Dinner and a Movie
Home with a Stroke of a Brush
Home with a Stroke of a Brush
By Steve Herte
As
quirky as my favorite karaoke host is, when he tells me he’ll have
a song for me on a certain night, he means it. The song “Blitzkrieg
Bop” by the Ramones had been running through my head for a few days
and I asked if he had it. He answered my email with “I will by
Tuesday.” And he did. It was fun to sing and was well received.
Tuesdays
are my release night to “break up the week” especially when
work becomes intense, and I look forward them as much as to my Friday
dinner and movie night. After two Fridays of stools, I was
eagerly anticipating a real chair at a sushi bar and I got it.
Combine that with a movie that had me laughing each and every time I
saw the trailers and you have the recipe for a perfect evening.
Enjoy!
Home (DreamWorks,
20th Century Fox, 2015) – Director:
Tim Johnson. Writers: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember (s/p); Adam Rex
(book The True Meaning of Smekday). Voices:
Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, &
Brian Stepanek. Animated and Color, 94 minutes.
Aboard
their mother ship (which resembles the planet Earth with an
after-burner), the purple creatures who call themselves The Boov
assemble to hear their leader, Captain Smek (Martin), announce that
he’s found the perfect planet for them to live on: Earth. He and
the “brainier” Boov have determined that the inhabitants of Earth
are slow, helpless and baby-like, and will not resist being
displaced. All of the Boov are excited to finally have a planet of
their own after their home world was destroyed by their enemy, the
Gorg – fearsome spiky creatures with flames for eyes. But no one is
more excited than Oh (Parsons). He, like everyone else, totes his
belongings in a bubble attached balloon-like to his hand, except his
is three times the size of any other Boov possessions, and it gets in
the way constantly – much like Oh himself.
Upon
arrival on Earth, Captain Smek makes a grand pronouncement that the
Boov are here and they’re canceling the usual gravitational force
to make the people easier to suck up and transport – to Australia.
With all the people gone, the Boov populate the other continents,
except Antarctica, adapting them to their needs and modes of
transportation. What the Boov do not know is that one human is still
left. Gratuity ‘Tip’ Tucci (Rihanna) was missed because her
calico cat “Pig” was resting on her head at the time of
extraction and the scanners dismissed her as “non-human.” Her
mother, Lucy Tucci (Lopez), however was taken to Australia.
Oh
is so thrilled to have his own apartment and neighbors near enough to
invite to a party that he decides to throw a housewarming of his own.
But no one shows up because they do not associate with Boov who are
“different,” as Oh definitely is. He looks out onto the
Boov-covered streets below and sees Kyle (Jones) – his
‘best-friend’ (only in his mind) – directing traffic. He goes
down to invite Kyle to his party but Kyle wants nothing to do with
him. Oh decides to send out invitations on his circular hand-held
device to all the Boov, but when he goes to ‘send’ the
invitation, he hits ‘Send All’ by mistake and the invitation goes
to the entire galaxy, including the Gorg. Oh is now vilified by his
people and hunted for “erasure.” He escapes the angry crowd in a
Bubble Car, but not for long. Captain Smek has sent out an all-points
bulletin on him, which automatically disables any vehicle he touches.
He crashes in a desolate part of town and hides by entering the back
door of a mini-mart called “Mopo.”
Meanwhile,
trying to escape the encroaching Boov, Tip and her cat have driven
off in her mom’s car and inadvertently crashed it in front of the
same mini-mart that Oh has entered and they come in through the front
door. They eventually bump into each other and both are terrified,
but Tip locks Oh in the freezer cabinet. After much mistrust, begging
(“Can I come into the out now?”), and cajoling, Oh promises to
fix Tip’s car and take her to her mother. Using three flavors of
“slushees” and various edibles from the mini-mart Oh converts the
car into a hovercraft and they elude the Boov. Oh really wants to go
to Antarctica to escape his people but must take Tip to Paris to use
“the antenna” (The Eiffel Tower) to find where her mother was
displaced. Paris is the last place Oh wants to go because that’s
where Captain Smek has set up his capital of “Smekland.”
