Movie Tagline: Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear, and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?
With the recent announcement of a sequel, now seemed like a perfect time to write about the one of the most influential drug movies of the 90s, Trainspotting. This film is responsible for bringing so many talented young people to prominence, including Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly MacDonald, Kevin McKidd, and director Danny Boyle. It is also a very divisive film, as people like to argue about whether it demonizes or glamorizes the use of hard drugs. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. After all, who's to say a movie can't do both. Things are rarely ever so cut and dry. One thing is for sure: these are all very talented people making a product that is aggressively unconcerned with being attractive. No one in this movie comes off as anything other than a total dirtbag. Even Spud, who is arguably the most likeable character, is still a degenerate junkie. Renton, the protagonist, is a junkie who (unknowingly) has sex with a 14 year old and eventually screws over all of his junkie friends. And both of these characters have notable issues with their bowels, in scenes that push gross-out comedy to new lows (highs?) with their graphic depictions of diarrhea. You know a movie is good when it has multiple depictions of diarrhea. Which brings us to The Brown Note, one of the most controversial beer labels in existence. A cursory search of the BeerAdvocate forums will reveal an intense hatred for this label. In a world of awful Evil Twin and Flying Dog and Hoppin' Frog labels, this one takes the top prize. And it's not hard to see why. Even in the realm of beer labels, which are not known for being subtle or mature, this one is extreme. It paints a picture of a series of poor life choices on par with those of the characters in Trainspotting. Unfortunate tattoos, unhealthy weight gain, a missing limb, and, of course, fouled underpants. But, like with Trainspotting, this is a work of art that is not afraid to be ugly. Against the Grain is not concerned with offending people. But the product inside is capable of overcoming the defiantly unappealing label. This is true of most of their beers, whose labels all tend to be remarkably unpleasant. And it's true of The Brown Note, which has perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome with its label. But it is a very solid Brown Ale, with rich malty notes and a light-bodied mouthfeel that lends itself to having more than one. Easy drinking and mild, the controversy of this one stops with its label. Skirting controversy is a good way to drum up interest, and Trainspotting was no stranger to controversy. Presidential candidate Bob Dole called the film morally depraved, and accused it of glorifying drug use during his campaign, although he later admitted that he had not actually viewed the film. This seems to be a common occurrence for fear-mongering movie protesters. But the hyper-realistic action and the vivid colors of the movie only serve to reinforce the crazy lengths these characters will go to in order to feed their various addictions. And they are not all addicted to heroin. There are many varieties of addiction on display here: alcohol, sex, caffeine, attention, normalcy, violence. People can get addicted to anything. At the end, when Renton "chooses life", he is still an addict. He is just choosing to be addicted to something else. Something a little less destructive. And, hopefully, something that involves crawling into fewer toilets.
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Movie Tagline: The true story of a real fake
From Steven Spielberg's unofficial "running man" trilogy of the early '00s comes Catch Me If You Can, the story of Frank Abagnale Jr, a con artist who has been called the most famous imposter ever. Before being caught at age 21, Abagnale had impersonated a physician, lawyer, airline pilot, and a teaching assistant, to name a few. He was also an expert at forging checks. After being caught in France in 1969, Abagnale spent five years in various prisons in a number of countries. Upon his release, he eventually founded a firm that advised companies on issues of fraud. He took his criminal knowledge and used it for good. Catch Me If You Can has a lot of fun with Abagnale's ability to dupe people. He is never made out to be a bad guy; just someone who doesn't follow the rules. He never harms anyone, not physically, anyway. He breaks some hearts along the way, but that will happen when you're being played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
But, overall, he is presented as a good person. He just likes to get into mischief. To trick people. To be elusive. That's what we like to call a segue.
