Dinner and a Movie
Steel Hibachi
Steel Hibachi
By Steve Herte
This is officially my first transmission of my reviews from my new
Lenovo laptop. I’m getting accustomed to Windows 8, WiFi, 4G and all things
21st Century. This past Friday was an adventure as it has been a long time
since I visited the theater in Fresh Meadows. When I ordered my ticket online
the program asked me to select a seat. Really? For a movie? So I selected E17 -
whatever. When I arrived at the theater I knew why this was done. Every seat
was a plush, leather recliner complete with cup-holder and buttons to raise
your feet to whatever level you desired. The rows were far enough from each
other that people could pass in front of you at full recline. I was agog.
Unfortunately, this hedonistic comfort could not outlast the movie and I found
myself shifting positions a couple of times.
So, corresponding from the City of Brotherly Love I bid you all
enjoy the latest.
Man of Steel (WB, 2013) – Director: Zack Snyder. Cast: Henry
Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner,
Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Amy Adams,
Dylan Sprayberry, Cooper Timberine, & Jadin Gould. Color & 3-D,
143 minutes.
Have you ever tried to cram over 30 years of one person’s life
into 2 hours, 23 minutes? Extremely difficult, no? Well, this movie makes a
valiant attempt and leaves the audience dizzy with the sheer amount of
information and special effects. It begins of course on Krypton where Jor-El
(Crowe) goes before the ruling council with his findings that mining the core
of Krypton has gotten to the point where the planet will implode. They don’t
want to hear a word of it. General Zod (Shannon), his number one Faora-Ul
(Traue) and his followers try to stage a coup thinking Jor-El will join them.
The planetary army thwarts the coup, with Zod and his cohorts are exiled to the
Phantom Zone.
Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van (Zurer) see no other option but
to launch their infant son Kal-El to a planet they’ve found (Earth) where he
can be a helper and guide to hopefully avoid the same fate as Krypton. The
special effects on Krypton are dazzling and, after Jor-El’s death (Zod kills
him), Lara speaks a monologue worthy of a classic Greek play and stands proudly
while all about her is projectile flame and she is engulfed.
Now we watch as the movie flips back and forth through time in
Clark Kent’s (Cavill) life rather than following a gradual sequence (which
probably would have made the movie five hours long). We see him save the crew
of an exploding offshore oil rig as an adult and save a bus-load of school
children after it plunges off a bridge (due to a flat tire) at 13. This latter
scene is the only place we glimpse Lana Lang (Gould). Clark meets Lois Lane
(Adams) because of his many saving deeds and her nose for news. She follows him
to Antarctica to a strange vessel encased in the ice where he learns of his
true heritage and saves her for the first time from a levitating robot
guardian. He saves her twice more.
When planet Krypton explodes (not implodes as predicted), Zod and
crew are released and follow a beacon from the ship that brought Clark to Earth
as a baby. They demand his surrender to them – else they will destroy everyone
on Earth (not that that wasn’t their intention anyway). By now Clark/Kal-El has
donned the blue and red garb (it was supplied to him in Antarctica) and Lois
has named him Superman because of the “S” on his chest (which on Krypton is a
symbol for Hope). Zod’s spaceship deploys the machine to the opposite side of
Earth from where the main ship is hovering and the two machines start
Krypto-fying Earth (increasing its gravity and changing its atmosphere) and there
is a battle royal.
The areas where Man of Steel shines are the
special effects (although some are difficult to see because of blurring and
rapid motion) and in the performances of Cavill, Shannon, Zurer and Crowe – all
of who are excellent. Costner and Lane are a great Jonathan and Martha Clark. Meloni
plays a fabulous – though incredulous – Colonel Nathan Hardy, who fights on
even though he sees that his puny weapons are having little effect. Perry White
is now black as Fishburne takes on the role but he’s a much kinder, gentler man
than the irascible original. Sprayberry and Timberine play Clark at ages 13 and
9 and do so splendidly. Only Adams stands out as the weakest link. She doesn’t
come off as the stubborn, arrogant woman Noel Neill once played. She does go
where she shouldn’t but it’s still not the Lois Lane I remember.
