Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Last night I took advantage of an opportunity to get into a preview screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I went into the theater as a Gen-Xer unfamiliar with the graphic novels that serve as the movie's source material and in this post I'll share some observations as a non-fan of the series that might be useful for those trying to decide whether to go see it when it goes into wide release in mid-August.

Michael Cera plays the title character; Scott Pilgrim is a 22-year-old Toronto slacker who gets riddled with grief from his roommate, sister, and bandmates when he starts dating high school student Knives (Ellen Wong). Pilgrim's interest in Knives is barely lukewarm, though, and at first sight during a party he begins pursuing the aloof Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

At its core, this is a boy-getting-the-girl flick for Generation Y, with comic book and "augmented reality" gaming visuals splattered all over the frame. I found it all a little tiresome, though, and I was already trying to glance at my watch before the first hour was up. Despite the fast-paced activity seen in the first part of the movie, I still felt as if the plot wasn't appreciably moving forward fast enough. The plot itself is something that could have been lifted from a video game: To win Ramona, Pilgrim must defeat a series of her ex-lovers in fantasy encounters that are conducted as live-action video game duels. And in true video game fashion, there is hardly any backstory shown to explain why the "League of Exes" finds itself so united and motivated in defeating Pilgrim. I can only presume these are items much better explained in the books. Michael Cera does a bang-up job of being, well, Michael Cera -- which left me never completely sold on why we should be rooting for his Pilgrim to reach his desired destination of being with Ramona.

Kieran Culkin delivers many of the funniest moments in the film as the gay roommate who tries to get Pilgrim on the road away from going-nowhereness and eventually towards literally "getting a life." As I watched Wong's portrayal as Knives, I breathed a sigh of relief as she wasn't steered into any embarrassing movie Asian stereotypes. I wouldn't be surprised if Pilgrim turns out to be a film that pulls in lackluster numbers at the box office, but grows legs in the DVD market and eventually picks up a cult following. It's not an in-theater must-see in my eyes, but if your movie house also dabbles in adult beverages, I'd endorse the idea of marinating a viewing of Scott Pilgrim with an adult beverage of your choice as the show begins. It would likely enhance the appreciation of this off-the-wall graphic presentation. By the end, however I couldn't help but draw comparisons to an earlier Cera-getting-the-girl comedy -- Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist -- that I found more enchanting.

My verdict is "wait-for-rental" on this one. It will lose nothing when transferred to the small screen. In fact, the film would probably feel even more at home played on someone's living room XBOX.

Running America

After hassling with more than an hour of Houston rush hour traffic to cover 13 miles to the theater, I settled in with a few hundred others in one of the Alamo Drafthouse's larger auditoriums for last night's Houston premiere of Running America.

This documentary follows ultrarunners Charlie Engle (Running The Sahara) and Marshall Ulrich in the fall of 2008 as they attempt to break a time record for crossing the United States on foot from San Francisco to New York City. Their adventure coincides almost too neatly with the fall presidential campaign. Remember back when we thought that terrorism and the wars on foreign soil would be the dominant issues of the campaign? Well, as Ulrich and Engle started their trek in California and Nevada, the financial crisis story takes center stage instead as the political fight ignites over the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout. The filmmakers spent a lot of time interviewing random folks they met in America's heartland about where they think the country is heading.

I found myself with mixed emotions about this movie by its end. On one hand, the actual running portion of the story was great. And outside of the closeup blister-popping scenes, this is a beautiful one to watch, with many great views of America from the road. But I did feel emotionally manipulated as the words of Barack Obama's acceptance speech overlaid scenes of Ulrich arriving triumphantly in Manhattan on Election Day. (Engel found himself sidelined with plantar fascitis earlier in the attempt and couldn't complete the mission.)

After the film, Marshall Ulrich and his wife Heather took the stage for a Q&A period. I had some fun while livetweeting some of their responses via my still relatively new Backflip:

• Ulrich lost only a net four pounds during the entire trip. He was eating 10,000 calories a day -- the same as his entire four-person crew.
• Colorado was Ulrich's favorite state to run in, because he's from there and does like hilly terrain.
• Ulrich used 32 pairs of Pearl Izumi shoes, not because of outside wear, but because the inners were breaking down.
• Charlie Engel is working on a future run across Cuba, after Badwater.
• Ulrich has a book coming out in 2011 about his experiences on this run.
• The best way for a marathoner to transition into ultras is to run a lot! (Duh!)
• Heather Ulrich accompanied her husband during Running America as part of the support crew. She admitted that she was yelling "quit" in her head numerous times, but managed to keep her mouth shut.
• Ulrich has "circumnavigating Death Valley" as a future goal. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but he said it's something that hasn't been done yet.