The brewers of Elusive IPA, from Public House Brewing, also seem to be having fun. With so many new breweries popping up all over the country, what's becoming elusive is finding a solid lineup of beers from a small local brewery. Not that there aren't new breweries that make good beer; there are just way more who make one or two decent beers and then a bunch of mediocre ones. The market is so saturated right now that it's hard to wade through all the new offerings to find the good stuff. The diamonds in the rough, if you will. And Elusive is one of those. Well-balanced, with the sweet malt backing up the grassy hoppiness, it has a complexity of flavor that is sorely lacking in a lot of the new, local beers I have tried of late. And while Elusive was my favorite of the Public House lineup, it is by no means their only good beer. They also make an award-winning Cream Ale, a traditional German Hefeweizen, and a solid Dry Stout; all of which are unexpectedly complex and rewarding in their own ways. Now, I'm not saying the brewers at Public House are the Steven Spielbergs of beer brewing. That would be 1.5 units of hyperbole. But I will say that they are expert craftsmen who don't need to kick out whalez (possibly my least favorite beer nerd term) to demonstrate their abilities; just like Señor Spielbergo doesn't have to reinvent the wheel every time he makes a movie. He just makes it, and his abilities shine through even if the material isn't the best. His directing prowess elevates the work. A similar compliment is due to Public House, whose brewers take the time to craft solid products instead of kicking out as many beers as they can to scoop up some of that craft beer craze money as fast as they can, quality be damned.
Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company, has had a rough go of it for the past couple of years. At least, as rough a go as a white, male billionaire can have. You see, his Sam Adams beers no longer get the respect they deserve (in his opinion). Many craft bars don't carry them, mostly because many serious craft beer lovers don't drink them. Sam Adams has an image problem. Yes, they were one of the pioneers of the craft movement in the early 80s. And yes, they remain the second-largest craft brewery in the US. But here's the thing: their beer isn't that great. It isn't bad by any stretch, but it takes more than that to survive in the current beer market. At this point, Sam Adams is getting by on ubiquity alone. They don't have a big event beer, like a Dark Lord or a Hunahpu (unless you count Utopias, which you really shouldn't). They don't have a seasonal beer that people wait all year for. And they don't have a solid year-round lineup. Their year-round lineup is mediocre at best, with their flagship being the tried and true Boston Lager.
Which brings us to our pairing beer: Sam Adams Rebel IPA. Now, I don't have a problem with this beer per se. It is well-balanced, easy-drinking, hop-forward; everything an IPA should be. It was also a long time coming, as IPAs have been the beer style of choice for craft drinkers for years now, and Sam Adams never had one in their rotation. The reason for this is simple: Jim Koch doesn't like IPAs. Fair enough. But after years of refusing to make a wildly popular style of beer because he personally didn't like it, and years of his people telling him that IPAs were in high demand, Jim Koch finally caved in to popular demand and kicked out a line of IPAs he (unironically) called Rebel IPAs. And therein lies my problem. A rebel is someone who stands up against the establishment, who goes against the tide to fight for what they believe in. A Rebel IPA is a cash-grab in which Jim Koch forgoes his principles and does something for purely financial gain. He is a late-comer to the IPA trend, but he insists on making it seem like he is at the forefront. The only thing Rebel IPA is rebelling against is Jim Koch's taste. Which brings us to Frozen, which is the highest-grossing animated film of all time and is largely regarded as one of the best Disney movies ever. Maybe you have heard of it before. A big part of its success (the part that isn't "Let It Go") is due to the supposedly progressive storylines of the two leads, Elsa and Anna. But, unfortunately, Frozen is about as progressive as Sam Adams is rebellious. Take, for example, Anna. She is beautiful in that homogeneous Disney princess way. But she is also clumsy, because she isn't fully developed enough as a character to have any real flaws. And she doesn't really have any other defining characteristics. Her main goal seems to be finding true love. She isn't far removed from being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Elsa, on the other hand, is a repressed sociopath who can't deal with the abuse she suffered as a child, so she refuses any help and runs away from her problems. She isn't an empowered individual who owns her sexuality; she is a dangerous social outcast who, once she "lets it go", dresses like a horny cosplayer with stiletto heels made of ice. I don't think progressive is the right word for that. Anyway, that's a lot of ranting for two things that I really don't mind. There's no reason you can't enjoy a cold Rebel IPA while singing along with a pathologically antisocial ice queen. It's not the movie or the beer that I have issues with; it's the surrounding storylines they are a part of that make me cringe. But, if you can look past the hype and the spin and enjoy these two for what they are, I think you will find a lot to like with them.
Movie Tagline: This summer a man will face his destiny. A hero will be revealed.
