Rampage

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Rampage (New Line, 2018) – Director: Brad Payton. Writers: Ryan Eagle (s/p & story); Carton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal & Adam Sztykiel (s/p). Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Marley Shelton, P.J. Byrne, Demetrius Grosse, Jack Quaid, Breanne Hill, Matt Gerald, Will Yun Lee, Urijah Faber & Bruce Blackshear, Color, Rated PG-13, 107 minutes.

All you gamers know that this film is loosely based on the video game of the same name.

The game and the movie attempt to portray a worst case scenario of genetic engineering gone horribly awry. Scientists employed by Claire (Akerman) and Brett Wyden (Lacy) co-CEOs of Energyne, are creating genetic mutations on the Athena-1 Space Station when (of course) things go downhill fast. A huge mutant rat (about as big as a puma) is tearing up the laboratory and killing off the crew. A lone scientist, Dr. Kerry Atkins (Shelton) manages to make it to an escape pod with three canisters of the genetic pathogen labelled “Project Rampage,” but not before the rat fractures the porthole glass. Poor Ms. Shelton has a very small part.

The space station explodes, the glass implodes and the escape pod breaks up on reentry sending a canister to a wolf pack in Wyoming, a second one to the Everglades and a third to the San Diego Zoo. 

Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson) works at the zoo and has raised an albino gorilla named George from babyhood. He’s even taught the ape to sign. George finds the canister, it sprays something in his face and he grows. As he grows, he gets fiercer and more uncontrollable. Black Ops sends Agent Harvey Russell (Morgan), to capture George, who by now has escaped the zoo after killing a full grown grizzly bear, for observation. They think keeping him on tranquilizers will keep him docile.

Former employee of Energyne Dr. Kate Caldwell (Harris) lies to Davis about having a cure for George, but we find out it was her work that the Wydens have stolen and made into a weapon. Davis distrusts humans because they lie. Animals don’t. Eventually, the circumstances force them to work together as the only two people with the knowledge to stop the Wydens.

Meanwhile, in the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago, Clair Wyden has reprogrammed the antenna on top to send out a signal any mutant beast cannot resist, because it annoys them. When Davis and Caldwell tell Colonel Blake (Grosse), whose soldiers are trying to kill the giant flying wolf, to evacuate Chicago, he of course ignores their warning. That is, until a giant spiky crocodile swims up the Chicago River (how it got there from the Everglades I’ll never know) and overturns a double decker tourist boat before hauling itself onto the street.

Then it’s Chicago’s turn to be destroyed as George, Ralph (the wolf) and Lizzie scale the Sears Tower to get at the antenna. Davis and Caldwell race to get the antidote from Clair and Brett to bring George back to their side.

Though based on a video game this movie doesn’t have the fake “video-game” look. The camera angles are superb and the cinematography is excellent. The computer generated creatures move naturally (for mutants) and the 3D effects are convincing but not used to the fullest. At first I couldn’t understand why the crocodile was so much bigger than the wolf or gorilla, but then I remembered. The crocodile swallowed the canister while the other two were merely sprayed by it. The acting was surprisingly good for an action film and Dwayne almost cried. He’s getting better. George accuses him of crying but we didn’t see it. Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s fake Texas drawl gets annoying after a while, but it doesn’t ruin the movie.

I liked Rampage for its wild action, great special effects and wry humor, “Of course, the wolf flies.” More like a flying squirrel than a bird, it was a novel thing to see a gnarled-tooth canine with porcupine needles in its tail gliding toward Davis. I particularly liked the scene where Davis and Caldwell swipe a Medivac helicopter and she asks if he can fly it. He stalls it twice before they get off the ground. Remember Dwayne’s occupation in San Andreas (2015)? That’s funny.

Rating: 4 out of 5 martini glasses.

Butcher and Banker

481 Eighth Avenue, New York

www.butcherandbankernyc.com

Ever dine in a bank vault? This six month old, miniature steakhouse is in the lower lever of the newly renovated Hotel New Yorker, now a Wyndham. The vault was built in the 1930s and was operated by Manufacturers Hanover Trust until 1980.

Outside, a separate entrance to the restaurant has a sign asking patrons to use the main entrance to the hotel. In the lobby I saw a Butcher and Banker sign over an elevator to the left and threaded my way through the hotel guests.

The cocktail lounge is literally in a cage of bars with the gate next to the captain’s station. On the right, the massive, round vault door stands open and the hostess led me through it to a table next to a garish, lime green, quilted wall splashed with bright red peonies. The opposite wall is armored with safety deposit boxes and keyholes. The bar is in the back.

The “Our Bountiful Martini” made with Dorothy Parker gin and Dolin dry vermouth seemed like a good idea. I asked my server if I could adjust the drink, he heard my specifications and noted them down. He returned with an excellent drink in an elegant, etched glass.

I was ready to order wine. There were four Zinfandels on the wine list and I picked the one that was out of stock. Fortunately, I had a second choice. The 2013 Crauford Old Vine Zinfandel “Kilt Lifter” from Napa Valley, California, had a spicy nose, a deep garnet color and a full, fruity flavor with a zesty kick that put the exclamation point on my Crisp Piri Oysters “Rockefeller.”

Normally, Oysters Rockefeller doesn’t have a “crisp” crunch. These oysters were lightly fried before resting on the spinach and it was great. My second appetizer, the Banker’s Bacon Double-Thick with serrano pepper honey glaze and charred serranoes is a bacon lover’s paradise. The blackened crisp parts exploded with smoky flavor and adding the serrano glaze put the fire to the dragon. It was exciting to savor both. I was anticipating the main course – strangely enough, not my usual filet mignon.

My main course was the Five-Spice Duck Steak with crispy skin, sour cherry jus and smoked cheddar grits. Two thick, meaty pieces of tender, perfectly cooked duck with a blackened crunchy crust waded in a thick, tart cherry sauce. The cheesy grits, nicely browned on top were served separately in their own iron skillet and were obscenely rich. My side dish, the Thrice-cooked French Fries, were deliciously crisp and wonderful. By now I was approaching full. I had my server pack up the remaining fries and grits for home and asked for the dessert menu.

What to choose? The Lemon Meringue Curd Tartlet with blackberry lemon confiture said, “Pick me!” It was very simple, the lemony shortbread tart on the right and the whipped cream nest filled with sweet berry sauce on the left. But they were meant to be combined and enjoyed as a whole. It was light and rich at the same time.

What could top that? I ordered the Montego Bay Coffee – Myers dark rum, coffee liqueur, whipped cream and cocoa dust. What was really great about this dessert coffee was the fresh whipped cream. This never came out of a can. It was an honest, lovely coffee.

Butcher and Banker may be the tiniest steakhouse in New York but it’s big on service and great food. It may be situated in a 1930s vault but the recipes are today. I think I would return to actually have steak there.

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