Geostorm

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Geostorm (WB, 2017) – Director: Dean Devlin. Writers: Dean Devlin & Paul Guyot. Stars: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Amr Waked, Adepero Oduye, Andy Garcia, Ed Harris, Robert Sheehan, Richard Schiff, Mare Winningham, Zadie Beetz & Talitha Eliana Bateman. Color, Rated PG-13, 109 minutes.      

It’s 2019 and due to climate change Earth’s weather is even more unpredictable and the storms much more severe. Seventeen countries have agreed to create an enormous grid of satellites in space to regulate the earth’s weather. Dubbed “Dutch Boy” after the tale of a child in the Netherlands who saved a town by sticking his finger into the dike, this grid can defuse hurricanes and tornadoes.

Designer and builder Jake Lawson (Butler) is not the easiest person to get along with. In fact, he’s being grilled by Senator Cross (Schiff) at a Senate subcommittee hearing about activating satellites without permission. He’s taken off the project, replaced by his estranged brother Max Lawson (Sturgess) and relegated to his trailer home in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he lives with his daughter, Hannah (Bateman).

Three years later, Dutch Boy, in U.S. control since going online, is about to be released to worldwide custody with a UN committee responsible for keeping it operational. But “operational malfunctions” are starting to happen. An entire village in Afghanistan is flash-frozen. 

When an Indian crewman aboard the International Climate Space Station pulls the equivalent of the black box from the defective satellite and stows it in a locker, he suddenly finds himself trapped in an airlock and blown out into space.

Cheng Long (Wu), Max’s man in Hong Kong, reports his terrifying obstacle course drive to avoid major gas line explosions in the streets caused by microwaves from the Hong Kong satellite. Long makes it back to the states but is pushed into oncoming traffic on Dupont Circle and dies before speaking to Max.

Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom (Harris) recommends that Max get Jake to return to the ICSS to fix the problems. Justifiably miffed at his brother, Jake agrees to go. On his arrival he meets the other members of the operational crew, Ute Fassbinder (Lara) from Germany, Al Hernandez (Derbez) from Mexico, a rather ill-mannered Duncan Taylor (Sheehan) from Australia, Ray Dussette (Waked) from France and Eni Adisa (Oduye) from Nigeria.

When the Hong Kong satellite is retrieved, a malfunction in the robotic arm flails the satellite about like a demented amusement park ride. Another satellite causes softball-to Volkswagen-beetle-sized hail to fall in Tokyo.

Looking for the answers, Jake and Ute find a massive hard drive stuck in the cables of the space station. When they retrieve it, Jake’s jet pack malfunctions and he has to eject the drive in order to regain control of his movements. Unknown to the remainder of the crew, however, Jake palmed the heart of the hard drive before losing the larger part of the device. He suspects a mole on the ICSS and only tells Ute.

Back on Earth, Max has lost login access to the satellites and he links up with Dana (Beetz), a computer hacker for the Department of Defense to find out why. Soon he learns about Project “Zeus,” where a series of malfunctions can lead to an unavoidable, world-destroying geostorm.

Max and Jake come to the same conclusion – Dutch Boy has been made into a weapon. This could only have come from the highest levels of U.S. government, and both suspect President Andrew Palma (Garcia), the only person who has the kill codes for the satellites. They learn that, with fingerprints and retinas, he is the kill code. Max teams up with lover Secret Service Agent Sarah Wilson (Cornish) to kidnap the president while Jake and Ute seek out the mole who planted the virus on the ICSS that triggered the auto-destruct sequence.

Back on Earth the weather is reaching a crisis stage. Tornadoes march across Mumbai, a beach in Rio de Janeiro has been flash frozen, and a titanic tidal wave hits Dubai. At the Democratic National Convention in Orlando, a powerful lightning storm hits. And the countdown is ticking until the “geostorm” continues.

The movie throws everything it has at the audience except for the debris flung by the four tornadoes. The effect is noticeably better than the tornadoes in London in The Avengers (1998) and I noted that no one scene overplayed its time. The special effects were well directed. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed, though I’ve seen a few of these effects before. The buildings toppling like dominoes in Hong Kong was a bit hokey and almost cliché, but otherwise good.