After the show, I bought one of the DVDs and got it autographed.

Cool: Going home with an autographed DVD
Not Cool: Discovering that it won't play in any player in my living room (three so far).

I have Ulrich's business card, so I'll be sending him an email to describe my problem. Let's hope his organization can make this right.

Beer there. Drank that. Got the T-shirt.

The first thing I suppose I should admit is that I'm not really that much of a "big beer guy." Most years I could count the number of beers I've drank on one hand, and have fingers to spare.

Despite that, I decided to start collecting punches on my Beer Hunter journey in July, Along the way I saw a a bunch of movies and managed to order every kind of draft beer listed on the menu at both Houston-area Alamo Drafthouse locations.

Three months and 28 pints later, my server Karrie awarded me an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema T-Shirt and Beer Hunter mug tonight for my "efforts."

The final pint -- of the Drafthouse's own house Amber -- was consumed during tonight's Presidential debate. Heavy rains were interfering with the satellite TV reception and the partisan reactions from the audience were priceless as they watched the projectionist fail in repeated attempts to pull in any other channel aside from Fox News.

Worth Mentioning: The cinema used this "Barack Roll" YouTube video as a pre-show trailer to help promote the debate screenings. I don't care what your political stripes are -- this is funny!



Here's the final beer-by-beer tally:

OCTOBER

• Pints of Rogue Dead Guy and Young's Double Chocolate Stout during Obama-McCain Debate Number Two. (Either I lost count somewhere, or an Alamo staffer punched my Beer Hunter card twice more than necessary. Perhaps classic Florida balloting techniques were in effect.)
  
• Pints of Firehouse #4 and Flying Dog In Heat Wheat during Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. (I took a gamble on this one and I ended up liking it. It does make being young and single in NYC look like fun.)
• Pints of Spaten Optimator and Spaten Premium during Body of Lies. (An espionage flick that struggles to make it above the "forgettable" line. )
• Pints of Dogfish 60 Minute IPA and Belhaven Scottish Ale during The Express. (See this movie. If you don't like it, your heart may be three sizes too small.)
• Pint of Drafthouse Amber during Obama-McCain Debate Number Three. (This will likely be remembered as "Joe the Plumber's debate.")
  

SEPTEMBER

• pints of Stone IPA and Newcastle Ale during the season premiere of NBC's Heroes.
  
• pints of Boddingtons and Bass during Burn After Reading (You'll hate practically every character in this movie, but you'll love what happens when they pursue only their own vain wants!)
• pint of Blanche de Bruxelles during Eagle Eye (Ever wonder what would happen if we recruited HAL 9000 to join the War on Terror?)
  

AUGUST

• pints of Dos XX and Ziegenbock during Pineapple Express (Is there humor to be mined from violent drug culture? The answer is a resounding yes, in a "better them than me" sort of way.)
• pints of Paulaner Hefeweizen and Bud Light during Tropic Thunder (Downright hilarious -- just remember to check your Political Correctness at the door.)
• pints of Stone Arrogant Bastard and Fat Tire during Death Race (Bad people. Cars. Boom. The End.)
• pints of North Coast Scrimshaw Pils and Full Sail Pale Ale during Hamlet 2. (Something's being satirized here, but I'm not exactly sure what it was.)
• pints of Saint Arnold Amber and Woodchuck Amber Cider during The Killing (Retrospective screening of the 1956 heist movie directed by Stanley Kubrick.)
  

JULY

• a pint of Sam Adams Boston Lager during Hancock (It's better than the trailers suggest. Definitely another good look at the whole "superhero" thing)
  
• pints of Harp and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale during Step Brothers (Will Farrell's antics do get funnier after a couple of drinks, but there's certainly nothing wrong with waiting for this one as a cheap DVD rental.)
  
• bottle of Blue Moon during The Dark Knight (Excellent flick all around!)

