Category Archives: Corina H-S
Saturday At The Movies, The Food Porn Edition: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
For fans of food-focused movies, documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi deserves a spot at the top of the list. The film explores Sukijabashi Jiro, a tiny sushi restaurant in the basement of an office building and it’s nearly 90 year old chef Jiro, known as perhaps the best sushi chef in the world. Despite the unassuming appearance of the restaurant, it is strictly reservations-only, with an extremely long waiting list for a table. Each meal lasts approximately 30 minutes and prices start around $300 depending on the types of fish available that particular day.
Saturday At The Movies – Martha Marcy May Marlene
I had high hopes when I started out watching Martha Marcy May Marlene. I’d read the rave reviews for the story, for director and writer Sean Durkin’s work, Elizabeth Olsen’s inspired performance as a psychologically-damaged ingenue, freshly sprung from the arms of a charismatic cult leader. Unfortunately, and I am most definitely in the minority here, I found the movie a tad slow moving and slightly obscure. Additionally (and pettily) – and I’m just going to say it – I hate the title of this film.
Saturday At The Movies: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
If there is any question I dislike being asked (other than “What kind of music do you listen to?”), it’s “What’s your favourite movie?”. Like any self respecting film fanatic, I find it impossible to pick just one. Years ago I was in the middle of a job interview for a job I really, really wanted, and my interviewer was none other than Canadian radio legend, Alan Cross. At one point during the interview Alan asked the dreaded question: “Just for kicks, what is one of your all-time favourite movies?”. Already nervous, I went into panic mode. A sweat broke out on my forehead and my palms became clammy as my mind reeled, racing through scenes from every movie I’d ever seen in my entire life. How was I supposed to answer this?! Did I try to impress and list off some foreign language art house doc? Maybe I was supposed to say some kind of music related movie – after all, this WAS a job at a radio station.
I did neither. Instead, I blurted out the truth: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Read the rest of this entry
Biff Bam Pop’s Best of 2011 – Steve Jobs, Alan Moore, Jonathan Maberry, Sookie Stackhouse and George R.R. Martin Top Our Favourite Books
All this week, Biff Bam Pop’s various writers will drop by with their thoughts on the best of the year when it comes to tv, music, movies, comics and more. Monday, we looked at what topped our tv list, Tuesday featured our musical faves, Wednesday was all about comics, Thursday looked at the best in video games, while Friday our writers went to the movies. Today, in our final instalment, we look back at some of the books that highlighted our shelves in 2011.
Andy Burns:
When it comes to non-fiction, no book could top the brilliant Steve Jobs biography. Written by Walter Issacson with the full cooperation of Jobs, the book delves deep into what drove the man who created and marketed some of the most revolutionary technology of our lifetime. Reading this book is discovering the genius of one of the 20th centuries most important figures. Hugely recommended to anyone who owns a Mac or “i” anything.
As for fiction, the book I enjoyed the most was our friend Jonathan Maberry’s Dead of Night. A zombie novel with heart and soul, that goes to great and entertaining lengths to make a undead apocalypse seem highly plausible. Solid horror. In the meantime, I’ve got Stephen Kings 11/22/63 sitting beside my bedtable, waiting to be read. Hello, 2012!
Biff Bam Pop’s Best of 2011 – Television: American Horror Story, Breaking Bad and More
All this week, Biff Bam Pop’s various writers will drop by with their thoughts on the best of the year when it comes to tv, music, movies, comics and more. Today, here’s a list of what topped our list of tv favourites. As you’ll see, one show in particular seemed to resonate with many of our illustrious contributors:
Corina Hitchcock:
Whenever I try to describe this show to someone who hasn’t heard of American Horror Story, it comes across as something insane -and it kind of is. AHS is a sprawling, David lynch type nightmare involving a haunted house in Los Angeles, a family torn apart by infidelity, dead starlets, teen killers, a monster-baby hybrid, a guy in a rubber suit…and so much more. I sometimes wonder how the writers are going to keep the momentum going with this one, but I look forward to following along.
Jason Shayer:
American Horror Story – Smart, clever, and damn twisted. Turned off by a really weak second season of The Walking Dead, I was looking for something with bite and this show delivered. A great, compelling drama with a jaw-dropping surprises which is rare these days.
Andrew Burns:
I have a hard time believing that American Horror Story came from the same mind that gave us Glee. I love the fact that the show is on FX, as it means Ryan Murphy can take off the gloves and let loose with some of the most twisted horror ever created for television. Sure, Dylan McDermott may cry a little too much on the show, but somebody better polish off an Emmy with Jessica Lange’s name on it, as she’s doing great work as the next door neighbour you’d never want to mess with.
Shannon Watkins:
Episodes on Showtime: A TV show about making a TV show. More specifically, a TV show about an American studio ruining an adaptation of a successful British comedy. Playing himself playing the leading man, Matt Leblanc does a fantastic job of both roles. His willingness to have a major plot point hang on the fact he isn’t a particularly funny or talented actor shows that he is, actually, quite hilarious and capable of range in his portrayal of characters.