The acting was surprisingly good all round except for Robert Sheehan, who made it obvious that he was a troublemaker. I liked Andy Garcia as the president. He looks good in the role.

Aside from being totally unbelievable, Geostorm is entertaining and a good disaster film. With the exception of Hong Kong, the models were convincing and the story was engaging. One could believe a power-hungry, enemy-hating politician would concoct such an elaborate scheme and almost wipe-out the entire planet.

Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 martini glasses.

Temple Court

5 Beekman Street, New York

www.templecourtnyc.com

Located in a building that goes back to 1761 and is one of only two red brick “skyscrapers” in downtown Manhattan, Temple Court has been in business since October 2016, along with its neighboring eatery, Augustine. 

The entrance at 5 Beekman Street in between Corinthian leads to the elegant bar between the restaurants. As I was led through a doorway into Temple Court I noticed a large photo of Edgar Allen Poe in the bar. 

From my table I could see three elaborate, multi-tiered, shaded chandeliers and stained glass panels lit from behind. No sooner had I settled in than my server, Forhad, appeared and asked if I would be interested in champagne or caviar to start. I politely demurred, explaining that I would rather make my selections from the menu before doing something impulsive.

The wine list also had cocktails named after famous architects and builders. I chose the Casimir Goerck Cocktail – Boodle’s London dry gin, Aperol, Dolin Dry, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino. It was a pleasant burnt orange color and almost an apricot-like flavor moderated by the juniper of the gin. (Casimir, by the way, was a city surveyor from 1788 to 1798 who helped lay out the street plans for New York.)

While sipping my cocktail, another server brought Amuse Bouche, a squash panna cotta with chopped nuts and green garnish. It was an interesting and sweet two bites. As I began studying the wine list, beverage director Jarred Roth arrived to assist. After deciding the French merlots were way too pricey I found one from New York, a 2010 Merlot Reserve from McCall winery on the North Fork of Long Island that was perfect. The tannins were light and the blackberry fruits were very tasty.

Ever since the restaurant Fresh closed I haven’t seen Belon oysters on any menu. The two large oysters were prepared Rockefeller style with watercress, spinach, fennel and bacon. If you’ve never had Belon oysters, they are a unique taste experience. Unlike regular oysters, they are not briny and look more like a solid piece of seafood. I enjoyed having them again.

When a restaurant under-describes a dish on the menu, I know it will be better than just a surprise. The sweetbreads with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and chanterelles didn’t mention that the sprouts were shaved paper thin or that the dish was topped with visible shaved black truffles. The sweetbreads were well cooked, not crisp and not mushy, the equivalent of al dente in pasta. Combined with the earthy truffles it was ambrosia.

For my main dish I consulted Forhad. The bacon wrapped rabbit mortadella sounded really great, but I had seen another dish on the Chef’s Tasting Menu. After Forhad checked with the kitchen, he said I could have that dish as my main course. The venison Wellington with chestnuts and Brussels sprouts was equal to my best memory of Beef Wellington. The meat was tender and juicy and the flavor of liver accented the space between the meat and the flaky pastry crust. The chestnuts were little gems to be savored between slices of venison.

Even with my third loaf of bread I still had room for dessert. I chose especially the Gateau Basque with figs, walnuts and rosemary, and it was another unique foray into dining. The semi-crisp fluted cake was moist, gingery with a hint of cinnamon. The figs, combined with vanilla ice cream, made for a totally unassuming and perfect dessert.

I decided to forego may usual espresso for their Cortado coffee (espresso with warm milk). It made for a nice change, and to accompany it I chose a 2013 Zweigelt Eiswein from Austria. Eiswein (ice wine) is made in small batches when the weather suddenly turns cold on a grape vine and intensifies the sugars. It’s great as an after dinner drink.

I don’t know what impressed me more about Temple Court, the cuisine or the fabulous décor. Tom Collichio did a stellar job with the menu, organizing it with a nod to the antiquity of the building and the renovations made afterward.

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