Oh
explains to Tip that the Boov are known for “running away from”
and not confronting danger, and that he’s wanted for his mistake.
“With Boov, it’s nine mistakes and you’re out.” “How many
have you made?” “Sixty-two.” He also explains how Captain Smek
became the leader of the Boov when he confronted the Gorg Commander
(Stepanek) and took the “Shusher” from him. The Shusher is like
an egg-shaped rock and now is the head of Captain Smek’s scepter.
He bops Boov on the head with it while shouting, “Shush!” On the
journey, Tip learns that the Boov cannot resist dancing to modern
music when Oh uncontrollably starts gyrating (and changing colors)
and is horrified. “Boov do not dance.” He even twerks on his four
stubby legs.
A
strange friendship blossoms between Oh and Tip. Together they use the
Eiffel Tower to cancel Oh’s invitation – just as it’s about to
be received by the Gorg mothership – and locate Lucy in Australia.
But they’re not out of trouble yet. The Boov still want him for
making the mistake and the Gorg are still coming to destroy Earth.
Home is
an excellent movie for both children and adults. There is enough
visual humor to keep kids entertained and sophisticated jokes to keep
adults laughing. I know as there were several children in the
audience with me and I heard them giggling. Just the thought of Oh
waiting expectantly in his apartment door holding a tray with a bowl
of shiny nuts and bolts and three rolls of toilet paper makes me
laugh still. The voices are beautifully done and the characters –
though alien and disproportionate – are believable.
The
animation is smooth and the 3-D effects non-intrusive. There is one
instance where Tip’s car is firing popcorn at the audience, but it
didn’t even make me blink. The writing is superb and the life
lessons taught in this film, though not new, are valid: you can’t
keep running away from your problems, family is paramount, and, just
because someone took something valuable from your enemy, it doesn’t
necessarily qualify him as your leader. There is even pathos in this
animated marvel. Wait until you see what the Shusher really is.
Trekkies will love it. I did.
Rating:
4½ out of 5 Martini glasses.
brushstroke
30
Hudson Street (Duane Street), New York
I
seem to be following the career of David Bouley. Shortly after I was
able to afford it, I dined at the original Bouley on Duane Street.
Bouley moved out and later opened Bouley on West Broadway, and I
dined there again. That location closed, and a new Bouley restaurant
named Danube came to occupy the truncated triangle of property formed
by Hudson Street, Duane Street, Reade Street and West Broadway. A
lovely interpretation of Austrian cuisine, I dined there one
Christmas with Helene. David later reopened Bouley at 40 Hudson
(where it is today) but he didn’t stop there. He and some of his
staff reopened the by-then closed Danube as the French/Italian
Secession and I dined there again, wonderful! But Secession did not
last. Not very much in New York City does. The space is now a joint
venture between Japan’s top culinary school and Chef Bouley and is
the marvelous “brushstroke” (yes, spelled in lower case) and has
been for the past three years.
Knowing
all this and remembering it when it’s critical are two different
things however. On my way to the theater, I walked down Duane Street
so that I could see where exactly the restaurant was, but I didn’t
see it.
After
the movie, I returned and looked for the restaurant, but where was
it? Passing 40 Hudson Street I noticed no outward indication that
Bouley was there; but on closer inspection I saw that it was indeed
there. brushstroke had to be on the block before and it was; except
for the address, I wouldn’t know it was a restaurant.
Until
I entered, that is. After checking in at the formal Captain’s
Station, I was led by a young man into an immaculate blonde-wood
paneled room and seated at the end of the sushi bar. A sushi bar is
light years away from any standard drinking bar: It’s a lot cozier,
the clientele are much more genteel, and the service is of the
highest quality. My server took my water preference and presented me
with the cocktail and wine list.
I
ordered the Japanese cucumber with almond cocktail – gin, lime, and
coarse ground roasted almond. It was a beautiful shade of lime green,
had a slice of cucumber as a garnish and the almond was around the
lip of the ball-shaped glass. I found it refreshing, yet subtly
powerful. While I sipped, my server brought the food menu indicating
the prix-fixe Kaiseki dishes on the first two pages
and the a la carte menu following it.
