Dinner
and a Movie
By
Steve Herte
Eye
in the Sky (Bleecker Street Media, 2016) –
Director: Gavin Hood. Writer: Guy Hibbert (s/p). Stars: Helen Mirren,
Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Jessica Jones, Aisha Takow, Bob Chappell,
Lex King, Dek Hassan, Abdi Mohamed Osman, Ebby Weyime, Barkhad Abdi,
Iain Glen, Phoebe Fox, & Richard McCabe. Color, Rated R, 102
minutes.
“Never
tell a soldier about the casualties of war!” The last line from Lt.
Gen. Frank Benson (Rickman) to Kate Barnes (Jones) echoes the agony
experienced by the entire cast as the scenes played out in this
modern warfare thriller.
When you have three
of the top five terrorists on your watch list constructing suicide
vests in a house located in a friendly country, and you have a drone
poised to fire a missile to destroy them, and innocent little Kenyan
girl Alla Mo’Allim (Takow) sits directly outside selling bread,
what do you do?
This is the dilemma
facing Col. Katherine Powell (Mirren). On the one hand, she’s
ecstatic at finally tracking down the radicalized Susan Danford, now
Ayesha AL-Hady (King) after months of searching, and, not only that
but she has the husband Abdullah AL-Hady (Hassan) and number two,
Amadu Mukhtar (Osman) in the same building. On the other, her top
secret operation in cooperation with the United States military is
subject to legal rules of conduct and moral judgments that threaten
to delay or even prevent her capture of the targets. How does she
know this? Operatives on the ground, Damisi (Weyime) and Jama Farah
(Abdi), who control surveillance cameras in the shapes of a
hummingbird and a beetle, have “seen” inside the safe house.
Lt. Gen. Benson
meanwhile is in contact with Col. Powell through his laptop in London
with representatives of the United Kingdom government who are there
to witness the “capture.” When the situation evolves to a drone
strike, the ramifications are heightened and the issue is “referred
up” to Foreign Secretary James Willett (Glen), who is unfortunately
suffering a bout of food poisoning.
When all is cleared
for firing the missile and the collateral damage has been calculated,
drone pilot Steve Watts (Paul) and US Air Force colleague Carrie
Gershon (Fox) can see the little girl setting up her table just
outside the compound in their cross-hairs. Steve’s reluctance to
fire until the collateral damage or “CD” is recalculated sends
the decision to the Attorney General, George Matherson (McCabe), for
reassessment.
The suspense and
tension throughout this film is palpable. If you do not find your
heart rate increase by the end, you’re probably dead. Every actor
in the cast is obviously aware of the horrific results of the
decision to fire (or not) and it shows in the faces. Helen Mirren’s
frustration each time her victory is put off is graphic. Alan Rickman
is still the great stone face he was as Severus Snape in the Harry
Potter movies, but you can read the deep concern in his expressions.
It’s a
frighteningly believable tale of high technology warfare done
superbly without vulgarity (not one) and with minimal gore while
having maximum moral teaching. It asks the difficult question of how
to deal with terrorists from Somalia (an unfriendly country) imposing
sharia law in neighboring Kenya (a friendly country) and making it
their base of operations. From a technical standpoint, this movie
deserves the term “Wow” even without the top rate actors and
performances. The effects of the mechanical bird and beetle were
amazing. I went to see it just because I love Mirren, but I got so
much more.
Rating:
5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
China
Grill
60 W. 53rd St.,
New York
I can’t tell you
exactly when I last dined at the China Grill, but it was over 12
years ago and it was my third or fourth time. It’s one of those
restaurants you can’t get enough of, and so you’re compelled to
return. This time it was to celebrate my dining companion’s
birthday. My karaoke host suggested the restaurant and I realized
that I’ve never reviewed it. Perfect.
I arrived first at
the sleek black stone and glass tower that was once the CBS Building
on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street and entered through the
revolving door. I marvel at the use of this cavernous space every
time I’m there. The Captain’s Station is immediately to the left;
beyond it are black wood bare-topped tables of the bar crowd. There
are more tables to the right on a wedge-shaped platform. In all, I
didn’t see one empty space. The 20-plus-foot-high ceilings are
graced with pancake-like lighting fixtures in shades of flax and
blushing pink as they march through a narrowing hall toward the rear
dining area.
