Trouble brewing
So jackwilliambell and I brewed a batch of mocha porter this time, with real chocolate and real coffee added to the mix. Siphoning the wort was a real pain, and Jack had to keep jiggling the siphon in a regular, rhythmic manner to get it to flow. "That's the first time I've ever had to masturbate a beer," he grumbled afterward. The fluid was a remarkable cloudy brown and full of suspended particulates. Jack dubbed it Mississippi Mud.
Last night I revisited Midnight (1939), spurred on by seeing Don Ameche in a couple of these Fox musicals. The first time I saw it I was pretty, um, unfocused, so I didn't remember it very well. Didn't remember how much of a screwball comedy it is, for one thing. Script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, and full of witty zingers and clever structure. Very continental (it's set in Paris), and the production design is elegant in the grand Paramount fashion. A great cast, with Mary Astor playing another interesting role as Claudette Colbert's dangerous but vulnerable rival in illicit love, aided and supported by her apparently-gay best pal. As for the title, well, "Don't forget, every Cinderella has her midnight."
Today I'm seeing Babylon A.D. with holyoutlaw. This is a French-produced English-language science fiction-action film. The director, Mathieu Kassovitz, has disavowed it, so I'm not expecting much. But the trailer looks pretty cool, and it has Michelle Yeoh and Charlotte Rampling in it. Perhaps it will be a bit of mindless fun.
Last night I revisited Midnight (1939), spurred on by seeing Don Ameche in a couple of these Fox musicals. The first time I saw it I was pretty, um, unfocused, so I didn't remember it very well. Didn't remember how much of a screwball comedy it is, for one thing. Script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, and full of witty zingers and clever structure. Very continental (it's set in Paris), and the production design is elegant in the grand Paramount fashion. A great cast, with Mary Astor playing another interesting role as Claudette Colbert's dangerous but vulnerable rival in illicit love, aided and supported by her apparently-gay best pal. As for the title, well, "Don't forget, every Cinderella has her midnight."
Today I'm seeing Babylon A.D. with holyoutlaw. This is a French-produced English-language science fiction-action film. The director, Mathieu Kassovitz, has disavowed it, so I'm not expecting much. But the trailer looks pretty cool, and it has Michelle Yeoh and Charlotte Rampling in it. Perhaps it will be a bit of mindless fun.