I
took my time with the food order noting the relatively high prices
but not surprised because of the location, the chef and the cuisine.
A young Asian girl next to me was trying the octopus and I asked her
how it was. She told me it was well cooked. I joked that I’m
usually happy if I can chew it. She laughed.
My
server reappeared and I put in my three-course order. Soon another
server brought the Amuse-Bouche – a delicate slice each of salmon
and yellowtail sashimi on wafer thin crackers resting on a wooden
board and graced with a cherry-blossomed branch. Delightful.
Soon
my appetizer arrived, Pacific jumbo oyster, with uni (sea urchin),
scallop and meyer lemon foam dressing, garnished with salmon roe. I
asked my server if it was a belon oyster, but he didn’t know. It
was larger than normal oysters and sliced into three pieces. Despite
its size, it was delicate in flavor and tender in consistency. As I
love sea urchin and its musky flavor, I found that, combined with the
lemon foam and the salty salmon roe, the dish was truly a multiple
taste sensation.
At
this point, my cocktail was finished and I ordered a glass of the
Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Urgestein Terrassen, Austria (I
know it’s a mouthful. I just ordered “the Austrian white wine”),
a crisp, lightly sweet, dry, white wine that went perfect with the
meal. The manager came by and we discussed our mutual love of belon
oysters. I told him of a restaurant, “Fresh,” on Reade Street
that actually served them. He didn’t remember “Fresh” but when
I told him it’s now “Sazon” he knew of where I spoke.
After
a little while, my second course, gelee, arrived. Served on a
gorgeous multi-color striped dish – tuna sashimi and hearts of palm
with yuzu-miso dressing and dashi (a Japanese soup stock made from
kelp and bonito flakes), it was easily eaten with chopsticks. The
crunchy palm hearts contrasted with the melt-in-the-mouth red tuna
flesh and the dressing added a lightly salty, vinegary touch that was
tantalizing.
My
wine server reappeared and I decided, since I was having my wine by
the glass, I would switch to the Domaine Fichet Bourgogne Blanc,
France. One taste and I knew it was right. There is nothing better
than a good French white burgundy when the main course is dungeness
crab and lobster with spring bamboo shoots over donabe (a clay pot
for cooking) rice. My server displayed the dish to me still in the
donabe and it looked spectacular. When served, the dish was one-sixth
the size and in a blue and white ceramic cup, accompanied by pickled
carrot, squash and radish, and miso soup for drinking. I had a moment
of “where did all that food go?” until my server assured me that
there was much more. Five ceramic cupsful later, I was finally
approaching fullness.
I
noticed that the young woman next to me was also enjoying her main
course and asked if that was the wagyu beef dish. She said it was and
that it was great. I told her I’ll have to return after Lent and
she laughed again. My main course was so good I forgot that don’t
really care that much for lobster. The crabmeat flavored the rice
nicely and there was salmon roe sprinkled in the dish as well. If
seafood could be considered hearty, this would be the signature dish.
Time
for dessert and I noticed then that nothing so far had arrived before
its time in this restaurant. Nothing arrived simultaneously or late.
In fact, I received two apologies for the time it took to cook the
main course, both of which I waved off and thanked them for. The
selection was intriguing and I chose the macha-green tea ice cream,
with red beans and white chocolate and nigori-sake affogato (a creamy
sweet sauce). Again, it was another unique combination of flavors.
Eschewing tea because of the long trip home I accompanied the ice
cream with a glass of Poire Williams eau de vie.
My
server asked how everything was and I told him that if knew the
Shinto term for Nirvana, I was there. He said in that case he
wouldn’t want to disturb my higher state of being with
administrative matters. Then, a surprise! My server brought an
aprés-dessert, delicate, crispy white rice pastries embedded with
red beans that were both sweet and salty! I had a wonderful time at
brushstroke. It was a bit on the expensive side, but worth it. I
didn’t even mind it when the coat check couldn’t locate my
leather cap right away. But I definitely have to come back for that
beef dish.
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