Historically (that is, since the mid-90s), Fourth of July weekend has been the preferred time for Hollywood studios to release their heavy-hitters. Even since Will Smith's storied run of holiday weekend hits, Hollywood has tried to replicate that level of success. Michael Bay's shiny Bayhem noise orgies known as the Transformers franchise have had some success, most notably with the first and third installments. But in recent years, movies have struggled putting butts in seats in record numbers. Not since Despicable Me 2 have we had a movie gross nearly $100 million on its opening weekend. And it's not going to happen this year, either. This isn't a bad thing, as opening weekend box office gross is likely the least relevant statistic to use when gauging whether a movie is good or not, but it is interesting to look back on a time when July Fourth movies were such an event. And while we recognize that Will Smith is and always will be the king of the July Fourth weekend, we are going to focus on a movie that is suspiciously devoid of any Fresh Prince action. No, we are going to talk about what many consider to be the best superhero movie ever made: Spider-Man 2. The highest grossing Fourth of July weekend release of all time, Spider-Man 2 is an amazing feat of genre storytelling. This is a superhero movie through and through, but it is one that is equally thrilling, intense, melancholic, frightening, romantic, and silly. Not only this, but it is emotionally satisfying. The scary bits are effectively creepy. The romantic bits are believable, not sappy. The melancholy is earned, not shoehorned in for dramatic effect. With this movie, Sam Raimi successfully performs a juggling act that few other directors would even attempt. And it is a joy to watch him work. With a director like Raimi at the top of his game, who needs Will Smith anyway? Surly Brewing Co. has the perfect beer to go with such a spectacle. It's called #MERICA!, and it is as American as beer gets. AB InBev is currently trying a gimmick where they have renamed Budweiser "America" for the summer. Well, this is a beer that actually earns the title. A pre-Prohibition American Lager (one of the few beer styles to originate in America), #MERICA! uses corn as an integral ingredient, and the flavor really comes through. A little sweet, a little floral, and a little grassy, this crisp, straw-colored lager is what a Budweiser should taste like if they are going to start calling it "America" all of a sudden. Yes, the link between Spider-Man 2 and #MERICA! is thin at best, but it's in what the two things represent that the real connection lies. Both are celebrations of America; it's good tendencies and its bad ones. It only takes one look at the label to know that #MERICA! is a tongue in cheek name. With its hashtag and exclamation point and aggressively red white and blue color scheme, this beer is maybe being a little bit ironic with its packaging. But it is also a stellar representation of a beer style that was conceived in America. It is silly, but it is also proud of its heritage. And Peter Parker's journey in Spider-Man 2 can be seen as a metaphor for America in 2004. He is Spider-Man, but the weight of that reality is so much for him to bear that he starts to slip. His schoolwork, his personal relationships, even his responsibilities as Spider-Man; it all pulls him in different directions. He doesn't know what he should do. America itself was finding its way during this same stretch of time. With the War on Terror in full swing, no one knew who to trust or how far we would go to regain a sense of control. Some of our ideals were sacrificed, our alliances were tested, and our moral center started to slip. Anyway, to reign this line of thought in, Spider-Man 2 is complicated. But #MERICA! is easy. Just pop one open and drink it down while watching a conflicted superhero do his thing.
Movie Tagline: Once in a lifetime you get a chance to do something different
Summertime is upon us once again. For all you tan, social, outdoorsy types, that means two things: beer and baseball. Luckily for you, the pasty, red-eyed, ghoulish folks here at Cinemarone have got the perfect pairing for the summer. We have the hilariously heartwarming, female empowering, Geena Davis starring, feel-good movie of 1992, A League of Their Own, paired up with the smooth, refreshing, peachy goodness that is O'Fallon Brewery's Wheach, or Peach Wheat Beer. A League of Their Own is a quintessential summer movie. It is arguably director Penny Marshall's best movie (the only real contender for that title would be Big, another Tom Hanks movie) and it must have seemed like a breath of fresh air in a year that saw such dark and/or heavy movies as Unforgiven, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Basic Instinct, Alien 3, The Crying Game, Candyman, Malcolm X, Bad Lieutenant (the original, not the Ridiculous Cage one), and A Few Good Men. To paraphrase: There's no bloody final shootout in baseball. There's no Ice Pick Killer in baseball. There's no surprise penis in baseball. You get the picture. But, in case you don't: There's no "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us" in baseball. There's no "You can't handle the truth" in baseball. Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, let's continue. A League of Their Own tells the story of the first year of the AAGPBL, which came about because of World War II. With so many able-bodied men fighting in the war, there weren't enough of them left to put together a proper season of baseball. The obvious solution: the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. While the movie treats the idea of an all-women baseball league as something that took the unwashed masses a while to get used to, in reality the AAGPBL was a huge hit from the outset. But that's a minor difference that only helps to add another dimension to the story, so it's hard to fault the screenwriters for it. All in all, the movie is a fairly accurate depiction of the events as they took place. Many of the characters were either inspired by or directly based on real people. The women who played in the league were actually required to attend charm and beauty school. Tom Hanks is a notorious urinater. All of these things are real. And the Rockford Peaches, which the movie follows, are the inspiration for this pairing. Because nothing says summer like a peach. And there's no better peach beer than O'Fallon Wheach. Wheach is a smooth, clean wheat beer in its own right. The fresh peach flavor is an added bonus. It is a light and refreshing brew, with a moderate amount of carbonation, making it good for any occasion. But summer is when this one really shines. Its crisp, fruity flavor and low bitterness make this one so good on a hot day, especially when you are floating down the river sipping it out of a can. Or when you are watching the Rockford Peaches win people's hearts and minds as they climb to the top of the standings. If you love women's baseball, Wheach is the beer for you. Unless you're a Racine Belles fan, in which case you can go straight to hell.