Mission accomplished!

Beer Hunter: End-of-September Update

All the hurricane-related chaos caused a definite slowdown in my quest to take down 30 beers at Alamo Drafthouse, but I can definitely see the finish line in sight now:

SEPTEMBER

• pints of Stone IPA and Newcastle Ale during the season premiere of NBC's Heroes.
  
• pints of Boddingtons and Bass during Burn After Reading (You'll hate practically every character in this movie, but you'll love what happens when they pursue only their own vain wants!)
• pint of Blanche de Bruxelles during Eagle Eye (Ever wonder what would happen if we recruited HAL 9000 to join the War on Terror?)
  

AUGUST

• pints of Dos XX and Ziegenbock during Pineapple Express (Is there humor to be mined from violent drug culture? The answer is a resounding yes, in a "better them than me" sort of way.)
• pints of Paulaner Hefeweizen and Bud Light during Tropic Thunder (Downright hilarious -- just remember to check your Political Correctness at the door.)
• pints of Stone Arrogant Bastard and Fat Tire during Death Race (Bad people. Cars. Boom. The End.)
• pints of North Coast Scrimshaw Pils and Full Sail Pale Ale during Hamlet 2. (Something's being satirized here, but I'm not exactly sure what it was.)
• pints of Saint Arnold Amber and Woodchuck Amber Cider during The Killing (Retrospective screening of the 1956 heist movie directed by Stanley Kubrick.)
  

JULY

• a pint of Sam Adams Boston Lager during Hancock (It's better than the trailers suggest. Definitely another good look at the whole "superhero" thing)
  
• pints of Harp and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale during Step Brothers (Will Farrell's antics do get funnier after a couple of drinks, but there's certainly nothing wrong with waiting for this one as a cheap DVD rental.)
  
• bottle of Blue Moon during The Dark Knight (Excellent flick all around!)

Nineteen down . . . Eleven to go!

King Corn

I just watched the documentary King Corn, broadcast as part of PBS's series Independent Lens. One part that particularly caught my attention was the filmmakers' interview with Earl Butz, agriculture secretary under Nixon and Ford. Butz, who died earlier this year, described how he totally flipped the objective of American agriculture policy, stopping payments to farmers not to plant, and instead subsidizing farmers to grow corn -- much more corn than the market needed. It's only government subsidies that allow farmers now to turn a profit.

Americans definitely enjoy a bountiful harvest, but at what cost? Is the money we save by enjoying cheap burgers, sodas and various items fried in corn oil actually a loan that gets repaid later in the form of medical and lifestyle costs of obesity, such as Type 2 diabetes?

The documentary is just a few shades more credible than Super Size Me, but it raises a good point: What are we really choosing to put in our bodies? This past weekend I've been consuming a lot of the processed junk I stockpiled (Hostess cupcakes do have an impressive shelf life for a baked good) and I think I can actually feel myself turning into junk again. It especially didn't help that I caught myself watching this documentary while drinking HFCS-sweetened soda and Doritos chips.

Ugh.

Beer Hunter: end-of-August update

Continuing my quest to take down 30 beers at Alamo Drafthouse, here's the updated tally:

AUGUST

• pints of Dos XX and Ziegenbock during Pineapple Express (Is there humor to be mined from violent drug culture? The answer is a resounding yes, in a "better them than me" sort of way.)
• pints of Paulaner Hefeweizen and Bud Light during Tropic Thunder (Downright hilarious -- just remember to check your Political Correctness at the door.)
• pints of Stone Arrogant Bastard and Fat Tire during Death Race (Bad people. Cars. Boom. The End.)
• pints of North Coast Scrimshaw Pils and Full Sail Pale Ale during Hamlet 2. (Something's being satirized here, but I'm not exactly sure what it was.)
• pints of Saint Arnolds Amber and Woodchuck Amber Cider during The Killing (Retrospective screening of the 1956 heist movie directed by Stanley Kubrick.)
• pints of Guiness and Shiner Bock during The Rocker (OK if you're in the mood for predictible feel-good fare. OK to wait for this one as a rental.)
  

JULY

• a pint of Sam Adams Boston Lager during Hancock (It's better than the trailers suggest. Definitely another good look at the whole "superhero" thing)
  
• pints of Harp and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale during Step Brothers (Will Farrell's antics do get funnier after a couple of drinks, but there's certainly nothing wrong with waiting for this one as a cheap DVD rental.)
  
