Dinner
and a Movie
By
Steve Herte
Spider-Man:
Homecoming (Marvel/Columbia, 2017) – Director:
Jon Watts. Writers: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon
Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (s/p).
Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (story). Based on the
comic by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko. Stars: Tom Holland, Michael
Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony
Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Abraham Attah & Hannibal
Buress. Color, Rated PG-13, 133 minutes.
“If
you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have
it.” – Tony
Stark.
This beautifully
done direct sequel to Captain America: Civil War (2016)
has the 15-year-old Peter Parker (Holland) bubbling with
enthusiasm over assisting The Avengers as Spider-Man and at the same
time coming to grips with his age and inexperience.
At 2 hours and 13
minutes, the film is a little long but worth it. Yes, Peter develops
a crush on Liz (Harrier) but he can’t court her like a normal
teenager because of his “internship” with Tony Stark/Iron Man
(Downey Jr.) which gives him opportunities to fight crime as
Spider-Man. This doomed relationship is further complicated by the
fact that Liz is the daughter of Adrian Toomes/Vulture (Keaton), the
main antagonist in the picture, and Tony has assigned Happy Hogan
(Favreau) to be a kind of babysitter to Peter, making sure he doesn’t
do anything Tony doesn’t want him to do.
The film links up
nicely to the Battle of New York in The Avengers (2012)
as Adrian’s salvage company is attempting to clean up the mess at
the Avengers’ Tower but is interrupted by the U.S. Department of
Damage Control (D.O.D.C.) – a Stark operation – and are put out
of business by Anne Marie Hoag (Daly). Adrian and his crew swipe as
much Chitauri alien technology as they can before being ousted and
they use it to hybridize weapons for sale on the black market.
Peter
find that keeping his identity a secret is harder than he thought
when he sneaks back into his Queens apartment and is discovered on
the ceiling by his roommate Ned Leeds (Batalon). Peter
swears him to secrecy but throughout the remainder of the movie we
see Ned bursting at the seams with his knowledge. He only blurts out
that Peter knows Spider-Man once, giving Peter and himself – and
Spider-Man – invitations to a party at Liz’s house. Of
course, it ends in embarrassment for Peter.
Stark entrusts Peter
with a high-tech tricked-out Spider-Man suit with all sorts of
capabilities and firewalls to keep him from using them. Peter figures
out what Adrian and his cronies are doing, tries to contact Happy but
is rebuffed, and goes against the ring alone. Ned helps him hack into
the suit to remove the GPS tracker and enable all the marvelous
features (some deadly) of the suit. But when a Chitauri grenade
malfunctions and the Staten Island Ferry is sliced in two from stem
to stern, Tony takes back the suit.
The whole movie is a
push and pull of emotions. Peter has to win Tony’s trust (and Liz’s
heart – much easier), stop Adrian’s business, and keep his
identity secret. This last one is the hardest. When Spider-Man saves
Liz and fellow students from a plummeting elevator in the Washington
Monument, Adrian concludes that Peter is indeed Spider-Man. And, when
Peter arrives to pick up Liz for the Homecoming Dance there is an
incredibly awkward scene as he and Adrian recognize each other.
Adrian drives the couple to the dance and, though grateful for saving
his daughter’s life, gives Peter the ultimatum of non-interference
with his business before letting him out of the car.
To say the movie was
a thrill ride is an understatement considering I saw it in 4DX. Not
only was it in 3D but every move onscreen was translated to a
movement of the individual seats in the theater. Every swing from a
spider thread, every bash into a wall, every bullet whizzing by, was
felt by the audience. The scene atop the Washington Monument was made
even more dizzying and perilous by this fourth dimensional feature.
As if the special effects weren’t amazing enough. Tom Holland is
great as a student “friendly neighborhood” Spider-Man with all
the goofs and mistakes as well as the triumphs. Robert Downey Jr. is
a past master of his role. He’s got all the confidence, arrogance
and tough love Peter can handle. Michael Keaton is once again
fabulous. You despise him for what he’s doing but you understand
why he’s doing it. He’s still a kind of Batman – one of the
best in my opinion. Laura Harrier is sweet and seductive, but she’s
sensitive and almost unlimited in forgiveness. The only character who
fails is Marisa Tomei, and I think I commented on this in the last
Spider-Man movie. She looks and acts nothing like the Aunt May from
Marvel comics. You expect her to be dancing on a go-go platform
rather than making apple pie and cookies. She’s too young. Gwyneth
Paltrow got a little skunked in this movie, short time onscreen, but
she made the best of it. And who knows, there may be a wedding
between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in the next one.