Movie Tagline: Love is desolate. Romance is temporary. Sex is forever.
Catherine Breillat is probably the most controversial female filmmaker ever. Actually, no, Catherine Breillat is definitely the most controversial female filmmaker ever. Her 1976 film debut, A Real Young Girl (Une Vraie Jeune Fille), was banned from theaters until the year 2000 because it depicts the sexual awakening of a 14-year-old girl in graphic detail. This frank treatment of sexual themes permeates her entire filmography, as does a focus on gender politics, intimacy, violence, and sibling rivalry. It would be impossible to select her most controversial movie, as they all offend people in one way or another. Fat Girl (À ma sœur!) has an extended scene where a man coerces a teen into anal sex. Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie de l’enfer) shows a man drink tea made from a used tampon. The list goes on and on. But we've decided to focus on a different Breillat effort, 1999's Romance (Romance X). Romance is about a young woman, Marie, and her search for intimacy. Her boyfriend refuses to have sex with her, which leads her down a path that includes random sexual encounters, a series of relationships, and a sadomasochistic engagement with a much older man. She eventually gets her boyfriend to have sex with her, whereupon she gets pregnant. But this doesn't repair the rift between the couple, and she eventually leaves him in spectacular fashion. Romance is an odyssey of sexual awakening, which makes it sound like it belongs on a premium cable channel's late-night lineup (we're looking at you, Cinemax). But it is told firmly from the point of view of the female protagonist. This movie is in no way filtered through the male gaze. It is very true to its feminine sensibilities. And that's not to say it's "girlie". This is a very adult movie, in case you couldn't tell by now. But Breillat is not interested in a masculine point of view. Cinema (and, indeed, the world at large) doesn't need any more insight into that. In her own words: "There is no masculine psychology in my cinema. There is only the resentments and desires of women. A man should not attempt to recognize himself in my male characters. On the other hand, he can find [in the films] a better understanding of women. And knowledge of the other is the highest goal."
Breillat's movies are graphic in their depictions of sex and, to a lesser extent (though she may argue they go hand in hand), violence. But she is not a pornographer, as many have tried to label her. She uses frankness, sometimes to an almost clinical degree, to explore women and their understanding of their own sexuality. She shows us how women are made (by men, usually, but not exclusively) to do things they don't want to do. How they are made to hate their bodies for not being perfect. How they are afraid to voice their displeasure with something for fear of being labeled a difficult woman. A shrew. A bitch. They are marginalized and abused, but if they try to take back control over their bodies they run the risk of being labeled as loose. A tramp. A whore. Breillat tackles these topics head-on, and she is not afraid to rattle a few cages in getting her message across. Her films are bold and distinctive. Once you are familiar with her work, you can tell right away when you are watching a Catherine Breillat movie, which goes to show that she is a true auteur.