The young lady asked
me to wait for my companion because they do not seat anyone until the
entire party has arrived. The bar down the hall was fully occupied
and the only seat was a small curved bench behind the revolving door,
now occupied by a young man awaiting his take-out. I sat next to him
admiring that décor. Even the floor is not just tile. There are
words. I read “The Wild Animals” right beneath my feet. The walls
are painted muted shades of red with fanciful dragons sketched on
them.
One half hour after
our reservation time, my dining companion arrived (she got off at the
wrong subway station). The lady at the Captain’s Station graciously
led us past the bar to the rear dining area, where she split apart
two tables to make a single for us. The space has at least twice as
many tables as the front area, and though they were a little more
than half occupied, it was alive with conversation. I had forgotten
how noisy the place was when combined with the piped-in music. We had
to lean in toward each other to hear ourselves.
Our server, Jessica
arrived and greeted us. When the water was poured, she asked if we
wanted a drink. My lovely guest ordered a glass of the Riesling from
the Mosel region of Germany and I ordered the specialty cocktail,
“Shiso Crazy” – green tea infused Russian Standard vodka,
cucumber, shiso (a Japanese herb sometimes called “Japanese
basil”), and lime. I think she got the better of that deal. My
drink was tasty, but when Jessica returned I dubbed it too
namby-pamby and ordered a decent Beefeater Martini, which was almost
perfect. The second one was perfect.
The four page,
all-inclusive, bound menu featured cocktails, wine and beer on the
first page, Dim Sum, Salads and Starters on the second, Mains, “Grand
Plates” and Accompaniments on the third, and Desserts and Soufflés
on the fourth. Knowing from previous experience that nearly
everything on the menu was good, I found myself explaining the
difference between sashimi and sushi, spicy dishes and mild dishes
and the difference between authentic Chinese cuisine and China
Grill’s interpretation.
When she finished
the Riesling, I recommended the Sancere – “Patient Cottat” from
the Loire region, France, which she found equally as good. We ordered
two starters and two main courses and decided to share everything.
The blue crab, tuna
and edamame guacamole tartare was an artistic little tower in shades
of light green, beige and brown surrounded by pepper and herb oils
with a ramekin of savory prawn crackers. It was delicious, but the
tuna flavor dominated (by that I mean the “Chicken of the Sea”
flavor, not the sushi flavor). I liked the crackers much more. The
lobster pancakes, stir fried with wild mushrooms, red chili,
scallions and coconut milk was a much better starter. Looking like a
large burrito covered in shredded carrots, it was easily sliced with
a spoon and served.
When there was
nothing left of the appetizers but a few drops of sauce, Jessica
cleared the table and another server brought our two main courses.
The duck two ways was tender, pan-seared, sliced duck breast with
chocolate-orange sauce and “moo-shu” style confit of duck leg
with a spicy hoisin sauce. The hoisin sauce was sweet, as hoisin
sauce should always be. The duck was amazing in both preparations.
The pale green and white pancakes for wrapping the moo shu duck were
too soft and moist to put into service as wrappers – much less
hold, so we ate them as a side dish.
The grilled Szechuan beef
(marinated in sake, soy, spicy shallots and cilantro) shared its
plate with a mound of crispy Chinese noodles. It made quite an
impression. The blackness of the meat implied a crisp crust, which I
love. The beef was tender and juicy but, as I warned my dining
companion beforehand, nowhere near as spicy as a true Szechuan dish
would be. In fact, it was not spicy at all. Delicious, yes. The
noodles were great fun to eat and the dark brown sauce added just the
touch of flavor they needed.
When I could get
Jessica aside, I mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday and
she nodded comprehension. Our two desserts arrived simultaneously.
The bananas in a box, caramelized bananas upright in an edible cookie
“box” were topped with caramel cream, a caramel drizzle, two
spoons made from caramelized sugar and a lit candle. On the plate was
written “Happy Birthday” in chocolate sauce.
My
hazelnut tort paled in comparison. Both were wonderful and again, a
lot of fun to eat. That, and a double espresso for me and a
cappuccino for her ended what I call The Orientation (she’s never
been to the China Grill before). We both had a great time and I still
love China Grill.
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