Posts Tagged ‘restaurant’

Oh dear looks like I need to get my grumpy hat out for both Il Forno and The Informant…

Went to Il Forno on Duke Street in Liverpool for dinner before going to see the early evening showing of The Informant at FACT.  Things started well with quick service and an excellent swordfish tart starter (with a name far too long to remember).  Unfortunately this is the point at which I have to become Mr Grumpy.  If a waiter announces that your pizzas are amongst the 10 best in the whole country they’d better be very good.  I’ve certainly had better pizzas from two other restaurants in Liverpool, two Liverpool takeaways, a restaurant in London and a takeaway in Sheffield.  Unfortunately both pizzas we ordered were described as bland so it wasn’t just me.   Personally I’d have prefered a more interesting pizza that was half the size.  To be fair I’ve had far worse ones in lots of places too.  Then I could have tried one of the deserts they offered us three times.  Overall opinion starter good, service OK and I’d try a different main course if I went again.

So on to the real main course of the evening as it were, the film The Informant picked largely because nothing else was on that appealed.  First could someone explain to me why Matt Damon was playing Mark Whitacre in the style of William H. Macy.  Did he have a bet with George Clooney, couldn’t they get William H. Macy himself or did someone decide that William H. Macy wasn’t a big enough name to star so cast Matt Damon to try and sell the film to audiences?

The story itself was a mess that every time it threatened to get interesting ran away from itself.  The meat was the technicality of the various crimes, deceptions and alleged crimes.  Each time they got close to one they brushed it out of sight as though it was scary stuff requiring a bit of (oh no!) thought and comprehension.  It was like watching a heist film in which showing a safe being cracked was technical and boring so lets not bother.  Hang on though did they really think this film was going to attract an audience who were looking for a no brainer action flick?

Then there was the really odd sound track and the 1970s retro font.  Fine except the film was set in the 1990s.  There were a large number of supporting characters who became interesting and then vanished.  Scott Bakula in particular was there and then suddenly gone treatment.  I’d make a Quantum Leap reference but it would be too easy a joke.  Now you may say this was based on a real life story but as they made clear before the film started they’d taken liberties with it.  So why not take the liberty needed to make it interesting?

The Informant just didn’t seem to know what it was: docudrama? docucomedy? In the end it was just docudisaster.  As it stands it’s a bad attempt at making a film in the style of a sprawling based on real life drama from the ’70s.  Maybe with William H. Macy and the Coen brothers directing possibly focusing on the investigation of what must have been an ever more bizarre situation it could have been a film worth seeing.  Personally I’d suggest saving your time and money.

Went to the new tapas restaurant near Fact in Liverpool tonight for dinner with the highly original name of Tapas Tapas. The puddings won’t win any awards but the main courses were excellent. Good service and a reasonable price as well.

Went out to MEET, a new Brazilian restaurant on Bold Street in Liverpool, last night with a few friends. Not a lot of people there but that was probably because it’s new. The portions were reasonable and really tasty. The selection of deserts was interesting because it wasn’t just the usual selection a lot of restaurants serve. The coconut that had, I think, an egg custard base was very nice. Very good food and excellent service: highly recommended.

I’ve tried Sushi Restaurants and Noodle restaurants in the past. I’d never had Teppanyaki before. Went to the Teppanyaki Sapporo on Duke Street (Liverpool) after Superman last night. A bit pricey but the show put on by the chefs as they cooked our food in front of us was really good. If you want to know more DarkDwarf goes into more detail in his cunningly titled Superman and Teppanyaki.

Superman Returns didn’t try to start a new series just to restart an old one with better visuals. The use of music and even footage from the earlier films helped make this a progression. Things have moved on while Superman has been away which made for an interesting twist on the story too. Kevin Spacey stole every scene he was in and was well supported by Parker Posey and assorted other henchpersons. This may have been slightly to the detriment of the film though because it left me feeling Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy and the other characters we were supposed to be rooting for were just a bit dull and underdeveloped so I wasn’t so bothered when they were in mortal danger. Still a good film.

Watched a 1960s promo film/making of for “The Dirty Dozen”. Some shots of the actors and crew at work. Some of them at play. An info light version of the extras so beloved of the DVD makers of today.

What was funny was the voice over. How they kept telling us that the cast were “Men of Action!” yet didn’t really actually show any evidence to support it. Look Lee Marvin watching motorcycle racing! Look the “Men of Action!” walking round fashionable 60s London. Look women in mini skirts totally ignoring our “Men of Action!”. Be astonished as our “Men of Action!” lounge in a restaurant. Watch with awe as they do some of the judo they learnt specially for the film! See them do stunts!

A real gem of its era.

The question is can I call the unnamed action TV show game “Men of Action!” or is it not really a suitable title these days? I could do a sequel “Women of Action!” or do it with a flip cover so one way its one and the other way its the other.