To be honest, it can easily be seen as an insult to pair this dense study of feminine sexuality with a beer called "MILF". But the reality is that Mother's Brewing has created a supremely dense, complicated beer that has all the nuance of a Catherine Breillat movie and still manages to be emotionally explosive (also like a Catherine Breillat movie). Lots of care and thought was put into this beer. Brewed with cocoa nibs and raisins before being aged in rum, sherry, bourbon, brandy and whiskey barrels, this massive beer takes on the flavors from the spirit and wood of each and every barrel. The smell of this dark beauty is fruity, spicy, boozy; amazingly complex. The taste is even more complicated, with flavors melding from one to the next with wild abandon. Every drink of this beer is different. Every time it touches your tongue you pick up something else. In lesser hands, this beer could have been a mess; a hodgepodge of disparate flavors competing for dominance. But it isn't. Every aspect works in harmony to create something truly unique. So, with this in mind, hopefully we can be forgiven for the seemingly insensitive nature of this pairing. Just like Breillat's films being called pornographic by people who can't handle their graphic nature, MILF might be too extreme for some people's tastes, but that doesn't make it any less of a towering artistic achievement.
Movie Tagline: There are two sides to every lie
How can two beers have the same name? Furthermore, how can two beers that share a name be so different? Is one of them an imposter? And, if so, which one? This week's pairing brings with it a slew of questions, as you can see. Questions about identity, dark family secrets, a web of lies, and possible foul play. That's because we're talking about the 2012 documentary The Imposter, which centers around French serial imposter Frédéric Bourdin, also known as "The Chameleon". In 1997, Bourdin assumed the identity of missing Texas teen Nicholas Barclay, first by impersonating a Spanish police officer who claimed to have found the child, and later by pretending to be Nicholas himself. Despite having brown eyes and a French accent (Nicholas had blond hair and blue eyes), he was taken in by the boy's family. He lived as Nicholas for nearly five months, even attending high school as him. All of which begs the question: How did this family not realize this wasn't Nicholas? The movie provides some answers. Those, naturally, lead to even more questions. There is closure, but no definitive proof of what really happened to Nicholas. But the movie is not about Nicholas. Not really. It's about the imposter. What could possess a man to do such a thing to a family that has lost someone? Is he being sadistic? Exploiting their grief? What does he get out of all this? Again, more and more questions. Here is what could be the most important question: What beer could possibly be paired with such a tale? What beer could conceivable match the complexity, the twists and turns, the drama of The Imposter? The answer, my friends, is Alter Ego. The problem, my companions, is choosing which Alter Ego. Should you go with the hazy, citrusy goodness of Tree House, or the dark, foreboding hoppiness of 4 Hands? How can you ever know that you have chosen the right one? Let's break it down, piece by piece, beginning with the Tree House offering. Basically a super citrusy Julius (thanks to the Mosaic and Amarillo dry hopping), this one pours a hazy golden color with a nice, fluffy head. The smell is like citrus overload, but in the best way. The taste follows suit, with a bitter backbone that holds it all together. This is a perfect example of the new and improved East Coast IPA, which is all about turbidity and dry hopping. They all smell amazing and look like a swamp. Anything could be lurking in those murky depths. But if you want true darkness, you have to go with the 4 Hands version. A Black IPA, this one isn't so much murky as it is completely dark and opaque. No light is getting through this one. You can definitely taste the dark malt in here, despite the prevalent piney hop characteristics and the faint notes of citrus. While medium bodied, it still finishes very dry and bitter. So, there you have it. Two beers. One name. Thankfully, they both go well with The Imposter and they are both very tasty, so you can't really go wrong. It's not like one of them is an imposter bent on erasing all trace of the other so it can more easily slide into its place, taking over its existence, until all memory of the original is forever lost in the ether of the past. I'm sure that's not the case at all.
