Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

I thought the previews for this movie looked good, albeit extremely Baz Luhrmann-y. My only experience with him was Moulin Rouge (and this) and I couldn't get through more than 30 minutes of that movie. But Leonardo DiCaprio cures all and the REAL Spider-Man (take that, Eduardo Saverin) was in fine form.

I really liked 'Gatsby'. It was visually arresting and felt both contemporary and roaring at the same time. I was kind of sick of the phrase "old sport" by the end but I must confess I didn't read the book -- maybe that's why my tolerance was low. Brig thought it stayed surprisingly true to the book and since it is still being taught in English classes 85+ years later, that's probably a good move.

I think I came away most impressed by Joel Edgerton. I didn't know him from anything (apparently he was in Star Wars Episodes II & III but I don't remember him) but he seemed to perfectly embody his character. And while this wasn't exactly a star-making role for Carey Mulligan, I still love her from An Education and recommend that highly. I don't want to end this review by recommending a different movie so go see this too!

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

On Sunday, Brig and I went to see the spring spectacle known as Iron Man 3. This was a big deal because it was opening weekend and we never have the urge to rush out and see something right away (e.g. The Dark Knight Rises four weeks after its premiere.) But Robert Downey, Jr. has that kind of a hold over us and he most certainly did not disappoint.

Iron Man 3 is the first of the series not to be directed by Jon Favreau. This time, Shane Black was at the helm and, if you were like me, you read a lot about him in the weeks leading up to the film's release. So when the movie opened with Tony Stark narrating, I wasn't surprised but I didn't like it. "This isn't how you make an Iron Man movie! There is no narration!" That resided quickly though as it was just for the introduction and didn't come back until the last scene.

I'd say Black did a great job. Obviously, there was a lot of pressure being the first solo film released after last summer's game changer (another we were late to the party theater for) but as we've already seen by all the huge numbers, it's a great success. Downey was on top of his game (as always) and the dialogue was exceptionally funny. The only thing I wish there had been more of was Don Cheadle, who was fantastic.

Iron Man 4? The Avengers 2? Downey isn't under contract after this film and you could almost sense it all ending as the movie closed. We stayed until the post-credits scene and then Marvel pulled a 007 move and put up "Tony Stark will return." But will he return as Downey??? The Avengers 2 already has a Spring 2015 release date and negotiations will be fierce. Here's hoping RDJ gives us one more adventure.

Vampire Weekend "Modern Vampires of the City" [ADVANCE]

While eagerly awaiting the release of this album, I began thinking about what Vampire Weekend means to me. I loved their first two albums -- with their self-titled debut being a true soundtrack to my summer when it was released. I've seen them in concert more than any other band, save Death Cab and Passion Pit. And yet I never really classified them as one of my favorite bands. Well, today that officially changes. Their new album is streaming on iTunes this week before it's released and it was enough of an event that I shut off the Sox game, tuned out Brig and dusted off my music reviews. So here it goes...

It's different. If you've been following the songs they've released ahead of time you would know this already; I am simply confirming that it is album-wide. Where their first two albums were more immediate in drawing you in, Modern Vampires of the City is a grower. And I love it. The album is heavily focused on aging and death. It's no accident that lead single Diane Young sounds a lot like 'dying young'. And take a look at the cover art. That is a photograph of NYC on its smoggiest day in history back in 1966 when 169 people were killed.*

Of course, when I call it a grower I am also intimating that the band is growing as well. They are trying out new techniques (a lot of vocal distortions, interesting drum parts) in addition to their "mature" lyrics about the passage of time. As always, Ezra's word play is in fine form and I only understood about 20% of the references which sounds about right.** (Also, not at all related but I feel obligated to link to Ezra's random cameo on Girls this season.)

I advise you to head to iTunes right now and give it a listen. I know people are into singles right now but it's only 43 minutes. Fine, fine, if I had to shortlist a couple songs to get you hooked into the rest of the album then I'd say Diane Young (linked above), Ya Hey and Unbelievers. Enjoy!


*Mad Men referenced this same occurrence in an episode last season.

**They did go to Columbia after all.

Good Eats: District 7

We bought a Groupon (sorry LivingSocial/Google Offers/Amazon Offers/Tippr, etc. but Groupon is the noun that describes all of you. First to market and all that.) for a bar in Malden called District 7. Our town is right next to Malden so we were excited to find a local drinking hole that didn't involve going into Boston or being a sketched out dive.

When we walked in I was pleasantly surprised at A) how clean it was and B) how normal the clientele seemed. We grabbed the last booth and noticed that each one had its own TV. Nice! The waitress came right over to take our drink orders and was knowledgable when Brig had a question. We looked around to see a lot of firefighter paraphenalia on the walls. Turns out they are a firefighter-themed bar and a main hangout of the Malden fire department. Pretty cool.

We had a $20 for $40 deal so we had to spend that much between the two of us, excluding alcoholic beverages. This is harder than you'd think when everything is reasonably priced. We ordered nachos for an app (very big, perfectly cooked), I got a burger and Brig ordered... I don't even know, maybe a salad? Then we ordered dessert (Was it chocolate lava cake? Maybe Brig should just leave a comment with the answers) and it was also a large portion. We were not disappointed.

So now we're really into this bar and telling everyone about it. We're gonna have to go back for Tag Team Trivia on Wednesdays. Who's in?

Good Eats: Bone Daddy's Burgers

I buy lunch every work day. Blame it on Pre-K through High School bagged lunches. I like to try new things but I do have certain restrictions: no pizza, no burgers, no vegetables (just kidding). Burgers and pizza are my two favorite things in life (plus the Babbler) so it made sense to cut those out to allow me to branch out.

For the past year or so I have been using the City of Boston's food truck schedule to see if there are any interesting food trucks in my neighborhood that day. Outside of the traveling Redbones truck and Grilled Cheese Nation/Roxy's (so similar I don't know which one I visited) I haven't really embraced their existence. A lot of the options are extremely niche: fish, cupcakes, crepes, noodles, etc. Good every once in a while but not anything that is going to have me clamoring.

When I brought up the website today I saw an interesting new truck I hadn't seen before: Bone Daddy's Burgers. I clicked on their menu and was greeted with 3-4 items that I immediately wanted to try. A short jaunt to Milk St. later and I've got burger in hand. I ordered the Mia, which is a cheeseburger topped with pico de gallo and avocado. It was so good it blew me away. I think I'm going to stalk this truck moving forward and take every opportunity I can to get another bite.