Movie reviews: Two that were inspiring

*** Temple Grandin (February 2010) – Rental
Claire Danes, Julia Ormond. Dramatization of the young adult years in the life of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who had great career success.

She says: Claire Danes is terrific in portraying Temple Grandin, and the filmmakers do an interesting job of giving us a view into her world by filming parts in the visual, literal way that she sees it. I grew a little tired of the open door metaphor (that she saw literally), but that’s my only complaint. The movie would probably have been even more compelling if I hadn’t gone in knowing a fair amount about Temple Grandin.
He says: That was an interesting movie.

***½ Joyeux Noël (March 2006) – Rental
Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann. French, Scottish, and German troops decide to call a truce on Christmas Eve 1914, during World War 1.

She says: Very moving, and almost unbelievable, to see those who had been shooting each other hours before gingerly reach a cease fire through music, then find they have much in common. The DVD extras include an interview with the director (all in French) that shows how most of the events of the film are based on incidents that actually happened during that war.
He says: That was a really good movie. Hard to believe.

Timmins Christmas

The weather was about perfect for Christmas in Timmins this year. A definite white Christmas, but not too cold.

We even had time for some snow shoeing.

Sucre à crème

Another traditional French Canadian recipe I decided to try making this year is sucre à crème. Unlike tourtière, this stuff doesn’t tend to be made in huge batches. It’s delicious, though, so it doesn’t stick around long. So I thought it might be nice to have a batch of my own.

As recipe source, I went for the nontraditional Google, and found many recipes. Most, however, involved candy thermometers and manual stirring. Lots of manual stirring. Much complaining about a need for strong arms to successfully complete the recipe.

This was starting to seem less fun.

Near the top of the results, though, was one from Allrecipes.com Canada, that said simply:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream

  1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir together the white sugar, brown sugar and cream. Cook at full power for 10 minutes, stirring twice. Let stand for 5 minutes.
  2. Use an electric mixer on low speed to beat the mixture for 4 minutes. Pour into a buttered 8 inch square glass baking dish. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Cut into squares when set.

I thought, that’s the one for me!

Based on comments, I adjusted the microwave time down slightly, to 9 minutes (which also made it easy to stir on the 3 minute marks). As for the mixing part, I couldn’t make it quite to the 4 minutes—not because my arm was sore—but because it just seemed to be getting too thick.

That’s where experience with this stuff would help, as I wasn’t totally sure what texture I was aiming for. The result was slightly more crumbly than I think was ideal.

Still, with those ingredients, it’s hard to go wrong, and it did taste delicious. I brought it in for work pot luck, and the worst part was being asked by anglophones what it was, as I can’t find an adequate English word for it. (It’s along the same lines as fudge, but it’s not fudge.) But despite the slight crumble and the weird French name, it proved very popular—in fact, there was none left.

Just like at Réveillon.

Connect the dots, Kitchener-Waterloo

Last federal election, voters in the riding of Kitchener Waterloo received mysterious phone calls telling them, incorrectly, that their polling station had changed. Commissioner of Canada Elections William Corbett is still investigating the source of those calls, but the targets were identified Liberal voters.

A few weeks ago, voters in Irwin Cotler’s Montreal riding received phone calls on behalf of the Conservative Party of Canada telling them, incorrectly, that Cotler was planning to resign, so who would they support in a byelection.

It turns out that the firm behind the calls, Campaign Research, Inc. also did a lot of work for the Conservatives in the last election. In fact, principle partner Nick Kouvalis described his firm’s mandate thusly: “We’re in the business of getting Conservatives elected and ending Liberal careers.”

One of the Conservatives Nick Kouvalis helped elect was one Peter Braid, federal Conservative candidate for the riding of  Kitchener Waterloo. Kouvalis was Braid’s election day chair. Another member of that same firm, Aaron Lee-Wudrick, was Braid’s campaign manager. Per Wikileaks, the two have a history together: See Conservative Party strategy to take over student unions exposed.

During the last election campaign, on behalf of Peter Braid, Campaign Research Inc. spent over $19,000 on phone calls in the Kitchener-Waterloo riding. One of the highest totals in Canada.

Got it?

You know, I hear there might be a byelection soon in the riding of Kitchener Waterloo. Something about an MP resigning in disgrace?

(With much thanks to Creekside blog for helping me connect the dots: Campaign Research Con cats are out of the bag.)

UPDATE: Today in the Waterloo Region Record, a report that at least one of the calls in Kitchener Waterloo area, illegally claiming polling stations had changed was indeed from a number associated with the Conservative Party of Canada.

White Wine in the Sun

Today was “our” Christmas celebration, in advance of events with the extended family on the actual days.

As a result, it seemed apropos to play the “Christmas” playlist. (Particularly as I received a new iPod dock I had to try out.) But though all 82 songs are self-selected and heavy on the non-traditional, I gotta say that it’s just not my favorite type of music.