Movie Tagline: There are no clean getaways
No Country for Old Men, adapted from a novel by Cormac McCarthy, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. That's usually not a great way to measure how good a movie is, but in this case it is no small feat considering the tidal wave of amazing movies that were released in 2007. Namely: There Will Be Blood, Zodiac, Michael Clayton, Juno, Gone Baby Gone, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into the Wild, Atonement, Eastern Promises, My Winnipeg, Hot Fuzz, Lars and the Real Girl, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Taxi to the Dark Side, American Gangster, Grindhouse, Persepolis, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Orphanage, La Vie en Rose, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, Knocked Up, Sunshine, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and I'm Not There. That's nearly 30 movies that could (and in many cases, did) define a person's career. They are all outstanding movies from such renowned directors as Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Ridley Scott, David Cronenberg, Ben Affleck, Julian Schnabel, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guy Maddin, Judd Apatow, Todd Haynes, Danny Boyle, Jason Reitman, Edgar Wright, Werner Herzog, and Sidney Lumet. So, to say that the Coen Brothers made the best movie of the year (according to whatever old white dudes choose who gets to win things like that) is, in this case, a staggering achievement. But, anyway, that's just a tangent about how awesome 2007 was for movie fans. To get to the matter at hand: No Country for Old Men is the story of a drug deal gone awry and the fallout that ensues. That's a tidy little log line that doesn't come anywhere close to describing the chaos and dread that unfolds onscreen. Even people who have never seen the movie are most likely aware of the most memorable thing in it: Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, a dead-eyed sociopath with a weirdo haircut that kills people with, among other things, a Captive Bolt Pistol. Chigurh is the stuff of nightmares; he would not be out of place in a straight-up horror movie. He is a reptile in a human suit, and he is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. But he is just one piece of the bloody puzzle that is No Country. There are also inspired performances from Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly MacDonald, and Woody Harrelson, not to mention the supremely talented supporting cast. In addition to the cast, the Coen Brothers relied on esteemed cinematographer Roger Deakins to saturate the landscapes of Texas with sepia tones and tension. Working with natural light for the daytime scenes and brooding shadows in the night scenes, Deakins brings a strong sense of film noir to the story, which makes perfect sense for a tale this bleak and pessimistic. Not many beers can compete with a movie with such a pedigree. Thankfully, we have Stone Brewing around to bring us the sadistic Crime. You know Stone founder Greg Koch has a mind as dark as Cormac McCarthy's when he comes up with something like this. A blend of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Double Bastard Ale, and Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, each aged in their own Kentucky bourbon barrels, with criminal amounts of serrano, jalapeño, and who-knows what other chile peppers added to up the ante even more. The result is not for the faint of heart. It's a beer made for the masochist in all of us. It all starts with a blast of hops, which then mellows into a nice, rich bourbon flavor, and finishes with a peppery heat that is downright incendiary. This beer is as challenging to drink as No Country is to watch, making it one of the few beers in existence that can stand up to such a masterpiece of visual flair and complex storytelling. This pairing does, however, come with a couple of conditions. For one thing, Crime is not what you would call "readily available". Many times it comes as a shared case with its companion beer, Punishment. Meaning that if a store gets any of these beers, they only get six bottles of each. Many don't even get that. So it can be a bit of a task to even find a bottle of Crime. And, if you do, you should be prepared to pay $20 for it. And again, if you make it that far, you still have to drink it, and that can be difficult in and of itself. So, in an attempt to offset the whole rigamarole of obtaining and drinking one of these limited, aggressively flavored beers, we are going to throw in a secondary pairing to last you through the rest of the movie and hopefully cool your mouth off a little. So, after you have seared your taste buds off with Crime, you're going to want to move on to a Lone Star. Or, rather, a series of consecutive Lone Stars. Called the "National Beer of Texas", because Texas isn't interested in your so-called facts, this American Lager will be perfectly flavorless after the endurance contest that is Crime, allowing you to throw them back with abandon. That will help you deal with the morality (or lack thereof) and other adult issues being put forth in No Country for Old Men. And since the movie is largely set in Texas, drinking Lone Star keeps you on topic. So, in conclusion, this pairing is much more of a challenge than our usual pairings. But it is a highly rewarding challenge. One that will put you through the wringer both physically and emotionally, sure, but "adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with". There's a cute little quote from Thomas Carlyle to make you feel better about burning your taste buds off while simultaneously losing all faith in humanity. You're welcome.
