" wasn't too bad. The bank heist shootout scene was pretty dang great--the frequent magazine reloads were a nice touch (they weren't using those movie guns with an infinite supply of bullets), as well as the sound of gunfire they recorded over the action. Not that I've ever shot it out with LAPD in a bank heist or anything but it seemed pretty believable. But this is also one of those movies where De Niro is just playing a caricature of himself and it's hard to see him as the actual character. Kinda like Jack Nicholson in all of his recent roles. Al Pacino too--why doesn't he ever try losing that accent for any of his roles?
ReplyDeleteI just got Godard's "Contempt" in the mail yesterday. Missed it the last couple times it came to the big screen but when Jack Palance died last week I netflixed it to watch in his memory 'cause he was one of the best tough guys ever. RIP Jack Palance!
Now I'm all about Reds. I watched it until intermission last night. I love to watch Beatty being Beatty and Keaton being Keaton and Nicholson being Nicholson against a historical background. I'm not being sarcastic. What could be better than those three in their prime just acting like themselves and looking good?
ReplyDeleteYou're on a cineamtic roll -- "Reds" actually gets my nod as the most romantic movie of all time (although anyone who knows me would think that's kind of a dubious honor). That flick rules. Did you read the Vanity Fair article a few months back about the making of the thing?
ReplyDeleteOh, and watching those three in their prime is a tad more bouyant than actually sitting down and slogging through "Ten Days That Shook The World." Good book, don't get me wrong ...
I grew up going to Mr. Perry's. Every other Friday on my dad's payday... We always went to Mr. Perry's over the Truckadero/OG Perry's. The quality of the food has taken a nosedive over the last decade or so. But, at least you still get soup and salad with most dinners.
ReplyDeleteMy old favorites are/were:
Breast of Chicken Maryland
Chili and cheddar omelette with onions
The All-American (breakfast)
Clam Chowder on Fridays
Navy bean soup on Wednesdays (at Mr. Perry's)
Tostada Rio Grande
Y'All (breakfast: two buttermilk biscuits w/ country gravy, eggs and bacon/sausage)
Perry's still serves its purpose as your standard greasy spoon, but in order to keep prices down, I guess they've had to go with more prepackaged food (fish and chips look like your standard Gorton's Fisherman frozen type). They used to have a kick-ass "filet of sole almondine". Now, their sole is of the frozen machine-stamped isosceles trapezoid variety.
Anyone else remember when Kalie's (sp?) was also part of the Perry's triumvirate.