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.
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Movie Tagline: The vacation you'll never forget -- no matter how hard you try
When you think of Jamaica, you think of Red Stripe (as far as beer goes, anyway). With their laid-back vibe and their "Hooray Beer" advertisements, the folks at Red Stripe have worked hard to indelibly link their product with thoughts of relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the Red Stripe we drink here in the United States is not made in Jamaica. It is made in the not-so-tropical climates of La Crosse, Wisconsin and Latrobe, Pennsylvania. This isn't a bad thing (if anything, it means you get fresher beer), it just puts a slight dent in that whole island vibe Red Stripe tries to promote. It also dovetails nicely with the plot of Club Paradise, wherein a movie set on a (fictitious) Caribbean island stars such noted island dwellers as Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, and Twiggy. Sure, it also has Jimmy Cliff, but his storyline takes a back seat to the antics of, among other things, two scrawny white guys trying (and failing) to get laid. But the point of this post is not to decry the unfairness of whitewashing in Hollywood movies. If it was, there are better, more current examples of this to choose from. Club Paradise is not the place to draw the line. The movie was such a flop that you would be hard-pressed to find many people today who even remember it. And I'm not here to tell you it's a hidden gem of 80s comedy. It's really not. It's a mess of a movie, with a dozen or so funny people failing to be funny in any discernible way. But I'll be damned if I don't find it oddly charming. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but no movie with Peter O'Toole and Robin Williams can be all bad, even if O'Toole was nominated for a Razzie because of his performance in this one. There's something about this feature-length failed SCTV skit that just does it for me. It's a similar reaction many people have to Red Stripe. They know deep down that there's nothing special about it; it's just another bland macro lager (owned by Heineken as of 2015). But drinking one takes them back to that time they vacationed in Jamaica, and all the good times they had, and all the interesting people they met, and by some strange alchemy the beer tastes better than it should. So, maybe a similar thing will happen when you pair Red Stripe with Club Paradise. Alone, they are both middling products, but together they may transcend their shortcomings and provide you with a much needed two-hour vacation. It's not Jamaica, but it's as close as some of us are ever going to get.
Movie Tagline: When the smoke clears, it just means he's reloading
A pistolero is a gunman, a killer. A bandit who lives and dies by the gun. El Mariachi, the former-musician-turned-gunslinger, is such a man. In fact, Desperado was originally titled El Pistolero. The name was more in line with the original movie (El Mariachi), but the studio requested it be changed because, you know, they like to assert unnecessary control over things. But, whatever its title, Desperado remains an action-packed homage to the films of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah (with a healthy dose of John Woo thrown in for good measure), rife with operatic gunfights and ultra-violence. Whereas Peckinpah and Leone used violence to make a point about the corruption of humanity or the brutality of the world, Robert Rodriguez is more interested in pure entertainment. There is no greater message to Desperado, no overarching themes of retribution and redemption. This is action for the sake of action. It is unapologetically gratuitous, right down to the over-the-top, telenovela-style sex scene between Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek complete with soft focus, sexy Latin guitar music, and a ludicrous amount of candles. Just as Rodriguez continues the fine tradition of ultra-violence that Peckinpah pioneered, so too does Excel Brewing continue the tradition of making a Vienna-Style Lager with a Mexican twist. While nearly extinct in its native land, the Vienna Lager continues to thrive in Mexico, and while authentic examples are increasingly difficult to find, there are still some quality ones to be found. Similar to a Märzen but lighter and more bitter, the Vienna Lager is a refreshing, highly-drinkable beer, and El Pistolero is a fantastic illustration of this. El Pistolero is a seasonal beer from Excel Brewing, an offshoot of the Excel Bottling Company, a "Mom & Pop" soda maker out of Breese, Illinois, most famously known for their Ski Original. The story goes that Excel was founded in 1936 from reward money obtained from catching a bank robber, with Ski coming in 1961 and firmly planting Excel as a Southern Illinois mainstay. With the addition of a brewery in 2012, Excel is committed to making quality beverages for children and adults alike, all the while keeping their operation small and independent. That same independent spirit is what makes Excel pair so well with Robert Rodriguez. Not one for the mainstream, Rodriguez makes movies he wants to make, the way he wants to make them. His first feature, El Mariachi, was made for a paltry $7000, some of which Rodriguez raised by participating in medical testing studies. Rodriguez resigned from the DGA in 2004 due to an issue with the directing credit on Sin City, and these days he makes films via his own studio in Austin, Texas, known as Troublemaker Studios. He is all about DIY filmmaking, frequently serving as editor, sound editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, screenwriter, and director. If it's adventure and excitement you're after, look no further than the works of Robert Rodriguez. And if you need something to wash down all that ultra-violence, look no further than Excel Brewing.
Movie Tagline: It’s a strange world
Blue Velvet is David Lynch's surreal descent into the dark underbelly of small-town America. It is raw and voyeuristic, like something out of a nightmare. But that doesn't mean you can't have a beer and enjoy it. And depending on which end of the BDSM spectrum you fall on, this movie has some options for you: Do you like to be in control? Do you like to physically, mentally, sexually, emotionally, and/or spiritually torture other human beings? Do you like Roy Orbison? Then Pabst Blue Ribbon is the one for you. Drink it with some buddies as you go on a joyride through the psychosexual hellscape that is your hometown. Do you like to watch? Is it even better if the person doesn't know they are being watched? Do you ever get the feeling that you've gone too far? That you're in too deep to ever get out without being fundamentally changed as a person? Heineken it is. Are you a garbage person who doesn't deserve to make decisions for yourself? Are you filthy and disgusting, with nothing to offer the rest of society? Has someone ever put their disease in you? Then you don't get to drink anything. Now go get me a bourbon, and don't you fucking look at me! |
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