• bottle of Blue Moon during The Dark Knight (Excellent flick all around!)

Sixteen down . . . Fourteen to go!

Cheers!

I fear that I may have a latent desire to join the competitive eating circuit. After seeing a recent trailer promo for the "Beer Hunter" card at the Alamo Drafthouse, my first reaction was "Let's go for it." Modeled after my campaign to eat an entire fast-food establishment's menu in March's "Tour de Sonic," I'll be attempting to sample as much of the beer menu as possible between now and mid-November. Just like Jerry in Spirit of the Marathon, I want to earn that T-shirt.

The count so far to date:

• a pint of Sam Adams Boston Lager during Hancock (It's better than the trailers suggest. Definitely another good look at the whole "superhero" thing)
  
• pints of Harp and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale during Step Brothers (Will Farrell's antics do get funnier after a couple of drinks, but there's certainly nothing wrong with waiting for this one as a cheap DVD rental.)
  
• bottle of Blue Moon during The Dark Knight (Excellent flick all around!)
  

It's a tough challenge, but someone has to step up and accept it.

Four down, twenty-six to go....

Volcanic Sprint

Volcanic Sprint is a documentary film that follows runners as they prepare for and compete in the 2006 Mount Cameroon Race of Hope, a ridiculously difficult marathon up and down a mountain. I watched a screening last night at the Aurora Theatre in Houston. Director Steve Dorst was there to help present the work. After the conclusion of the film, Dorst did a Q&A session with the audience, talking about his interest in the country of Cameroon, giving updates on some of subjects profiled in the story, and discussing some of challenges faced by the film crews in getting the action footage during the race itself.

I had found out about this screening from an announcement on the HARRA webpage, and the aspiring athlete **chuckle** in me just had to see it. After seeing Spirit of the Marathon in January, this film makes a great opposing bookend in the spectrum of marathon experience. Spirit tells the story of a high-profile race cradled in one of America's largest and flattest cities. Sprint is the tale of an event nearly flat of corporate sponsorship that exposes participants at one of the highest peaks in west Africa. Probably to the benefit of non-runners in the audience, neither film gets very technical about the marathon training or strategy, as they focus on the human aspects of the participants and their feelings as they prepare to race. Dorst commented that the training programs and equipment used by the Race of Hope participants isn't complicated or expensive: They run on slopes. I laughed out loud at a scene where one of the profiled runners was discussing training and it actually showed him at an Internet cafe logging into the Runner's World site for tips, just like we do.

A note on the venue: This was my first visit to the this itty-bitty cinema in the inner-Loop, and my stupid self had left my neatly-printed directions to the Aurora Picture Show at home. Having been inured by so many megaplex visits over the years, I was unprepared to anticipate this building and ended up driving by twice!

The location is at 800 Aurora Street, in the middle of a predominantly residential block near the intersection of North Main and the North 610 Loop. It doesn't visually stand out from the houses that surround it. There is no grand sign declaring that one has arrived at a house of film worship. (The building is a converted church.) But I found it, and I went home glad the community can support a place where devotees of independent film can seek their heaven.

Spirit of the Marathon

I was a bit peeved at the "one night only" nature of the screening, but Spirit of the Marathon turned out to be a great documentary for its intended audience -- runners, and the people that are willing to put up with them. The film explores the journey of six runners as they prepare to take on the challenge of the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Together they manage to represent all bands over the marathoning spectrum: male/female, young/old, elite/back-of-pack.

I will readily admit that much of the film rekindled feelings and experiences I had during my preparation and my race. I am so glad I watched this two weeks after my marathon, and not two weeks before, or it would have amplified the emotions of my taper madness even more. There 's some good music and visuals. My jaw dropped at the aerial shot that panned up the entire crowd of runners at the Chicago starting corrals; that was an amazing image on the big screen!

The story of Daniel (the elite male) losing family members and a house to thugs in Kenya was very touching. It's a nice reminder that these guys aren't just running machines from Africa; they have lives back home with concerns like the rest of us.

I would love to have the DVD of this when available; I just hope it's not priced much higher than the typical Hollywood new release.