Ready Player One

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Ready Player One (WB, 2018) – Director: Steven Spielberg. Writers: Zak Penn (s/p), Ernest Cline (s/p and novel). Stars: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki, Hannah John-Kamen, Ralph Ineson, Susan Lynch, Clare Higgins, Laurence Spellman & Perdita Weeks. Color, Rated PG-13, 140 minutes.

The last time a movie made me want to read the book was 2001, A Space Odyssey. I came out of the theater saying, “What was that all about?” Especially, the psychedelic ending. When I read the book, I received clearer insights. 

This time, it’s the reviewers who read the book of the same title by Ernest Cline back in 2011 and who saw the movie after, who compel me to go to the source. Their reactions ranged from disappointment in Steven Spielberg to outrage.

Nearly everyone in the cast has two persona, one in the real world and one in the virtual world. 18-year-old orphan Wade Watts (Sheridan) lives with his mother’s sister Alice (Lynch) and her abusive boyfriend Rick (Ineson) in 2045 Columbus, Ohio. It’s decades since the collapse of society, and Earth’s denizens escape the desolation by donning goggles and escaping into the virtual world of the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) developed by James Halliday/Anorak (Rylance) and his partner, Ogden Morrow (Pegg). It’s a place where you can be anyone or anything you wish, do anything you can imagine and go anywhere.

The late co-creator of the OASIS, Halliday, announces a quest in the OASIS for three keys which will lead to an “Easter Egg” hidden there. Whoever attains the egg will gain full control of the OASIS and a great sum of money. No one so far has found the first key or even made the scoreboard. The first trial is a race with hundreds of other contenders on a highway that keeps changing, breaking up and reshaping. If that weren’t bad enough, contestants have to get past the T-Rex from Jurassic Park and King Kong. Wade (aka Parzival) and Samantha Cook/Atr3mis (Cooke) are the only two who get to the last stage but can’t get past Kong.

Wade goes to the Halliday library and figures out the riddle to getting the key. From there, a group dubbed the “High Five” comprised of Wade, Art3mis, Aech, and two of Aech’s friends, Sho (Zhao) and Daito/Toshiro (Morisaki) continue to the next level.

This attracts the attention of Nolan Sorrento (Mendelsohn), CEO of IOI (Innovative Online Industries). Nolan wants total control of OASIS as his company manufactures all the hardware keeping the program running. He sends a bounty hunter named I-Rok (Miller) and his tech-savvy gal-Friday, F’nale Zandor (John-Kamen) to stop Wade any way they can.

Wade and his group learn that another key means another riddle. The second level takes them into a freakish version of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining  reproduced in meticulous detail. The object is to find Karen “Kira” Underwood (Weeks) who appears in the famous photo of the ballroom with Halliday.

The soundtrack is great and features a variety of pop songs by Van Halen, Rush, Twisted Sister, A-Ha, Hall and Oates, Joan Jett, Tears for Fears, the Temptations, and Blondie, among others.

But what it scores in flashy special effects and pop references it fails in dialogue and award-winning capability. The characters are not developed to endear them to the audience; at two hours and twenty minutes, there was enough time to do so. We don’t care what happens to whom as long as it happens and it dazzles us. Also, the 3D is once again not used to its fullest.

Like I said, it’s entertaining, but I’m going to read the book.

Rating: 2 out of 5 martini glasses.

Ortzi by Jose Garces

120 West 41^st Street, New York

www.ortzirestaurant.com

Basque cuisine is becoming more popular in New York City. Once, only a few restaurants were dedicated to it and now several Spanish restaurants are incorporating Basque recipes into their menus. This one-year-old on a street divided in half by Bryant Park and the main branch of the New York Library is a stand-out.

The electric blue lit awning is striking and below it is a large front window completely open to the street where one could see patrons enjoying themselves at the bar. I was cheerily greeted by a young bearded man and had my reservation checked. He led me past the bar and to the dining area in back featuring an open kitchen.

A young woman presented me with the menu, pointing out that the drinks were on the opposite side of the food menu. I ordered the Hirune Cocktail – Greenhook Ginsmiths American Dry Gin, Maurin Quina (a Liqueur made from macerated cherries, quinine and bitter almonds), and Priorat Natur Vermouth and garnished with orange zest. I found it to be quite pleasing, fruity and citrus with a slight gin kick.

Having previewed the food menu online I wondered where the main courses were until Freddy, my server arrived and noticed I had the wrong menu. He dashed to the far corner of the room and returned with the correct one. Once I established which dishes were small or large (it was as easy as left side, right side) Freddy helped me compose a three course meal.

The appetizers Freddy helped me choose arrived when I had finished the Amuse Bouche as did my wine. The sommelier had to assist me with wine choice because they were all out of the Basque wine I wanted. The 2014 Bernard Baudry Chinon “Les Grézeaux” from the Loire Valley more than made up for the missing vintage. It was a deep red color, technically a cabernet franc, and had a smooth, semi-full-bodied flavor that accented all my dishes.

The Bonito Del Norte – (preserved Spanish tuna) Remoulade, caper berries and sliced cornichons – reminded me of a fancy version of the tuna salad I make at home. It was creamy, with just enough tuna to dominate and had the nice vinegary tangs from the capers and pickles. It was served in a bowl on a wooden board along the three crisp fingers of crust-less bread.

The other appetizer was Brochetas De Cordero – Lamb loin Brochettes – Eggplant, bacon and Sherry jus. These were heavenly from first bite to last. It was hard to tell where the bacon ended and the lamb began, they were that closely wrapped. The sauce was a masterwork in itself.

My main course was listed under Cazuelas (a South American term, Spanish for “cooking pot”) what we might call a casserole dish. But this was no casserole in presentation. The Costillas De Cerdo (Pork ribs) – Alubias de Tolosa (Black beans with chorizo), and Guindilla peppers – was a black and brown mound with white globs of sour cream and crowned with vegetable ribbons and shredded carrots. It was a savory, rich, slightly spicy dish cooled by the sour cream with the exciting crunch of the vegetables. So this is Basque cuisine? I love it.

Cuajada means “curdled” in Spanish and partially explains my dessert., a mix of fresh cheese with cherries, formed into balls and topped with apricots, cinnamon and black cherry compote. It was lovely and light at the same time.

The Garces and Sons coffee was excellent but a Lustau Solera Brandy afterward topped off the meal in grand style. I’m getting used to “hotel restaurants” surprising me and breaking the bad reputation. I might even stay at the Luma because of Ortzi.

For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.