However, there are a few stand-outs.

* Sting’s “Gabriel’s Message”, a simply gorgeous song proving that not all rock star Christmas songs for charity have to suck.
* The Kink’s ”Father Christmas”, a somewhat dark yet catchy tune, that unfortunately seems timely: A poor kid just wants cash for Christmas, or “give my Dad a job ’cause he needs one.” All those toys? Gives them to the little rich boys.
* Adam Sandler’s Hanukuah Song which, OK, isn’t about Christmas at all. But though I’ve heard all the jokes in it many times before, it still makes me laugh. “OJ Simpson… Not a Jew!”
*  Do They Know it’s Christmas? Truly the weirdest set of lyrics ever penned by an atheist, and ones I’m sure Geldof, now an expert on Africa (as he wasn’t then), must wince over. Still, too many good memories around this song. And I love its jingly-jangly sound.
* Last year’s YouTube discovery, Spiraling’s mash-up of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”, producing the most awesome guitar riff in a Christmas song ever.

And this year’s YouTube discovery, courtesy of @eoutwater of the KW Symphony: Tim Michen’s “White Wine in the Sun”. Lovely, funny, and true, Minchen’s explains his fondness for Christmas despite his reservations about “the commercialization of an ancient religion, the Westernization of a dead Palestinian”. But you get to be with your family in a relaxed state, and that’s what it’s all about. 5 stars.

Movie reviews: Two featuring Kevin Spacey

***½ Moon (June 2009) – Rental
Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey. An astronaut miner is nearing completion of a solitary three-year contract to harvest helium 2 when he meets someone else up there: himself.

She says: Haunting and thought-provoking. A mix of suspense and science fiction with a philosophical undercurrent. It contains numerous twists are truly surprising, yet plausible in the context of the story. A strong script, a great performance, and a nice-looking movie on a low budget. Worth seeing.
He says: OK, that was disturbing.

*** Margin Call (October 2011) – Theatre
Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Zachary Grub. An investment firm risk analyst discovers that past miscalculation of complex new stock offerings have left the firm on the brink of ruin.

She says: The recent financial crisis, through the eyes of the 1%, which is a really weird perspective on it. As we see the situation only through various actors at this one financial firm, who aren’t all shown to be monsters, you kind of find yourself routing for them. Yeah, save yourself. Sell those junk bonds. Wreck the economy. But then you’re jolted back to the fact that these people’s jobs are not like anyone else’s, as absolutely incredible amounts of bonus money is dangled as a lure to do the wrong thing.
He says: Showing the characters with bits of humanity and ethics, on the edges, made it more interesting. It was a good movie.

C’est la tou-re tou-re, la tourtière

When I make tourtière (“meat pie”), a French Canadian dish traditionally served at Christmas-time, I do not follow my mother’s, or Jean’s mother’s recipes.

First of all, the math is just too difficult. They, of course, cannot conceive of making any less than 12 pies at once. Whereas I, who do not have a steady stream of French Canadian visitors during the holiday season, only want one pie. You try dividing all the ingredients by 12.

Plus, I have the definite sense that even I went for the 12, mine wouldn’t be quite like theirs. I just don’t have that experience behind me.

So, I actually follow a recipe by someone who isn’t even French Canadian! You can tell because it’s for only one pie.

But even at just one pie, I fret over the unhealthiness. Two pounds of ground pork? The fattiest meat ever? Really?

So this year I experimented, making a tourtiere that featured:

1 lb organic ground chicken
1 lb free-range bison
No-trans fat, vegan shortening in the crust (which is, I must say, totally hilarious in a “meat” pie)
Oatmeal instead of potato as thickener
Organic “beef-like” broth for flavor
Plus a bunch of herbs and spices, including odd ones like nutmeg and all-spice.

And I served it with warm curried potato salad and roasted beets with balsamic vinegar and truffle oil. (I mean, why start being traditional at this point.)

OK, it’s probably still not “health food”. At the center is still a bunch of meat in pastry. But at least its fats are less cloggy.

And the really amazing thing? The darn thing was delicious!

Si la France a ses rillettes
Son foie gras, ses crêpes Suzette
La Belgique a ses gaufrettes
Et Milan son escalope
L’Portugal a ses sardines
Toronto sa margarine
L’Espagne a ses mandarines
Et l’Anglais son mutton chop
Mais nous on fait exception
Au diable l’importation.
À part la patate (bis)
La patate à part (bis)
Le ragoût de pattes (bis)
La soupe aux pois…
Qu’est-ce qu’on dévore? Ah!

Mais la toure, toure, toure
La tourtière
Qu’on savoure, voure, voure
Tout entière
Quand c’est fête, fête, fête
Ménagères
Faites, faites, faites, faites
Des tourtières!