Movie Tagline: Man has made his match... Now it's his problem
Last time we promised to start pairing better movies. Whether you think we have succeeded or not largely depends on how you feel about grim, ambiguous, future-noir stories. While anyone who thinks Blade Runner is a worse movie than Double Team is clearly insane, there are a lot of people who seem to have an intense distaste for Ridley Scott's groundbreaking science fiction tale. It is probably a case of a movie getting so much positive attention that some kind of backlash is inevitable. Blade Runner was once voted the best science fiction film ever by a group of eminent scientists, after all. And when scientists like your science fiction movie, you know you're doing something right. They really are a fastidious group. What makes Blade Runner such a good movie is a combination of weighty philosophical questions coupled with its stunning visuals. The world that Deckard (Harrison Ford) leads us through is lived in. It is not slick or shiny, like so many other futuristic movies. Things here have a purpose. They have been used. You don't feel like you are peeking in on a different society; you feel like this is our world, in the future. And, in the future, things are just as screwed up as they are now. Replicants are self-aware android slaves with genetically shortened lifespans. "Blade Runners" are essentially bounty hunters tasked with killing, or "retiring", these replicants. It is always dark and rainy, even in Los Angeles. This darkness lends the story a noirish vibe, complete with a cynical protagonist, a femme fatale, and an overwhelming sense of fatalism. It's a lot of fun. When watching such a heavy movie, you might feel compelled to go with a heavy beer. Something dark and complex to match the mood of the movie. Like a Parabola, or a Narwhal. But that would be overkill. Blade Runner is not a fast-paced thrill ride; it is brooding and methodical. If you drink a 12% beer while watching it you are liable to either fall asleep or get distracted and not pay attention to what is happening onscreen. No, you need something to combat the dark nature of this one. Something light and crisp, but with enough complexity to match the movie. That's why we are recommending the flagship beer from Crane Brewing out of Raytown, Missouri. A crisp, dry saison with a lot of flavor and a refreshing finish, this beer is the perfect companion to such a pessimistic movie. Really, any Crane beer would suffice, as they only make lighter styles of beer, focusing on wild yeast and tart flavors. A big part of what they do revolves around taking classic European styles and experimenting with a variety of hops, wild yeast, souring bacteria, wood-aging, spices, fruit, and specialty malt. As we've already noted, a big part of Blade Runner's legacy lies in its visual style. This is also true of Crane's labels. Deceptively simple, their labels manage to stand out in a sea of other beer labels. With big, bold shapes and crisp lines, they are the very definition of less-is-more. They have a thing for origami, too, just like Gaff (Edward James Olmos) in Blade Runner. And that's just their labels. Inside the bottle is a beauty of an entirely different kind. From the bright straw-colored Saison, to the cloudy gold Apricot Weiss, to the red-hued Beet Weiss, Crane's beers are a delight to behold. Like Ridley Scott did with film noir and science fiction in Blade Runner, Crane Brewing is taking the best parts of traditional rustic European ale styles and making them feel new again by infusing them with new ingredients and fresh ideas. They may not seem like the most logical things to pair, Blade Runner and Crane Saison, but unless you're some kind of sociopathic replicant android, we think you will be pleasantly surprised. And, hey, if you are a sociopathic replicant android, do you want to hang out sometime?
Movie Tagline: You're either on their side... or in their way
For some reason, we've been pairing a lot of crappy movies lately. Gleaming the Cube, Black Sheep, Club Paradise, Dark Star; these are not movies of value. They are oddities and missteps. And while we hold out hope for finding the perfect beer to pair with The Room or Birdemic: Shock and Terror, we also know that we need to step up our game and start pairing movies that are actually good. Movies that have something to say, or are intellectually stimulating in some way. Movies that, at the very least, don't make you dumber for having watched them. Unfortunately, we aren't quite there yet, and today we are going to talk about Double Team. Not to be confused with Double Impact, the "Jean-Claude Van Damme plays twins" movie, Double Team is the one where JCVD and Dennis Rodman star as the titular double team, with Mickey Rourke rounding out the cast as villain and international terrorist, Stavros. And those are absolutely the only people who you will recognize from this one. To describe the "plot" would be an exercise in futility. Suffice it to say, this is a ridiculous movie. Between fireproof Coke machines, Dennis Rodman's basketball puns, and the tiger, it is difficult to say which part is the most ridiculous. But there is definitely a sick thrill to be had in watching Dennis Rodman try to be an actor, even a goofy action movie actor. He was a solid basketball player, a middling professional wrestler, and a terrible actor. It may seem wrong to refer to him in the past tense, but the only things he has done of note lately have been endorsing Donald Drumpf for president and supposedly befriending North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. With that kind of career trajectory, past tense is more than appropriate. Thankfully, we have not chosen our beer because of its similar quality to Double Team. No, we have chosen Schlafly Double Bean Blonde because it brings together a different kind of dynamic duo: coffee and chocolate. After brewing this basic blonde ale, it is rested on cocoa nibs from Ghana. Then cold coffee from St. Louis-based Kaldi's Coffee is added to round it out. The Double Bean has the rich, full flavor of coffee and chocolate, but being a Blonde Ale it is still easy-drinking and light-bodied. Which is nice because that allows you to drink more beer faster. Which will come in handy when you are watching Double Team. We promise to do a good movie next time. |
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