JW Ward:
Best: Community on NBC/CityTV – NBC might have decided to put the show on hiatus mid-way through its current season, but the adventures of the study group at the fictional Greendale Community College continue to be the most inventive half-hour of television you’ll find on any of the big networks.
Joel McHale, Allison Brie, Danny Pudi and Donald Glover form the best parts of an ensemble cast that delivers comedy gold week after week. From making an entire episode about role-playing games, to an exploration of western film tropes via paintball, to even the more recent homage to Heart of Darkness (because it was way better than Apocalypse Now), Community came into its own in 2011 and deserves six seasons and a movie, even if it’s now nearer to the fate of shows like Arrested Development and Firefly.
Worst – Smallville finale on The CW – Filled with more plot holes than a Michael Bay film, the culmination of Superman’s ten-year coming-of-age journey made it feel like the Boy of Steel would never man up.
When it finally came time for Tom Welling’s emo-tending Clark Kent to put on the tights, all viewers got to see was a flying animation at a great distance – not even one shot in the full super-suit. Starting out with a Clark & Lois wedding that never finishes, the epilogue skipped ahead seven years to find Lois (Erica Durance) and Clark still unmarried. And what was with Chloe, her kid and that comic book? Does that mean everyone in their universe knows Clark Kent is Superman, working away at the Daily Planet?
An angry fan could go on. Thankfully, the show didn’t.
Corina Newby:
- South Park: always relevant with a little as 6 days to air, fearless satire and a stand alone animated series
- Parks n’ Recreation: hilarious and bold character development, and a great alternative to the office which had yet to recover from the loss of steve carrell
- American Dad: jumped ahead of the Seth MacFarlane pack long ago, Roger is a beacon of comic genius, and continues to cement itself as best franchise of all three.
- Children’s Hospital: always edgy, riddled with an obscene number of comedy cameos, and heading in to its 4th season for 2012. Thank god for Rob Corddry.
- Dark Matters (doc): great documentary released round halloween about dark, twisted and true tales from scientific history.
- and although I just started watching and only in 2nd season, Breaking Bad: Bryan Cranston’s ongoing lead is nothing short of spectacular and continues to impress even after 4 incredibly high intensity seasons (heading into its fifth in 2012)
Food Porn: Movies For The Foodie In Your Life – Big Night
With the increasing popularity of the Food Network and it’s many shows, “celebrity” chefs, and websites like www.foodnetworkhumor.com, chances are you have a strange creature that identifies as a “foodie” in your life. If your food fanatic has every kitchen gadget, cook book, spice blend and truffle paste available, never fear we’ve got you covered! Consider gifting your grub-loving pal with one of the great foodie flicks we’ll be profiling on Biff Bam Pop for the next few weeks! Hey, the holidays are all about spending time with loved ones and celebrating whatever you happen to celebrate, but they’re also all about food too am I right?!
For the Italian food lover:
Big Night (1996)
Dir: Campell Scott & Stanley Tucci
Widely known by both film lovers and foodies alike, Big Night stars Tony Shalhoub as “Primo” and Stanely Tucci as “Secondo”; two Italian brothers struggling to run their restaurant “Paradise” in 1950’s New Jersey.
Despite the fact that Primo is an extremely talented chef, the restaurant struggles as Primo will only cook authentic Italian food, unpopular with customers who demand more Americanized dishes like spaghetti and meatballs. Nearby, their closest competitor Pascal’s restaurant thrives serving the more lowbrow “Italian-style” dishes.
Food Porn: Movies for the Foodie in your life: Waitress
With the increasing popularity of the Food Network and it’s many shows, “celebrity” chefs, and websites like www.foodnetworkhumor.com, chances are you have a strange creature that identifies as a “foodie” in your life. If your food fanatic has every kitchen gadget, cook book, spice blend and truffle paste available, never fear we’ve got you covered! Consider gifting your grub-loving pal with one of the great foodie flicks we’ll be profiling on Biff Bam Pop for the next few weeks! Hey, the holidays are about spending time with loved ones and celebrating whatever you happen to celebrate, but they’re also all about food too, am I right?!
For the Baker:
My first recommendation is an often-overlooked display of sweet, snarky (and kinda sad) cinema known as Waitress. Keri Russell (of tv’s 90’s drama Felicity) stars as Jenna, a woman living in the deep south with her abusive husband Earl. Jenna works a dead-end job as a waitress in a diner where she bakes pies as a form of therapy and creativity. She often gives them titles inspired by whatever is going on in her life (such as – SPOILER ALERT! – I CAN’T HAVE NO AFFAIR BECAUSE IT’S WRONG AND I DON’T WANT EARL TO KILL ME PIE).
