3.08.10 My Top Ten RIGHT NOW

My apologies for any typos or confused sentence structure…I’m writing this from my iPhone due to a tech issue. But enjoy!

1. MOVIE Alice in Wonderland
I would love to give a glowing review of this film that combines two of my favorite things, Tim Burton and the whimsical insane world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, but alas, I cannot. It’s at times delightful, at times transporting, but more often than not, it’s just kick-ass Alice with a few nods to the original texts and some Burton-esque flourishes. It’s as though Burton was afraid to be too madcap and embrace the nonsensical logic of the original texts and at the same time to delve into his own strong vision. Thankfully there’s Helena Bonham-Carter who is a sheer delight as the Red Queen, hilarious and pitch perfect… B-

2. EXHIBITION John Girrard at the Hirschhorn
This is art that forces you to watch. These animations are so slow in their progression that you sit transfixed just waiting to see the slightest change in the image. Two small animations start the show on super clear LCD screens atop Parson Tables. But the real focus is a large projection screen equally as clear in which a farm-scape is invaded by a dust cloud. You sit for a good 15 minutes trying to figure out if it’s only the slow shifting of angles for a ful 360 degrees or if the image itself is actually developing and shifting. Truly a stunning series that must be seen to fully understand the beauty…A-

3. TV The 82nd Annual Academy Awards
This year it felt long again and despite my
love of Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, I couldn’t help but wonder who thought this grab bag of ideas constituted a show. From the opening with all the best actor and actress nominees taking the stage like wax works from
Madame Tussaud’s to the dancers, talented as they were, awkwardly interpreting the best score nominees. I was always a fan of the best song performances, which were removed on a year when we could have seen the incredible Anika Noni Rose tear her way through Randy Newman’s so-so songs. As for the awards themselves, it was a pleasant year of honoring moneymakers and so-called indies and I couldn’t contain my smile as Kathryn Bigelow took the Oscar from Streisand’s hands…B-

4. ALBUM Scratch My Back by Peter Gabriel
This is a depressingly beautiful series of covers with Gabriel’s voice in full sonic force. The orchestrations are sumptuous, as though he’d taken a cue from Steve Reich or Philip Glass or even more appropriately from the sounds of Bjork on her sublime Selmasongs. Taking on Elbow’s “Mirrorball” is a little obvious and we certainly don’t need another cover of “I Think It’s Going To Rain,” but the work on Bon Iver’s “Flume” and Regina Spektors “Apres Moi” is superb and inspiring. Truly a wonderful song cycle worth a listen despite the darkness of it all…B+

5. FOOD Sei
This DC Japanese restaurant is opulent in decor and sumptuous with its sushi. The walls are covered in white with accents of deep red making you feel like you’re stuck right in the middle of some futuristic Tokyo. The backs of the white leather chairs, sewn up wiu brown twine, match the front of the menus, white leathe and twine laced as well. Luckily this odd focus on design doesn’t get in the way of the delightful random sampling of sushi. Of special note was the fish and chips roll with an excellent combination of salty crunch and smooth sauce. I can hardly remember all the types but there wasn’t a wrong note amongts it, especially when joined with a low priced 6oz sake. Quite a satiating meal…B+

6. MOVIE An Education
A slightly darker Gigi, this coming of age film is well poised and marvelously written by one of my favorite authors, Nick Hornby. Carey Mulligan charms in a breakout role totally inspired by the likes of Leslie Caron and especially Audrey Hepburn. Peter Sarsgaard inspires with a different sort of charm. But it’s the smaller roles surrounding these two that cemented my joy, from the bloated hilarity of Alfred Molina to the stern authority of the always great Emma Thompson. The tone is perfect, the dream large enough to be dashed and visually it’s a ’60s fantasy…B+

7. MOVIE Todo Sobre Mi Madre
Almodovar writes women like none other and this film is no exception for his talent. I had forgotten how heartbreaking this was, but it all came flooding back as I watched a mother destroyed by the death of her son and rebuilding her life through the support of the women around her. And better than anything, the definition of woman is as flexible as it should be in the modern world. With its send up to All About Eve and affecting use of A Streetcar Named Desire, this film infiltrates the art-lover’s soul and presents such excellent performances from the lead and the always-better-in- Spanish Penelope Cruz as a pregnant nun…A

8. FOOD Red Velvet
Aren’t we all tired of the cupcake revolution? As much as I don’t need another store this one is certainly delicious enough to make an argument for them, saved from redundancy by offering up some
non-standard flavors. The key-lime cupcake didn’t quite have the tartness of its namesake, but was tasty. The b-day cupcake, rich with chocolate, was delcious as was the red velvet despite having the incorrect frosting. But the best had to be the peanut butter/chocolate cupcake, combining two excellent flavors into an undeniably yummy, if ubiquitous, treat…B

9. FOOD Chez Pierre
This Palm Springs eatery might be slow on service but once the food is in front of you it’s hard to complain. Serving the most authentic of French food, the tastes are sumptuous and mouthwatering, especially when washed down with a fine Pinot Noir. A simple bowl of mussels is filled with savory garlic and buttery broth. The crispy slow roasted duck is again simple in preparation but matched with a honey lavender sauce that sets it wonderfully apart. Finishing off the meal with a fantastic chocolate mousse (which I will demure is almost as good as mine) one cannot help but go to bed happy…B

10. MOVIE Phoebe in Wonderland
Keeping with the theme of this week, this film uses the Alice stories to illuminate the shattered world of a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder. For anyone who has retreated into their own world in favor of harsh reality, this film will strike a very strong chord, effectively using Wonderland as both a familiar world and as somewhere completely unique unto itself. Felicity Huffman continues an excellent streak of film acting, touching in he desire to understand her child but finding herself ultimately frustrated in a world that would rather silence her child with medicine. It’s a timely debate encapsulated in a bizarre but effective film, whimsically portrayed…B+