Only tough on other people’s crimes

You know, I’m more than a little tired of our “law and order” federal government gleefully breaking the law.

Just sayin’.

Movie reviews: Two featuring George Clooney

***½ Fantastic Mr Fox (November 2009) – Rental

Animated. Directed by Wes Anderson, voice by George Clooney and Meryl Streep. A fox who had abandoned his thieving ways after the birth of his son plans one last heist.

She says: A thoroughly entertaining mix of the old-fashioned stop-motion animation and a kind of sly, modern humor. The extras make you realize that animators of this type have almost super-human patience.
He says: A good recommendation. I liked the style of this movie.

The Descendants movie image***½ The Descendants (November 2010) – Theatre

Directed by Alexander Payne, starring George Cloone. With his wife in a coma following a boating accident, Matt King is forced into reconsidering his relationship with her, his daughters, and his extended family.

She says: This movie is all aftermath. All the drama—the building of small family empire, the betrayal, the accident—happened before it begins, and we don’t even get flashbacks to it. It’s all learning about and dealing with what has happened. The script is tight, with bits of humour amidst a mostly tragic story, and the twists are unexpected. George Clooney is excellent, saying so much with those beautiful eyes.

He says: I liked that they didn’t go Hollywood with this. Where you’d expect a big fist fight, you got a tense argument. It made the whole story seem plausible, realistic. And I thought the actress who played the oldest daughter [Shailene Woodley] was very good.

His name is Prince. And he is funky.

Without intending this all to coincide, I’ve been plunged into a world of 1980s music nostalgia this week. I saw Rock of Ages Thursday, I began reading a book called Talking to Girls about Duran Duran (possibly more on that later), and I saw one of my favorite artists of the 1980s, Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson, in concert on Saturday, at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

I’ll cut to the chase on that last one: This was quite possibly the best rock concert, category “Hockey Arena”— that I’ve seen. The only real competition is U2 back in Montreal during their Joshua Tree tour. As my memory is not quite good enough for a true comparison, let’s call it a tie.

Prince has continued to record quite prolifically, up to two years, but I have to say I stopped listening to the newer material after 1992. But this show obviously focused on that earlier material, because I knew almost every song.

It started about 45 (?) minutes late (no opening act), immediately got us up singing and clapping along to “Purple Rain”, and never really stopped. The seated moments were few, as the energy coming from the stage kept compelling us back to our feet to dance and attempt to sing along to Prince’s complex vocal gymnastics. It’s difficult to believe this guy is 53 or whatever, as he pretty much looks, sounds, and moves as he did in the 80s. He can still hit all the high notes, his dance moves don’t let up, and he remains a guitar virtuoso.

And despite the focus on older (and therefore better known) material, it never felt like a nostalgia fest. He often reinterpreted the numbers, bringing an added soulful-ness to “Little Red Corvette”, and even more funk (who knew it was possible?) to “Kiss”. He also often mashed songs together, segueing from one to the other in interesting ways, thus covering even more of his impressive canon of hits. He even included a version of “Nothing Compares to U”, written by him but made famous by Sinead O’Connor, which reminded me of the many other artists who had hits with Prince songs (Manic Monday, I Feel for You, The Glamorous Life, When You Were Mine, and on, and on…).

I’d heard that he wasn’t doing his “dirty”songs anymore, and I kind of wondered what would be left, but he seems to have a pretty loose definition of what’s “dirty”, since Controversy, Raspberry Beret, When Doves Cry, Take Me With U, and Cream were included. And he also simulated a great deal of, um, passion on the floor during Little Red Corvette. He even played the intro to Darlin’ Nikki during the encore—though did stop there with a “Nah-ah! You don’t get that!”

His band was wonderful, and I loved that now as always, most of them were women. (Prince seems to truly love women, not just sexually, but also spiritually and musically. Three spheres I don’t think he separates.) They also got to shine at times, including in a cover of Sarah MacLachlan’s “Angel”, one of a number of covers he included—such as Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough.”

The stage was in that male / female symbol shape that Prince once used as his name. We were sitting facing the round end, 22 rows up, which were pretty decent seats. Prince and band made their way around to all points throughout the evening, and we could always look up at the screen when they weren’t at our end. (I wish I could include a picture, but they made me check my camera, which seemed pretty peculiar, since nobody had to check their smart phones… But anyway.)

Friday night, from what I understand, he did six encores, resulting in a 3 hour, 15 minute show. We had to be content with just one encore (though an awesome and long one it was), and a show that was probably only, 2 and a half hours? There was an after-party at a bar, though. My sister and I decided not to attempt attending that, though, because a) We figured the crowds would be insane b) We don’t have the energy of Prince, so we were tired and c) We really couldn’t make out the name of the bar, which was announced on the loudspeaker at the end in a bid to get us to leave, already.

Other reviews:

Toronto Star
National Post
Scotchneat