I started enjoying
this film when I heard the powerful orchestration of the familiar
Spider-Man Theme Song written by Robert Harris playing at the
beginning credits. It was also fun to hear the pop tunes placed
appropriately according to the action onscreen such as “Can’t You
Hear Me Knocking?” by the Rolling Stones and “Blitzkrieg
Bop” by the Ramones. Be sure to stay through the credits to hear an
interesting exchange between a prison mate and Adrian and see Aunt
May almost drop the only “F” bomb when she walks in on Peter (in
costume without the headgear).
Rating: 4 out of
5 Martini glasses.
Russian Vodka
Room
265
West 52nd St., New York
Dorogie Tovarischi!
(Dear Comrades!) Welcome to the “Home of hundreds of vodkas!”
This quote from their website says it all but still doesn’t say
enough.
My 14th Russian
restaurant has none of the flash and folklore of the previous 13 (and
none of the inflated prices, either). In fact, I breezed right by it
before finding the entrance. On a long, polished, black granite wall
there’s a picture window with the logo in red – a Soviet
star made out of a martini glass with the hammer and sickle as the
olive – and a single open door surmounted by a simple sign. Next to
it a framed menu hangs from a chain on the black wall.
Lika, the woman who
seated me and would become my server, asked if I wanted a drink,
indicating the extensive list on the menu and leaving me to choose.
The specialty cocktail list featured one that made me file the
infused vodkas in my mind for later. I ordered the Filthy Russian
martini, one of two I thought were politically incorrect (the other
was the Red Bastard). Basically, it was a “dirty” martini made
with ZYR vodka and olive juice and garnished with gorgonzola-stuffed
olives. It was salty, but even James Bond would have liked it.
I told Lika that I
was choosing three courses and when she frowned I knew I had chosen
too much. She described the Herring under the coat as layers of
herring and salmon and I concluded it to be a kind of fish lasagna.
She directed me to a smaller appetizer and I was set.
Another server
brought the bread basket – full of slices of dark and
light breads warm and moist. I tasted a slice of sourdough and sipped
my martini as I waited for the first course. The smaller appetizer
was not exactly small and it was very filling. The Herring with
Potatoes Russian Style was an oblong platter with a good-sized strip
of fresh, silvery herring in the center, two large potatoes on one
side, a row of sliced beets and a row of sliced red onions on the
other, with a garnish of parsley. I wondered if every dish would
match the overhead lighting as well as this one did. It was
excellent. The fish alone was delicious, but combined with the other
ingredients it was a simple, yet elegant dish, and I told Lika.
I was ready for my
first infused vodka and couldn’t resist the garlic pepper and dill
flavor. For those who don’t like garlic, stay away from this one.
It was garlic supreme with dill accents and the power of a good vodka
and spicy pepper aftertaste backing it up – made only for sipping.
It would last through my next two courses and make each one that much
better.
My second course was
written simply, Russian Meat Dumplings, though from experience I know
they are properly called Pelmeni (That’s when other places raise
the price.). Similar to small wontons with more meat and less dough,
they were served in a bowl with a side of fresh sour cream. Again,
wonderful. I was feeling the atmosphere of this restaurant. The piano
player had just started singing Russian songs, which helped.
The main course was
a dish I haven’t had in maybe 20 years and remember loving
from childhood. Served the Russian way, the Beef Tongue in Sweet and
Sour Sauce was nothing like mother used to make, but in some ways
better. The meat was invisible in its brown ceramic crock under large
slices of yellow bell peppers. There was an avalanche of kasha taking
up most of the square plate guarded by a slice of toasted baguette
and slices of tomato and sweet pickle. The sweet and sour sauce was
understated, not like the sometimes glutinous Chinese version. The
tongue was a little overcooked for my tastes and tasted more like a
steak, but I had no real problem with it. The memories still flooded
back. The peppers were what made the dish. Together with the meat, it
was heavenly. A surprisingly simple preparation. The garlic vodka
added flavor to the relatively bland kasha.
Lika recommended the
Honey Cake for dessert. The six inch by four inch slice of
multilayered goodness topped by glistening raspberry compote made me
wonder what the whole cake looked like. It was so sweet, a little
tart, creamy, but definitely a cake. I’ve rarely enjoyed an
unfamiliar dessert like this one. How can you top a confection like
that? With more vodka, of course! Lika brought me the black current
infused vodka, “on the house,” she said. It was almost opaque,
dark, and tasted fruity and tart. I loved it.
I can tell how much
I enjoyed the Russian Vodka Room by the fact that I neglected to get
a business card as I usually would do. That only means I have to make
a return visit to try some more of those remarkable foods and infused
vodkas. Nostrovia!
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