The fight scene between Zod and Superman is way too long, as is
the lengthy scene where Superman tackles the machine at the other side of
Earth. This latter scene is also the most eye-straining to see because of the
writhing flashing metal and ultra-fast action. I found it distracting that Zod,
Faora and Superman were all zipping around like the Road Runner and hovering in
the air – but that’s just me. Man of
Steel is an entertaining movie that definitely could have been made in less
than two hours with 3D effects that worked, but only once made me blink. Rating: 3½ out of 5 Martini
glasses.
Tokyo Hibachi Steak House & Sushi
184-16 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows, NY
A few blocks from the AMC theater is the unassuming entrance to
this Japanese restaurant, significant only in the name over the door in large
red letters. Inside, the space is almost Zen. A large fish tank with sizable
exotic fish sits in the front window. The walls are eggshell white accented by
colored spotlights. To the left of a divider are the eight Hibachi stations
where men in toques regale patrons by juggling their utensils and flipping food
into their mouths. I found this entertaining once long ago but not now. I
headed to the right of the divider, to the Sushi counter and sat at a table by
the divider on which was perched a fanciful dragon statue.
A large, hot sake was my first order (and it was quite hot) while
I read the menu (which had an amazing selection). There were Appetizers, Soups
and Salads, Noodles and Fried Rice, Asian Fusion from the Kitchen, A La Carte
Sushi, Regular Rolls or Hand Rolls, Sushi Bar Entreés, Vegetarian Rolls, Chef’s
Special Rolls, Soft Drinks, Beers and Wines and Desserts as well as the Hibachi
menu. I asked my waitress for help in choosing and she assured me that I could
finish an appetizer, a soup and two rolls (“or even three”).
I started with the Tokyo Onion Soup – the name intrigued me –
which was a basic clear, not too onion-y broth with caramelized onions in the
bottom and decorative vegetables floating on top, very nice. The appetizer
arrived with the main course but it wasn’t a disaster as one was cold and the
other searing hot. The Crispy Duck Roll was basically two narrow egg rolls
filled with shredded duck meat and vegetables, piping hot and served with (you
guessed it) duck sauce.
I couldn’t help the Yin and Yang of the main course choice. The
Black Dragon Roll with tempura scallops, eel and mango topped with black pepper
tuna looked absolutely beautiful next to the White Tiger Roll, filled with
tuna, salmon, yellowtail and avocado and wrapped in white marble seaweed (soy
bean nori). As with all sushi, they were accompanied by the thinly-sliced
ginger and a small mound of wasabi. My usual procedure is to take a chopstick’s
tip and add a dot of wasabi to each slice of the roll before dipping it in soy
sauce and eating it. The rolls were fabulous, each in their own way, one sweet,
once slightly spicy, and complimented each other as only Yin and Yang could.
The big surprise was that the wasabi did not sting. For the first time in my
dining career I finished all of it, taking bigger and bigger portions hoping to
get that rush. It never came.
When I finished the main course I was still hungry and I told the
waitress about the limp wasabi. The Sushi Chef looked amazed. She brought me a
small dish with more wasabi and I ordered a la carte sushi – two pieces each of
my favorites, Uni (Sea Urchin) and Masago (Flying Fish roe). The wasabi in the
second dish was also unexciting. However the wasabi that accompanied the Uni
and Masago hit the spot, clearing up my sinuses at once. I let the waitress
know. “First one Eh, second one Eh, third one Ah!” She and the Sushi Chef exchanged
incredulous looks.
When I finished my favorites, delighting in every bite it was time
for dessert. The Tempura Banana with vanilla ice cream bounced off the page at
me. I ordered it with a glass of plum wine. The Japanese have a wonderful way
of understating their dishes. The whipped cream and chocolate drizzle almost
obscured the bananas and ice cream and the large portion of plum wine in a
handsome stemmed glass made my eyes widen. Both were excellent. The tempura
wrapping the bananas stayed crisp throughout. The beautiful cerise color
(almost purple) of the plum wine enchanted the eye as much as its sensuous,
sweet taste.
Tokyo Hibachi Steak House elicited a wow from me and I did
something I rarely do. I complimented the Sushi Chef telling him that the
entertainment might be in the next room, but the true art was his. The manager
appeared and thanked me, shook my hand and bid me good night (even though it
was still daylight at 8:00 pm). I thanked him and my waitress, paid the bill
and left feeling very satisfied.
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